I don’t know about you, but my holidays are like soul food, nourishing my wanderlust and taking me out of orbit for a while. I thrive on a more authentic experience and love to travel, eat and live as the locals do, making ‘secret’ discoveries along the way that fill up my memory bank and keep me going long after I arrive home. I’m a big fan of spontaneous discoveries and following the aroma of coffee and freshly baked pastries till I find the little café that comes alive as everyone starts their day, rather than ticking off the well-trodden sites. My kind of travel is about leaving a busy street and pushing open a heavy wooden door into a little French abbey filled with the familiar smell of incense and candles, or discovering a beach restaurant where you can kick off your Havianas and dig your feet into the sand while savouring fresh seafood or a Thai curry with ice-cold beer.

It’s about being a savvy traveller, and about finding your niche with a website or guidebook that you trust and thinks like you do, so that you can enjoy every minute of your holiday with the knowledge that you’re not missing out. So I hope you find that our new online ezine can do just that for you and that you enjoy returning time and again to explore the world’s hidden gems with us – be sure to share your discoveries with us when you come back.

Too busy to take a holiday right now? Then sit back and relax for five minutes and listen to Robyn Hodson’s Vietnamese tale:



We’ll be doing more of these: download them and listen in while you travel to work or when you just feel like an escape from the stresses of daily life.

I’m a huge supporter of all things green, and there’s no doubt that the travel industry is changing rapidly in that direction. We’re following the movements closely and promise to tell you about the positive developments out there: whether it’s a small project like a luxury Madagascan hotel growing its own vegetables to save on air miles or recycling water to keep lawns green.

Watch this space for more: if you’re in need of pampering, we’re about to bring you a round-up of the world’s most glorious spas. Each one offers organic beauty products or has made a contribution to the environment. And why not sign up for our free newsletter so that you can be the first to know when we’re posting the article live on the site? Simply add your name and we’ll be in touch.

Feel free to email me directly on editor@justtheplanet.com with any ideas, experiences or suggestions. The best letters will be published in our Letters to the Editor column.

Michelle Snaddon
Editor-in-Chief
Just The Planet

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