About Us

Hey, I’m Tim

I run Travels Off The Cuff and I write all the guides on here. I travel with my partner Daniel, and between us we’ve been to over 50 countries in the last 10-odd years.

I’m originally from the UK, but I’ve lived in Vietnam, Syria, and Chile at various points. I got hooked on travel after my first backpacking trip at 19 and haven’t really stopped since.

Most of what I write about now is European travel, particularly Italy, France, and Belgium. I’ve been to Italy three times now and I’m already planning the next trip.

Why I started Travels off the Cuff

I’m not much of a planner. Daniel and I would land somewhere, have a rough idea of what we wanted to see, and then spend half the day working out how to actually get there.

After doing that enough times, I realised there’s a gap between the glossy travel content you find online and what you actually need when you’re standing at a bus stop trying to figure out which one goes to the old town. I wanted practical stuff – which tram to take, how much the ferry costs, where to go that isn’t rammed with tourists.

On that note, I also wanted to encourage people to get off the beaten path and really see the places they go. So many tourists go to a place to take a picture in front of because ‘that’s what you do’, not because they’re interested in it. If that’s how you want to travel then that’s fine, but I wanted to help show another way that you might want to consider.

So I started writing it down in Travels Off The Cuff. Every guide is based on trips I’ve actually taken, and I check everything against local sources before I publish.

What you’ll find here

Mostly European travel – city breaks, itineraries, day trips, that sort of thing. I go heavy on the practical detail because that’s what I always wished I’d had when I was planning. It’s fine saying you can get the train from the airport, but if you land and don’t know how to buy a ticket or even find the train station, it’s not very helpful.

I also write about sustainable travel (trains over planes where possible), food and drink worth going out of your way for, and places that aren’t in every other travel blog.

Daniel and I like mixing cities with the countryside – wondering round an old town one day, then renting bikes and heading somewhere rural the next.

Where I write about

My guides focus on destinations I’ve visited myself. Here’s where I’ve spent the most time and built the deepest knowledge:

🇮🇹 Italy: Three visits and counting. I write about Rome, Florence, Venice, Cinque Terre, the Italian Lakes, and more. Lots on train travel, itineraries, and finding the good stuff away from the crowds. See my Italy guides →

🇫🇷 France: Lyon, Marseille, Nice, Provence, the Côte d’Azur – and how to get there by Eurostar from the UK. Good food features heavily. See my France guides →

🇧🇪 Belgium: Bruges, Ghent, Brussels, Antwerp. We keep going back. Great beer, great architecture, and easy to do as a long weekend from the UK. See my Belgium guides →

🇵🇹 Portugal: Lisbon, Porto, and the rest. Great food, gorgeous buildings, and probably the best-value travel in Western Europe. See my Portugal guides →

I also write about Malta, Romania, and other European destinations as Daniel and I explore them.

Why you can trust my advice

I’m not a professional travel journalist. I’ve got a normal 9-to-5 and I squeeze in travel around it, so I know what it’s like to plan a trip on limited time and a real budget.

Everything on here is based on places I’ve actually been. I don’t get paid to recommend hotels or restaurants, and while I use affiliate links to help pay for the site, they don’t affect what I write. More on that in my content policy.

People have used my guides to plan 10-day Italy trips, work out where to go in the South of France, and find the bits of Bruges and Brussels that aren’t wall-to-wall tourists.

Other travellers have used our tips to navigate Antwerp’s trams, explore Italy’s countryside, and find quieter corners of Bruges and Brussels. We’ve also contributed to collaborative travel posts and been part of online travel communities that share accurate, trustworthy advice.

How I travel

Slowly, and without much of a plan. Daniel and I prefer trains over planes when we can, local places over tourist traps, and wandering over schedules. You’re more likely to find us working out a local bus route or having one too many in the sun than queuing for the right Instagram angle.

I try to be thoughtful about the impact of travel too – taking greener transport, eating locally, and steering clear of places that are already struggling with too many visitors.

Say hello

Got a question, a tip, or just want to chat about travel? Drop me a message.

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Thanks for reading my blog!