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
Amsterdam Must Do | A’DAM LOOKOUT
Amsterdam is one of our favorite cities in the world and it also happens to be the capital of our own country. For us it is always an easy and fun city trip. So also recently when we discovered Amsterdam in a completely different way from the A'DAM LOOKOUT.
Pullman Eindhoven Cocagne | Five Star Experience
We recently visited the city of Eindhoven in the South of the Netherlands. We were of course looking for the perfect accommodation for our recent city trip to Eindhoven. We think we found this at the Hotel Pullman Eindhoven Cocagne. We stayed there for two nights and from there discovered the city of Eindhoven. We are happy to tell you everything about this hotel!
As you know by now, location is our most important factor when choosing a hotel. That was obviouslyno different for Eindhoven.
Hof van Saksen | Five Star Family Holiday Park in Drenthe
We recently had the opportunity to discover and experience one of the most beautiful holiday parks in the Netherlands. Although we don't usually visit holiday parks, we didn't want to miss this opportunity. In fact, some of the most amazing places to visit in The Netherlands are in the immediate vicinity of the park which made us extra enthusiastic.
Dinner in Motion | Most Unique Dining in the Netherlands
Just recently we visited the vibrant city of Eindhoven again. Eindhoven is known as a creative and innovative city. The city has many creative entrepreneurs and unique and innovative initiatives. One of these unique and new concepts is Dinner in Motion. We were lucky that we were able to join Dinner in Motion for an amazing night out in Eindhoven and enjoy this special culinary experience.
Umami by Han | Culinary Excellence in Eindhoven
Travel and culinary experiences often go hand in hand. For us that's the case anyway. Special travel memories are often linked to culinary experiences you had in a destination. We always look forward to new destinations, also to try and experience the local food. On the other hand, food can also be the reason to return to destinations.
We recently visited Eindhoven, a city in the south of the Netherlands, also called the city of lights. We had a special culinary experience here that we would like to share with you. So keep reading and mark this blog for your next visit to Eindhoven and the Netherlands.
Van der Valk Eindhoven - Best | Simply the Best
As Dutchies at Traveltomtom we are big fans of the Van der Valk hotel group. We love staying at their hotels and have fond memories of previous visits. For a visit to Eindhoven we came into contact with the fairly new hotel Eindhoven - Best.
We have worked with quite a few Valk Exclusief hotels the past few years. Check out our Schiphol, Heerlen, Amsterdam Zuidas, Akersloot, Tilburg & Utrecht blogposts for example. Our blog post about the best places to visit in Netherlands is also full of Valk Exclusief properties.
First Impressions of Vaude Outdoor Clothing
We have already been able to test and experience quite a bit of outdoor clothing. We recently had the opportunity to test some clothing from Vaude for our outdoor trip to Lapland. Of course we wanted that, so some new Vaude clothing went with us on our Autumn trip to the far North of Finnish Lapland.
HOKA Skyline Float X | Hiking Shoe Review
HOKA is known as one of the best running shoes available. However, they recently introduced a new model aimed at hiking. A new world for HOKA. We are always interested in good and decent hiking shoes. Especially when well-known brands such as HOKA take this step.
We had the opportunity to test the new HOKA Skyline Float X this summer. We went on some nice hikes in the Dolomites, in Austria and lately took them on our trip to Finland, where we extensively tested these new HOKA's.
Rovaniemi in Autumn | Mesmerizing Ruska Escape in Finnish Lapland
Very occasionally there are places that, after you visit them once, they completely captivate you and you want to keep going back. In our case this applies to Finland and in particular to Lapland and Rovaniemi.
From our first visit to Rovaniemi, we were sold on the country, the people, the culture and especially the endless nature. In everything it is a destination that makes us ultimately happy. That happy feeling makes us go back for more travel experiences, memories and adventures.
Nova Galaxy Village | Riverfront Aurora Cabin
Nova Galaxy Village is a new addition in Rovaniemi. The hotel belongs to the the same owners as Nova Skyland Hotel, but it is in a completely different location and also a totally different experience. Nova Galaxy opened its doors in November 2023 and ran its first season in the winter of 23-24.
Nova Galaxy Village is located almost 20 kilometers from Nova Skyland Hotel and Rovaniemi city center. Its location is truly amazing, in the middle of nowhere and right on the Ounasjoki River.