Gozo, relaxing and active island holiday

Gozo is the second island in Malta. It is gorgeous and very relaxing. My friend E and I went there straight from the airport which was a mission. We had to take the X1 bus directly from the airpot to the the ferry terminal, which was the last stop. It took about an hour and a half on the bus. When we arrived to the ferry terminal we had to wait an hour for the second ferry because we missed the previous one by 10 minutes and it's only one ferry an hour. The ferry ride was only half an hour. We were staying relatively close to the port, which meant a 5 minute car journey upon arrival. After that trip, everything else was easy.

Gozo is very quiet and most tourists only show up for a day trip from Malta, so it gets slightly busy between 11am to around 4pm, but from that point it's just local. I spent about two days there and I would highly recommend it. It's a great place for peaceful swims and relaxation. It's also great for private or family holidays. Potentially, you can see everything in one day or even two, but I would suggest a third day for either beach time or some hiking, which the island have plenty of. 

By the way, everything is accessible by public transports in Gozo and it costs 1.50 euros for each bus ride. You can use that same ticket on any other bus for the next two hours. The only problem with buses there is that they are not frequent and some of them only come once in an hour. Make sure you have a schedule because they usually come exactly on time. 

Gozo Full-Day Jeep Tour with Lunch and Powerboat Ride

Five Things To Do/See in Gozo

I really enjoyed them and I hope you get to try them during your trip.   

1- Vitoria

This is the central area of Gozo. Think of it like the downtown. There are few restaurants and tourism offices. You can also book the hop on and off bus from there. The most important site there is the Citadel. It was very similar to Dubrovnik especially with the wall that encompassed a few museums, sights and churches. It's impressive and it could take you at least four hours. It will take longer if you go into the Museums there. The weather was perfection so we didn't want to go indoors. We walked around the fort walls going to the top to get a 360 view of Gozo. The only place we went into was a historic house. It was mostly open and airy.

2- Dwejra

This used to be the most popular spot for visitors to go see the Azure Window, but even after the unfortunate natural disaster that destroyed it, the site is still popular.

Right in front the cave opening, the inland sea is located. There are boat ride though the cave for 4euros each. It's only a 15mins ride and I think it was the highlight of my day. Just outside the cave, the inland sea was very shallow and clear. I laid in the water immersing half of myself in water. The water was just right for a swim. A number of people were on the side tanning or enjoying a little swim.

3- Xlendi Beach

Pronounced Shlendi. The X is a SH sound. The village feels like such a nice family holiday spot. Some kids were playing with the rocks while their parents had their meals in one of the restaurants overlooking the shore. There were boats for hire to go on a short ocean tours and for personal use. Many people rented them and jump in the sea for a swim. There is also a mini hike to over view the village. We went there the end of the day, so it was very quiet  and just beautiful. 

Gozo Full-Day Sightseeing Tour of Malta's Sister Island

4- Ramla beach

Ramla means sand in Arabic and this is known as the sandy beach. It is sandy until you get to the actual beach. The surface of the beach is actually covered in rocks. It is very relaxing there. The morning was quiet, but the later it got the busier it got especially around 2pm. What I loved about this beach is the possibility of some privacy if you are willing to climb the other side and explore!

5- Calypso Cave

This cave is overlooking the Ramla Beach. You basically need to get to the beach first and walk to the far side and start claiming. There are few red dots to mark the route. It took us 40 minutes each way. It is very peaceful and quiet in the top. Make sure you have your walking shoes with you. The path is not paved or easy, but doable and enjoyable. Not to mention that photos up there are amazing! The view on top of the cave is also impressive. 

The legend has it that Calypso, the beautiful mythical creature, kept Odysseus as a `prisoner of love' for seven years. Calypso had promised him immortality if he stayed with her, but he escaped when he could, and returned to his wife Penelope!  

Over to you: Have you visited Gozo? Do you have any recommendations?

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Malta Highlights in one day

I was only in Malta (main Island) for one full day. I could have spent more there, but I didn't wish to leave Gozo (the sister island). So I only had a day to spend on the main island. It was very busy and full of life. It has a completely different vibe from Gozo. The distances in Malta were large, which is something I did not anticipate of some reason.

For instance, it will take you two hours from the ferry terminal to Mdina and another hour from there to Sliema. So make sure you check google maps for the vast distances. I also don't advice craming everything in Malta in a day and then heading back to Gozo. I did that and I was extremly exhusted not to mention all the time I spent on the bus that day! 

---

Mdina

As perhaps you have already seen, the old city of Malta is one of the main attractions there. The stone ground and structure were out of a storybook. It was slightly like a maze with colourful doors and windows. The bad thing is we arrived there at 4:30 when shops and sights were about to shut. On the bright side, the Medina was quiet and mostly empty, so we got to talk plenty of photos. I wish I had an extra outfit with me for the photos! The medina felt like a very small Dubrovnik. The most amazing thing was that there was a wedding happening in the church. The door was open and we got to witness some of the amazing ceremony. It was so beautiful!!

You can also book this tour if you want to be taken around: Malta: Mosta, Crafts Village, Mdina & Valletta Full-Day Tour

P.S. From all the souvenirs shop I loved the one pictured below.

They had a special ceramic range from a very skilled artist that only show cases his work in there. There were a few other cheaper ceramics there too. I found more affordable ceramics in the airport, but a very small range.

Rotunda

The structure of the church is fascinating and it is the biggest dome in the whole of Malta. Unfortunately, we missed going inside because we didn't realise they had special opening times. There is a fantastic cafe just across the road called The Cake Box. Really loved it there and if you are in the area stop by for lunch!

Sleima

This is a very lively part of town with a lovely sea front. It is very close from the capital Valletta. We found a yummy and budget friendly halal restaurant there called Lebanon Restaurant. It was the best 5 euros I spent! The atmosphere in the area is also nice. We went on a Friday night. It was full of life. There was even live music playing in on of the venues.

The day flew by quickly and because of the location of these sights we did not have time to explore more, but that is a good reason to visit again!

Over to you: Have you been to Malta? What are the highlights you would recommend seeing?

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Practical & Modest Outfits for Bosnia and Herzegovina

The great thing about Bosnia and Herzegovina is that I didn't feel out of place with my modest wear. Lots of local Muslim females were dressed similar to me, which meant that everyone is used to it. It felt great. It's good to be accepted like that. Here are some of the outfits I wore there during early Fall in September. It was surprisingly warm! Hope they give you some ideas for your next trip!  

Shop This Look

Shop This Look

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Shop This Look

Five Days in Santorini + how much money do you need for five days in Santorini?

Santorini is such a gorgeous island. I know it has been all over Instagram the past year, but being there in person is just amazing. Plus, all the gram fuss is real! It's the perfect photo destination. I would love to go back with a new set of clothes for more photos! My Santorini photos were the most loved from all my trips. Here's my Santorini Hijab friendly look book if you haven't seen it! However, visiting the island and the type of activities you would do is so weather dependent. I went the first week of April and it was rainy and a little cold, which meant absolutely no pool or beach. The girls and I did try to take a dip and it was just FREEZING! The weather was nice for long walks, little hikes and food! (Spendings down below!)

Benefit of being in Santorini in the off-season

If you wear the scarf or like your modest fashion, then the off season is perfect weather wise because that means you can be covered without feeling over heated. You can even hike without getting sweaty. 

Six Things to do in Santorini (in the off-season)  

1. Enjoy the Santorini view
   As the title suggests, Santorini is the perfect photo destination, so take the opportunity of being there and have your own special photo shoot! It's easy to ask others to take photos of you, but if you want to do it yourself, some parts are very quiet and you can spend hours setting your own tripod and timer.  
2. Take a walk from Fira to Imerovigli
   The main Santorini activity on Trip Advisor is the walk from Fira to Oia, but the locals don't recommend it because you end up walk on the very tight highway. You can take a shorter one from Fira to Imerovigli because there is a walking path. Google Maps gave me the highway route first because it's the fastest, but ignore that and go on the inside. It will be 15mins longer, but it's so much better because there isn't a pavement. Even though this walk is shorter, it is still very beautiful.   
3. Hike the Skaros Rock
   This was my absolute favourite thing in Santorini. This rock is located in Imerovigli (The town between Fira and Oia). You can walk from the main town Fira to it, which will take you an hour. Luckily we were already staying in Imerovigli so it was only half an hour walk from us. Then about two hours to hike up there slowly and take photos when we got to the top. The higher up you go, the more challenging it is because you have to climb the rock without any help. I thought it was fun. It was one of the trip's highlights.  
4. Get lost
   Unfortunately, I didn't have time to get lost in this beautiful island, but if I ever visit again, that's on top of my list. I just want to wander and find where the locals eat and chill. With the limited time I had on the Island, I only stuck to the main touristy spots. There are few walking paths that seem very interesting. I encourage you to look them up! 
5. Enjoy the Greek food
   I had really high hopes for the food. I know that I would have loved and the Greek food and the fresh catches of the day, but being there in the off-season meant that many restaurants are yet to open and being in the touristy spots meant expensive choices. For some reason almost every restaurant we went to had an extended pasta menu. The off-season also meant no fish! The water was too cold to fish, so that was a little sad. I was really looking forward to that. I had lots of Greek salads though!  
   Halal food: We found one shop that said it was halal in Fira, but there wasn't any certification to prove it. I just ate vegetarian dishes and a few sea food ones. 
6. Sail Away
   You can try a boat trip if you want to do something different during your time there. Here's what I thought of my Yacht experience in details.   

Santorini views

Eos Villa

Santorini views

Church painted in white in Oia in Santorini

Santorini views

Beautiful Tucked Away Church

Hiking Skaros Rock

The Sunset in Santorini

The red beach in Santorini

Lighthouse in Santorini

My favourite shop in Santorini

Bringing you back to reality with the spendings for five days in Santorini:

How much money you need for five days in Santorini

• Flight 50GBP each way from London 
• Eos Villa 215 GBP for five nights (shared with 14 other girls)
• Food 200 euros including groceries for home cooked meals + two course meals.  
• Transportations: the odd taxi here and there 30 euros 
• Activities: Boat Trip 75 euros + cable cars 12 euros   

It's not cheap as one might think and little things add up really quickly. I imagine it could be done on a budget especially if you are staying in Fira and eating sandwiches rather than big meals. 

PS. Shopping for gifts and things in Santorini was very expensive especially in Oia.  

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How to travel in a girl group (Hen Do Celebration in Santorini!)

Last month, I was blessed to go on a trip to Greece for a friend's hen do (or as it's known in America a bachelorette trip) in the gorgeous island of Santorini. Since Greece is mostly affordable, a lot of the girls wanted to join for the fun hen do abroad. We ended up being fifteen girls including the bride. No one anticipated this big turn out, but it is a great feeling to see how many people would love to come and celebrate for a big occasion. We were all excited and rented a big villa. One of the only ones that accommodates fifteen! We were there for five days. On one hand it was undeniably fun, but on the other some plans were hard to arrange. Saying that, the maid of honour did a fantastic job organising everything!

On the last day, I asked the girls about their thoughts on group travel and how to make the most of it. So, this is a collective post with all our thoughts.  

Let's start off with everyone's favourite things about travelling in a group: 

• Lots of fun 
• Cheaper accommodations  
• Meeting different people 
• Getting to know your friends better 
• Becoming more aware of your personality and your own traits 

Here are SEVEN tips to make the most of a group trip: 

• Designated a leader
  Let one person be in charge instead of various people who are trying to make plans as they go. 
   
• Discuss plans before the trip
  It's hard to determine all trip plans before the actual trips, but having a rough plan is very helpful. Luckily, the maid of honour, tried her best to do that. She even told us what to bring for certain occasions like the all dressed in white dinner!
   
• Be aware of the purpose of the trip
  Ask yourself and other attendees about the purpose of the trip. All members of the party should be on the same page. Is this trip to party? to spend most days on the pool? To try food?to explore? Being clear on that will give you better expectations
   
• Be flexible and open to other people's suggestions
  Going on a group by default means that the trip is about the whole group and trying to balance everyone's wishes. So, being flexible is key!

• Consider different budgets
  When you are travelling with a group, this is a very major consideration because not everyone has the same income. Defining that before a trip is ideal, but sometimes activity and food prices cannot be anticipated. Establishing a daily budget could be beneficial.   
   
• Take 5 and be accepting
  If someone bothers, just take a moment out of the situation to get your zen back and then discuss that subject again or avoid it. Plus, don't let it show through your behaviour. There is no point of heating things up unnecessarily. People just have their own views on things and not everyone needs to have the same mentality. Just accept it and move on.
   
•  Enjoy yourself
  Going with a group as pointed out earlier is FUN, so just focus on enjoying yourself, the new place and bonding with the awesome people you chose to travel with. 

Over to you: What are your thoughts on group travel? and what are your tips? Share with us in the comments below! 

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Is a boat trip worth it in Santorini?

Santorini was so beautiful no doubt, but after few days on land, I thought going on a boat trip should be exhilarating. I am not sure it fully was, but instead of answering the question: "Is a boat trip worth it in Santorini?" I am going to tell you all about the trip first and you can decide for yourself.

My friends insisted on going on a luxury yacht instead of a cheap wooden boat to avoid sea sickness and to travel in style. I went with the group's decision. I was not too bothered by the type of boat/yacht we are using. I would have preferred the cheaper option with my very limited student income, but the thought of the "hot springs" and volcanic island was too tempting to resist. We chose the sunset yacht trip option because it just sounded so romantic and we are a group of girls who are swayed by sunsets!

Is a boat trip worth it in Santorini? 

The trip started with a pick up at 2pm. We did a few rounds to pick the rest of the people. We finally arrived to the port to the Yacht. The group size was decent. This was the "semi private" tour. There was about 13 of us with mostly couples. The second we were about to get on the yacht, we were told to take our shoes off, which was slightly annoying, but it was for safety and we weren't allowed on it unless shoes were off. 

We sailed away looking at the beautiful sights in the Island. There were few scattered information about the main spots. We finally reached to my awaited Volcanic Island, which was a pile of black rocks that we couldn't even get that close to. Then we got slightly closer to the hot springs. It turns out, the hot springs were not hot or even considered springs. They were little shallow holes between the shore and the deep sea. The yacht did not even take us close to it.  The time of the trip contributed to the lack of stops for us to swim. The water was FREEZING in the first week of April. I actually took ONE dip and could not carry on. I imagine I would have had a very different experience if I have had gone during the hot months. 

The food was the main disappointment. We were told it was to be dinner and we all had to write our food preferences. Due to my halal meat requirement, I opted for the sea food option, but I was very specific when I told them I only ate fish or prawns. I told them in the time of the booking that I did not eat any other types of sea food. I even said if that was too hard to accommodate, I will be happy with the vegetarian option. Unfortunately, they did not take notice. I was given ONE prawn, two spoons of rice, one spoon of hummus, 2 spoons of salad and three small pieces of bread. we got two orange and apple slices for dessert. Like seriously, I am an adult and I was promised a meal. I don't know what that was. If they said it would be like that, I would have brought my own packed meal with me. 

We sailed back for a while longer. Then the sun started to set. The weather was cloudy so we could not fully get the glorified experience, but it was still beautiful to witness. Although, I didn't fully enjoy the yacht experience, I appreciated the ability to do it, the views and the new lovely people we met. Plus, I got to take a few pretty photos!  

Interesting Fact about Santorini Beaches: Each beach is named after the colour of the rocks around that beach (As you will see in the photos below). 

Yacht Trip in Santorini

Church painted in white in Santorini

Red Beach in Santorini

White Beach in Santorini

Black Beach in Santorini

Lighthouse of Santorini

Santorini Yacht Trip Facts: 
Yacht Company: Caldera Yachting http://www.calderayachting.gr/en/cruises/catamaran-caldera-classichere's a similar yacht trip I found on Get Your Guide if you are interested. 

Yacht Company: Caldera Yachting . Here's a similar yacht trip I found on Get Your Guide if you are interested.

Price of trip: 75 Euros each
Duration: 5 hours
Time of the Trip: First week of April from 3pm to 8pm

Summery: I spent 75 euros for 5 hours of sea with a kid portion meal and barley any swimming time. 

The sunset in Santorini from the Yacht

Over to you: Have you tried a boat/yacht trip in Santorini? Would you recommend yours? Share with us in the comments below please! :) 

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How to Monetise Your Travel Blog? Seven ways to make money blogging

When I tell people that I want to make it as a travel blogger, many still ask HOW. How would you live off it? How would you earn and pay bills? Well I am still asking these questions myself. I am still not making actual cash, but I did get a hotel stay for a review in the gorgeous Heritance Kandalama for example. I think that is a good start for where I am with my blog anyway. Slow and steady wins the race they say. I am still working on it and trying to dip my fingers in all the pies.

One of the things I thought might help me get some direction into HOW I could possibly monetise my travel blog was attending travel related conferences such as the World Travel Market, Blogtacular, Summer in the City by Youtube and Traverse. All were held in London. I went to their educational sessions and social media panels. I also read a lot of blogging websites and e-books such as Digital Nomad Wannabe. I learnt a lot from each and it's a matter of putting everything into motion to earn, which takes longer than you might think! 

In this post, I want to share the things I have learnt from everything on all the possible ways to make money from blogging. 

How to Monetise Your Travel Blog?

Method One for Making Money Blogging: Affiliate Links

Affiliate links are when you endorse a product or a service and add a link to them and getting a percentage. This is a very slow way, but it builds up over time. It is also known as passive income because you can make money without getting involved after posting about it. The percentage you get back can be between %2 to %8. There are many programs. Unfortunately, there is not only that for everything, so you might find yourself part of a few. I have an excel document to keep up with them! The ones I use are Amazon, Adobe, Booking.com, Itunes, Shop Style and Skim Link. If you want to find a specific one just look it up with the word Affiliate. If you want more information, watch the video below because it talks about this in details. Although it's mostly about Youtube, but all the information applies on blogging too! 

Here are previous examples I have written with affiliate links that might give you some ideas:
- Santorini Hijab Friendly Look book
- The vlogging camera I swear by
- My travel tech kit
 

Method Two for Making Money Blogging: Brand Sponsorships

Influencer Marketing Marketplace | TRIBE

Brand sponsorships are great, but they are not easy to get especially when you are starting out, but once you have an established online presences you can start approaching brand you love or you might get lucky and be approached. The company will either pay you to represent/ mention/ use/ place/ model a product or sponsor a trip/ activity/ flight or stays. Brands usually collaborate with bloggers to reach to a new audience or to spread the awareness of their brand further. Sometimes the brand wants the information only shared as a blog post, sometimes a video and sometimes on social media. More information on how to work with brands as a blogger can be found here. 

There are some companies that connect bloggers/instagramers/influencers with brands such as the Australian company Tribe. You will have to be approved though! This was recommended to me by Polka Dot Passport from personal experience. It's an app and I just started using it. Watch their video to know more. There are other companies that appeared when I looked up similar companies such as Revfluence. 

Method Three for Making Money Blogging: Content Creation for others

Bloggers have trained themselves in so many skill sets and they are able to produce written and visual contents for their own blogs and others. For example, I do some freelance writing on the side and I get paid per article. There is a lot of hustling involved in this one. Sometimes you have to pitch yourself and tell the company you want to write for that you are a valuable influencer that will enhance their brand. Since I started my Youtube channel, I have had a few video making requests. Have you seen my video collaboration with Skyscanner? 

Method Four for Making Money Blogging: Providing services/e-courses

When a blogger has an audience interested in something then it's only logical to create an e-course that satisfies the markets needs and bring in a steady income that will also be considered as passive income. here are a few examples of bloggers and vloggers that created e-courses that generate an income. 

1- Normadic Mat and his various ecourses such as: travel blogging, travel vlogging and travel photography on the Super Star Blogging platform. I myself took the took the Art of Travel Vlogging e-course. I would only recommend it for complete beginners though.

2- Thomas Norman with his The Travel Video Academy
3- The Travel Hack and her Blogger course. 

Method Five for Making Money Blogging: Selling merchandise

This has worked for some bloggers or vloggers where they collaborated to sell a product like (t-shirts etc) to generate some income. Examples of vloggers who have sold merchandise: 
1- Mr.Ben Brown
2- Zoella 
3- Psycho Traveller

I feel like this method requires a lot of work and someone to actually be in one location to package orders etc. I am all over the place for this to be an option for me, but it might work for you. 

Method Six for Making Money Blogging: Writing and selling books

Blog posts are all written content, so it makes sense to turn that into an e-book. Especially if there is a a useful story or some valuable advice. If you are interested in this, I would recommend reading the book Authority by Nathan Barry. I really enjoyed reading the book and he is very encouraging. I haven't written an e-book yet though, but it is something I would love to do one day.  

Method Seven for Making Money Blogging: Speaking engagements

Speakers get paid at conferences and if you have an inspiring story to tell you will be invited or you can just pitch yourself to be a speaker. If you are a blogger or a traveller there are plenty of events you can go to such as Blogtacular or Traverse.  

As you can see most of these methods are even more work than just writing posts or making videos. Making an income is not straight forward, but some people love the challenge.  

Another amazing source of information is Video Influencers' Youtube channel

Over to you: Do you have any other methods to monetise your blog or vlog that you would like to share with us in the comments below?

Lessons I learnt from Traverse17

Last week I went to Traverse 17 and after attending the weekend sessions, I got a few useful tips that I thought I will share with you all here. 

Photo of the Traverse 17 London Venue 

Lessons I learnt from Traverse17

This are some of the tips I learnt from the sessions I attended: 

PR YOURSELF AND YOUR BLOG – HOW TO STAND OUT THROUGH CONTENT AND CONNECTIONS
Speakers: Alexandra Delf & Susan L. Schwartz

• When communicating with the PR team, be honest about how you feel about things.  
• When pitching, bring new ideas to the table and be very specific on what you could provide. 
• Have a set schedule that is clearly communicated to the PR team you are working with. For example, how long after a trip are you planning to post about the venue? 
• When approaching the PR team for a pitch or a collaboration, be clear and give them your media kit! 
• Media kit pointers:
  • One page concise PDF that is easy to send to a client 
  • Pictures
  • Who are you? (intro)
  • Tag lines
  • key words 
  • Add logos of people you worked with or places you stayed in even if they haven't paid 
  • Bullet points of key strengths 
  • Add interactions and feedbacks
  • Mention specific numbers 

HOW TO GAIN FOLLOWERS ON INSTAGRAM WITHOUT LOSING YOURSELF
Speaker: Nicola Easterby

Nicola aka polka dot passport is a brilliant blogger and instagramer and she shared some of her tips with us after three years growing her audience on instagram. 

I did a whole post for this one! >> Instagram Tips and Highlights From Polkadot Passport. 

MONEY MAKING GAME CHANGERS
Speaker: Monica Stott

I attended a talk by Monica two years ago at Blogtacular and I found her to be very insightful. Her talk was honest and filled with tips to get people started in making money in the field of travel blogging especially that she has been a full time blogger and depending on her blog for income for a while. 

• Charge for everything or charge for nothing

• Set usual rates and even do packages: Video + blog post + social media 

• Don't be scared to turn down unpaid opportunities 

• Be clear with your deadlines 

• Write detailed reports after collaborations to prove your influence and reach

• Send reports to brands: After camping finishes, 2 months later, 6 months later and even 1 year later if you are tracking the reach. For example: use bitly to track links to show brands. 

• Instead of trying to figure out your niche, ask yourself: What do you want to be the expert at? 

• Keep on writing. You can even write 15 blogs about one destination - 1000 words each to have more content in your blog.  

• Get you personality out there. Bloggers are different from copy writers. People want to read about people so don't just write about the facts. Write about the experience.

• Group projects together to make the most out of your trip. 

Full Presentation slides. 

HOW TO TURN YOUR VISITORS INTO LOYAL FOLLOWERS
Speaker: Sabina Trojanova

I was very excited for this talk because of Sabina the presenter also known as Gil vs Globe. She is the creator of one of my favourite online travelling females communities Girls vs Globe. 

• Create sharable content 
• Be motivational 
• Guide others and be generous with your advice 
• Have something valuable to say 
• Build your expertise and become an authority in your field
• Take your audience offline and be open to arranging meet ups 

ADVANCED VIDEO EDITING WORKSHOP
Speaker: Greg Brand

This was a very cool talk about specialised video editing techniques using Adobe Premier CC such as colour grading, matching sound with video and so much more. 

• Organise all your files before you get into Premier 
• Create a proxy from a free software to save time 
• Try using the "key frame" editing style 
• Shooting flat and raw
• You can get colour grading effects online from free softwares 

The sessions were great and had some useful gaudiness. I think the best outcome of these conferences are the connections and the blogging/vlogging friends. Content creating and digital story telling could be really lonely and having people in the same circle who share the same struggle is extremely useful. 

Over to you: Are there any other travel conferences that you loved or tried going to in London or other locations?