Journal
ESSAYS | TRAVEL | HOME & INTERIORS | PEOPLE | CURIO | FOOD & DRINK | FAMILY, WOMEN & WELLNESS | EDUCATION
Essays, features and dispatches from the last twenty years – some written for The Times, The Telegraph, The Guardian and Condé Nast Traveller, some about the work I do for brands, and some just because. Start with the most-read: the one about having a baby with my gay best friend.
“Are you mad?” Cycling Normandy with two toddlers
“Are you mad?” We took two three-year-olds on a long-distance bike ride through Normandy – camping, cider country and the Véloscénic, for The Guardian.
How we made Kuoni’s 2026 travel trends report
Kuoni’s MD ended up on ITV News holding a report that started life as a spreadsheet. How I researched and wrote their 2026 travel trends report – and why rigour is the product.
Shipping a brand magazine to Manila
Somewhere on the South China Sea there was a container with my magazine in it. Making DiWA for Tao Philippines – 12,000 copies of a brand magazine, shipped to Manila, London, New York, Amsterdam and the UAE.
Tour operator copywriting, in their voice not mine
Experience Travel Group wanted a booklet that didn't read like a brochure. Five creators, five ways to see Asia, all written in their voice not mine – now a finalist at the 2026 Silver Marketing Association Awards.
A mountain blessing for Sid
A hundred Igorot women, twenty sacrificed chickens and a witch doctor in yellow flip-flops. I took my baby son to the Philippines' Cordillera mountains to be blessed by his father's clan – my family piece for Condé Nast Traveller.
Siargao, the surf island on everyone’s lips
Everyone on Siargao tells you the same thing: you can never leave. My Citizen Femme piece on the Philippine surf island that gets under your skin – written across a month there with my baby son..
Cubao X, Manila’s coolest ungentrified corner
Behind the mall sprawl of the world's most crowded city, a horseshoe of old shoe showrooms turned record shops, camp Italian restaurants and opium-den bars. My Observer piece on Cubao X, the Manila corner gentrification hasn't found.
Down and steamy in Tbilisi’s sulphur baths
Tbilisi is built on hot springs, and its domed sulphur baths have scrubbed travellers raw for centuries. My guide to the Abanotubani bathhouses for easyJet Traveller – the history, the domes and where to actually book.
The Istanbul shopkeeper who knows everything
Erkan Göker has kept a shop in Istanbul's Grand Bazaar for decades, and there's nothing about the city he doesn't know. On a 24-hour stopover he showed me his Istanbul, for easyJet Traveller's need-to-know guide to Türkiye.
Sleeping at Zannier Bai San Ho, Vietnam’s quietest luxury
Serious barefoot luxury on an undeveloped stretch of Vietnam's coast – but the best meal of the trip cost about three quid, on red plastic chairs. My review of Zannier Bai San Hô for Citizen Femme.
How to launch a magazine
I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: I love magazines. They are an effective and engaging way to build a community and such a pleasure to work on. Editing and producing ROAM for Kuoni was my highlight of 2024. Here’s how I did it…
The most idyllic hotels in Bali
The magical Indonesian island of Bali has been enchanting travellers for decades – here are the best hotels to make the most of everything it has to offer
Amsterdam Canal Crawl
Not your most obvious way of getting around, paddleboarding is the latest water sport phenomenon to take over Amsterdam
Forget Thailand, this Philippines island is a true untamed paradise
Despite unprecedented growth, Palawan still offers plenty of pristine coastline to explore
Single, pregnant and traveling: My journey to solo parenthood via Sri Lanka
With estimates suggesting that 45 percent of UK women aged 25–44 will be single by 2030, Ellie Fazan embraces her demographic duty with a journey that takes in singledom, IVF, pregnancy, impending parenthood and plenty of adventure.
Premium travel magazines
Kuoni got in touch as they needed help to relaunch their customer magazine. They wanted to showcase their brand as the foremost expert in luxury travel. Travel is my big passion and Kuoni is a brilliant brand so I was delighted to be asked. The catch? They had just six weeks to get the magazine to print
Go your own way
WHEN MY 74-YEAR-OLD FATHER asked me to walk a stretch of the famous Camino de Santiago with him to celebrate his 75th birthday, I said yes.
Optical illusions
A year-long Van Eyck celebration is underway in the Belgian city of Ghent. ELLIE FAZAN finds a weekend there helps put things into perspective...
Inspiring travel magazines for Flight Centre
Working through my agency Content Collective I relaunched Flight Centre’s magazine. It’s still packed with the same great content, but we now print 360,000 copies per issue. 300 000 of these are used as a tool of acquisition and are distributed through the Week, the Saturday Telegraph and The Sunday Times.
Desert island bliss
Ellie Fazan joins a new safari boat tour of The Philippines' 'last frontier', an archipelago of hidden coves, coral reefs and empty white beaches.