Hi, I'm Ben Reeve.

I’m a retailer by trade but a traveler and writer at heart. My love for travel started young. My Dad moved out to South Africa when I was 10 and I was lucky enough to spend Summer, Xmas and Easter in another world. This opened my eyes to how different the world could be and also sparked an attachment to nature; whether it be the countryside or the wildlife. When we had career discussions at school I remember putting 'Park Ranger'. I didn't get listened to!

Since then I have been to lots of different places around the world and the list gets longer every year (if you want to see the latest total go to my 'Country List'). My companion for most of these trips is my wife Becca who has to put up with all the notetaking, laptop tapping and photo editing that goes with running a site like this!

Read my Sabbatical Story Here

This site is primarily here to help people who want to take sabbaticals, but it also contains lots of general travel tips and guides from nearly 30 years of travelling.

This site started up in 2017, initially as a document of my travels around the world. It has since evolved to prioritise practical guides for people who want to take sabbaticals, an area of travel which is growing hugely with the changing nature of work.

The best place to start navigating the site is (funnily enough!) the 'Start Here' page. I update this regularly with the best content I produce

Here are a few other sections which should make finding what you're looking for on the site really easy:

Sabbatical Destinations for a map and list of sabbatical destinations around the world.

Planning Guides to browse all the content to help you to plan out your sabbatical.

Sabbatical Companies for a list of companies and websites that will help to research, book or plan your sabbatical.

My Favourite Travel Gear if you're looking for some new kit to pack for your sabbatical.

Sabbatical Inspiration for stories, ideas and articles which will inspire you to take a sabbatical.

Alongside writing practical content about sabbaticals, I love to write about my travels. Studying English Language at school was probably my favourite subject and my writing has often been channeled through poetry or music (hear my alter ego 'Bemmy R' here!). More recently it has turned into blogging. In 2015 I started a blog called CyclingTipsHQ which I have now transferred to another company, after realising it was my love of travel more than that of cycling that was motivating me.

Now read on because this is an important bit....

Never let me jade or enhance your impressions of a place. Just because I haven't been somewhere doesn't mean it's not any good. Just because I liked somewhere doesn't mean you will. These are one person's views taken often after one experience and at only one time. People are sentimental, experiences can be subjective and places change in time. The Buddha said 'we see as we are'. My views are clouded by my experiences, personality and views, as will yours

Use my information to help and plan, but gather from other resources too. I am not afraid of directing people away from my site if there is useful information elsewhere, you only have to take only look at my resources page for that!

But ultimately the only way to form an opinion is to let the trip take you and see for yourself.

If you disagree, or have more to add then let me know. Comment, write a counter piece, criticise; I do not write to hide from other views I write because I welcome them.

But don't ever use me or my writing as an excuse. Your only excuse is you. You call the shots, make the decisions, choose the destinations.

Now get out there and see it for yourself!

Ben Reeve - August 2017