Isabel is a multi-award winning travel writer, three times Ireland travel journalist of the year, BGTW (British Guild of Travel Writers) Europe category award winner, and a short-listed writer for members awards in other categories over the years. She is a past vice president of the Foreign Press Association of the Netherlands, where she was a correspondent for UK nationals and Ireland newspapers and magazines and, during a long career in journalism, was also a deputy news editor at the Irish Press.