Readers' tips ... homestays
Each week we run a section in the Guardian newspaper's travel section, asking for readers to send in tips on a particular subject. The best tip wins a digital camera courtesy of Jessops. Find out more here.
Winning tip
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GK's Riverview homestay
Posted by Tilly
Nestled between emerald green paddy-fields, luscious palms and meandering canals is George Kutty's homestay, at the heart of the Keralan backwaters, in the village where Arundati Roy grew up. For $10 a day, guests are provided with ensuite, air-conditioned rooms and invited to share mouth-watering meals with the Kutty family, freshly prepared from the sumptuous fruits, spices and vegetables, which burst from their garden. Days can be spent navigating the waterways on the Kutty's canoe, exploring the surrounding villages and exquisite wildlife or venturing into the nearby, bustling market towns of Kottayam and Alappuzha. George Kutty's enthusiasm and knowledge is truly boundless, providing visitors with a priceless insight into and understanding of rural Southern India; its culture, traditions, religion and day-to-day life.
www.gkhomestay-kumarakom.com/
Google map here
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Homestay on Lake Titicaca, Peru
Posted by Alices1
Isolated in the middle of the highest lake in the world, the islands of Taquile and Amantani are an unbeatable place to engage with indigenous culture, and staying with a welcoming local family is the perfect way to do it.
The communities who live on the islands fled there to escape the Inca conquest of Peru, and little seems to have changed since then. No running water, electricity, and freezing candlelit nights make for an uncomfortable stay! But I'd recommend it because of the awe inspiring setting and shy, but warm, knitting population who have set up their own collective to transport and accommodate guests.
If you can happily eat potatoes three times a day, this homestay is perfect.
Turn up at the docks in Puno before 8 a.m. and be sure to ask for the collective boat, (this way all the proceeds go to the island communities), when you arrive on an island, 4 or 5 hours later, the boat men will arrange a local family for you to stay with, on a rotating system.
Google map here
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Andaman Discoveries, Thailand
Posted by rowwrites
If you'd like to extend your interactions with Thai people beyond bartering with tuk-tuk drivers or ordering another Singha, I heartily recommend booking a cultural exchange trip with this sustainable development / community-based tourism organisation based in Kuraburi on the Andaman coast, two hours' drive north from Khao Lak.
I received a warm welcome from the friendly AD team, who arranged for me to stay with a Thai family in a local fishing village. I got to see and experience various activities that the villagers undertake to support themselves in a post-tsunami world, including planting mangroves, weaving palm leaf roofs, designing batik, fishing, and much more. It gave me a real insight into a very different way of life - and was plenty of fun besides.
Andaman Discoveries also arrange longer-term volunteering opportunities, teaching English at a local school, helping out at a local orphanage, or in a school for disabled children in Phuket.
Soi Nangyon, Kuraburi.
You can get an overnight bus from Bangkok, or it's a three-hour bus ride from Phuket.
www.andamandiscoveries.com
Google map here
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Sunrise Villa, Himchal Pradesh
Posted by ajwin
A good homestay, interaction with local people and great stay. It is located on a ridge at Shoghi about 14 kms before shimla in a very calm area away from the city crowd with plenty of forest area and hills for outdoor activities like trekking bird watching etc.
Anandpur Road Shoghi Shimla, Himachal Pradesh
www.sunrisevilla.in
Google map here
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Bai Tu Long Bay
Posted by bkkwoman
It is the undiscovered sister of Ha Long Bay. We sailed through its green waters and looming limestone karsts and saw only a handful of boats - all local fishing boats. If you want to sail on unpolluted waters and avoid touts book a trip through Ethnic Travel. They can arrange a homestay on quiet Van Don island where you cycle from the port. We had a boat between five passengers and was served delicious freshly cooked food on board.
www.ethnictravel.com.vn
Google map here
________________________________________________________________
Rana Country Homestay, Kampong Cham, Cambodia
Posted by senorlimpio
The one essential reason to visit Kampong Cham is for the Rana Country Homestay - the most rewarding day of our entire trip to Cambodia. 80% of Cambodia’s population are still subsistence farmers, and this place is unique in giving an insider insight into the realities of peasant life.
The delightful and informative owner takes you on tours of the village and farmlands, in between making delicious home-cooked Cambodian meals (best Amok by miles), and in the evening people from the village come to talk to you about whatever you want.
We found it particularly insightful to have this perspective on the Pol Pot years – especially as most information comes from previously wealthy city dwellers dispossessed by the Khmer Rouge or the horrors of Toul Sleng and the killing fields. Strongly recommend you take the short detour required off the road from Phnom Penh – Siem Reap to visit!
www.rana-cambodia.blogspot.com/
Google map here
________________________________________________________________
The Big House, Vinales, Cuba
Posted by Walkaboutnicko
Staying at The Big House was one of the highlights of our holiday in Cuba. Why? Because the host Arturo is one of the coolest people you could wish to come across.
He is fun, warm and friendly - undoubtedly you will end up chatting and laughing over a late night beer with him and his friends in one of Vinales' simple but welcoming bars. If you’re not a Spanish speaker the most important thing is that Arturo has excellent English, so you can really connect with your host - something that frustrated us on our travels as we met so many lovely people who we struggled to communicate with using our paltry Spanish!
He has two rooms both with a private bathroom and a lovely outside area - perfect for pre-dinner drinks and some of his delicious home made potato chips. Dinner was a tasty, extensive spread of fresh fish, chicken, great rice and beans and plenty of fruit and veg and salad. Oh, and flan for pudding - not what we’d call flan in the UK - more like a creme caramel (which normally I hate but this I loved!). He'll also take care of ensuring the fridge is always full of beer and water. Breakfast is typically Cuban - coffee, fresh juice, eggs, bread and fruit.
The house is literally the Big House, dwarfing all the neighbours thanks to a capacious roof, and it's located in a quiet road just off the main drag. Vinales is well worth the visit as all the guidebooks say, sweet little town in stunning scenery with plenty to do nearby or a reasonable drive away - walking, horseriding and an hour away from the beautiful, unspoilt Caya Levissa beach. Arturo can help organise and pre-book these for you.
The Big House, Rafael Trejo #33, Vinales Pinar Del Rio Cuba CP 22400
Tel: 0053 48 793342
lusien@correodecuba.cu
Google map here
Winning tip
________________________________________________________________
GK's Riverview homestay
Posted by Tilly
Nestled between emerald green paddy-fields, luscious palms and meandering canals is George Kutty's homestay, at the heart of the Keralan backwaters, in the village where Arundati Roy grew up. For $10 a day, guests are provided with ensuite, air-conditioned rooms and invited to share mouth-watering meals with the Kutty family, freshly prepared from the sumptuous fruits, spices and vegetables, which burst from their garden. Days can be spent navigating the waterways on the Kutty's canoe, exploring the surrounding villages and exquisite wildlife or venturing into the nearby, bustling market towns of Kottayam and Alappuzha. George Kutty's enthusiasm and knowledge is truly boundless, providing visitors with a priceless insight into and understanding of rural Southern India; its culture, traditions, religion and day-to-day life.
www.gkhomestay-kumarakom.com/
Google map here
________________________________________________________________
Homestay on Lake Titicaca, Peru
Posted by Alices1
Isolated in the middle of the highest lake in the world, the islands of Taquile and Amantani are an unbeatable place to engage with indigenous culture, and staying with a welcoming local family is the perfect way to do it.
The communities who live on the islands fled there to escape the Inca conquest of Peru, and little seems to have changed since then. No running water, electricity, and freezing candlelit nights make for an uncomfortable stay! But I'd recommend it because of the awe inspiring setting and shy, but warm, knitting population who have set up their own collective to transport and accommodate guests.
If you can happily eat potatoes three times a day, this homestay is perfect.
Turn up at the docks in Puno before 8 a.m. and be sure to ask for the collective boat, (this way all the proceeds go to the island communities), when you arrive on an island, 4 or 5 hours later, the boat men will arrange a local family for you to stay with, on a rotating system.
Google map here
________________________________________________________________
Andaman Discoveries, Thailand
Posted by rowwrites
If you'd like to extend your interactions with Thai people beyond bartering with tuk-tuk drivers or ordering another Singha, I heartily recommend booking a cultural exchange trip with this sustainable development / community-based tourism organisation based in Kuraburi on the Andaman coast, two hours' drive north from Khao Lak.
I received a warm welcome from the friendly AD team, who arranged for me to stay with a Thai family in a local fishing village. I got to see and experience various activities that the villagers undertake to support themselves in a post-tsunami world, including planting mangroves, weaving palm leaf roofs, designing batik, fishing, and much more. It gave me a real insight into a very different way of life - and was plenty of fun besides.
Andaman Discoveries also arrange longer-term volunteering opportunities, teaching English at a local school, helping out at a local orphanage, or in a school for disabled children in Phuket.
Soi Nangyon, Kuraburi.
You can get an overnight bus from Bangkok, or it's a three-hour bus ride from Phuket.
www.andamandiscoveries.com
Google map here
________________________________________________________________
Sunrise Villa, Himchal Pradesh
Posted by ajwin
A good homestay, interaction with local people and great stay. It is located on a ridge at Shoghi about 14 kms before shimla in a very calm area away from the city crowd with plenty of forest area and hills for outdoor activities like trekking bird watching etc.
Anandpur Road Shoghi Shimla, Himachal Pradesh
www.sunrisevilla.in
Google map here
________________________________________________________________
Bai Tu Long Bay
Posted by bkkwoman
It is the undiscovered sister of Ha Long Bay. We sailed through its green waters and looming limestone karsts and saw only a handful of boats - all local fishing boats. If you want to sail on unpolluted waters and avoid touts book a trip through Ethnic Travel. They can arrange a homestay on quiet Van Don island where you cycle from the port. We had a boat between five passengers and was served delicious freshly cooked food on board.
www.ethnictravel.com.vn
Google map here
________________________________________________________________
Rana Country Homestay, Kampong Cham, Cambodia
Posted by senorlimpio
The one essential reason to visit Kampong Cham is for the Rana Country Homestay - the most rewarding day of our entire trip to Cambodia. 80% of Cambodia’s population are still subsistence farmers, and this place is unique in giving an insider insight into the realities of peasant life.
The delightful and informative owner takes you on tours of the village and farmlands, in between making delicious home-cooked Cambodian meals (best Amok by miles), and in the evening people from the village come to talk to you about whatever you want.
We found it particularly insightful to have this perspective on the Pol Pot years – especially as most information comes from previously wealthy city dwellers dispossessed by the Khmer Rouge or the horrors of Toul Sleng and the killing fields. Strongly recommend you take the short detour required off the road from Phnom Penh – Siem Reap to visit!
www.rana-cambodia.blogspot.com/
Google map here
________________________________________________________________
The Big House, Vinales, Cuba
Posted by Walkaboutnicko
Staying at The Big House was one of the highlights of our holiday in Cuba. Why? Because the host Arturo is one of the coolest people you could wish to come across.
He is fun, warm and friendly - undoubtedly you will end up chatting and laughing over a late night beer with him and his friends in one of Vinales' simple but welcoming bars. If you’re not a Spanish speaker the most important thing is that Arturo has excellent English, so you can really connect with your host - something that frustrated us on our travels as we met so many lovely people who we struggled to communicate with using our paltry Spanish!
He has two rooms both with a private bathroom and a lovely outside area - perfect for pre-dinner drinks and some of his delicious home made potato chips. Dinner was a tasty, extensive spread of fresh fish, chicken, great rice and beans and plenty of fruit and veg and salad. Oh, and flan for pudding - not what we’d call flan in the UK - more like a creme caramel (which normally I hate but this I loved!). He'll also take care of ensuring the fridge is always full of beer and water. Breakfast is typically Cuban - coffee, fresh juice, eggs, bread and fruit.
The house is literally the Big House, dwarfing all the neighbours thanks to a capacious roof, and it's located in a quiet road just off the main drag. Vinales is well worth the visit as all the guidebooks say, sweet little town in stunning scenery with plenty to do nearby or a reasonable drive away - walking, horseriding and an hour away from the beautiful, unspoilt Caya Levissa beach. Arturo can help organise and pre-book these for you.
The Big House, Rafael Trejo #33, Vinales Pinar Del Rio Cuba CP 22400
Tel: 0053 48 793342
lusien@correodecuba.cu
Google map here