About Almost Landing

Hi, we’re Mandy and Chris. 

Welcome to Almost Landing. A space we created to share our travels with other travel lovers and life dreamers. A place where you can come to get tried and tested recommendations to plan your own incredible trip.

You can expect to find lots of tips about the best places to eat in each destination, the best locations and accommodations to stay at, travel itineraries, travel guides, the best things to do and more travel tips. 

Our travel blog first began in 2013, so you can imagine a few things have changed over the years. But some things have always stayed true.

Our love for travel and exploring. Now we have a chance to rediscover everything with a toddler!

How freeing it is to pack light. We travelled carry-on only for 4 years of full-time travel. Now this looks a little different, but we still try to pack as light as possible. We may now pack a travel pram and travel cot… but we have the light compact versions ;)

That food is an experience, not just a meal. And it’s more than just the delicious taste of the food too. It’s the neighbourhoods a restaurant takes you to that you would have otherwise missed. It’s the people you meet and chat with over food. It’s the atmosphere and smells in the air. It’s another layer of culture you get to discover. 

Our appreciation of slow travel. We love the deep connection you form with a place if you give it a little more time to take it in.

And that the location of where you stay and your accommodation can really enhance your trip. Waking up in a neighbourhood where you can’t wait to get outside, being able to walk to things, how easy it is to get around.

It could be an apartment in a local neighbourhood where you can go to the markets and cook and say hi to your neighbours. It could be a central area that makes exploring easy. It could be a luxury hotel when you feel like treating yourself. Or a small family-run hotel where you will remember your interactions as one of the best parts of your trip. Whatever it is, accommodation is so much more than just a place to sleep. 

So why read our travel tips and experiences?

All blog posts are written by us, from places we have been to and experienced firsthand. 

All photos are taken by us (with the exception of some hotels where credit is given). 

All the travel tips we share with you are from our personal experiences, along with our honest opinions, to help you decide what’s right for you. 

We have travelled full-time for 4 years. We have no idea the number of countries we have been to. But with our love of slow travel, we have spent a lot of time in the places we have been. This means we don’t just write about everything we do, see and eat. We select only our favourite things from our time in each place, so you get a curated list. 

Many of our posts include maps to help you visualise where things are and plan your itinerary. Along with free downloads with lists of recommendations that you can save on your phone. 

Many of our posts have our travel videos embedded, showing you exactly what we did and loved if you prefer to watch. 

Here’s our story…

Today we are based in Australia and travel as much as we can from here. This year, that looked like 2.5 months in Europe and some trips within Australia. And now we travel with our toddler Clara too, which is actually even more fulfilling than we ever could have imagined. 

But where did this all begin?

We started this travel blog a few years before we started travelling full-time. We loved writing about our travels and thought sharing our experiences could help others plan their trips. We always had a yearning to make travel our full-time job and have the freedom to explore the world at the same time. 

Then a few years later, at the end of 2015, we made the exciting decision to leave Australia for a year of travel. We slowly explored different countries within Asia and Europe. And this then turned into 4 years of full-time travel, filled with beautiful moments, interactions, places, food and memories that will last forever. 

We loved travelling full-time, but also love having a base and travelling from there. So we know and love both sides of travelling. 

Throughout all the years and changes, travel has remained a constant love. Our happy place.

A place where magic happens. And the mundane feels exhilarating (are we the only ones that love a supermarket visit in a different country?).

Where you get to feel like a kid again. Seeing things for the first time. Learning the simple things like how to buy a bus ticket, or cross the road.

Having complete conversations with others through only gestures and smiles and shared experiences.

And now it’s a place where we get to see our daughter discover all these things too. And see her laugh, chat and play with people from all over the world.

The world is a beautiful place and we are so grateful we have the opportunity to explore it. And we are so excited to share this with you and hopefully help you plan your travels too. 

Why Almost Landing?

It’s that time when the plane’s about to land, and exciting possibilities await. New adventures, time to explore and discover new things. And that’s how we feel about life too, there’s always more to learn, discover, do.

Say Hello…

You can reach us in the blog comments or by email.

Find us on social media here: Youtube | Instagram | Pinterest

Almost Landing Bali

We love to travel, and one of the places we go often is Bali. We have another blog dedicated to planning your trip to Bali at AlmostLanding-Bali.com.