Phil Thomas | Travel Writer & Blogger

Qatar arrests 313 foreigners over filming, misinformation amid Iran attacks - Türkiye Today Qatari officials urged residents to obtain information only from approved official sources

"Surprise!!" said nobody.

Please, no more lectures from influencers in the Middle East on freedom of speech in Europe!

www.turkiyetoday.com/region/qatar...

France’s Best Kept Secrets: A Quick Guide France’s most famous cities, Paris, Lyon, Bordeaux, are magnificent, but they’re hardly secrets. Their magic and attractions – the Eiffel Tower, gastronomic excellence and some of the best wine on the...

For everyone who loves France but wants to venture out from the biggest cities, my latest blog post.

Caution - contains a large number of wine references and recommendations!

www.someoneelsescountry.com/post/frances...

Thoughts and prayers....but absolutely no taxpayer money spent repatriating these people.

There can’t be many more spectacular locations than a Winter Olympic host venue.

Had an absolute blast across Cortina, Predazzo and Tesero - bravo Italia for a superb job. 🇮🇹

#milanocortina2026 #travelwriter

48 Hours in Buenos Aires – Welcome To The City of Fury The first time I came to Argentina’s capital, I hit the city like a freight train and felt like it hit me right back…it’s not a city that does things in half-measures.It’s a city that rewards attentio...

48hrs in the City of Fury with the opportunity to see Uruguay too? Sign me up.

New blog now live 🇺🇾🇦🇷🇺🇾🇦🇷🇺🇾🇦🇷🇺🇾🇦🇷

www.someoneelsescountry.com/post/48-hour...

Louisiana Cajun Food Road Trip Follow the river from New Orleans to Lafayette for the best gumbo, po'boys, and jambalaya on this Louisiana Cajun food road trip.

There's very little not to like about food tours or road trips, especially in somewhere as rich in culinary storytelling as Louisiana.

Read my latest article for Wander With Wonder below to find out more....

www.wanderwithwonder.com/louisiana-ca...

EasyJet ad banned for claiming bags available for £5.99 The airline said the fact there were no bags available for less than £5.99 meant the claim was not misleading.

I bow before anyone who’s ever got a roller bag onto EasyJet for £5.99!

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Significant Downturn in Las Vegas Visitor Numbers Marks Sharpest Decline in Two Decades - Travel And Tour World Las Vegas is experiencing its most significant tourism decline in twenty years, analyzing the economic shifts and changing travel patterns impacting the city.

Vegas tourist numbers are their worst in decades.

Not a unique issue in US tourism context but I have zero sympathy for hotel chains wringing their hands while charging exorbitant resort fees for WiFi, pool access and theit invariably crappy micro-gyms.

www.travelandtourworld.com/news/article...

Could not agree more!!

My last visit to New Orleans was a rapid one, less than 24hrs in the Big Easy.

Assuming you’re willing to risk sore feet and an even worse head - here’s my Flying Visit guide to the most intoxicating city on Earth.

#travelblogger #travelblogshare

www.someoneelsescountry.com/post/24-hour...

The food for sure but more so the number of parks and green spaces…enjoyable contrast to the coast and more barren mountains nearby.

Spent the week escaping to warmer weather…adding #Elche “Spain’s Oasis” to my list of new favourite European cities.

#traveladdicts #travelblogshare #travelblogger

The End of The World Tastes Like Pinot:  A Wine Tour of Central Otago, New Zealand - Food, Wine & Travel Phil Thomas embarks on a Central Otago Wine Tour through a landscape more commonly known for Lord of the Rings and outdoor adventure tourism.

Starting 2026 by saying bollocks to dry
January 🍷🇳🇿

The End of the World Tastes Like Pinot - new article for Food, Wine and Travel magazine

fwtmagazine.com/the-end-of-t...

#travelwriter #travelblogger #traveladdicts

That’s a good idea, suspect we’ll all need to start doing that soon

Final blog of 2025…obligatory look-forward but not the obvious ones!

12 Months, 12 Destinations: Where to go in 2026

Featuring 🇩🇿🇮🇸🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇦🇷🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇳🇴🇫🇴🇬🇪🇦🇱🇺🇸🇪🇸🇪🇪

Happy New Year and may your travels be epic in 2026!

#travelblogshare #travelblogger #traveladdicts

Three, Two, One...JUMP: Unusual European New Year Destinations If you think New Year’s Eve is just fireworks and tepid fizz, Europe is here to gently correct you.Across the continent, cities mark the turning of the year with rituals that are eccentric, communal a...

We all see the pictures of New Year in the big cities - fireworks, ball drops etc…

But some cities have more interesting quirks - from throwing furniture out the window to 8hr open air pub crawls.

New blog now live.

#traveladdicts #travelblogshare

www.someoneelsescountry.com/post/europea...

Wishing you all a very happy Christmas from across the miles 🎄🎅🏼🥂

Nailed it!

Losing access to the Erasmus scheme was one of the biggest - amongst many candidates - fuck ups of Brexit.

Ah fantastic, I’ll keep an eye out. One of my biggest regrets is not drinking coffee as I’ve heard how good the Guatemalan version is!

Going next year - saved blog for future reference. AMAZING pictures btw!

Love these!!

If winter has you hankering after longer days, how about perpetual daylight for four months of the year?

Welcome to Svalbard, the northernmost “visitable” place on Earth…

Latest piece for Wander With Wonder

www.wanderwithwonder.com/exploring-sv...

#travelwriter #travelblogger #traveladdict

Survive and Thrive: Five Tips for European Christmas Markets If you’ve ever imagined European Christmas markets as softly glowing winter wonderlands where snowflakes fall around you, mulled wine warms your hands, and crowds part like the Red Sea, allow me to of...

Tis the season for Christmas markets. All over Europe. Literally everywhere.

But how do you actually enjoy them without the requirement to sharpen your elbows to get anywhere near the Gluehwein?

New festive blog live

#travelblogger #travelblogshare

www.someoneelsescountry.com/post/tips-fo...

Austria says happy St Nicholas’ Day - mind the Krampus (who reimagins utterly terrifying!) 👹

#travelblogger #traveladdicts #froheweihnachten

Taking advantage of literally the only day of passable weather in the last three weeks to get out to lovely #Aldeburgh on the #suffolk coast.

Really should write some more UK content for the blog!

#travelblogger #traveladdicts

….and now I feel ancient 🫣

Although seeing Sister Bliss spin this at Glastonbury will always be one of my musical highlights.

Spent a couple of Thanksgivings stateside and nothing will compare to the views from Angel’s Landing in Zion NP - 2021 (two weeks after the borders opened!)

Happy Thanksgiving to all those celebrating 🦃

#travelscapes #traveladdicts #travelblogger

North Korea wants a word.

Because this will - of course - make up for the wholesale gutting of National Park budgets and laying off of skilled and knowledgeable staff…! 🙄

Another reason to pick Canada right now🇨🇦

English mayors will get new powers to levy tourist taxes - BBC News Mayors will be given the power to charge tourists a tax for staying overnight in their towns and cities.

Long overdue and all the evidence from Europe shows it makes no difference at all to visitor numbers.

That said…

1. It should be transparent where money from the tax is re-invested (the Canaries do this well)

2. No Vegas style 22% “resort fees” thanks very much.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...