Emma Edge - Travel With Edge

What will your plans be for travel next year?

Travel bookings are starting to ramp up for 2025. Europe is already looking as popular as it was this year, with France, Spain and Italy still being the top destinations for Australians to visit. Turkiye is also gaining popularity, as well as Portugal and Croatia. We are seeing only a slight drop in flight costs, so best to get in earlier rather than later for the better prices and choice of dates.

But what would you do Emma, I hear you ask?
My pick?
CYCLE TOURING
This is one of the biggest (and still growing) travel trends in Europe.

Riders pedal from village to village, often following rivers, staying in accommodation each night and with luggage moved to the next place while they ride with just their daily needs. What better way to really get a feel for a place with limited time, than do do it with the sound of the birds in your ears and the wind in your hair? Worried about pedal power? Do it via e-bike!

There are now well over 250 self-guided European cycle tours that can be booked as a package. You’ll get a hire bicycle, accommodation, luggage transfers, itinerary and maps. Contact me for guidance on who we can use and how.

To give just one example, EuroVelo is a network of 17 long-distance cycling routes across Europe. It is still under development and expanding. When complete, there will be 90,000km of EuroVelo routes.

Some starting points …

+ Between Venice and Amsterdam, following the River Danube through Germany, Austria, Slovakia and Hungary. Look for Danube Bike Path.

+ The Loire River Valley — EuroVelo 6 route from Orleans to Nantes.

+ French countryside, Dieppe to Paris.

+ Pedal past the iconic thatched-houses of the idyllic Cotswolds villages

+ Cycle the great Scottish Coast to Coast fault line along the Great Glen Way

+ Ride the Chianti Classico wine routes of Tuscany, cycling Florence to Siena

+ Live like a Sicilian and stop off for authentic espresso and cannoli

+ Cycle along the coast of the Algarve, through charming towns and wild scenery.

If you are looking to plan your 2025 holiday, feel free to drop me an email or call.
[email protected]
0415977651
Bellarine Travel

Local Food Tours.

When building itineraries for clients, I like to add in a few food tours here and there. I think it's a great way to kick start your stay in a city. For me, food is at the heart of a culture and to get the chance to find out from a local guide, what makes their city or country tick by way of food and drink gives a wonderful start to a city stay. Not only will you get to eat and drink your way around your new city, you will also find out more of the history and culture, along with getting tips for the remainder of your stay. It's a win/win I reckon.

Yesterday I was lucky enough to be able to take part in Do Eat Better - Eat like a Local, everywhere Porto tour. Yes, I do have a very good amount of knowledge about Portuguese food, I get the best of it home cooked from my partners family but as I have many clients who visit Portugal, I wanted to check out the experience for them, to make sure through a first timers eye, an introduction to Porto and its food and drink. It's a tough gig.

We were very fortunate with just an intimate group of 4 including our historian and WSET trained guide Cintia, it was like a friend taking us around her city to show us her take on everything.

The food and drink tasted was very good for introductory level and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Cintia and my two fellow tour mates, visiting from the USA, so much so that we carried on together after the tour for a few more drinks in a local square then back to the market for oysters and more cheese (and wine)!

What a wonderful opportunity.

Porto. It rains. A lot. In fact, on average 155 days a year. So, can you experience Porto happily when it's raining? I went there yesterday to do the hard work for you. Turns out, yes, you can. Dress right, and you'll find Porto has its beauty in all weather. Less crowds, no queues and a more relaxed vibe.

Great news for all of you Europe lovers out there. Turkish Airlines have just released their schedules into and out of Melbourne. Get in early whilst there is still availability - there are prices out there for under $2000 return. The Melbourne/Istanbul/Melbourne flights operate via Singapore with connections through to more than 70 European destinations (some may require overnight connection). Alternatively, plan a stop in Türkiye - visit Fethiye, Pamukkale, Kuşadası, Ephesus, Troy, Çanakkale & Gallipoli for the ultimate Türkiye itinerary.
Contact me for further details [email protected]

Come along to see what it's all about.
If your idea of a holiday is not having to worry about a thing, being picked up from your home at the start of your journey and dropped off again after, having everything taken care of, still having time to also make your own discoveries and see sights, and making new friends locally in the Bellarine/Geelong area, with the opportunity to meet up again after your adventure over a drink to relive your wonderful memories, then maybe a Bellarine Escorted Journey is just for you!
If you'd like to come along to see what it's all about, email me at [email protected] and I'll add your name to the list.

Receiving wonderful feedback whilst a client is still on holiday cements why I love what I do. Heather has been a pleasure to work with, even with a slight hiccup of her chosen tour cancelling before her departure. She was willing and flexible, which allowed me to find an alternative to suit them both.

"Emma, omg this trip had been mind blowing! Thank you so much for the work you have done to make our trip so organised. Even to writing France and Germany on our seperate paperwork was so helpful for us! I knew you were an attention to detail travel consultant and the results are proof in our enjoyment of our honeymoon.
It’s day 1 of our Trafalgar tour and our guide has been doing this for 30 years. He’s local to the region and so passionate and knowledgeable!
He know specialised guides in each destination town and has organised some special places to attend exclusively for our tour group!
I am hearing our guide telling us about the places we are going over the next week. I can’t believe we are here thanks to YOU!
Heather and Max"

Happy Portugal 🇵🇹 Day! Some of you may know that I spend a lot of time in Portugal, I'm back here at the moment and have been able to add a few new experiences to my memory this time around. If you ever get the chance to come here, do yourself a favour, or, if planning a trip to Europe, make time to visit this beautiful country. More to come..

It's been a heck of a ride for the travel industry over the past 2 years, but it looks as things are slowly returning to some semblance of normal. With this in mind, I'm back properly to focus on travel and looking after my past, present and new clients. I was fortunate enough to keep my business running during the pandemic, finding a niche in repatriating stranded Australian citizens overseas, although one of the most rewarding times in my travel career, I dearly hope to never have to go through this again. From now on, leisure and business travel only and what an exciting time we have ahead of us. Things are not quite back to what they were, fares are high, capacity is low and the industry struggles to keep up with the demand of people wanting to get back to normal, (and who can blame them). One thing I have really learned over the past few years, life is short, do those things you always wanted to, be happy.

Welcome back world!

You can contact me at [email protected]

Travel, it's getting easier and easier...
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