ABOUT ME

Hiya

My name is Caroline and I’m the travel writer and photographer behind Pack The Suitcases.

I’m a 30-something woman based in the North West of England. I currently live in Stockport/Cheshire but I’m originally from near Liverpool and I’ve lived in other towns around the North West too. 

I started Pack The Suitcases in 2016 as a creative hobby and now it gets over 70,000 readers a month, from all over the world. More on that further down this page…

Travel blogging is not my main job. I work full time as a copy editor in a Civil Service organisation, which I adore. I get paid to fix grammar all day. The dream! Unlike most part-time bloggers, I have no intention of leaving my main career to blog full time.

When I’m not travelling or blogging about it, I’m riding. I’ve had horses since I was tiny and I live and breathe all things equestrian. My horse is my escape.

I eat the same breakfast every day of my life: crumpets with Marmite. The one downside to travelling is having to find an alternative…

I’m often asked what my favourite countries to visit are. The answer is: Japan, Russia, Portugal, Scotland and Sweden. My least favourite is Spain.

How did I get into blogging?

I started this travel-blogging malarkey back in May 2016. My other half and I had just got home from our honeymoon and I sat there thinking ‘So what now?!’.

Basically, I needed a project to fill the void after our wedding happened, which meant that three years of wedding planning was suddenly over. So I bought a fancy camera and started writing about my travels. One of my early blog posts went viral and I must have loved all the online abuse that came with it because the rest, as they say, is history. 

I’ve always enjoyed boring friends and family about my travels. However, I still find it baffling that strangers on the internet apparently also quite like hearing about them. But they do! I’ve somehow ended up with 70,000+ of you a month reading this blog.

If you’re a tourist board or travel brand, you can see my work with me page for more info on working with me.

Enjoyed my blog or used it to plan a trip?

If you’ve used my blog to plan a trip and want to say thanks, you can buy me a drink. 

What kind of travel do I write about?

European city breaks are the ‘bread and butter’ of my travel, especially Madeira, as well as local UK breaks. But I’m lucky enough to have friends in Japan so really specialise in that too.

• I don’t do all-inclusive, package holidays, packing light, super luxury, or roughing it. I never drive abroad and try to avoid it here in the UK too. I’m allergic to any kind of ‘outdoorsy’ stuff (apart from walking and horse riding). I don’t see the point of splurging all your spends on a super swanky hotel when you’re only going to sleep there. As long as it has a decent shower and a well-placed plug socket for hair straighteners, I’m happy.
• I do do spending far too much on new outfits for the trip (but I always manage to pack the suitcase successfully – see what I did there? Ha). I usually stay in apartments or mid-range hotels. I love cramming in loads of off-the-beaten-track exploring, getting some culture with museums/galleries, finding pretty spots and cobbled streets, visiting gardens, eating ALL THE FOOD, trying local craft beer, and doing day trips on trains. Bloody love a good coastal train journey. Bonus points if it has a nice village pub at the end of it. 

Say hello

You can get in touch with me by email or at various online places listed below. If you’re a tourist board or something interested in working with me, please visit my work with me page.

• Facebook @packthesuitcases
• Twitter @packthesuitcase
• Instagram @packthesuitcases
• Pinterest @packthesuitcases.

Countries I’ve visited

“Think about a new destination
If you think you need inspiration
Roll out the map and mark it with a pin“

As you can see, I’ve not blogged everywhere I’ve been… yet.

1. England – I live here (unfortunately) so have seen a lot of it. I’ve lived all over the place in the North West, but ‘home’ cities are Liverpool and Stockport. I love Kirkby Lonsdale for weekends away.
2. Scotland – Dumfries & Galloway area – Kirkcudbright and around it, Edinburgh, North Berwick
3. Isle of Man – all over the island. Note: it’s not part of the UK.
4. Germany – Munich, Berlin, Stuttgart, Landsberg am Lech, Hamburg, Lubeck
5. The Czech Republic/Czechia – Prague
6. Bulgaria – Sofia
7. The Netherlands – Amsterdam
8. Portugal – Madeira, Lisbon, Sintra, Porto, Guimaraes, Mertola, Tavira, Faro, Braga, Setúbal.
9. Austria – Salzburg, Vienna
10. France – Paris, Nice, Cannes, Nimes, Bordeaux, Strasbourg 
11. Wales – Not for ages, though!
12. Belgium – Bruges, Ostend
13. Spain – Gran Canaria, Valencia, Malaga, Bilbao, Valladolid, Segovia, Cordoba, Zaragoza, Barcelona, Madrid, Almunecar, A Coruña, Tenerife
14. Italy – Rome, Milan, Trieste, Brescia, Venice, Burano, Florence, Siena, Lucca
15. Vatican City – It counts…
16. Denmark – Copenhagen
17. Sweden – Stockholm, Gothenburg, Branno, Malmo
18. Monaco – It also counts!
19. Norway – Bergen
20. Iceland – Reykjavik
21. Japan – Tokyo, Kyoto, Matsumoto, Kanazawa, Itoigawa, Naoshima, Himeji, Kobe, Nara, Osaka, Takamatsu, Miyajima, Oshima, Karuizawa, Hiroshima, Okayama, Kochi, Izu, Nagano, Maebashi, Kobuchizawa, and generally all over Japan
22. Ireland – Dublin, but not since childhood
23. Malta – Valletta, Mdina, Gozo, Golden Bay, Sliema
24. Slovenia – Lake Bled, Maribor, Ljubljana
25. Croatia – Split, Dubrovnik, Korcula, Samobor, Zagreb
26. USA – San Francisco, Boston, Rockport, Salem, Berkley
27. Romania – Brasov, Bucharest, Bran
28. Russia – Moscow, St Petersburg
29. Greece – Santorini, Naxos, Mykonos.
30. Switzerland – Lucerne.
31. Slovakia – Bratislava.
32. Vietnam – Hanoi.
33. Thailand – Chiang Mai, Phuket Town, Rawai, Kata 
34. Qatar – Doha
35. Türkiye – Istanbul.