Hi, I’m Andy – and I want to welcome you to Grown-up Travel Guide.

That’s me right there – I’m what I would consider to be an unconventional Brit and live in voluntary and exquisite exile in central Norway where I have been since the end of the last century. I’ve spent almost half of my forty-something years outside the UK and cliched as it undoubtedly sounds, love to travel. Married with a teenage daughter, if you were wondering.

So how do I travel like a Grown-up? Indeed what does that even mean, Andy?

I thought you’d never ask. Well, at a certain point a lot of people end up asking the question “is there life after backpacking?” The answer is simple – yes.

Life after backpacking is what we like to call Grown-up Travel.

Do elaborate…

It’s different to backpacking, but it is WAY more fun. Remember Paris? When you managed to get a flea-ridden dormitory bed for a few dollars, put together your very own take on the baguette from the cheapest supermarket you could find and even ran to a beer in a dive bar in the roughest part of town? Sure it was fun, when you were young, but don’t tell me you didn’t feel just a tad jealous of those tourists (you were of course a traveller, there’s a big difference I know) who could actually afford to go UP the Eiffel Tower instead of gaze at it from the ground?

Well, yeah, you got me there. So how do I get to be the one up there looking down?

Certain things need to happen in your life to get to the stage where you can take a Grown-up trip. You need to have some money behind you and be able to relax about your budget. An example of a typical progression here would be something like this:

Your first taste of independent travel may be backpacking as a student or youth. Reality bites and you return home to get a job…

The horror!

Quite. Remember this is only an example…Later on comes a partner and a family. Perhaps even a charter holiday in the sun with your offspring!

Okay now you’re going too far…

Believe me, it happens. You´d be surprised how easy the transition can be from a voodoo market in Benin to a week on the Algarve given the requisite number of years and the addition of children in between.

Save me, save me from this fate!

Well the Algarve can be good too, if you know what to do there. This is where Grown-up Travel Guide can help. Our mission is to inspire and inform to help readers get the most out of their travel. It’s all about value for money and special experiences. We are building this site to provide a wealth of information to help you with all aspects of travel. Stick with us, it’s going to be a fun ride.

So what do I need to do?

Well, have a nose around the site, of course. Even better, sign up for monthly newsletter to keep ahead of the crowd – we tell our most loyal subscribers all our secrets! Okay perhaps not all, but we will soon be offering small group tours to some of the most exciting destinations in the world – and newsletter subscribers will get the details first. Everyone likes to be first, right?

Other travel blogs just tell you about great places to go and things to do – I’m going to let you experience them with me. Using the services of a select few companies that I choose to work with, Grown-up Tours will offer you a holiday you will truly remember at an exceptionally good price.

There are only a few places on each trip, so sign up to have the best chance to come with!

Sounds like a good idea – how do I do that then?

Use the box below. There is also a sign-up form on the right hand side each page of the website if you want to look around first.

You can also follow us on Facebook (along with over 12,000 other fans), Twitter (there’s over 2000 hanging on our every tweet there), Pinterest, Instagram and YouTube. Just click on those familiar icons at the top of each page.

What are you waiting for? 🙂

Happy dreaming/planning/travelling!

Andy