Bespoke Travel Planner - Travel with Jules

29/10/2026

Lovely news from Kicheche Camps in the Masai Mara ... I have a client who will be back at Kicheche in November - 4th or 5th visit I think?!

Africa keeps pulling us back time and again ... contact me if you are also dreaming of an African safari ...

23/10/2026

🇯🇵 ⛩ Travels with Mick and Jaclyn Part 9 KYOTO - tea ceremony & kimonos ⛩ 🇯🇵 🍜

Jules had pre-booked for us a Camellia private traditional tea ceremony.

On arrival we were told to choose our kimonos & then we were dressed, then wandered through the old streets in Higashiyama Ward. We were then taken to the room for the tea ceremony & the tea master welcomed us in, he then told us that this was a traditional, meditative art form of preparing and serving powdered green tea (matcha). He then went on to say the practice is built on four central values established by Sen no Rikyū:

Harmony (Wa): Balance between people, nature, and seasonal utensils.
Respect (Kei): Treating every person and object with sincere care.
Purity (Sei): Cleansing of the mind, heart, and physical space.
Tranquility (Jaku): Inner peace that emerges from the first three principles.

Then he proceeded to make the tea! We loved how the process was precise & structured. Once he had made the tea passed it to us to drink, we had tried matcha tea back at home & we didn’t like it - but this was so different and much better!

On our walk back to our hotel, Jaclyn enjoyed some 'retail therapy' in the many fabric and craft shops!

23/10/2026

🍜 🇯🇵 ⛩ Travels with Mick and Jaclyn Part 8 KYOTO ⛩ 🇯🇵 🍜

Amazing few days around Kyoto! We went to the Fushimi Inari Shrine & walked through the Senbon Torii gates, didn’t make it to the top, but we may have got halfway! Took the trail back down & made our way to the station to head back to the hotel.
Just a short work from the hotel found a great little mother & daughter restaurant that only seats 8, lovely bowl of Ramen.

Our private guide Nobe took us to the Tentyu-ji temple where we walked the temple & gardens, then through the bamboo forest, carried on to the Togetsukyo Bridge, had lunch at a communal cafe there.
After a train was the Ryoan-Ji temple, then a bus ride to the Golden Pavillion in the Kinkaku-ji temple & last one was Kitano-Tenman-gu Shinto shrine. Then a bus back to near the hotel.

Next day Nobe took us to Nara, temples & the deer park, just had to be done) then after lunch a walk around the old town, his knowledge was amazing & if he hadn’t took us to these places we wouldn’t have found them or learned so much about Buddhism & Shinto.
We would fully recommend Nobe as a guide around Kyoto, he couldn’t have done any more to make two very interesting & fascinating days.

23/10/2026

21/10/2026

🍜 🇯🇵 ⛩ Travels with Mick and Jaclyn Part 7 ⛩ 🇯🇵 🍜

HAKONE

The Ryokan is fab, just has to be done, an experience, so much so they give you kimonos in the room those toe socks & “flip-flops” so we got dressed for dinner last night, which was interesting!!

Some of Jaclyn’s dinner was different cos of her tree nut allergy. Whilst at dinner they made our beds.

Afterwards we went to the roof for the private onsen, very hot though, but felt good !!!

It was raining first thing when we went for breakfast, but decided on some atmospheric photos today with the clouds & mist.
Breakfast was a bit different to the other hotels we stayed in, sadly we couldn’t eat much of it.

So after that we headed to the station to get the Tozan train to Gora & then the cable car & Ropeway over to Togendai for the pirate ship cruise on Lake Ashi as the weather has cleared up now.

On reaching Gora both the Pirate ship & Ropeway was closed due to bad weather (see video post!), so plan B went into operation, we got back on train for 2 stops, then onto the bus to Motohakone-Ko.

Lot of mist & very windy at Motohakone-Ko, but didn’t bother us, even thought we were the only ones wearing short sleeved tops & shorts, we just adapted & got some interesting photos!!

We did call into a pizza place, mainly because I was hungry by 11 !
Then got the bus & train back to Hakone & walked to the hotel & now enjoying a b**r for me & a glass of w**e for the lady on the terrace, perfect end to a day that we had to change, but we did manage to see Mt Fuji as Jaclyn demonstrates!!

21/10/2026

⭐ SOUTH AFRICA TRAVEL REVIEW ⭐

The best part of being a bespoke travel planner is receiving lovely reviews and photos from my clients! 😍
Often having started planning a trip over a year in advance, it can seem a long time to wait to actually get on the plane!

Here is what Ros and Jon had to say about their experience and some of their photos:

"Wow, what an adventure!
First a week on a horse riding safari at Ants Hill, in the Waterberg region of South Africa, with options of going out in the game viewer on drives, walks, cycling, running (you are kidding?!) instead of horse riding if you preferred – or didn’t want to ride twice a day. All inclusive and the purest luxury.

That was followed by an adventure in the Drakensberg mountains walking and exploring. Cathedral Peak had spectacular scenery and exceptional walking. This was followed by a few days in the more southern area of the Drakensberg at Moorcroft Manor, where we took a private tour up the Sani Pass to Lesotho and the highest pub in Africa. Described as ‘not for the faint hearted’ ... this tour was incredible and with sunshine and no cloud, the views were simply beyond belief.

Jules is just fantastic at arranging everything, and somehow knowing what we want when we don’t know ourselves! We wouldn’t hesitate in recommending her to anyone – in fact we have often recommended her. Her organisation of the trips leaves nothing out, and everything simply works.

Thank you so much. Looking forward to our next adventure.
Ros and Jon"

21/10/2026

More updates from Japan coming in ... looks like the great British weather is following Mick and Jaclyn! 🌧

18/10/2026

Wow! Mongolia is truly a special place … if you would like to visit the places seen on Simon Reeve’s adventures contact me to find out more!

https://travelwithjules.co.uk/holidays/race-across-the-world-explore-mongolia/.

18/10/2026

Ros and Jon are just back from an incredible trip to South Africa, taking in a riding safari in the waterberg and exploring the Drakensberg mountains ... here is the TWJ balloon 'floating' in the clouds up at the top of Sani Pass in Lesotho at The Highest Pub in Africa - Cheers!
🍻