Cheap and Easy Travel

If you feel like enjoying the Renaissance architecture and art of Florence, but want to keep your finances within budget, then you could enjoy the experience of staying at the Florence Hostelling International Hostel. Housed in the elegant seventeenth century Villa Camerata, with broad, majestic stairways, the hostel has a large dining room, a lounge with internet access and a bar where everyone gathers in the evening to drink beer and chat. The hostel lays on a very good evening meal at very reasonable cost, of a pasta course followed by a main course of meat and vegetables.

Set in its own grounds, the hostel also has a campsite, for those who prefer to be under canvas. This is probably best for the summer though, as the Florentine winters can actually be quite cold.

The hostel is a short bus ride from Florence city centre, and perhaps the main drawback is the fact that it is located a long walk up a lonely road, which is fine by day, but perhaps not so great at night.

The hostel is a little strict, and not so up-to-date as more northern European hostels. We booked online, reserving one room for our mixed party, but on arrival our group was firmly segregated into single sex dorms. We weren’t too bothered about this, it was just that it would have been more convenient to be together.

If you love cats you will love this hostel – there are loads of furry felines happily wandering in and out of the villa.

The wonderful villa provides an excellent way to see Florence, while at the same time staying in a real old Florentine residence.

I once knew a crowd of Dutch and English people who had escaped the city life, and moved to rural Brittany in north-west France. Just one problem though - Brittany can get pretty cold in the wintertime. So their second escape, but just for the winter, was to Morocco in north Africa. Having now been there myself, I can see why - I visited Morocco in the winter vacation and found it to be warm, pleasant and friendly. In one carpet shop I met a man from my home area of Yorkshire, whose family came originally from Morocco, who had decided to escape the cold English winter by working for two months back in his family’s home area.

With lovely beaches of golden sand, charming towns with exotic souks where you can hunt for bargain leather goods, delicious couscous, and sweet desserts, marvellous traditional dancers and musicians, and fantastic tiled architecture, Morocco is undoubtedly an enchanting holiday destination.

If you think that a winter escape to the sun is going to cost and arm and a leg, think again - many of the major tour operators are offering some good winter deals to Morocco, for example, Travel Republic are offering one week half-board packages to Agadir for less than £300 per person. A little shopping around on the web can turn up some really good deals.

Agadir offers a fine sweep of sandy beach, good hotels and historic sights. Marrakesh, in the foothills of the Atlas mountains, has also long been popular with the tourists, and here you can have some relaxing time out in one of its traditional spas, where you can have a relaxing, hot bath and sauna. Marrakesh also has a wide variety of shops, and some good, but inexpensive, hotels.

So when you are thinking of escaping the winter, give Morocco some thought.

A visit to the island of Rarotonga, need not cost you a fortune, once you’ve got there that is, if you stay at the Backpackers International Hostel. With a population of a mere 9,500 people, Rarotonga is the most populous island of the Cook Islands of the South Pacific. If you are shopping for a round-the-world air ticket, you will find that many of these packages include the Cook Islands as a stop between Australia and the Americas.

The Backpackers International Hostel is a charming collection of huts on a quintessential unspoilt Pacific island beach, complete with swaying coconut palms, soft, white sand, and inviting turquoise sea, which is perfect for swimming. This unusual and romantically located hostel provides excellent value for money – for a mere NZ$16 per person, you get a bed in a three bedded dorm. A little more privacy is also offered with the availability of nine twin rooms and six double rooms at a cost of NZ$42 per room. Bathrooms are communal with each one having two toilets, two showers and two sinks.

The people running the place operate it very much like a family home, and will even pick you up at the airport – for free that is. The area offers snorkelling, beach volleyball, and other beach and water sports, and the hostel frequently lays on delicious outdoor banquets serving local food. The island itself is great to explore, on foot or by car, and has a circumference of only 32km.

So don’t forget to include a bit of relaxation on Rarotonga as part of your round-the-world trip.

No blog on budget travel would be complete without mention of the once well-trodden “hippy trail”, which was popular back in the days when backpacking and travelling on a budget was still regarded as the preserve of the eccentric – hence anybody doing it was regarded as a bit of a “hippy”.

Specifically, this route started to be followed in the sixties, when people were starting to explore alternative lifestyles, and was probably at its height of popularity in the seventies.

The route of the hippy trail went from Western Europe to Greece, with many aficionados taking the Magic Bus from London to Athens. From Greece it was a short hop across to Turkey, and then through Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan before ending up in India or Nepal. From here, the particularly intrepid would make their way on to Australia, and of course a lot of Aussies and Kiwis did the hippy trail the other way round. Needless to say, all this was somewhat put a stop to when Iran’s borders closed in 1979.

Tourist facilities were still pretty limited in most of the countries en route, and this new breed of traveller was perhaps the first to take local buses, eat at street stalls, and stay in cut-price accommodation. It was at this time that guide books such as Lonely Planet, and the Rough Guides started to be produced, to satisfy this market of new travelllers eager for information and tips. These guides have now, to some extent, been superceded by the internet, with its various travellers’ websites and forums, but they are still handy to have in your backpack – after all, carting a laptop around with you can be a bit of a nuisance.

It’s amazing how, within recent years, you can actually fly from one part of Europe to another at reasonable cost, due to the arrival of new airlines offering very reasonably priced tickets, provided that you are willing to forego some of the luxuries normally associated with air travel. One of the leaders in introducing the new low-cost air travel is the now-famous
easyJet.

Based at London Luton Airport, easyJet is one of the largest low-fare airlines in Europe, operating both domestic and international scheduled services on 307 routes between 80 major European cities, both Western- and East-European.

If you feel like heading to the warmer parts of Europe this winter, then easyJet are offering Malaga from a variety of UK airports for around £28, Alicante for around £30, Faro for £25, Nice for £25, and other good bargains.

With easyJet, you book your ticket online, and the earlier you book, the cheaper it is. When you board the plane, you just go and sit down where there is a free seat – no reserved seating. Although this cuts down on costs, it can get a little chaotic! There is no automatic in-flight meal, instead you just buy what you want from the trolley when it comes round – a bit like being on a train.

Without the frills, the costs come down tremendously, and as it doesn’t really take all that long to fly from one part of Europe to another, comfort is probably not so paramount as it would be on a long haul flight.

It is certain that companies such as easyJet have made it easier to get around Europe quickly and cheaply.

We recently stayed at the Hotel Montaverde, in the quiet, and relatively cool, mountain resort of Ovacik in Turkey. The poolside area is glorious - the tiles making the water appear a lovely blue, plenty of sun loungers, and a shady bar. For those who prefer not to be in the sun, there is a lovely sheltered Turkish-style outdoor area, with cushions and low tables, which makes a great place to sit and read, or socialise during the heat of the day. You can also sit in the cool marble floored lounge of the hotel, where there is a large screen TV. Fancy keeping fit? Just because you are on holiday there’s no need to let that exercise regime slip – in the basement of the hotel there is a modest gym, and when you are tired of working out there is massage available, and a jacuzzi.

We stayed there on half board, and the breakfasts and evening meals were delightful, with the full traditional Turkish spread of food – plenty of different kinds of bread for breakfast, along with melon, cheese, ham, luncheon meats, eggs, and breakfast salads, then, for the evening meal, the wonderful Turkish variety of salads and hummous, followed by a main course of beef or chicken, with pasta or rice, and vegetables. All the ingredients were fresh, and I would easily put the food at this hotel as being of four star quality. The proof of the pudding was that guests at other hotels frequently came over to the Montaverde for the evening meal.

Once a week there was a Turkish night, with traditional Turkish folk dancers, followed by a belly dancer.

The rooms, it has to be admitted, were a little small and pokey, but otherwise, this hotel was fine, with kind and friendly staff.

If you are looking for a pleasant and enjoyable budget holiday in the sun, then you might consider Ovacik, close to Turkey’s Lycian coast. Ovacik is the place to find some really good holiday bargains for the simple reason that it is not directly on the coast itself, but is a quiet village a little way up in the mountains that line this part of the Turkish Riviera. Ovacik is twenty minutes by bus or by taxi from the beautiful resort of Olu Deniz, fifteen minutes away from the lovely Turkish port of Fethiye, and a mere ten minutes away from the vibrant inland resort of Hisaronu.

Because Ovacik is not right on the sea, it tends to be less in demand than many of the other nearby resorts such as Olu Deniz, or Calis Beach, and so it frequently features in late availability deals, and allocation on arrival deals, which offer some very good bargains. In fact, due to its location a little up in the mountains, Ovacik does not get the searing heat that the resorts of lower altitude get at the height of the summer. Additionally the hotels of Ovacik compare well with other hotels of the Turkish Riviera, as they need to offer a little extra to compete with their more coastally located neighbours, and offer pleasant grounds and pools, as well as good facilities generally.

When we arrived for our holiday in Ovacik, initially, we thought that we had been dropped off in the middle of nowhere, but this view quickly changed as we started to enjoy the lovely hotel garden and poolside area, and we grew to like the mountain location that was both quiet, off the beaten track, and friendly, yet only a dolmus ride away from the main tourist centres.

In my next post I will tell you a little about the Hotel Montaverde, which is where we stayed.

Cuba, located in the northern Caribbean, and renowned worldwide for its culture and charm, consists of the 766 mile long island of Cuba, the Isle of Youth, and several adjacent small islands. Its culture draws its influences from the aboriginal Taíno and Ciboney people, Spain, Africa, and also, to some extent, the USA. The island has a tropical climate with warm temperatures, and with that holiday essential of sunshine for most of the year.

The resorts of Cuba range from utterly restful to party animal heaven. The lively resort of Varadero is close to Havana, but if peace and quiet is what you are after then the resort of Guardalavaca on the north-east coast may suit you down to the ground. If you don’t feel like reaching into your pocket every five minutes, the resort of Playa Pesquero has plenty of all-inclusive hotels. The capital city of Havana has long been a popular destination in its own right, with its beautiful Old Town, stylish old cars being driven down its streets, its bars playing salsa music, and its cigar factories.

Now where does budget travel come into all of this? Well, Cuba now provides some of the best value for money in the otherwise expensive Caribbean – you don’t have to one of the wealthy jet set to enjoy a holiday in Cuba. For example, if you are looking for a break in the sun this winter, Virgin Holidays are offering one week all inclusive packages, including flights, from just £688 per person.

So why not escape the coming winter cold, and give yourself a relaxing break in sunny Cuba?

If you are still trying to make your mind up, in future posts I will talk a little about the different resorts on this lovely island.

No discussion of budget travel is complete without mentioning the Lonely Planet guides and website, which have been offering good advice and information to budget travellers for years.

Starting out as the first popular series of travel guides for backpackers and budget travellers, Lonely Planet has grown to be what is probably the largest independently-owned travel guidebook publisher in the world. In 2004 alone, the company published a prolific 650 titles in 118 countries. Lonely Planet sells more than six million guidebooks per year.

Lonely Planet is based in Melbourne, Australia, which is hardly surprising given that so many inveterate backpackers hail from the antipodes.

Lonely Planet was born when Tony and Maureen Wheeler, based in Sydney, wrote “Across Asia on the Cheap”, in 1973, after travelling from the UK, across Europe and then Turkey, through Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan, then on to India and Nepal, and finally reaching Australia

Lonely Planet then went on to produce yet more guide books which catered mainly to the younger end of the travel market, and aimed at mainly those from Australia and the UK. At that time the overland “hippy trail” between Australia and Europe, via South-East Asia, the Indian subcontinent and the Middle East was very popular, and was fast becoming the equivalent of the “grand tour” for adventurous young people, particularly for young Aussies and New Zealanders, who would take months and even years to do the journey, frequently combining it with a spell of working in London too.

One of the company’s most best-selling books remains “South-East Asia on a Shoestring”, which has sold well year upon year.

If you really want to know about a place before you go, Lonely Planet is the key.

As Barcelona is such a popular tourist destination, deciding on a place to stay in this city, where accommodation is in such high demand, is not easy, but at only €150 ($165) for a suite with kitchen, the Hotel Constanza offers very good value for money. Located in a quiet street in an upmarket residential area of Barcelona, this hotel is a midrange business hotel, but lacks the drab decor that most business hotels seem to have, and instead, has a clean contemporary feel, with chic decor and comfortable bedrooms with marble floors, tiled bathrooms and pleasant balconies offering lovely views over the city. The staff are efficient and friendly, and most guests say that they would come back here.

Despite its quiet location, the Constanza is within about ten minutes walk of the Plaza Catalunya, Bus Touriste, Corte Ingles, and Las Ramblas.

The hotel offers a continental breakfast of yogurt, cereal, juice, pastries, and coffee or tea, for around six euros.

There is free internet access, but not wireless.

Not far from the hotel is Txapela, a tapas restaurant with an exhaustive selection of reasonably priced tapas. There are other good restaurants close to the hotel, offering a variety of international foods.

The only quibble that people seem to have at all about this hotel is that, because of the marble floors, you can hear people in neighbouring rooms a bit too easily. Nevertheless, the hotel is still highly rated, and offers a good deal in a city where accommodation is a seller’s market.