Celebrity cruise

Just back from a brilliant cruise around the Caribbean onboard Celebrity Equinox - reviews will be appearing in the Mail on Sunday and Cruise International magazine in 2010.

In the recent Cruise International magazine my features about river cruising and short cruising appeared and look out for more from me in their Feb/March issue.

Happy Christmas everyone! I'm looking forward to my trips to Vietnam/Cambodia and Holland coming up next year....

Venice

Last week I returned home from a wonderful trip to Venice where I was on the set of Gary Rhodes' new show Rhodes Across Italy, which will air on the Good Food channel at 9pm on January 20th 2010 - my feature will be in the Mail on Sunday soon.

My next trip will be to the Caribbean on a 10 day cruise on Celebrity Equinox in early December.

Tenerife

My feature about the San Blas resort in Tenerife was published in today's Mail on Sunday. Read it online here.

Croatia

I've just found out that I'm going to Croatia next Tuesday, which is really exciting as I've been reading a guidebook about it for the last two years in the hope I could go at some point!

Upcoming trips

I'm off to Italy next on a food-related assignment. Can't say too much at the moment, but more details will follow. I'm also going to Vietnam and Cambodia on a cruise down the Mekong, which I'm very excited about. I've had my booster jabs and am waiting to find out confirmed dates.

Check out the latest issue of Cruise International magazine - out today - for my features about Vienna, Vancouver and my interview with the industry's most feared critic Douglas Ward.

Cape Town - Mail on Sunday

My feature about the new One & Only hotel in Cape Town was published in the Mail on Sunday this week. Click here to read it.

BBC Countryfile

Check out the September issue of BBC Countryfile magazine to read my feature about the Isle of Wight. It should also be online here soon.

Tenerife and Madeira

It's been another busy few weeks and I've just got back from reviewing the San Blas hotel in Tenerife, which is part of the Sentido chain and has its own nature reserve. Next week I'm off to Madeira, but it's officially a holiday and not a work trip. Of course, most people think work trips are a holiday, but I'm looking forward to a week of relaxing by the pool instead of dashing around trying to cover everything. But...I've already started thinking of potential features. Ooops.

Freelancer of the fortnight

Hang on, I need to dust off my trumpet and give it a bit of a blow...

Journalism.co.uk have made me Freelancer of the Fortnight. Hurrah!

Cruise International

My feature about the 11-day cruise down the Danube has just been published in the Aug/Sept issue of Cruise International magazine and should be online soon.

Isle of Wight

Last week I spent a few days in the Isle of Wight and was bowled over by how beautiful the island is and how delicious the food was: nearly everywhere serves local seafood and it's absolutely gorgeous. The feature will be appearing in a magazine in September and a link will be on here.

Mail on Sunday: North Cyprus

My feature about North Cyprus appeared in today's Mail on Sunday. Look out for my feature about a cruise down the Danube in the latest issue of Cruise International magazine.

Where shall I go?

Just to show I'm not biased, here is another inspiring new start-up. Booked time off work but not sure where to go? Type the date into Joobili and it will tell you what's going on in Europe on those dates. You'll never miss another festival again.

Tourdust

Just want to promote an excellent site called Tourdust, which is run by a lovely couple and is a great place to find out about authentic tours and local experiences. And I'm not just saying that because I've started writing for them...

So far I've written about English vineyard tours, a hideaway in the Kerala mountains and am working on a profile of a company that runs botanical tours in South Africa. Check out the website - I've already picked out about 50 places I want to visit!

Upcoming trips

Over the next two weeks I will be visiting North Cyprus and the Isle of Wight on assignments. Contact me for any related features, especially food or destination items.

Down the Danube

I've just returned from 11 days on a Swan Hellenic river cruise down the Danube stopping in Austria, Slovakia, Hungary and Germany. Look out for my review in the Aug/Sept issue of Cruise International.

Travel update

It's been a busy few weeks and I've just returned from three days in Cape Town. Look out for a blog about this trip, as well as one about Dubai and Musandam appearing soon.

Upcoming trips:

Sicily

Holland (Utrecht/Amsterdam)

Milan

Bilbao

Madeira

Wales

Edinburgh

Forthcoming trips

Over the next few weeks I will be travelling to the following destinations, please contact me for commissions or more information:

Dubai/Musandam (Oman)

Cape Town

Sicily

Recent commissions

Recent commissions for the Mail on Sunday have included:

Luxury hotels in Wiltshire

Glacier Express in Switzerland

Geisha-hunting in Japan

Elephant polo in Thailand

Cooking in the Caribbean with Gary Rhodes

Welcome

Welcome to the news section of my website, where you can find out where in the world I am and what I've been up to recently.

Please contact me on amycwatkins@gmail.com for commissions or for further information.

In 2008 I spent five months travelling to the following places, please contact me if you need any top 10s, city profiles or travel features related to these destinations:

Japan: Tokyo, Nikko, Hakone, Takayama, Hiroshima and Kyoto

New Zealand: North and South islands

Australia: Sydney, Melbourne, Alice Springs and outback (including Uluru)

Fiji: Nadi and northern islands (Taveuni, Kioa, Rabi)

Canada: Vancouver, Quebec City and Montreal

USA: New York