We had finished dinner and the rain was setting in when I decided to put on my biking kit and head up the mountain pass. The valley I was in, the Phobjikha Valley, at 10,000 feet, is a sanctuary for the Black neck crane, a medium-sized crane in Asia that breeds on the Tibetan Plateau […]
Please form an orderly line… Doors are opening for a new Asia planner at Trufflepig. See the page on Work At Trufflepig for details of our employment practises, and here for the unlikely backstories of our current team. You might also want to read about our Hoofprint Project, or look under the hood for a […]
**Applications are now closed for these positions** Truffleping. Trouble Pig. Truffe-le-Pig. Tremblebig. Just a (very very) small selection of the spelling mistakes we’ve received on envelopes over the years from around the world, and always a delightful reminder that the devil is in the details. Also, perhaps, that we should have chosen a less silly […]
There is a cluster of islands, right off the coast of Naples, that look like pebbles scattered in the sea by the hand of a giant. Some are big, some tiny, some just deserted rocks: Capri, Ischia, Procida, Li Galli (also called Le Sirenuse), Vivara, and many more… As myth has it, this is the […]
In the midst of lockdown in the summer of 2020 there wasn’t a whole lot of trip related email flying around, but one rather hot afternoon in July the following missive landed in my inbox which I found intriguing: “To find the Azores, look on Google Maps on Portugal, turn towards the Atlantic Ocean, and […]
After a steaming plate of fresh mussels has been set on the table to replace the mound of sautéed pimientos de Padrón (Padrón sweet green peppers) that we’ve just worked our way through, I reflect on how unanticipated moments like these make great travel. In front of me at the table is 2 Michelin-starred Galician […]
When I started at Trufflepig, I noticed that all the trip planners within the company come from quite diverse backgrounds, with often very different interests. But while, not surprisingly, we all share the same passion for travelling, somehow we also all have a similar shared interest in food. Exploring the world on trip research, we […]
I had my preconceived expectations about the Dominican Republic before setting off. I’d heard it was a place where privileged American college kids go to party at all-inclusive resorts and that there were huge hotel complexes where folk never left the grounds. So I was somewhat trepidatious about what was in store. Conversely: I had […]
***20 December 2023: Please note that applications for these positions are now closed*** Trufflepig as a company was started by Trip Planners and is run by Trip Planners, and in a world of distractions and fads we maintain a single-minded focus on our core objective: planning great trips. Trufflepig’s Trip Planners are destination specialists and […]
I have by now lost count of the number of times I’ve been to Botswana, but with my long-standing interests in wildlife and photography, I can say without hesitation that I don’t think I will ever tire of it. Put simply, Botswana inspires me – and in turn it inspires our travellers. Of all the […]
Whenever I’m asked when the best time to go on safari is, my enthusiastic – if rather unhelpful – answer is “it’s always a good time to be on safari’. So, with a view to being slightly more helpful, I wanted to talk a little about Emerald Season. Conventional wisdom for years has been that […]
The Pearl River Delta, in the early 2000’s, was a place of heavy industry, pollution, run off, waste and ruin. It was rubble and rebar. Home to factories like Yue Yuen (a company that produces the majority of the shoes for Nike, Crocs, Adidas, Reebok, Asics, New Balance, Puma, Timberland and Rockport) and Samsung, the […]
Over a decade ago, I first visited Greystoke Mahale. It left its mark on me then and has lived rent free in my head ever since. I went back again this year and immediately renewed its tenancy. Mahale is an interesting case study in the way that the experience of going on safari has evolved […]
I signed up for an adventure and got a lot more than I bargained for. In a good way. It started with a basic task (put one foot in front of the other), and led me to a lasting experience I was hardly prepared for: ten days in a vacuum-like state, practically closed off from […]
This week, Cambodia, the land of funk, rhythm, blues, and rock. That’s right, this slice of southeast Asia is steeped in the cult of rock and let me tell you there are some gems to look out for. Anthony Weersing and Tyler Dillon have put their collective minds together to bring you an hour of […]
The clock strikes 9:15 AM in Rio de Janeiro. It’s April, and the heat is not excessive, so the weather allows for a lazy Saturday morning. Yet, there is an urge to explore the vibrant streets of the city and pay homage to the ever-present sun. I get up and take a quick shower, while […]