Travel Guides

This week the Travel Guides hit Thailand. With miles of tropical beaches and an exotic climate, it attracts over 26 million’s tourists each year to its shores - making it the most popular destination for Brits visiting Asia. But it also has a reputation as being a destination for hedonistic backpackers that is fraught with dangers and annoyances. Our households spend a week on the island of Koh Samui, getting the lowdown on what a holiday there can really offer. The trip doesn’t start smoothly for Craig Chapman-Blackwell and Stuart McDonald from Bradford. Hairdresser Craig not only has to battle with mosquitos but also with basic beach hut accommodation. He wants to go home as soon as he arrives - will the ‘land of smiles’ turn his opinion around? Exotic adventurers the Boyles are wowed by the street food available at the markets, while bargain hunter Simon Brearley can’t get enough of how cheap everything is. Burnley painter decorator Pete and his wife Linda reveal themselves to be secret ‘Thai Experts’, having travelled to the country 26 times before… but perhaps the biggest surprise is that Glamour Girl Riah finds a new spiritual side on the island – embracing a visit to a local detox spa which offers raw food and coffee enema’s to its guests.

This week the Travel Guides hit Dubai, one of the fastest growing tourist destinations on earth. Over a million Brits flock here on holiday each year, tempted by year round sun and the glamorous five star lifestyle it offers. But this modern metropolis in the desert doesn’t appeal to everyone. Burnley bar owner Linda and her painter husband Pete find not only the hotels but their prices ‘out of this world’. Bikini clad model Riah can’t understand why Arabic women should have to ‘cover up’, and hairdressers Craig Chapman-Blackwell and Stuart McDonald are uncomfortable about travelling to a country where it’s illegal to be gay.

This week the Travel Guides head to sunny Tenerife. Since the 1960’s it’s been one of Europe’s most popular package holiday destinations, attracting 1.5 million brits to its shores each year. Our households spend a week in the lively resort of Playa de las Americas getting the lowdown on what a 3 star all-inclusive holiday there offers. It’s the first time the Boyles from Dorset have ever been on a package holiday, but initial excitement soon turns to dread when they encounter the hotels British style buffet restaurant. Birmingham socialites Riah, Reena and Keisha are on a quest to find a holiday romance, and while they catch nothing but a chill at the top of Mount Teide volcano, they find plenty of potential suitors on the ‘Veronicas nightclub Strip’. Meanwhile, Burnley painter decorator Pete, and his wife Linda can’t understand why anyone would want to leave the hotel when there’s free beer on tap, and the Brearley family test out the hotels evening Karaoke – much to the embarrassment of their 14 year old son ben. For the Chapman-Blackwells from Bradford their hopes of a relaxing break are left in ruins when they discover a noisy building site next to the hotels pool.

The families visit the Lake District to get the lowdown on what a week long caravan holiday there offers. The Boyles from Dorset begin their holiday with great expectations but it’s not long before they question if a small caravan is enough to accommodate their lively brood of children. Honor Chapman-Blackwell and her boyfriend Jonjo believe that a holiday in the Lakes is just for old people and a trip to Keswick pencil museum does nothing to convince them differently. Simon and Jayne face an uphill battle attempting to convince son Ben that hiking up a hill is more beneficial than viewing it at home on google maps.