A Guide To Airbnb - How To Find The Best Places To Stay

Even though I only used Airbnb for the first time back in March, I like to think that I've become very good at finding the best places to stay in, for the best prices and it'd be rude of me not to share some tips on how to do that, right? While I absolutely love staying in hotels, there's nothing quite like having your own apartment to stay in when travelling to a new city. It gives you the option for cook, and just generally gives you a lot more space than a regular hotel room would. Even better, if you're on a budget but still love travelling, you can pick to rent  a private room in a house or an apartment rather than an "entire place" like they call it on Airbnb and sometimes this can be up to a third cheaper than a hotel would be. You can read my first post about Airbnb and what we thought of our first experience here, and if you want some tips on how to find Airbnb gold, then just keep on reading. I must also preface this post by stating that nope, I'm not working with Airbnb to promote them (although I'd definitely love to do that), I just genuinely really love this way of finding accommodation for travelling.

1. Make Use Of The Filters

When you first use Airbnb it may be a little confusing as it just throws a big old list of places to stay at you. I always filter first, and then start to look through the list so that I'm not looking into apartments or rooms that don't have what I'm looking for. For example, if you're looking for a place to stay for 4 people, make sure you put that option into the bar of filters on the top of the screen. Or if you are on a budget, use the price filter to set how much you're willing to spend on a place to stay.  I will often go into the "More Filters" option and check options like "hairdryer" because no matter how light travel hairdryers are, I need that extra space in my suitcase, or "wifi" for obvious reasons. This helps to cut down on the list of places that are available for your trip and should help the decision process be a lot easier.

2. Use The Map To Your Advantage

As well as the list of accommodation, Airbnb also has a handy map on the right hand side of the screen that I always use to find the best places to stay. If you're looking to stay right in the middle of the city, make sure you zoom in on that area so that only the central places to stay are shown, or if there are a few sights that you want to see all in a particular area, you can use the map to choose an Airbnb that's closest to this area. The map can also be used in places like Croatia (which I'm currently researching for a possible trip) to find Airbnbs with amazing views of the sea, so it's definitely a good tool to use.

3. Superhosts Are Where It's At

We've only recently come across this tip but it's one that I would say is an essential if you want to have the best Airbnb experience. Superhosts are hosts that are highly rated, very responsive to messages, and a very reliable, so just all around good eggs. On the "More Filters" section there's a toggle you can click to only show Airbnbs from Superhosts so if it's your first time using Airbnb and you're a little sceptical as there are some horror stories out there, then I'd definitely click it just to have peace of mind. 

4. Always Read The Reviews

I'm sure this tip is a bit obvious but every time you stay in an Airbnb you have to leave a review afterwards and when I am looking up places to stay, I will always read a few of the reviews to get a good idea of what the Airbnb is actually like to stay in. Reviews are great for letting you know if the Airbnb is in a busy area, if there are any good cafes near by, how well the Airbnb actually fits the description given on the website etc. The apartment that we stayed in on our trip to Prague was chosen purely because of the reviews as lots of the people recommended the area for it being so close to public transport and also recommended the host as she provided a local travel guide which came in handy.

5. Self Check-In Makes Everything Easier

Another new discovery for us with Airbnb is self check-in which we had on our most recent trip to Gdańsk. Self check-in means that the Airbnb either has a key lockbox, smartlock, keypad, or that you can pick up a key from the building staff (which is what we did). I love this option because having to organise a specific time to pick up the keys with your Airbnb host can be a little stressful especially if you're trying to navigate a new city or if there are flight delays. Self check-in means you can arrive anytime you want (as long as it's after the designated check-in time) and you don't have to worry about keeping in contact with your host.

Those are the main tips I'd have that have helped me to find the Airbnbs that we've stayed in and so far we've stayed in some gorgeous apartments so my track record is pretty good! I know I probably sound like a broken record but honestly Airbnb is one of the best things I've ever discovered as it's allowed myself and Dara to travel to new cities without breaking the bank. For any of you who have never used Airbnb before, you can get €30 off your first trip if you sign up through this link and for every person who completes a trip using my link, I'll get €15 travel credit so it's a win win for all!

I hope this post was helpful to anyone who hasn't used Airbnb much before and of course if you have any more questions about it, just pop me a message. Thanks for reading!

A Guide To Airbnb - How To Find The Best Places To Stay

14.10.18

Our First Airbnb Experience - How We Found It & Would I Recommend It?

Over the past few years, Airbnb has become one of the most popular ways for travellers to find accommodation. The majority of the time it is actually cheaper to find an apartment on Airbnb than it is to book a hotel room in the city you want to visit. Despite it's popularity, I'd always been a little skeptical. I mean hotels have to keep to a certain standard right? Most reputable hotels have hundreds of reliable reviews on the likes of Tripadvisor, whereas I thought that with an Airbnb that you never really knew what it's going to be like until you arrived. 

I'm happy to say that our recent trip to Prague proved the preconceptions I had about Airbnb to be entirely wrong. Once we had decided that we'd love to visit Prague, we looked on Airbnb and found that there were lots of cheap options that would only cost around €250 for 4 nights, which was a hell of a lot cheaper than the hotels. With Airbnb you also have the option to search for entire apartments/houses or private rooms within a house/apartment.

We ended up booking a private room in an apartment for just €56 per night. 'Flashback to Louis 1896' caught our attention straight away not just for the amazing price, but also because it had a smart tv and we're absolute suckers for Netflix. Although it was a private room within an apartment, and I was a little worried at first about what it'd be like to be sharing an apartment with complete strangers, we decided to just go for it and I'm so glad we did.

The apartment was set up in a way so that each of the two Airbnb rooms had their own bathroom and the only thing shared was the kitchen. It turned out that we actually had the whole place to ourselves for most of the time, and we didn't even see the other couple that stayed in the other room for one night in the middle of our stay. We were only a few minutes walk from a tram line that could take us pretty much anywhere in the city (including directly to the castle) and the metro station was just a few minutes further than that. If you're thinking of visiting Prague and are looking for a lovely but still very affordable place to stay, I couldn't recommend 'Flashback to Louis 1896' enough!

We thoroughly enjoyed our first ever Airbnb experience, and of course while every Airbnb is going to be different, I thought I'd highlight some of the benefits of choosing an Airbnb over a hotel for anyone that was like me and a little dubious about using the service.

1. Often Airbnb hosts will provide you with lots of information about the local area and recommendations of places to eat and things to do that no amount of Googling would ever give you. Our host in Prague had a guestbook on Airbnb with pages and pages of recommendations so that we didn't really have to do much research for ourselves.
2. You can often find accommodation close to city centres without having to pay a lot more than you would if you were staying outside of the city, whereas hotels in city centres are always a lot more expensive.
3. You feel more at home when travelling. I'm not sure if that makes sense, but having the kitchen in the apartment in Prague meant we could prepare our own food and really settle into the city.
4. Airbnb hosts are often flexible and very helpful when it comes to checking in and out. Our flight home wasn't until the evening time, so I messaged our Airbnb host, Gabriela, and she said we could checkout whenever we wanted, all we had to do was drop the key in the letter box. This saved us dragging our suitcases around the city for our last day which was very much appreciated.
5. It's a great way to travel without breaking the bank. Like I mentioned before, Airbnb's are often a lot cheaper than hotels and if you can find a group of people to go with you could save even more. Obviously this does depend on how fancy you like your accommodation to be, but if you're willing to stay in more run of the mill places, you'll save a good bit of money.

I think we'll definitely opt for an Airbnb over hotels for lots more of our trips. I've currently been looking at a few places in Lisbon that look stunning but yet are still very affordable. It makes travelling so much more accessible when you don't have to pay over €100 per night for accommodation which really helps when you want to see as much of the world as possible!

For any of you who have never used Airbnb before, you can get €35 off your first trip if you sign up through this link and for every person who completes a trip using my link, I'll get €20 travel credit so it's a win win for all!

I hope you enjoyed reading this post and that it was helpful for anyone who was unsure of Airbnb! If you have any more questions about it just pop me a message on Instagram or Facebook and I'll be happy to answer them. Thanks so much for reading!

Our First Airbnb Experience - How We Found It & Would I Recommend It?

20.5.18

How I Travel On A Budget - 5 Tips That Have Helped Me Travel For Under €200 Per Trip

One of my most asked questions on Instagram is always about my tips on how to travel on a budget and just how I've been able to get most of the trips I've been on (Gdańsk, Prague and Bruges to name a few) for under €200 for at least 2-3 nights. I am finally getting round to writing this post with my top 5 tips and hopefully it'll be helpful for those of you who want to see the world, but don't fancy having to take out a loan every time you travel!

1. Do your research. 

My first tip is probably a very obvious one, but it's one that helps me save the most money. Each year I like to come up with a list of cities that I'd like to visit and then I hop onto Google and spend a few hours scoping each destination out. The most important things to take not of are when the location is busiest with tourists, because this will obviously affect flight and accommodation prices. Another thing I look up is the weather, because usually a trip will be cheaper if it's during the colder months, for example our trip to Budapest in February is working out very inexpensive because it'll still be quite cold and not everyone likes to travel to colder climates. Google Flights (the only website I ever use to find flights and to get flight price comparisons) also has a feature that lets you put in the dates you'd like to travel on and shows you the world map with the price of flights to pretty much every city in the world for those dates. This is another very handy way of finding out where is cheapest to travel to at certain times of the year.

2. Track your flights.

Like I mentioned above, Google Flights is the only website I use for finding flights. I know lots of people love other sites like Sky Scanner, or Kayak but for me personally I find Google Flights nice and straight forward to use. One of the best features I've found on there is the ability to turn on price tracking for a flight you're looking to book. I will never book a flight on the first day of researching it as flight prices go up and down all the time. I like to track the flight price for a week or so, and see if there is a trend in the price change. Each time there is a change, Google will send me an email and lots of the time this is how I get super cheap flights because I know straight away if there has been a price drop. There are lots of articles online with advice on which days/times of the day are cheapest to get flights, so that may be something to look into, but for me, I just stick with my price tracking on Google Flights.

3. Look into Airbnb as well as traditional hotels.

If you've read any of my previous posts about Airbnb or if you follow me on Instagram then you're probably sick of me harping on about Airbnb and how much I love it, but seriously, if you want to travel on a budget, Airbnb should be your first port of call. It's definitely where I've saved the most money for our trips, with our Airbnb in Prague only costing €56 per night (in quieter months it's only €35 per night) for an entire apartment which was half, if not a third of the price of hotels in Prague and we had so much more space than we would have had in a hotel room. I have a whole blog post about Airbnb and the tips I have called 'A Guide To Airbnb - How To Find The Best Places To Stay' so if you want any more info on Airbnb then definitely give that one a read. If you haven't used Airbnb before, you can get €30 off your first trip if you sign up through this link and for every person who completes a trip using my link, I'll get €15 travel credit so it's a win win for all! I'm not in anyway sponsored by Airbnb by the way, anyone can share their link with their friends to get them money off, and €30 is a nice little discount to get on already cheap accommodation!

4. Pack light.

What's the point in going to all the effort of getting cheap flights and accommodation if you're just going to pack way too much and pay what are in my opinion extortionate baggage fees for checked or overweight luggage? I always travel with just a carry on suitcase and a backpack/tote bag no matter where I'm going or how long I'm going for. If you pack smart, you really only need a small suitcase like a carry on anyway. I do have a two blog posts about my packing tips and how to pack light, one is called 'The Streamline Wardrobe - How To Pack Light' and the other is called 'How To Travel With Just A Carry On - Travel Tips & Tricks' so hopefully they will be helpful!

5. Plan your trip and budget.

The final tip I have is to plan your trip and budget accordingly. I'm a planner anyway so I love this part of organising a trip, but it really does help to save you money as well as time whilst you're exploring a new city. The first thing I'll do is research the general price of restaurant meals, if the city has any kind of transport cards that last for a couple of days (a great money saver) and if there are any tourist cards like the iAmsterdam card that will give you free or reduced entry to lots of attractions. Then I like to get a good idea of the restaurants we would like to try out and how much it'll cost, how much transport around the city will cost, and how much the attractions we'd like to visit and sight seeing we'd like to do will cost. That way, when I am actually on the trip, I won't be stressed about money at all and won't come home and realise that I've spent triple what I'd intended on spending. Of course I don't stick to the budget 100% of the time, because I am travelling and enjoying the experience, but it does help to have a fair idea before you go.

I hope these tips are in some way helpful and that they'll help you save some of your hard earned money on your future trips! As always if you've any extra questions, just pop me an email or an Instagram or Facebook DM and I'll get back to you. Thanks for reading!

How I Travel On A Budget - 5 Tips That Have Helped Me Travel For Under €200 Per Trip

11.1.19

Valencia Travel Guide - How To Spend 72 Hours In Valencia

Spain is the country I have visited the most, but I haven't really explored it all that much, so during our holiday to Murcia this year, Dara and I decided to take a little road trip up to Valencia and stay in an AirBnb for two nights. I'd heard brilliant things about Valencia, in particular the architecture in the city was supposedly stunning so I was very excited to explore the city and take it all in. It turned out to be a brilliant way to break up a two week holiday which may have gotten a bit monotonous and we totally fell in love with Valencia so I wanted to share what we got up to with you all.

Bluebell Coffee Co.

If you're into good coffee and cute little coffee shops with a nice relaxed vibe, you need to check out Bluebell Coffee Co. It was only a few minutes walk from our AirBnb and our hosts recommended it so highly to us that it was the first place we checked out when we got to Valencia. Obviously it was rather hot, especially in the city, so we went for the cold brew and I'm not being dramatic when I say that it was one of the best cold brews I've ever had. We also shared a slice of banana bread which was delicious. Bluebell Coffee Co. also serve food, but unfortunately we got there just a little after they had finished up the food for the day, but it'd be a great place to go for lunch!

Dulce de Leche Boutique Ruzafa

Another cafe that was just a few minutes away from our AirBnb in the Ruzafa area of Valencia was the Dulce de Leche Boutique. When I was doing a little research for our trip, this was one of the first places I found and I instantly knew it'd be my kind of heaven. The cakes and pastries they make on site each day make your mouth water as soon as you walk through the door, and I kind of wish we'd gone back there a second time! One of the best things about Dulce de Leche was that it was very reasonably priced. Dara and I ordered a lot of food for brunch, I had a fruit tart, a dulce de leche filled croissant, a freshly squeezed orange juice and a cold brew and Dara had a bagel with eggs, bacon and avocado, a ham and cheese croissant, a coffee and a freshly squeezed orange juice and the whole thing only came to €20!  

The VLC Mezcalería

Okay, I promise this is the last food recommendation I'll give you, but I can't help the fact that one of my favourite things about travelling is trying lots of new places to eat! Yet again, this restaurant/tequila bar was only up the road from where we were staying, so the Ruzafa area of Valencia is definitely one to consider when looking for accommodation, and it's totally a hidden gem. I absolutely love Mexican food and I love a good strong margarita and to my delight I got both, of very good quality at the VLC Mezcalería. I wouldn't call it a restaurant per se, more of a Mexican tapas bar if that makes sense? We ordered the guacamole which was divine, and the queso and chorizo which was equally as delicious. It was exactly what we wanted though, and my (very strong) margarita was only a fiver! 

The City of Arts & Sciences

Without a doubt The City of Arts & Sciences were what I was most excited about visiting in Valencia. It's a collection of stunningly designed buildings all with very different purposes and honestly it's quite the sight to behold. There is a performing arts centre and theatre, a science museum, a building that houses an IMAX screen called the Hemisfèric, and the Oceanogràfic which is easily one of the best (and biggest) aquariums I've ever been to. If you're thinking of visiting the City of Arts & Sciences, I would advise you to give yourself the entire day to explore it all. We paid to go into the Science museum and the Oceanogràfic and it was €30 each for the combined ticket, but you don't have to pay to walk around and look at the buildings. We did really enjoy the Oceanogràfic despite the ticket prices being a little steep, it's a huge aquarium park and most of the tanks are actually underground so it's a nice break from the heat.

Ateneo Sky Bar Restaurant

If you want one of the best views in Valencia, the Ateneo Sky Bar is the place to go. We found it very hard to find, and Google maps was absolutely no use so asking someone on the street is your best bet. We did have to pay a €3 each entrance fee which I thought was a bit silly since we were buying drinks anyway but I guess they have to capitalise on the view they offer. The cocktails were very strong (I swear that's not just the lightweight in me talking) and the view of Plaça de l'Ajuntament was stunning, especially as the sun was setting.

Our AirBnb

We stayed in a gorgeous apartment in the Ruzafa area of Valencia that I found on AirBnb (which is becoming my favourite way to find accommodation). It was our first time sharing an AirBnb with the owners so I was a little nervous but Paula and Marino were so welcoming and friendly and had so many helpful tips and recommendations for the city. They also have two of the most beautiful cats I've ever had the pleasure of meeting and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay. You can sign up to AirBnb using this link (just click anywhere on this sentence) if you'd like €30 off your first AirBnb stay.

As you can tell, we really loved Valencia and honestly I wish we'd had an extra day or two to explore more of the city, especially 'The River' which is now full of gorgeous parks. One of my biggest tips for the city is that the public transport is very cheap (only €1.50 for the bus, no matter how far in the city you are going), so instead of wasting time, and melting in the heat, I'd definitely make use of that.

I hope this post is helpful to any of you who are visiting Valencia soon, or thinking of taking a trip there. Thanks so much for reading!

Valencia Travel Guide - How To Spend 72 Hours In Valencia

3.7.18

Top 10 Places To Stay In Ireland This Summer - Irish Staycation Recommendations

Summer 2020 might not be everything we'd hoped for/imagined, lots of us won't be travelling abroad like we had planned to, but all is not lost! We're very lucky to live on such a beautiful island with the most gorgeous beaches, mountains and lakes. Today I thought I would share some of my top picks of places to stay on the island of Ireland in case any of you are looking to get away for a bit of a 'staycation' this year (trust me, I don't like that phrase either, but it is very apt isn't it?). 

Top 10 Places To Stay In Ireland This Summer - Irish Staycation Recommendations

9.6.20

Paris Travel Guide - What To Do, Where To Eat & Where We Stayed

Back in October, Dara and I finally took a trip to Paris, and it was everything I'd ever dreamed of. Paris for me was always one of my dream cities to visit, but one I'd just never gotten round to actually visiting. Before our trip, I was slightly worried that it might just be a very over hyped destination, and that we'd find it too touristy with not enough soul, but luckily it was the opposite of that, and it truly is one of the most enchanting cities I've ever visited!

Paris Travel Guide - What To Do, Where To Eat & Where We Stayed

2.2.20

Gdańsk Travel Guide - What To Do & Where To Eat

Poland is a country I've always wanted to visit, but never really knew what to expect. Last week, myself and Dara visited Gdańsk for the first time and let me tell you, when I say it was nothing like I had imagined, I mean that in the best way possible. There are so many reasons as to why I loved Gdańsk, from how cheap the food was, to how gorgeous the city is and how friendly the people were. We loved it so much that we're now dying to visit lots of the other Polish cities with Kraków being top of the list. If you've ever thought of visiting Gdańsk and want to know more, or if you already have a trip to this gorgeous city planned and want some inspo, then in today's post I'm going to share where we ate and what we did, so I hope you enjoy!

Where We Stayed

First of all I'm going to share the link to the gorgeous Airbnb that we stayed in because it was such a bargain (only €53 a night including the service fee) and so many of you wanted to know the details. You can find the apartment here and if you're looking to book a trip to Gdańsk I couldn't recommend it enough. We were just a few minutes walk to the centre of the Old Town, an even shorter walk to the World War II museum and about a 10 minute walk from Gdańsk's train station. You can also sign up to Airbnb through this link to get €30 off your first trip which is always handy!

 Where We Ate

If you've been following me for a while, or have read any of my other travel blog posts then you'll know that I love to experience different countries and cultures by eating ALL of the food (any excuse, right?). Much to my delight, food in Gdańsk was seriously cheap. We're talking less than €20 for a meal for myself and Dara, including alcoholc drinks. Most of the time in Ireland it'd be €20 for just one person so we were delighted! Not only was it cheap, the food in Gdańsk was delicious too.

1. Original Burger

The first restaurant I found whilst researching places to eat for our trip was Original Burger. If you look a good burger, and even better fries, then I'd definitely check this place out. It was only €6.50 for a burger with two sides and it was absolutely delicious. The desserts looked incredible too but sadly I was way too full after my main course which is a very rare occurrence! It was so good that we almost went back on our last day in the city but we knew we needed to try some of the pierogi (Polish dumplings) so had to give it a miss.

2. Pierogina Mandu Centrum

Like I mentioned above, we really wanted to try pierogi, which are basically dumplings stuffed with all kinds of things. I didn't know if I'd like them or not, but now as I write this post, the cravings I have for them is unreal! Pierogina Mandu has a huge menu, with both sweet and savory pierogi to choose from. I also ordered their baked pierogi too as our waitress said this particular one tasted like a hamburger and I kid you not, it tasted exactly like a Big Mac and I was fascinated. In hindsight we should have just ordered 2 plates to share as the traditional pierogi come with 10 dumplings and the baked ones came with 8. We were so full after our main course that again, we couldn't possibly fit in any of the sweet pierogi but I guess I'll just have to go back to Poland to try them!

3. Manekin
This restaurant is a little bit outside of the city but right near a train station so we went there for lunch on our way out to Sopot. Before I get into what we thought of the food, I will mention that we waited a long, long time for our food to arrive, which wasn't ideal as we were starving and wanted to get out to the beach. It was super busy and when we were leaving there was a queue for about 10 people waiting to be seated, so do keep that in mind if you want to try it out. With that being said, the food was incredible. Manekin is basically a pancake restaurant, they have every single type of pancake imaginable, with savoury options as well as sweet. I ordered the lasange pancake and it was delicious and then for dessert I had the apple fudge pancakes which very nearly put me into a food coma. Again it was very cheap, only €18 for the both of us and we both had a main and dessert as well as a couple of drinks!

 What We Did

1. Climbed To The Top Of The St. Mary Church Tower

For some reason, every time Dara and I travel somewhere new, we always find a tall tower of some sort to climb to the top of. After climbing to the top of the St. Mary's Church tower, I have now decided that I am not doing this anymore as I am way to afraid of heights. The view was absolutely stunning, and if you're not afraid of heights by all means go for it. If you are a bit nervous, I actually wouldn't recommend this one as the last section of the stairs to the top just felt so dodgy and I ended up having a mild panic attack which wasn't ideal. It is a killer leg workout though, but yeah, my tower climbing days are over.

2. AmberSky Wheel

Lots of people recommended that we check out Gdańsk's version of the London Eye and I'm glad we did because the view was amazing, especially as we went just as the sun was setting. It was only €12.99 for the two of us and it lasted for about 15 minutes. Obviously with me being a total scaredy cat, I was a little nervous especially when it stopped to let someone on and we were at the top, but I mean it was a brilliant way to see the city so it was worth it. It's just across the river from the Old Town and right next to the PURO hotel which has an amazing roof top bar so it's the perfect excuse to go for a nice, relaxing glass of wine afterwards!

 3. Museum of the Second World War
Visiting this museum was one of the things Dara really wanted to do whilst in Gdańsk and while it was of course very sad, and hard to read and see lots of the terrible events that occurred during World War II, it was a fantastic museum and very interesting to walk around. There was some kind of offer on so that it was half price admission which was 20 złoty (about €4.60) for the both of us. I must admit that it was upsetting at points to learn about the awful details of the suffering imposed by Hitler on the Polish people but the museum presented all of the information so well, and in lots of different formats such as videos, photos, displays of artefacts and even mock streets of what Poland would have looked like in the 1930s, that I would really recommend checking it out.

 4. A Day Trip To Sopot
Since Sopot, a cute town on shores of the Baltic sea, is only a 20 minute train journey from Gdańsk, we thought it'd be rude not to check it out. The beach was gorgeous and there's a huge pier that you can walk down and what looked like some sort of pirate ship at the end of it that I think you can go out on. If you're visiting Gdańsk for a couple of days and want a break from the city, then a day trip out to Sopot is a brilliant idea and the best part is you can stop off and get pancakes in Manekin!

So there we have it, that's what we got up to and where we ate on our trip to Gdańsk. If you have anymore questions about this wonderful city then just pop me a message either on Facebook or Instagram and hopefully I can answer them. Thanks so much for reading!

Gdańsk Travel Guide - What To Do & Where To Eat

10.10.18

Prague Travel Guide - Where To Eat

One of my absolute favourite things about exploring new places is trying out lots of the local cafes and restaurants and having an excuse to eat ALL of the food. I actually tend to judge a city by the quality of the places there are to eat at, and Prague is one of those cities I'd happily go back to purely for the food alone. There were countless trendy cafes to eat in, with endless brunch options (which is my idea of heaven) and we found the food was a little bit cheaper compared to what you'd pay here in Ireland. Today I want to share with you some of the places that we ate in whilst in Prague as there are some real gems to be found. 

1. IF Cafe at Tylovo Square

This gorgeous cafe was just a few minutes walk from our Airbnb (which you can read more about here) and it came highly recommended by our host Gabriela. They make all of their cakes right in front of you and I could honestly have eaten here every single day of our trip. They had some delicious breakfast options, and I of course went for the avocado on toast which was so good. The coffee was excellent too, and I'd consider myself somewhat of a coffee snob (I know, how pretentious of me) and they had a lot of different coffee drinks available. There are a few IF Cafe's dotted around the city and I think they're definitely worth checking out.

2. The Trdelnik from Good Food

Whilst doing a bit of researching for our trip on Instagram, I came across a few pictures of these wonderful looking ice-cream dessert things and knew that that getting my hands on one would be my first mission once I got to Prague. A trdelnik is "made from rolled dough that is wrapped around a stick, then grilled and topped with sugar and walnut mix", but I really don't think that does it justice. We got our from Good Food, which is right near Charles Bridge and they had so many different flavours. Dara went for a brownie concoction and I had a delicious chocolate orange flavour. These trdelniks also have melted chocolate inside so it's almost like a giant, very filling cornetto and talking about them right now is making my mouth water!

 3. Cantina - Mexican Restaurant

Mexican food is without a doubt my absolute favourite and I could eat tacos and burritos until I burst. After we'd visited the Petřín Lookout Tower we were starving, so we had a quick look on Google maps to see what was closest and what looked good and we came across Cantina. I ordered chicken tacos and Dara had a burrito and both were delicious. We also had nachos to start but of course we inhaled those before I got a chance to take a photo. If you love Mexican food, and a good strong margaritta, Cantina is definitely one to check out.

4. Grosetto

Grosetto was another restaurant we found through Google maps. We'd had a long day of exploring the city and the pizza place we'd planned on going to had actually closed down. Grosetto definitely didn't disappoint, serving delicious authentic Italian pizza. They won my heart instantly by serving us bread, garlic butter and olive oil whilst we looked at the menu and grated parmesan was readily available, so what more could you want? Each of our pizzas were around €7 which I thought was very reasonable for such a big, good quality pizza.

 5. Venue

I've saved the best for last with this one. Venue was somewhere a few people on Instagram had recommended to me and I didn't think we'd get a chance to try it, but on our last day we had a few hours to kill and popped in for brunch. Venue seems to be extremely popular and almost always has a queue for tables, but we were lucky and got in just before the rush. They had so many dishes that I wanted to try but in the end I went for their chicken and waffles which came with a sweet and spicy syrup and I ordered their buttermilk pancakes under the pretence that I'd share them with Dara but of course I ate most of them. The staff were so lovely in Venue too which is worth noting because we found that people in Prague were a bit abrupt at times.

Wow, writing this post has made me extremely hungry! I hope you enjoyed reading about the places we ate at in Prague, and if you ever try any of them out, please do let me know. Thanks so much for reading! 

Prague Travel Guide - Where To Eat

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