As a child my parents always took us on adventurous holidays, from hiking in Austria and Norway, to a self-guided canoeing trip through the rural, remote and wilderness areas of Sweden. During my childhood years I got to see a fair bit of Europe.
My mum is a Kiwi, so I grew up with stories about her homeland New Zealand. Ever since I was young, I have always been intrigued about the Land of the Long White Cloud. So when I was given the opportunity to do my graduation assignment in Christchurch, New Zealand, I grabbed that chance with both hands and made it my first overseas travel experience in 2010. I lived and worked in New Zealand for 6 months and got to see quite a bit of that beautiful country.
During these 6 months I caught the ‘travel bug’. I felt the urge to travel the world and explore new places, but not alone this time, but with my boyfriend Remy. We got to see some beautiful places in the years that followed, and made more and more travels each year.
It was the Summer of 2012 when we were planning our five week New Zealand and Australia trip for early 2013, when we got the crazy idea to get married in New Zealand during that trip. That crazy idea turned into plans, and while travelling through New Zealand, in between sightseeing the North Island, we got married at one of the most beautiful beaches of the Coromandel.
From seeing the Northern Lights in Tromsø to celebrating New Year’s Eve in Dubai and Berlin, from snorkeling both the Great Barrier Reef and the Ningaloo Reef to doing the Cage of Death in Darwin, from the Big Buddha in Hong Kong to the Table Mountain in Cape Town, and from the most beautiful nature and spotting orca’s in Western Canada to the city that never sleeps New York, we have been very lucky these past few years, but still have a never ending bucketlist to go through.
I joined team Traveltomtom in July 2018. The international focus of Traveltomtom is what got me excited. By joining Traveltomtom my articles with our experiences and tips would reach a large and international audience. I get really enthusiastic about travelling and with over 8 years of travel experience I think I can help other travelers by answering questions they may have and create their dream trip.
Curious to what destinations and travels we have lined up for the year ahead? Keep following our travels through this website or via my own Instagram Travelashie.
Feel free to contact me at ashley@traveltomtom.net if you have any questions!
Find below Ashley's latest articles for Traveltomtom
The London Pass | Is it worth it?
Traveling, discovering and exploring new places is one of our favorite things to do. City trips are perhaps our most favorite type of travel. We love to travel to a city for two or three days and fully explore every inch of that city.
Almost every city now offers one or more city passes to explore the city. We recently travelled to London and used the London Pass to explore the city during our stay.
Val di Fiemme | Ultimate Summer Outdoor Destination in Dolomites
The Dolomites are easily one of our favorite destinations in Europe. Not only in Winter for the endless ski and snowboard opportunities, but also in Summer with lots of outdoor activities.
Previously we visited the South Tyrol part of the Dolomites. This trip we traveled a big part of South Tyrol again, however we also wanted to explore the Trentino part of the Dolomites. After thorough research into which region we wanted to discover the most, we ultimately chose Val di Fiemme. It turned out to be the best choice we could have made. We had good weather, which of course played a major role, but what an incredibly cool destination Val di Fiemme is.
Schloss Hotel Korb | Fairytale Stay in the Dolomites
Magical, fairytale-like, unique, special, straight out of a movie, just a few words and feelings that immediately come to mind when I think back about our stay at Schloss Hotel Korb in Italy.
Imaging traveling the Dolomites, days and days of amazing mountain scenery. Then you travel on towards the wine region of the Dolomites. You pass the city of Bolzano and start winding through one vineyard after another. Your navigation says: 'turn right' and there it is, this impressive and authentic 13th Century castle that rises proudly above the vineyards and overlooks Bolzano and the mountains.
Chic San Candido Boutique Hotel Since 1745 | Orso Grigio
A small but very chic hotel in the center of San Candido. A hotel with a long and rich history, where the building has always functioned as accommodation since the early beginning. A hotel with a prime location for an amazing holiday in the Dolomites. Of course we're talking about Boutique & Gourmet Hotel Orso Grigio in San Candido.
Boutique & Gourmet Hotel Orso Grigio is a boutique luxury hotel with a prime location in San Candido. The hotel offers only 28 rooms in various styles and sizes. The rooms include a modern design. Charm and intimacy are key elements in all of their 28 rooms.
LEVEL8 - Capture Carry-On | Review
Just recently LEVEL8 asked us if we wanted to test their newest arrival, the Capture Carry-On. A pleasant surprise, as this is not a hard suitcase but a soft sided one. We normally don't travel with soft sided suitcases, however this Capture Carry-On could change things here. Just like all the others, this LEVEL8 suitcase also lives up to the high expectations.
LOWA Fortux GTX (Ws) | Review
For a bucket list trip to Lapland we got in touch with LOWA for the first time. Back then they provided us with their best winter boots. A great start to an even better collaboration with LOWA.
After this first experience LOWA even asked me if I was interested in walking the Nijmegen Four Day Marches on their behalf. And so I did in 2023 with their special Nijmegen Marches boots.
In fact, we are considering taking up the challenge of the Nijmegen Four Days Marches again in 2025.
LEVEL8 Hegent Carry On Review
We previously reviewed and tested some LEVEL8 suitcases to great satisfaction. Whenever we travel now, one of the suitcases we like to use are LEVEL8 as we simply like their quality and comfort.
The partnership between LEVEL8 and Traveltomtom started with reviewing the Full Aluminum Carry On and the Luminous Trunk Luggage. These were very quickly followed by a set of the amazing Voyageur Collection. Most recently we also received their Freeloop Carry On.
Discover Europa-Park & Rulantica | Europe's Ultimate Theme Park in Germany
Have you ever heard of Europa-Park? I think there is a good chance you have never heard of it or have only vaguely heard of it. I had heard of Europa Park, but actually didn't really know it at all. I had no idea what to expect and I am still amazed after visiting both, Europa-Park and Rulantica.
Europa-Park is Germanys largest and Europe’s second largest theme park. It’s located in the Black Forest in the South of Germany, close to the borders of France and Switzerland.
LEVEL8 – Freeloop Carry On Review
We previously reviewed and tested some LEVEL8 suitcases to great satisfaction. Whenever we travel now, we use LEVEL8 gear as we simply like their quality and comfort.
The partnership between LEVEL8 and Traveltomtom started with reviewing the Full Aluminum Carry On and the Luminous Trunk Luggage. These were very quickly followed by a set of the amazing Voyageur Collection.
Everything You Need to Know Before Visiting Levi in Winter
As you probably already know, the Traveltomtom team is a huge fan of Finnish Lapland. Our first introduction to Lapland was the bucket list destination of Rovaniemi. But, we soon discovered that Lapland is more than just Rovaniemi. Just recently we traveled to Lapland again and after our trip to Rovaniemi we visited the leading ski resort in Finland, Levi!
In this blog we will take you with us on our trip exploring this iconic place to visit in Lapland and we will tell you everything you need to know before visiting Levi in winter. Here is your complete travel guide with all our Levi travel tips.