Archive for the ‘Travel tips’ Category

« Older Entries

Free walking tours of Bath, Bristol and Berlin

Thursday, June 4th, 2009Heather Cowper

Welcome to my blog, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

When you’re on a budget, one of the ways to enjoy the city you’re visiting is to do a free walking tour that takes you round the major sites, giving you a little background on each one. There are many ways to do this but my starting point is always the local tourism website or tourist office. I recently did just that when I spent a weekend in Bath for a family birthday celebration. We printed off the walking tour guide from Bath.co.uk (then click on City Trail). There are even little bronze plaques set into the pavement to mark out the route. Here’s a sample of the route we took;

Bath Cathedral

1. Bath Abbey
There’s been a church on this site for a thousand years, and England’s first King was crowned here. The carvings on the front of the Abbey show the dream of Bishop Oliver King who had it built . Angels climbed up and down a ladder to heaven in his vision, but the only way the stonemasons could distinguish between them was to make the downwardly mobile ones do it head-first.

Roman Baths at Bath

3. The Roman Baths
Britain’s only hot springs are right here. The Museum is well worth a visit, with modern audio-visual interactive displays, and you can walk right round the original Roman Baths, which are in an astonishingly good state of repair. The plumbing here is 2000 years old and still works; just as well, seeing as parts might be a problem.

The Pump rooms in the Roman Baths

4. The Pump Room
The Pump Room was built in 1706 as a sort of rendezvous for the sick. Bath’s doctors specialised in certain diseases – those of the rich. Spend five minutes inside the Pump Room listening to the live salon music and sipping a cup of water pumped up from the spring. Imagine Vichy spring water, with a whiff of fresh grass cuttings, and an aftertaste of elderflower. Well, it tastes nothing like that. It’s vile. They took it for analysis once and the verdict from the laboratory was, ‘This horse is pregnant’.

It was an entertaining tour, took us an hour or so and didn’t cost us a penny.

The Georgian house, Bristol

In Bristol, you can find about free walking tours on the Visit Bristol website here and they’ve gone to the trouble of making several audio walking tours that you can download onto your MP3 player. I’ve listened to them all and I especially enjoyed the Bristol Quayside adventure which has a Pirate theme and is great for families, and the Slave Trade Trail which starts at the Georgian House, once owned by a wealthy Bristol Merchant who made his fortune from his Caribbean plantation, worked by slaves.

The Brandenburg Gate in Berlin

Berlin is also a destination that is well known for it’s free walking tours. I didn’t take one myself, but I gather the guides are generally excellent, although you can’t call them truly free as there is an expectation that you will give a tip of €5-10 per person. Karen wrote about her free Berlin walking tour here. If you go the the Brandenberg gate, you won’t miss the signs indicating a tour about to start.

So if you’d enjoy a walking tour, take a little time to check out the local tourism websites and see what they have to offer – you may be pleasantly surprised.

If your home town or a city you’ve visited offers free printable or audio tours, or offers genuinely free guided tours, do leave a comment and let us all know.

All photos from Heatheronhertravels.com at Flickr

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Authentic travel, Budget options, Destination guides, England, Germany, Podcast, Travel tips, Walking by Heather Cowper | 3 Comments »

Chance your arm at the Mouth of Truth in Rome

Thursday, April 2nd, 2009Heather Cowper

If you’re visiting Rome you might like to follow in the footsteps of Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck and re-enact the scene in the film Roman Holiday. If you walk between the Circus Maximus and the Island in the Tiber you’ll find the  Church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin where you can put your hand over the Bocca della Verità or Mouth of Truth which hangs in the portico of the Church.

 Audrey_Hepburn_and_Gregory_Peck_at_the_Mouth_of_Truth_Roman_Holiday_trailer

The carving is thought to be part of an ancient Roman fountain or perhaps a drain-cover. If a jealous lover wanted to test their partner’s fidelity, they would put their hand in the mouth of the stone river god – it was thought that a liar would have his hand bitten off but the faithful lover would go untouched.

When we stopped by to test out the legend, the queue of visitors having their photo taken was rather long, so we contented ourselves with watching other people have their photo taken with their hand in the mouth of the statue.

The Mouth of Truth in Rome

It’s a fun thing to do  and everyone seemed to emerge with their arm intact – just so long as you really are the faithful kind!

See my collection of Rome photos on Flickr

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Authentic travel, Budget options, Italy, Travel tips by Heather Cowper | 1 Comment »

Ditch Rick Steve’s “time=money” formula – your trip to Europe is much more than a cost per hour calculation

Tuesday, March 24th, 2009Karen Bryan

I was horrified to read Rick Steves forumla for “time=money”, in his article “European travel is still within reach for the savvy“. To work our your trip cost per hour you divide the total cost of your trip by the number of waking hours you spend in Europe.

Crowds at The Louvre

Crowds at The Louvre by jmacmullin

Now I’m all for getting the most from your budget when travelling in Europe by finding cheap flights, the lowest accommodation price, travelling off peak etc. However if you apply the “time=money” rationale, you’ll try to cram in far too much and ending up not really seeing anything properly. Why not stay up all night to save on the overnight accommodation, pack in even more and reduce your cost per hour?

To generalise, I think that most North American visitors to Europe already try to fit in far too much. In these days of economic downturn, it’s even more tempting to think if I’m in Europe anyway, I may as well see the whole place.

What’s your opinion? Do you adhere to Nick Steve’s time=money formula or do you believe in a more leisurely, holistic approach to travel in Europe?

Tags: ,
Posted in Authentic travel, Travel planning, Travel tips by Karen Bryan | 6 Comments »

Safe travel: 10 top tips

Monday, March 16th, 2009Karen Bryan

I know we all want to have a great trip but it’s wise to be aware of potential pitfalls and hazards.  But don’t fret, it’s obvious that to have the best time when travelling that  we need to be in top condition and stay this way.  As usual, a small degree of organisation coupled to some research will go a long way towards your trouble-free enjoyment of that well-deserved break!

Unexpected Skiing Hazards

I bet you didn’t expect a helicopter to land on you when skiing! By Joe Shlabotnik

Our natural instincts caution us to be more wary when in unfamiliar surroundings, and it is most important that we should trust and rely upon them when in an unknown environment. In any case, remember that most accidents happen at or near home, and one of the reasons for this is that we are more relaxed and our guard tends to be down in places/circumstances that we (think) we know and understand.

Most people take a light-hearted approach to holiday safety. Although they are cautious, they do not spend too much time thinking about the negative but focus instead on the positive, interesting and exciting, shutting away any concerns that may arise. On the whole, this is a successful approach, as they tend to relax and have a good time.

I don’t advocate going around constantly worried about all real and imaginary possibilities of coming to harm but when in doubt and if something is not immediately obvious or intuitive simply don’t do it before taking advice from a trusted source.

Here are Europe a la Carte’s top 10 tips for safe travel.

PRE-TRAVEL

1. Health: Travel is both physically and mentally demanding. Make sure you are up to the task, possibly seeing your doctor before you travel. Check online with the foreign ministry’s travel advisory, and if necessary get vaccinated. Get the appropriate exemption forms for the country you are visiting (e.g. UK citizens may be entitled to a certain level of emergency health care in most the EU counties – for some advice visit). Pack painkiller, anti-acid and diarrhoea tablets.

2. Contact Information: Inform people at home where you will be, make some contact during your travels (phone or email) and give a date of return. Roaming mobile phones, PDAs and laptops/netbooks make keeping in touch much easier and inexpensive.Leave a photocopy of your travel documents with a family member of friend.

3. Clothing: Should be appropriate for your destination and the type of activities that you plan to do. Sturdy shoes and hats add to your protection.

4. Insurance: Never travel without travel insurance which should be with a trusted provider and ensure that all eventualities such as damage to belongings, medical bills, costs of repatriation etc are covered. Don’t stint on cover level, it could be to your very high cost. Annual insurance cover for those travelling often usually works out cheapest.

WHEN TRAVELLING

4. Security and Health: Never let your bags out of your sight, do not carry anything for people you don’t absolutely trust. Take plenty of liquid (but no alcohol) and exercise your legs by walking between the aisles during flights. Try to arrive at your destination during daylight/working hours.

AT DESTINATION

5. Be aware of potential risks: Do not self-impose a false sense of security and do not make yourself a target. You can still suffer from weather (including ‘good weather’, e.g. sunburns/sunstroke) and accidents. Leave valuables in the hotel safe, so as not to advertise yourself as a tourist, make an effort to look and behave ‘local’ – it makes good sense anyway!
Dartmoor driving hazard

Some driving hazards can be quite cute! By exfordy

7. Walking around: Travel in a group and avoid natural and man-made hazards. Safe areas are obvious. However, it is sometimes easy to cross into unsafe zones without realizing it – exit these as soon as you get the inkling – vandalism, excessive quiet, groups hanging around are all signs to look out for.

8. Food and drink: A wonderful part of the travel experience is to sample local delicacies and drinks. However, what the locals may well be used to could be a source of great discomfort for the unwary traveller. Whenever uncertain use bottled water. Only eat at clean-looking restaurants and start with tiny amounts of food that you are not familiar with (the Greeks must know of this, otherwise they wouldn’t have invented the meze). Once you are more ‘acclimatized’ you can expand your repertoire to include those exotic morsels.

9. Entertainment: If you are not normally a ‘raver’ at home, stick to your good habits! If drinking alcohol, only do so in a group and in moderation, with due consideration to the additional effects the local climate can have on you.

10. Meeting strangers: It should be part of the holiday experience to make new friends, both amongst fellow travellers and locals to the destination. It is usually much easier meeting people in the relaxed atmosphere of a group, or even when single. However, it may be more difficult to make first contact when travelling as a couple as people tend to assume that you want t be left alone. As usual, if someone intends you harm it should become obvious quite quickly. Use your instincts to avoid trouble and only frequent places you feel safe at.

We do hope that these tips will enhance your holiday experience. Leave a comment if you feel that we have missed out on anything important.

Tags: ,
Posted in Travel tips by Karen Bryan | 2 Comments »

Staying in a religious guesthouse in Rome

Thursday, February 5th, 2009Heather Cowper

If you’re visiting one of the centres of religious pilgrimage such as Rome or Assisi, you may like to consider staying in a convent, monastery or religious guest house, for simple, homely accomodation which is often very central for sightseeing.

 St Peter's Basilica

When I visited Rome with my parents and son last spring, we stayed in Residenza Madri Pie , a religious guest house which I’d recommend, for quiet and comfortable accomodation. It was so close to St Peter’s that we could practically wave to the Pope from our bedroom window.

The Residenza has the look and feel of a convent, with cool marble floors, dark antique furniture in the public areas and simply furnished rooms. Although the reception was staffed by respectable looking gentlemen, our breakfast was served in the morning by the nuns from the religious order. There is also a chapel which can be used by visiting groups.

Residenza Madri Pie in Rome

One of the nicest things was the terrace and garden at the back of the hotel which was a pleasant place to sit after a hot day sightseeing. There was also a large car-park which is unusual to find so close to the centre of Rome. If you require on-tap internet access, you may be disappointed, as the one internet terminal was not working while I was there.

Residenza Madri Pie in Rome

Accomodation in Rome is generally expensive but I think this was a good value mid-price option, especially for those who want to be close to the Vatican and St Peter’s. Double rooms were €125 per night including breakfast and taxes.

Residenza Madre Pie had the feel of a small hotel, but if you’d like to get the more authentic experience of staying in a covent, you could try the accomodation listed on the Santa Susanna website, the portal for the American Catholic Church in Italy. As well as a long list of convents that offer accomodation in Rome, there are also convents listed in Assisi and Florence. This may not be the right choice for the party animal, as some do have an evening curfew, but women travelling on their own or couples and families on a budget may find an ideal place to stay.

Religious shopping in Rome

Another useful website to locate accomodation in monasteries and convents is Monasterystays.com which lists accomodation all over Italy. This could be a good way to get in touch with your spiritual side, for modest accomodation at a modest price.

Do you have any experience of staying in a convent, monastery or religious guest house? If so, do share your recommendations.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Acccomodation review, Accommodation, Authentic travel, Budget options, Italy, Travel tips by Heather Cowper | 4 Comments »

Café culture in Greece

Thursday, January 22nd, 2009Heather Cowper

Part of enjoying your visit to any Greek town or city is to do as the Greeks do and sit with a coffee to watch the world go by. In the town square or by the harbour you’ll find the most popular cafés where both tourists and the trendy Greeks like to hang out. These will probably be the most expensive place to take your coffee, but what’s that against the opportunity to see and be seen. If you want to blend in, leave the shorts and vest tops for the beach and dress up a little with your chicest top, trendy jeans, gold jewellery and lip gloss like the Greek girls do. You’ll often find comfortable sofa or rattan style chairs that encourage you to relax in the early evening while you decide where to head next for dinner.

 Street cafe in Zante town

The authentic Greek coffee is served very strong, black and sweet in a small cup with a glass of water to clear your palate. Don’t knock back every drop or you’ll get a mouthful of the fine grounds at the bottom of the cup. If this isn’t your taste then try a foaming iced café frappé instead.

Away from the main squares and down the side streets, you’ll find a different kind of café which may have just a few tables in front of a narrow bar or pastry shop. These are the kind of bars where you’ll find the older locals hanging out, or where you’d go to buy your pastries or ice creams. Personally I like this kind of non-touristy place better, as you watch the bustle of everyday life down the side streets.

Sweet pastries or Glika in Zante town

You may find a shop specialising in glika, those super sweet pastries made with flaky pastry and nuts, dripping with honey or syrup. These are the natural accompaniment to that super-strong Greek coffee which will offset the sweetness. Baklava is the one everyone knows about, but you should be able to choose from a selection under the counter. Sometimes, this sort of shop will also sell the traditional cheese pies or Tiropita made of puff pastry and local soft cheese, if you’re looking for a savoury snack on the move. You’ll also find the cake shops with a few tables selling all those colourful creamy cakes, and often ice creams too. Again you can sit at one of their tables inside or out and enjoy one of their cakes with a coffee.

Creamy cakes in Zante town

The Greeks are not great pudding makers at home, and they would normally buy these creamy cakes or the sweet glika to take home and serve in the afternoon, when guests come to call. On saints’ days and name days, a Greek family will keep open house for friends and family who drop by. A name day is the feast day of the saint who shares your name and tends to be like a communal birthday, as many people will share the same name, and be celebrating on the same day.

Coffee and cakes in Zante town

There’s always so much to do on holiday, but sometimes you see more by sitting still. What’s your favourite way to enjoy a coffee when travelling?

All photos by Heatheronhertravels on Flickr

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Authentic travel, Budget options, Cuisine, Culture, Greece, Restaurants, Travel tips by Heather Cowper | 4 Comments »

Travel on a budget with Hospitality Club

Thursday, January 15th, 2009Heather Cowper

As budget travel is so very much on the agenda this year, you may be interested in my experiences with the travel networking site, Hospitality Club. It’s a website designed to bring travellers and hosts together to exchange hospitality, whether it be travel information, a drink or meal or free accomodation. Once you sign up, you can contact another member in the place you’re planning to visit and likewise you can reciprocate with help or accomodation when other members contact you. There are other travel networks offering a similar service such as Couchsurfing and Servas.

Cycling in the Turia Gardens
Cycling in the Turia Gardens

I joined Hospitality club when I was planning a trip to Valencia with my family and wanted to meet up with someone local to help us connect with the city and get an insider’s view. We already had our hotel booked, so a friendly face rather than accomodation was on my agenda. I contacted Angel because he was in bit older than the average student type, his photo looked friendly and he sounded genuinely keen to help visitors enjoy his city. We exchanged a few e-mails on good places to visit and then arranged to meet up on the first Saturday of our stay. We had breakfast together and then took up Angel’s suggestion of renting bikes for the family and going for a cycle ride in the Turia Gardens.

The day was a great success and with a local we didn’t have to worry about our dodgy Spanish or reading a map – we just followed Angel and had a great time cycling through the gardens to the beach where we relaxed for an hour or two before coming back to the hotel. On another evening we met up again and Angel recommended a typically Spanish restaurant down the backstreets where we had an excellent meal together. Angel was keen to improve his English and we had fun chatting to him about life in Valencia, although it didn’t do much to improve my Spanish.

With Angel at La Utielana restaurant
Eating out with Angel, our Hospitality Club host in Valencia

Obviously, free accommodation is a big attraction of Hospitality Club, but as you can see from our experience, it’s also a great way of connecting with a place and experiencing it through local eyes. Even if you stay with a host, you should expect to engage with them in this way and not treat it like a free B & B.

Since then, I’ve hosted guests a couple of times and found it an interesting extension to our family’s social life, comparing notes on travel destinations and favourite places my guests have been. When I get an e-mail from another member, I use my initial impressions to judge whether I would like to host them or not. If the e-mail shows that they have similar interests, are genuinely keen to visit Bristol & engage with my family, then the answer’s likely to be yes. If it’s from someone who wants to bring all their friends and use my home as a base for partying, then I’ll suddenly find myself unavailable.

The next thing I do is to check their profile for age and interests, and then any testimonials from other people who have hosted them or been their guest. You have to read between the lines a bit on these, as no-one likes to give a damning report. For instance, if someone writes ‘as long as you clearly agree arrival times you’ll be OK’ you know you’ll be dealing with a guest who is chronically unreliable.

One Stop Thali Cafe in Bristol
Eating out with our guests from Hospitality Club

This week we hosted a charming international couple who were taking some time out from work and study in London to see something of the West Country. As well as putting them up for a couple of nights, we lent them guidebooks, gave them our recommendations and enjoyed an evening out together in an excellent local restaurant that they would not have found on their own. From us they went on to stay with another Hospitality Club host in Cardiff and had a week’s holiday without too much expense.

As a woman traveller, one also has to consider security implications and take some sensible precautions. If I was travelling as a woman alone, I’d only request to stay with other women or couples and similarly if I was hosting, I’d probably only accept couples or female guests. I’d also make an effort to exchange a few e-mails before meeting a guest or host, to get a feel for what they were like. But I wouldn’t let these common sense concerns stop me using a travel network like Hospitality Club.

Even setting the cost-saving implications aside, I’d definitely recommend it as an enriching way to travel.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Accommodation, Authentic travel, Budget options, Travel tips by Heather Cowper | 5 Comments »

The new breed of backpacker: The flashpacker

Wednesday, January 14th, 2009Jacinta Lodge

If you’ve been wandering the world for a while now you’ll have started to notice the changing trend of backpackers. These days the unshowered, subsistence-level travellers are hard to find and hostels have become home to backpackers in quality clothing and bristling with electronics. These are the new generation of backpackers: the Flashpackers.

geek charme by Giorgio Montersino
geek charme by Giorgio Montersino

With the changes in technology and their dramatic reduction in price, it isn’t surprising. Most people don’t go down to the shops without their phone and mp3 player – so why should larger trips be any different? Laptops are affordable and getting smaller and lighter while the original-style hostels, with sagging beds and peeling wallpaper have evolved into slick, serviced accomodation complete with wifi.

There seems to be a bit of confusion over what really defines a flashpacker. Are they just the traditional backpackers a bit more geared up? Or are they backpackers with a bigger budget, staying in hostels but able to afford restaurant dinners? Personally I consider them a bit of both and it definately describes me these days.

I travel with phone, laptop, iPod, a small point-and-shoot camera and a larger digital SLR. And, of course, all the charging devices. I twitter, blog, flickr and youtube my travels and enjoy doing it. I love having the gadgets with me -although I sometimes don’t love the weight of my backpack- and I love the way I experience my journeys with them. Far from removing me from the experience, I get more into it. More focused on the view in front of me and how I can capture it, more involved in the events and people so that I can describe them well enough in blog posts later.

So what about you? Are you a flashpacker, and if so what’s in your flashpack?

alone by Giorgio Montersino
alone by Giorgio Montersino

Posted in Authentic travel, Budget options, Technology, Travel tips by Jacinta Lodge | 4 Comments »

UK pound rallies against Euro – my new career in currency speculation?

Saturday, January 10th, 2009Karen Bryan

Well if last week I had put money on my own prediction tha the value of the pound would soon increase against the euro I could have made a tidy profit as the UK pound has increased by around 10% in value over the last week, 3 – 10 January 2009. Yesterday 1 UK pound was worth 1.12 euro from near parity last week.

£20 holograms by austinevan

Do I see a new career as a currency speculator for myself? I don’t think so as some currency fluctuations don’t seem to be based on any logic so you could easily lose your shirt.

Update 19/04/2009

The pound is holding its value against the euro with the rate on 19 April 2009 standing at one UK pound to 1.13 euro.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Travel tips, United Kingdom by Karen Bryan | 7 Comments »

Cloud computing – a traveller’s best friend

Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008Jacinta Lodge

Recently I suffered from a massive technological meltdown, right before I was leaving home on a three month trip. Due to one thing or another (primarily budget and the inability to decide if I should make the leap to Mac) I wound up departing without a laptop, something which would have caused me unending headaches if I hadn’t already made the change to cloud computing.

Fixed by Don Fulano
Fixed by Don Fulano

If you haven’t yet heard of this latest web phenomena here’s a very simplified run down: rather than working on your computer, you work on the internet, with your files hosted elsewhere and accessible over any internet connection from any connected computer.

My “cloud” of choice is the megalithic Google which offers Word-like documents, Excel-like spreadsheets and Powerpoint-like slideshows. You may share documents, collaborate with people simultaneously on them and even publicly publish them. It’s nice stuff to use – especially if you’re like me and more likely to open the browser than a word document. One less hurdle to overcome in turning off Desktop Tower Defense and knuckling down to work.

But the biggest benefit for me in the last few weeks has been the accessibility. From bookshops in Milan to hostels in Tokyo to a friend’s blackberry in Melbourne, I have been able to find documents, check contracts and get work done even though my own computer is on the other side of the world and in multiple pieces.

Cloud computing
Cloud Computing by selena marie
There are of course security issues to consider in how you use cloud computing. Think twice before putting really sensitive data into the system. We don’t yet know how secure and private these systems will prove to be and we may find ourselves data mined (in the best case) or completely electronically compromised (in the worst). Also consider backing up your data locally as well. Installing Google Gears on your computer will allow local copies to be kept and continually updated with the latest versions, as well as letting you continue working on your documents offline.

Cloud computing has worked out wonderfully for me so far. I don’t have to worry about which USB stick or external hard drive has the latest versions, nor do I get stuck at those annoying hotel/hostel/internet cafes which don’t allow you to insert external drives into their computers. I don’t have to worry if I have my data on me (or in which pocket I last had it) and if my laptop goes on the fritz while I’m stuck in Lucerne, I can work on uninterrupted on any internet connection available.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Technology, Travel tips by Jacinta Lodge | 1 Comment »

« Older Entries