Camera help!!

What's your budget? How small do you want it? Something that will fit in your pocket or are you okay with keeping it in your bag?

In terms of review websites, dpreview.com is excellent, and this particular group test has cameras that you might be interested in:

http://www.dpreview.com/articles/2367736880/roundup-enthusiast-zoom-compact-cameras

These are the best fixed lens cameras that are available. There are also cameras that let you swap lenses that will have better image quality - but as I say, you'd have to have a few lenses for these and it would take up more space.

2 of the best compact cameras suitable for travel I think are the Sony RX 100 and the Olympus XZ 2.
Not particularly cheap , the Sony RX 100 costs about 650 $ or $700 in some countries, maybe you can find cheaper on the web , but it has a one inch size sensor and high quality lens that gives results that can be compared almost to a DLSR in picture quality in the opinion of some.

The Olympus XZ 2 is not all that compact and a little heavy but a very fine and well designed camera with fast lens and high quality optics , can take excellent quality pictures and pretty good quality movies. It has a smaller 1 /1/7 size cmos sensor , but that also means it drains less power and doesn't get as hot while taking videois as some of the big size sensor cameras do . This size sensor is also a good balance between everything in focus depth of field and still having control to have some aspects out of focus in the composition. It also a good system of having a 'super control' touch screen where you can see and bring up by touching the main menu items. It has street price of about 500 $ , but you get what you pay for.
There is a bit of a learning curve and sometimes there is too much menu scrolling and there is no printed manual , but apart from that you can't really go wrong with this camera . Its also worth noting that both these cameras have USB in camera charging which means that if you go somewhere where there is no mains power you have other options for getting power to your camera such as plugging in an AA battery pack or connecting to a computer.
The Sony RX100 only has 3 x zoom and the |Olympus XZ 2 has 4 x zoom but this is for the benefit of optical quality . Both cameras would be great choice , but overall the Olympus XZ 2 might be best for a travel camera.

Thanks guys im okay with keeping it in my bag and budget wise I dont really want to spend more than £300, Im also not a photography expert so something fairly user friendly would be ideal :)

Okay, I'd suggest one of the ones that I mentioned in the group test above.

The Sony RX100 in the review and mentioned by daveillot is the absolute best advanced compact you can buy, in a class of its own compared to the rest, but it's over your budget at £400 new/£350 used.

The Olympus XZ-2 again mentioned by davelliot is also a good pick and can be had for just slightly over £300.

A better choice, IMO, is the Panasonic LX7 - this has a slightly shorter maximum zoom than the XZ-2, but a wider wide-angle, meaning you can fit slightly more into your photos. It also has a slightly brighter lens which means it'll be a little better in low light. Also just slightly over £300.

A little cheaper is the Nikon P330 - this has the same sized sensor as the Olympus and Panasonic and will give you the same quality photos in good light, but as you zoom in the lens closes and lets less light in, meaning the zoom isn't as good in low light. But with no zoom it's just as bright, and this is only important in low light. On the plus side it's smaller and lighter. £220 from Amazon.

Alternatively there's the Nikon P7700, which has the same sensor as the P330 but has a better lens that maintains its brightness as you zoom in. The price you pay is that it's chunkier and heaver. £300 from Amazon.

Another option is the Fujifilm XF1. This is a small camera like the P330 and the lens has the same limitations - it's not as bright at full zoom in low light, but great in all other conditions. On the plus side, its sensor is bigger than all except the RX100. And it has some handy film simulation modes that tweak the colour and contrast of your photos, making them look great straight out of the camera. ~£220 from Amazon.

All of these cameras have manual controls, but they can just be shot in auto mode, so they're all user friendly.

I'd recommend also looking at the Canon S110 which should fit your budget. It compares well with the other cameras mentioned.

I have the earlier model Canon S95 which served me very well including a recent 3-week trip through Laos. All these Canon's shoot RAW which allows greater flexibility in post production fixes to your photos.

The Olympus XZ2 also shoots RAW and its JPEG pictures are also very good. Ammarie , even if you are not into the technical jargon like RAW and sensor size its worth reading up about these things as they are important and if someone as challenged and backward as me can come to grips with these terms as well as learning how to use an advanced compact anyone can .
If you have only used basic point and shoot cameras before there is a little bit of a learning curve but its well worth persevering to make the most of your camera .
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PICTURE taken with Olympus XZ 2.

I use a canon at work for Estate Agency/Real estate photography and the pictures are used in marketing, but I've only learned to use the settings I know work for houses, so changing the ISO and AV settings for light control etc, but your right im no technology buff.

Ill read up on all the above, thanks a lot for all your help :) x

As well as Auto mode which will do it all for you , these type of cameras also give you are a choice of scene modes too.

I'd also recommend the Canon S110 or S90. They're awesome, and under $300.

I'd highly recommend getting a small DSLR. On sale you can score a Canon DSLR kitfor around $400 now. These cameras hold their value extremely well, so that you can sell them when you come back (or sell them while you're still on the road) for just about what you paid for them. And of course you keep the amazing photos! :)

They're a bit bigger but I think have way better build quality and shooting speed than the new "mirrorless" DSLR's. Mine is a few years old and seen lots of bumps and the like, and keeps on ticking. I've been thru several point-and-shoots in that same time. I should also say the Canon S110 has a metal frame and has been really durable too.

I travel with both - the pocket camera for nights out and dinners and the like, the DSLR for real sight-seeing days.