Chalkmarks - travel, trips and tips

St Patrick’s on Parade

New York, new look: Buy a new wardrobe in a weekend in the Big Apple

Why Edinburgh is scarily good for a city break

The French city that’s a little Britain

Raising the Olympic bar on chocolate in Lausanne

There’s lots to like when you travel by bike in Umbria

Chalkmarks

When travel is the mantra

Prepare for adventure

Latest Articles

Pulling down the years: Thirteen centuries of Bulgarian history bulldozed as monument is razed

DEMOLITION begins on a statue that's stood as a symbol of Bulgaria’s 1300-year history.

13th June 2019

Beach you to it: The sandcastles built long before Machu Picchu

FOR more than a millennia these sandcastles have stood on the beaches under the burning Peruvian sun.

5th May 2019

My cracking time with the Magic Man

GODDAMN it, this isn’t going well. I’m lying face down on my hotel bed while a ‘magic man’ cracks my bones.

3rd May 2019

That’s one Titanic bin round!

EVERYONE knows the Titanic sank after it hit an iceberg but it seems these dustmen refuse to believe.

29th April 2019

Meet the man who went on a gap year that never ended

THE Brit who went backpacking in Southeast Asia and never came home. That was 10 years ago.

22nd April 2019

Insider’s Guide: Lima’s best picks from Limeños

WHERE to next in Lima? Where to drink Pisco Sour? How about Ceviche? This is where the locals go!

12th March 2019

What a Discovery! Life onboard a Tui cruise ship

THIS view is one of the many reasons why record numbers of people are taking to the seas.

16th February 2019

See wonderful Wallonia….Belgium at its best

A WEEKEND break in Belgium? How about Wallonia for its award-winning bubbles, chocolate, scenery and frites!

13th February 2019

Published articles

Mail on Sunday

You’ve had Champagne, tasted Prosecco, tried Cava, now who’s for a Crémant?

IT’S the fabulous festive fizz from France that’s about to burst the prosecco bubble.

Sunday Mirror

Feastern Europe

TUCKED away in the north-east corner of Slovenia is a tasty food-lover’s paradise.

The Guardian

Living in Lima

AFTER backpacking around Peru Natalie Chalk is hooked but finds teaching English in Lima to be full of surprises.

Daily Express

Experience Denmark’s second city, Aarhus

DESPITE those Scandi-noir sagas and Sarah Lund jumpers, Denmark has been voted the happiest place on the planet.

December

From the blog: For Christmas

After your white Christmas dive into a black New Year at the healing dark springs of Slovenia

DON’T be put off by the black water or the smell of tar – this is Slovenian spa water, found nowhere else on earth.

Postcard from Bali: How to survive a volcano

I WRITE to you watching a volcano erupting on Bali. It’s gonna be a blast. Wish you were here.

Mexico City: From ancient ruins to markets, mezcal and mariachi bands. Feel the heat of CDMX in 48 hours

MEXICO City has topped an Airbnb poll that reveals the most in-demand destinations for the 2018/19 Christmas season.

My rocky road to paradise in Palawan

THIS time, I’ve gone too far. I’ve had a bucket-listful. My first sight of El Nido is in the dark. It’s 2am and it’s eerie.