Merry Christmas & Happy New Year From Eat Travel Love

Well this year has been a crazy one for me, from getting engaged to quitting my job to taking a huge travel adventure around North and and Central America.

I know, stupidly cute right!

The year of 2013 has be good to me and I want to thank all the new travel blogger friends I have made through the girls travel chat.

But most importantly I want to wish an amazing 2014 to my family, my friends and also my girls and my boyfriend. These are the people in my life who are always there for me no matter what and will always take care of me and for that I thank you and will love you forever! 

To everyone else Merry Christmas and a Happy 2014!!! 

X

Guest Post: Healthy Travelling Tips

As you all know, I have recently been travelling around Central America and the USA and loved her minute of it. The sites, the food and the crazy experiences that make the best travelling stories.

However, when travelling it can be difficult to keep healthy when travelling (especially with all of this tasty American burgers). So when the guys from Electric Boom* sent me an email about a helpful post on keeping health when travelling, I thought it would be a great idea for all travellers to read.

I hope you enjoy it and I'd love to hear your healthy travelling tips over on Eat Travel Love Twitter and Facebook (don't forget to include the guys over at Electric Boom too using @ebloomtravel).

Visit Tikal: The Largest Mayan Ruins

Whilst staying in Flores, we decided to pay a visit to Tikal, the worlds largest Mayan ruins and considered to be the central point ruins for Central America and were built as far back as 1000BC.

Situated around an hour and a half drive from Flores the ruins are breath taking to see, despite 90% of them still being covered by rain forest.

A Travel & Lifestyle Bloggers Christmas Wishlist

Each year I get asked by my family and friends what I would like for Christmas and I genuinely become speechless. My mind goes blank and I usually reply with "oh you know me, anything will do" and then I end up buying all the gifts I wanted for myself. But of course, Christmas isn't about spending a huge amount of money on gifts, it's about being with people who make you happy in life - whether that be a group of people you meet on your travels or sitting down with your family on Christmas day.

But this year, for the people who would like/have asked to buy me a gift, (of course you lovely readers can feel free to also buy me any of these hehe) I have actually sat down and given it some thought as to what my Christmas wishlist would be. And seeing as it's the season of good will and all that ;) ... I thought I would share it with you lovely readers as it may be helpful if you're looking to purchase gifts or if you need to give someone an idea as to what you would like for Christmas.

Wanderlust Fashion: New Year's Eve Red Carpet Style with New Look

Along with Halloween and Christmas, New Years Eve is also one of my favourite times of the year. I've been lucky enough to spend a few of my New Years Eve's in some pretty amazing cities such as London and Barcelona; and I plan to be in have many more over the coming years.

But the main reason why I love New Years Eve is that it's one of the only nights of the year where it's ok to be a little more glam and to begin celebrating with your favourite cocktail a little bit early in the day.

Therefore, I have decided to dedicate this Wanderlust Fashion board to the lovely ladies (and gentlemen) over at New Look, who would like to know what your favourite red carpet style would be for this years party season. (Read more on their blog)

Antigua to La Ceiba with Hedman Alas Buses

Our final country on the trip was going to be Honduras. However, due to timing we only had a week to get from Antigua in Guatemala down to La Ceiba in Honduras so that we could catch the ferry over to the beautiful Bay Islands.

So after reading many travel blogs and forums from people who had travelled through Central America, we decided to use the popular bus company, Hedman Alas. 

Booking Tickets with Headman Alas

#ETLCA Travelling Guatemala: Flores, Antigua and Lake Atilan

On the morning that we checked out of our hostel in San Ignacio, we had made friends with three other backpackers and so we decided to travel together to Flores.

Crossing the border, Belize to Guatemala. 

We negotiated with a tour company, as there were five of us, to take us directly to the border for $5 each. You are able to get buses to towns just before the border and then take a taxi to the border, but it's quicker and probably around the safe price to take a private car.

Crossing the border was relatively hassle free. You are greeted by a hoard of currency exchangers when you leave your taxi / bus. But if you don't need any GQT then a simple and stern no thanks will do and they will leave you alone. 

To leave Belize you have to pay 37 Belize dollars or you can pay in US dollars (around $18 depending on your exchange rate). You then walk through a large office to get your passport stamped and to cross the border. 

Once onto the Guatemala side, you will then be hounded by taxi drivers wanting to take you to Flores or $12-15 depending on your group size. We ignored these guys and headed for the Guatemalan immigration centre which is a few minutes walk after the border. 

Part Two: A "Very" Merry Christmas & My Secret Santa Gift

A few weeks ago I received a lovely email from the guys over at very.co.uk to ask if I would like to be apart of their #VerySecretSanta campaign which gathered UK bloggers from all niches to try and find a perfect secret Santa gift for someone using their Christmas Gift Guru App (read more of this post here).

And today I'm so delighted because I finally got my Secret Santa gift and I love it! 

My Top 5 Travel Bloggers of 2013/2014

With another fabulous travel adventure over and as a new year approaches, I wanted to make a list of my favourite travel bloggers from around the world.

They may not know it, but thanks to their helpful and insightful travel blogs, they have helped and contributed to making our adventure through Central and North America brilliant.

3 Christmas Shopping Cities to Visit

Tis' the season to be jolly!

I love the chilly winter nights and glow of the Christmas lights out in the streets; however, this year my Christmas will be spent in warm winter nights and the glow of Christmas street lights as I will currently be on my grand adventure.

But if I were back home, I’d be eyeing up some of the best shopping cities to go and purchase gifts for my loved ones. So if you love venturing to new places + Christmas shopping then this post is for you.

Top 3 Christmas Shopping Cities

This was a tough call for me, from snowy Edinburgh to the vibrant souks of Marrakech, I have decided to opt for classic Christmas shopping destinations.

Shopping in London:

Image: We Heart It

An American Classic: Bubba Gump Shrimp in Cancun

Ever since I watched the all American classic movie, Forrest Gump, I have been I love with anything surrounding that beautiful story. This is why I needed to pay a visit to Bubba Gump Shrimp when in America.

Unfortunately, due to a lack time, we were unable to go in America. But my salvation came on my last day in Cancun when we were told that they too had a Bubba Gump shrimp restaurant.