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It is a 3 star hotel right in the city centre. If you are planning a trip to Dublin it is worth basing yourself there. It is 3 star so you get what you pay for (we only paid €70 for the room) but the location is great. We were able to do our shopping head back and drop off the bags and head out again. The staff were always friendly. Thumbs up.
If you want a spa with a difference try the Hammam in the heart of Rhodes Old Town.
This huge Turkish bath is a relic from the Ottoman empire, and has cavernous steam rooms and plunge pools. The building is completely authentic, you are welcome to just sit and relax, or have a fantastic massage which leaves you wobbly when you stand.
Locals go regularly, and it is said to be a great cure for acne.
There are rooms for one person, two or the communal area. It is worth going simply to admire this beautiful old building!
If you are not too relaxed to walk, enjoy a coffee or a drink at one of the cafe bars opposite when you leave.
It's a 5 minute walk from Socrates Street, ask at one of the restaurants at the fountain.
Entrance fee is E2 and a massage costs E5 - bring towels and swimming costumes. It is open all year.
Dubrovnik, it's a unique city in the whole world. I traveled there in September 2006. I think Croatia is a great country, it has the whole package; history; cultural richness; beautiful places to visit, and great weather.
Pile Bay-Old Town is very romantic. We stayed there at apartments near Fort Lovrijenac. The price was OK and location perfect (only 70 m from magnificent Placa-Stradun). Nevertheless, the location was quiet.
The staff were obliging and rooms clean. Another hot tip is the wonderful fish restaurant Orhan near apartments at small idilic Pile harbour.
I recommend visiting Dubrovnik a thousand times!
od tabakarije 19,fon:+385(0)917397545
www.apartments-lovrijenac.com
Just returned from a weekend in Positano and couldn't have been happier with our hotel choice. I wish now we had planned on staying longer!
The hotel is centrally located - a three minute walk to everywhere you would want to go. The rooms were spacious, clean, and mine had a lovely balcony and sea view.
It's a small family hotel and staff were friendly and helpful and recommended some great restaurants and also provided us with directions when needed.
Positano is very expensive but this hotel is excellent value for money. I highly recommend hotel Bougainville when you are visiting Positano.
Public transport is cheap. Planes, trains, buses, minibuses and taxis from town to town. If you’re in a minibus or taxi, tell the driver you’ll tip him if he keeps the speed below 90/100 kmph! National speed limit is 90kph (120 on motorways).
Around Bkk try to use meter taxis with the meter on - it’ll be cheaper than the tuk-tuks (take a tuk-tuk once for the experience then use meter taxis).
Don’t let the drivers take you out of your way...they’ll try to take you to some store where they get commission.
Bring a cell phone “unblocked” and buy a Thai SIM card for it on arrival, they’re cheap (apprx. 250 baht) and include some credit already on them (e.g. - International calls to UK are about 5 - 8baht per min). Internet access is everywhere – even on the beach… you can get all your photos copied to CD. If you have a laptop you can connect it (broadband) at most cafes.
If you are finding the heat a bit too much there are plenty of enclosed air-conditioned bars with a western theme, be they Irish, English, Belgian or whatever. Here you can eat “comfort food” and watch replays of your favourite old TV shows and live football.
If you’re tired out by all this...get a massage. Make sure it’s actually a massage establishment and not a “gentleman’s relaxation” facility! There are plenty of small boutiques you can go in and get a 1or 2 hour leg rub for about 200 to 400 baht and some beautiful spas that will pamper you for the best part of a day for a few grand.
Pattaya remains one of the few seaside towns where anyone can do just about anything they want.... But at half the price!
At the other end of the price range there are the small Thai restaurants and street stalls dotted all over town, many won’t have a menu in English so just walk in, sit down and look hungry - let them bring you something and try and guess what it is you’re eating for (a lot) less than $5 for 2 (you can’t go wrong!). A bowl of street noodles can be as little as 15 baht.
Just one phrase you might find useful...."Mai Pet" (one for the Geordies!) - this means “not hot”...it won’t mean no chillies but it might bring it down to a level where you can just about eat it! - “Mai Prik” is NO chillies at all.
And for the mindless, bootless and unhorsed, the culturally stagnant and the grossly obese, there is the usual plethora of fast food outlets - McD’s, KFC, and Burger King....how can people eat that stuff!?!?!? And WHY when you are in a land of gastronomic delights, would you? (My comfort food of choice is a big plate of liver and onions - mmmmmmm!)
Eating out in Pattaya & Jomtien is a treat. There’s everything form every country and it’s all cheap! Even the upmarket stuff is half what you’d pay in Europe. You can eat US, French, Russian, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Full English Breakfast, Italian, Belgian, Dutch, German - what am I doing? The list is endless.
BUT
There’s one I’ve missed out....THAI food! Thai food is wonderful - everything from mild Chinese based noodles to hot and spicy Issan food, seafood, barbeque, Tom Yam soups - try it, you’ll love it.
If you want to spend a bit of money try Ruen Thai on 2nd road or Sugar Hut on Thap Phraya Rd, the hill between Jomtien and Pattaya.
Ruen Thai has great food from all the regions in Thailand and puts on an ethnic floor show of music, dance and even Thai boxing demonstrations!
Sugar Hut is in fact a very beautiful resort, the restaurant is in a traditional Thai style wooden house. The atmosphere is amazing - you remove your shoes on entering the dining area and the seating is either traditional low or for those of us who are less flexible there are “normal” height chairs and tables. Everything is teak and silk....just a pity the menu is so badly written and the food is a little on the bland side, but for a one off evening out it’s a must.
L’hamadriada is the stand out new restaurant in Valencia for my money. Serving outstanding grilled meats and rice it’s much more upmarket looking than its modest prices might suggest (€9-€17 three-course menu del dia and tasting menus from €22-€35), cool staff and you get your food pronto (not always the case in Valencia). The location is fantastic — very central but down a side street out of earshot from all the mooked up party noise.
Plaza Vicente Iborra 3
Tel: +963 260 891
www.hamadriada.com
The Blue Lagoon's a fantastic wee, reasonably budget place on Klong Prao beach. It has idyllic little clean, modern (we stayed in much, much worse - do not try KP Huts...) bungalows with verandahs over the lagoon - a non-stinky, non-mosquito-ridden lagoon I would point out. Brilliant for sunsets and relaxation, and just down from all the fancy resorts with much lesser views and more noise. The big bonus is they have a cooking school so the food's amazing.
Khlong Prao beach, Koh Chang.
Don't bother with the noisy trams, take the bus instead. It's cheaper, a LOT quicker and more comfortable.
Bus stops all along Gran Via Marques del Turia (2 mins from railway station/5 mins Plaza el Ayuntamiento).
Jasna is a ski resort, which I would recommend very highly. It has lots of varying runs, from begginers, to some really challenging off-piste runs. The rental equipment, from the mountain, was second to none, and cost about £55 for 6 days hire of skis, boots, and poles.
There are hotels at the resort, as well as dozens of food outlets on the mountain, and most of the drag lifts are new, which shows this place is on the up.
The Low Tatras, Slovakia.
About 25 mins from Liptovsky Mikulas, or 45 mins from Poprad.
I have had a fantastic time at this homestay in Buenos Aires. The location is perfect, in the middle of town and close to public transportation and all kind of entertainment. Esther is a great host who has helped me a lot with practicing my Spanish and with information. The rooms are spacious and very nice. I have recommended her to several other travellers on their way to BA, it is the best place to stay!
Corrientes Avenue 1642 Floor 4 Apartment 87 Postal Code 1042
Phone numbers: 005411-43731120 or 0054911-58595151
Fax number: 005411-43731120
www.homestay-buenos-aires.com
Google map: tinyurl.com/nbklcw
A modern, stylish but affordable hotel in the centre of Valencia.
Staff were helpful and friendly - rooms well furnished and spotless, with all of the expected facilities. Good value.
L'Abadia de San Martin 3, Valencia 46002
Georgian house with BBQ courtyard terrace five minutes walk from the city centre. From £8 a night including free breakfast, tea making, internet etc.
56 Berkeley Street, Charing Cross Tel: 0141 221 7880 www.glasgowbackpackers.com
This is a student estate exchange where you can find rooms and roommates also for a short amount of time.
It is totally free and you don't need to register.
Especially in Berlin there are plenty of free rooms to rent out short-term. This is just the place when you are looking for an alternative to staying at a youth hostel. This is where you can check out what the real Berlin lifestyle is all about!
I went to Berlin last summer and stayed at an ample apartment shared by three people. I was only there for three weeks but I got to meet local characters and had the chance to hang out at insiders only locations.
I can recommend this experience to anyone who detests feeling like a tourist and who wants to breathe the same air as the locals in Berlin do!
This student estate exchange is to be found online. At www.WG-Gesucht.de you can find your new home in Berlin (shortstay or long term- either way).
I translated the apartment search for you guys:
Go to:
www.wg-gesucht.de/wohnraumangebote.html
In the left field at the top choose:
Either:
"WG-Zimmer - flatshare"
or:
"1-Zimmer-Wohnung - one-room-flat"
or:
"Mehrzimmerwohnung - flat with 2 ore more rooms"
In the right field choose the city (Stadt), where you would like to live:
-> Now you see an overview of our flats available in this city:
The columns of the list are:
Eintrag vom - date of entry
Miete - rent
Grösse - size
Stadtteil - town area
frei ab - available from
frei bis - available till
You can sort the offers by clicking one of the columns at the top of the list, for example sort by "rent" by clicking "Miete"
When you click on the adverts you can see a detailed view of the offer.
The most important information given in the detailed view:
Miete - rent
Nebenk. - additional cost (water, heating etc.)
sont. Kosten - other costs (electricity...)
Grösse - size
Kaution - deposit
For all other information delivered use dict.leo.org to translate if necessary.
At the end of the advert you will find the contact information such as email-address or phone number.
If no contact info is delivered use the button "Nachricht senden" to get in touch with the offerer via email.
A great value house to rent in the middle of a medieval village between Avignon and Nimes.
The village has 30 potters, vineyards and olive groves. Beautiful.
Cheaper in June than the campsite. Budget airlines 30 minutes away.
Next door to Uzes, the first duchy of France.
Excellent authentic Thai food in a very relaxed and cozy atmosphere.
Great value early bird menu between 6-8pm. Often quiet, but fills up on the weekends.
No bookings taken.
Anne's Lane, just of South Anne Street, which itself is just off Grafton Street.
An iconic building in downtown.
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