About Melanie May

Freelance travel and food writer in Ireland

Hi, I’m Melanie May, a freelance travel and food writer in Ireland. I am also a motoring journalist, wine writer, and radio host with over 15 years of storytelling experience. I’m a member of the British Guild of Travel Writers and the Irish Food Writers’ Guild, and I have been recognised with awards such as ‘Best Newcomer’ at the Travel Extra Travel Journalist of the Year Awards. I also hold a WSET Level 2 Award in Wines and Spirits and a WSET Level 3 Award in Wines.

My travels have taken me to 65 countries, and my expertise spans everything from solo female travel to wine tasting, recipe development, and immersive cultural experiences. Explore my travel writing portfolio, food photography samples, and food and wine work to see how I bring stories to life.

Where you can read my travel, food, wine, and motoring articles

As a full-time freelance travel and food writer in Ireland, I specialise in crafting engaging content about motoring, food, wine, and travel. I contribute to various national and international print and online publications, including the Irish Independent, Sunday Times, Sunday World, Irish Daily Mail, The Irish Sun, The Irish Mirror Northern Ireland, Irish Times, Irish Times Content Studio, Atlas – Etihad Airways Magazine, Cruise and Travel, Dream Escape Magazine, Mercedes Enthusiast, Octane, Wheels Dubai, BMW Magazine, and more.

I am also a radio host and the voice of Talk Travel on 103.2 Dublin City FM. Each week, I engage listeners by exploring the latest travel trends, sharing expert advice, and interviewing industry professionals. This broadcasting role allows me to connect with a broader audience, bringing my joy for travel to the airwaves and sparking conversations that inspire exploration and adventure.

Some fun facts about me

Don’t you know who I think I am?

As well as being a freelance travel and food writer, I am a qualified school teacher, windsurf instructor, sailing instructor, further education lecturer, first aid officer, snorkel instructor, powerboat driver and safety boat driver. I’m a qualified open-water diver with an orange belt in kickboxing. Hi-yah!

Me by numbers:

This is my first blog. I’m 44 years old. I did season work for two years and backpacked for 3.5 years non-stop. So far, I’ve travelled to 65 countries. I have been to five of The American Society of Civil Engineers’s Seven Wonders of the Modern World, and I have been to four of the New Seven Wonders of the World and two of the New Seven Wonders of Nature. At the moment, I have six tattoos and three piercings. I have six higher education qualifications. I am in my final year of a four-year MSc in Psychotherapy. I’ve one brother and 48 cousins, and I had two dogs, Portia and Morse. I’ve had more than 21 jobs in the last 20 years, and I’m ok with that.

If you can’t tell by now, I also have ADHD! Oh, and dyslexia and central auditory processing disorder (CAPD). So, just keep that in mind as you are reading my blog posts.

Me by words:

I think the following quotes sum up my attitude to life:

“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear” – Mark Twain

“Don’t take life too seriously; nobody gets out alive anyway.”

I live my life by those two quotes, and, as a result, that tells you quite a bit about me. I’m not fearless but brave and love to take risks. I don’t take life, or myself, too seriously. We get one life, and I want to live mine in a way that leaves me with lots of laughs, experiences and stories. So far, so good…

Me by travel:

I am obsessive about numbers and lists. When travelling, I write about how much I spend, how far I drive, and where I eat, sleep, and play. At the time, my lists don’t serve much use, apart from highlighting how much money I spend on coffee and cake (my staple diet), but I know they’ll be valuable information to somebody else, hence why I started this blog – I want to share my lists! Also, I want to share great finds and awful pitfalls. I want to encourage women to go it alone, get out there and travel independently, so I am sharing my diary entries, too. I hope these will give you a sense of what it’s like to be a solo female backpacker and how wonderful it is.

Me by food:

Currently, I am a full-time freelance travel and food writer in Ireland, living in my hometown of Dublin. I am also a photographer and content creator specialising in motoring, travel, food and wine.

To keep my travels alive when I’m not on the road, I recreate dishes in my Irish kitchen that I have eaten around the world. I adapt them to suit the available ingredients and then write, photograph and blog about the recipes. Food plays a huge part in my life and travels, and I hope to combine them seamlessly in this blog. I hope they mix well to create one big fat bellyful of laughs and dishes you will enjoy and keep coming back for seconds.

Me by lists:

My favourite cities

Mexico City

Salzburg

Rome

My favourite countries

Jordan

Japan

Mexico

My wish list

Greenland

Somaliland

Madagascar

Want even more information about Melanie May, freelance travel and food writer?

Read my blog posts for more stories about my life.

If you want to work with me, check out my portfolios.

Click here to view my food photography and styling.

Here’s the link to my travel writing and content creation.

Click here to view samples of my food and wine writing.

Work with me

Please contact me if you want a freelance travel and food writer to bring your stories to life. I would love to chat with you about how we can collaborate.