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by Chloe Green (@SharedBucketList)
With 2022 quickly coming to a close, we thought we'd take a moment to pause and reflect, re-capping all the wonderful places we've been fortunate to visit this year. Here is a snippet of the worldwide locations we've ventured to. Should you need further information about the things we got up to when we were there, we've also included links to existing articles we've written about each destination.
Here is a basic overview of our top trips, where we stayed and our key takeaways from 2022...
Mykonos, Greece:
Where we stayed: The Royal Myconian Resort
Reason for visiting: Connor's brother's wedding
When: May, 2022
Pros: The hotel was beautifully situated, with views of its own private beach and surrounding hillsides. Mykonos, itself, lived up to its reputation of 'party island' and had a fantastic blend of Greek charm and urban nightlife.
Cons: It was a very expensive destination to visit, accentuated because our hotel board was also room only. The hotel was quite a distance from the main town too.
Would we go back? Yes but potentially just visiting for the day (via boat trip) from other Greek islands. There is much of Greece we are yet to explore. Full write-up of Mykonos here!
Side, Turkey:
Where we stayed: Ali Bey Resort Sorgun
Reason for visiting: All-inclusive holiday
When: August, 2022
Pros: Private beach setting, spacious and clean rooms, water park on site.
Cons: Hidden costs, despite having already paid for an 'all-inclusive' package; having to reserve sunbeds early each morning (but we appreciate this happens at lots of holiday venues now); evening entertainment became very repetitive.
Would we go back? To Turkey, yes. To this hotel, probably not. We did really enjoy the town of Side but there wasn't enough there which would make us want to return in a hurry.
Brecon Beacons, South Wales:
Where we stayed: Sgwd Gwladys
Reason for visiting: We wanted to climb Pen Y Fan and see more of Wales, following an enjoyable trip with friends in 2021.
When: September, 2022
Pros: Our hotel was in a great location, near the Four Waterfalls Walk, which we were incredibly grateful for after a long day of hiking. Sgwd Gwladys served some excellent food and had everything we needed to get by during our visit.
Cons: The rooms were a little on the small side (but we weren't spending much time in them anyway so it didn't matter too much).
Would we go back? Definitely. There are other parts of Wales we would like to see first and other mountains to climb but we think this would be a lovely place to re-visit in years to come (family-friendly too!)
Full write-up of the Brecon Beacons here!
Nice, France:
Where we stayed: Hotel Saint Gothard
Reason for visiting: Birthday trip
When: October, 2022
Pros: Nice was a delightful city to visit and was still lovely and warm at this time of year. Our main highlights were wandering through the Old Town, indulging in the finest French foods and skimming smooth stones we had found on the pebbled beach.
Cons: Our hotel was not in a very pleasant area of Nice but, thankfully, it was only a short walk away from shops and nearby trams.
Would we go back? There was certainly something special about this city and we would probably return at an older age as we felt safe there. In the meantime, we would quite like to visit other destinations along the French Riviera, e.g. Cannes and St-Tropez.
Full write-up of Nice here!
Monte-Carlo, Monaco:
Where we stayed: N/A - we came for a day trip, visiting from Nice
Reason for visiting: As above When: October, 2022
Pros: It was every bit as affluent and impressive as you would imagine. The ports, boasting superyachts, and casino, surrounded by Ferraris, were memorable to say the least.
Cons: None in particular. We didn't stay there but, perhaps if we did, we would argue you don't need to as it can definitely all be seen in a day.
Would we go back? Unlikely. It may have been nice to get dressed up and visit the casino at night-time but there are other locations we would prefer to put that money towards.
Full write-up of Monte-Carlo here!
Loch Lomond, Scotland:
Where we stayed: Inverbeg Holiday Park
Reason for visiting: Connor's Dad's 60th birthday
When: December, 2022
Pros: The lodges were immaculate and really modern. We were lucky to have lodges right next to the loch and its banks.
Cons: It was difficult for us to get around. We were a fairly large party (of 8 people) and our stay was a few days before Christmas so we feel this may have complicated matters slightly but our remote location did mean that access to transport was limited.
Would we go back? Having heard much about the Scottish Highlands, it would be great to return for a similar trip to our Welsh adventure, hiking and mountain-climbing. We didn't do any of this, on this occasion, as it was far too wet and cold (we also had a heavily pregnant lady with us and elder relatives). If we could time it right and visit when it is slightly warmer and drier, we'd love to schedule another trip here.
*We didn't do a full write-up of Loch Lomond but, if you have any specific questions relating to our stay, don't hesitate to get in touch below*
Happy New Year to all our readers! Very best wishes for 2023, Chloe and Connor
