Cathy Hawker

Travelling is in my blood. My parents worked abroad and I grew up moving between New York, Central Africa and Indonesia. For the past fifteen years I have written about overseas holiday homes, getting to know firm favourites - Southern Spain for example – but also checking out more "off-radar" locations that might appeal to a new generation of buyers.

As well as regular reports for A Place in the Sun I write weekly in The London Evening Standard and contribute to several papers and magazines including Country Life International, International Prime Property, the Financial Times and The Times.

That means that most weeks I throw a notebook into my trusty backpack to spy out not only properties abroad but also the lifestyle on offer. The lure of a second home in the sun or in the snow-covered mountains is one that’s easy to understand.

My own top picks would include the Costa Brava for the beautiful coastline, the Caribbean for the laid-back beach life and almost anywhere in Italy for the outstanding food and culture. But then there is also the Alps, the Algarve, the Balearics, Barcelona, Croatia, Florida…

Our complete guide to buying in Italy - new for 2023

We've just launched our brand new guide to buying a property in Italy, this is what you can find inside...

12 May 2023

What happened next? Julian and Gaynor

11 May 2023

A Place in the Sun Live London - Special guest Ben Hillman!

We're excited to announce that Ben Hillman will be joining us at A Place in the Sun Live London in June!

9 May 2023

What happened next? Brian and Karen

Brian and Karen appeared on an episode of A Place in the Sun with Leah Charles-King - did everything work out after filming ended? We caught up with them to find out!

8 May 2023

What happened next? Candy and Mark

Candy and Mark appeared on a recent episode of A Place in the Sun with Ben Hillman - we caught up with them to hear all about their experience on the show, and to find out what happened after filming ended!

1 May 2023

Most viewed properties of the week

Take a scroll through the most popular properties around the world on aplaceinthesun.com this week

21 April 2023

The 90 day rule - is it still worth buying a property abroad?

Does the 90 day rule mean that there's no point in buying a home abroad? We took a look at the options available to house hunters, and explain what the rule really means for you...

18 April 2023

“The economy made us cautious but we have now bought our perfect home in Spain"

John and Diane bought a property in Los Alcazares, despite the economy, and say they have no regrets! We caught up with them to find out more

12 April 2023

“Our two Florida buy to let rental investments fund our holidays”

Martin and Claire bought two rental properties in Florida, and they now use the rental income from them to fund their holidays! They started their journey at A Place in the Sun Live and we caught up with them to find out more...

31 March 2023