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Homemade Tarte de Poreau (Vegetarian) provided a meal in itself for a hungry skier. Delicious. There was even a non-veggie version! Exceptional find for frustrated veggies in France!
Les Menuires - on the slopes from the top of La Masse 1 - Les 3V
73440 Les Menuires
Tel 04 79 00 74 04
If you are finding it impossible to get a ticket to the Alhambra, a final resort could always be to purchase a bono (pass). For €25 or €30 it combines entry into the Cathedral among other places, and provides a number of journeys on local buses (you may be grateful, the city is quite hilly, although the ride often feels more like a rollercoaster!!)
Nothing in Saas Fee is cheap, they will soon be charging for breathing. The resort sure is stunning though, especially when you find little places like this.
On the way down from a hard day's riding, pop into the Gletschergrotte. It's a small restaurant/ bar on the way down. They serve well priced drinks and nice but not budget priced meals. I would recommend getting a nice beer or gluewine or two, before riding down to the village.
Just be careful of pisters as the runs may have closed while you have been enjoying your beer!
Just off run 4b (the blue run down to the village) www.gletschergrotte.ch/
Chalet am Brunnen, 3906 Saas Fee
+41279572160
Google map: bit.ly/ehEDa4
Situated at 1650m the Snack Bar du Col de Voza has a spacious terrace which is bathed in sunshine from lunchtime until late into the afternoon. With panoramic views of the surrounding mountains it is the perfect place for a budget on-piste lunch. Although there is no table service, this popular snack bar has plenty of space and a varied, child-friendly and high quality lunchtime menu. Alternatively, miss the midday rush and make the most of ‘Happy Hour’ (from 3 to 5 in the winter season) and enjoy a late lunch with all drinks (including vin chaud) two for the price of one.
Large freshly prepared baguettes/burgers/hot dogs: from around 3 Euros
Pasta: 5 Euros
Good sized and great quality steak, frite and salad: 10 Euros
Reach it via the Prarion gondola.
Les Houches is in the Chamonix valley
The Sun Bar at the base of the Olympique cable car is easy to reach by foot, ski's or snowboard; so doesn’t rule anybody in your party. The best thing about this place is the selection of food and above all the price!
As any visitor to Val d'isere will know, a normal day out there can be quite costly, with a bottle of water regularly reaching 4 Euros. Add that to your food bill and you’re talking about an easily spent 30 to 40 Euros on lunch alone.
We found the Sun Bar on our first day in resort and then went every day for the rest of the holiday!
The food options include some classic French meals like soups and stews, then there are sandwiches and French fries. The salads served here are really great and very fresh.
On average a main meal, a can of coke and a chocolate bar will cost 10 - 12 Euros. There are plenty of seats and tables so plonk yourselves down, and the view of le Face (a terrifying black run)and the nursery slopes offer you an excellent chance to people watch.
I would highly recommend a visit to the Sun bar when in Val!
Chef Lieu,73150 Val-d'Isère, France
+33(0)4 79 41 16 61
Google map: bit.ly/hWbBIf
I recommend Kalico's for a cheap lunch on the fly. Anyone who's been to Courchevel 1850 knows that it is not cheap with the oil rich Ruskies pushing up the prices over the past few years. However, if it is a nice day go to Kalico's and you can grab a nice baguette loaded with steak hache, chips and some salad for €7.
www.lekalico.com/
Le Forum, Courchevel 1850
+33(0)4 79 08 20 28
Google map: bit.ly/gBlf1n
Off the beaten track directly below Heavenly Village at South Lake Tahoe, tucked away is a wonderful taqueria. Inconspicuous and unassuming, the food is delicious and a welcome change from the limited selection at other nearby eateries. Authentic Mexican fare at authentic prices - $1 tacos are delicious, and you'd be hard pressed to spend $10 a head (and very very full). Couldn't recommend the place more highly, it quickly became a regular haunt.
913 Friday Ave, South Lake Tahoe, CA
+196150-6924
Google map: bit.ly/eFZD3E
Cheap but excellent baked potato outlet on the slopes of Alpika Service, Krasnaya Polyana's longest piste. 150 roubles-about 3GBP will get you a potato and a drink. It's not just cheese and ham either - hot dog sausage in mustard, smoked salmon, russian salad are some of the 20 toppings on offer. You can point to which you want as all are made up in front of you. And they mash the potato interior INTO the sauce. Cool. More toppings = higher price. You can get coffee, cold drinks, even a beer, so this is easily european skiing's most democratic snackplace.
Bottom of Alpika Service slope, very near where you go through the gate to get on the lift. Green hut.
www.krasnaya-polyana.com/
For slopeside budget eats:
It's more about what you choose - not where to go. Head into the main town of your resort for sandwich bars/savory crepes to eat on the street (around €3-5 each but bagettes are generally big so you could share). You can also go to the supermarket to make your own. If you want to eat on the mountain, opt for soup which is cheap (around €5.50), and will fill you up as you get bread too. Choose table water and a caraffe of wine if you really want to drink. Share dishes, a pizza for €17 is a lot, but between two, you'll be full for €8.50 each. Same goes for local dishes, like tartiflette in France, or the plat du jour, which will always be cheaper than regular main courses, if halved they're much more reasonable. Also, take snacks to keep you going mid morning/afternoon and easily fit into a jacket pocket.
Having said all that, if it's snowing a blizzard and -18, it's worth €3 on a hot chocolate to get the feeling back in your fingers.
Any ski resort in France will have these options
this is a recommendation for a cheap eat in the ridiculously expensive resort of saas fee. At the bottom of the main lift area below the "platjen" lift there is the no1 bar. Everyday it has the biggest pan you have ever seen cooking one dish. They change the dish daily and it is really good. nasi goreng was amazing! whats better is that it is only 10 francs which is a real bargain when a crappy margerine, ham and gherkin sandwich will set you back 5.5 francs in the supermarket!
Google map: bit.ly/faKFXT
Many of us have been fortunate enough to take a trip to Thailand and tragic though it is after a few months of gallivanting around, sight-seeing and eating enough pad Thai to sink a long-tail, you can become a little uninspired on arrival to yet another beautiful beachut on yet another beautiful island. But when you arrive at Porn's bungalow you will feel a spark of magic and calmness surrounds it allowing you to explore the delights of Koh Chang without the boom boom of a techno sound system in earshot.
The bungalows owned and run by the Porn family are beautifully located on a golden beach where the water is almost like a lagoon allowing you to walk or snorkel until your hearts content. They are very affordable starting at just 500 bhat each and your hosts can't do enough to make your stay just perfect.
A recommendation to fill your time, should you get board of lying in a hammock reading your favourite book, is to relax with a turmeric face mask at the Bailan Herbal Sauna in Ao Bai Lan (086 252 4744 Opening time: Daily 4–8pm).
www.pornsbungalows-kohchang.com/index.htm
36 Moo4, Kai Bae Beach, Koh Chang, Trat 23120, Thailand
+66 8 9251 9233
Google map: bit.ly/dEalxE
Ko Lipe is a tiny island in the Andaman sea and is one of the 51 islands of the Taratoa National Marine Park. It is a paradise to experience with long stretches of white sand that each morning are strewn with flowers - lifted by the night breeze from trees that fringe the sand. The Coco Bungalow beach huts are simple and perfect, and literally nestle in front of the sea. A real Robinson Crusoe experience. A simple mat on the floor is your comfy bed, but even the cheapest (only a few pounds) come with toilet and shower.
It is a family owned resort and feels intimate and safe. We were left to ourselves to get up with the sunrise and sit on our balcony and brew coffee (we'd brought a kettle and the tiny local shop supplied us with coffee and bananas for breakfast.) The rest of the day might be spent with dreamy long walks seeking shells along the beach, snorkelling in the clear, blue and lusciously warm waters, or trying to chat and play with the kids of the island. The Chao Ley are the indigenous inhabitants; a nomadic tribe that I watched for hours as they painstakingly and skillfully created long tail boats on the waters edge, under the shelter of Casuarina trees which flowed gently in the warm breeze.
Coco Bungalows, Sunrise Beach,
Thai Bhat 400-2200.
Access via speedboat/ferry from Pak Barra on mainland, southern Thailand. 1.5-2 hours. They run between November and May. Then longtail boat from ferry to the beach as there are no piers.
Google map: bit.ly/eijczG
Klong Nin is a quiet idyllic beach resort on Ko Lanta with the most beautiful sunset to be seen in Thailand. I stayed in unnamed beach huts with double bed and bathroom costing just $1 a night, including the use of a pool (the only problem was I occassionaly had to share with some of the local wildlife including a 3ft monitor lizard). Fresh fruit and breakfast banquets were also on offer in the resort beachfront restaurant. I doubt these prices can be found online but are easy to find once there. However they where right by the luxurious and 'green' Sri Lanta boutique resort. Surrounded by unspoiled tranquil beaches by day and fresh seafood restaurants by night. Also for a fun night out Ibark nightclub is a short stroll away - with an open air bar perched on a cliff top it's the perfect way to end the day either with a Singha beer in the lounge or dancing the night away to quality music with new friends.
www.srilanta.com
Google map: bit.ly/htLpHo
Bottle beach is beautiful and just the right combination of isolated and yet convenient.
Beautiful white sands, palm trees, clear water that is perfect for swimming. It's only accessible by boat or dirt track (though I think a road is planned) which means that it's just hard enough to get to to put off the crowds who would flock here otherwise.
There are several bungalows/cafe/bar places right on the beach and even a resort now with a pool. This means you can have a choice of places to eat and chill out (although the menus are all pretty similar). However, to sleep, you should choose the bungalowss which are at the far right of the beach as you stand with the sea behind you. I think these were called 'Friendly bungaloew' or something like that. The staff are lovely and will make you feel like part of the family immediately. They have a number of long-term residents who are always on the look out for new people to play chess/backgammon/cards with. The internet is decent (intermittently when there is electricity), they do a book-swap, you can hire snorkels, and they will arrange taxis/boats and dispense travel advice quite happily. The huts themselves are also lovely - they back right onto the jungle and are so peaceful. Each one is different and they keep them immaculately clean.
We stayed for five days but I didn't want to leave and we had already met so many people on the beach that we felt like a little village.
Its very family-friendly if that is important to you although families were in the minority and most of the people here were chilling out as part of a longer backpacking trip or working holiday.
Bottle Beach (Haad Khuat), Koh Phangan
www.travelfish.org/map_detail/thailand/southern_thailand/surat_thani/ko_pha_ngan/44
In a town replete with casas particulares it is hard to stand out in Vinales, but Casa Brunilda manages it handily. Aside from the nice room and outdoor sitting area, the main reason is the woman herself: Brunilda has a great sense of humour, loves to chat, and is the best cook in Cuba. Seriously. Each meal was a banquet, made all the more remarkable by the fact that it was all whipped up on stoves in the back garden. Insist on trying the bean soup...
Rafael Trejo No 107 e/ Adela Azcuy y C. Maragoto, Vinales.
+5348796044
www.bbinnvinales.com
Google map: bit.ly/egfDzN
Hackneyed though it may be, the hop on/hop off tourist bus in Havana makes a lot of sense. First off, in a city where transport is pricey for tourists, these CUC$5 are well spent if only as a means of getting around. Secondly, while you won’t be using the bus to explore the crumbling splendour of Havana Vieja’s side streets, you will hit other more distant spots like the Plaza de la Revolucion, with its somewhat scary murals of Che and Camilo Cienfuegos, and the artisan market. But nicest of all, in a city where much of the life (and best photos) happen one floor up on the bustling, colourful balconies, the open-top bus gives you some of the best views in town.
From the Hotel Inglaterra in the Parque Central, and various other points around the city.
Google map: bit.ly/e5glFN
The Paradise Bungalows in Cambodia are exactly that, bungalows in paradise. Situated right on the heavenly white beaches of the sparsley populated island of Koh Rong 40km off the coast of SihanoukVille. There are various beach huts from $15 and even dorms available from $3. You really feel you have the island to yourself if you visit in the off-peak season. If you fancy combining diving the coral reefs around the island with idyllic hammock swinging and swimming with phosphorescence in the sea just like in The Beach, you can book your dives and nights accommodation through The Dive Shop located at SihanoukVille. You can then miss the masses that dive Thailand. The authorities have big plans for the island so best to visit before it gets over developed.
The Dive Shop 034 933 664
www.diveshopcambodia.com/
Google map: bit.ly/fVKJBI
We found this hotel in Rome's center, amazing price and friendly staff, we were satisfied. An excellent quality price hotel. Basic but very clean double room. Perfect location for the public transportation.
Via Tiburtina 30, 00185 Roma, Italia
www.hotelfelice.com
+39.06.4453347
Google map: bit.ly/hI2rzl
It's a Hotel with spectacular panoramic views over the Kathmandu Valley. I'm recommending it for the views of the sunrise over the Himalayas and Everest. We travelled there during the start of October and it was spectacular. It has a good vibe and if busy is really good fun. If they offer it, take the 5.30am trip to the viewing point on top of the mountain, it's worth it.
www.endoftheuniverse.com.np/index-2.html
Mahankal Temple, Nagarkot, Nepal
+977 16680011
Google map: bit.ly/h5z9Tm
0977 - 1- 6680011 (mobile inside Nepal: 016680011)
0977 - 1- 6680109 (mobile inside Nepal: 016680109)
www.endoftheuniverse.com.np
info@endoftheuniverse.com.np
This is a really cool restaurant in Hamburg that's really worth visiting just to see how the food is delivered to your table - it only opened a few months ago and is a good reason to venture over to the other side of the river. You have to order your food through a touchscreen at your table and then all your food is delivered to you spiralled rails, on a small tray with wheels! The food is good and there is plenty of it. We ordered tons of food because the portions looked so small in the pictures when we were ordering but don't be fooled by them.
www.schwerelos-zeitlos.de/home.html
Im Palmspeicher, Harburger Schlostrase 22, 21079
+49 40 89721 310
Google map: bit.ly/fS6NIP
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