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Situated at the mouth of a spectacular gorge and set in a tranquil olive grove. This spotless hostel lends itself to long spring sojourns for the intrepid walker or beach lover alike.
Eight person spacious dorms all with a patio, table and chairs surround a grass covered communal area with ample shade.
The manager is on hand to take care of simple needs like internet access, bottles of local wine and ice cold Mythos beers. Breakfast is a simple and cheap affair but the community spirit is what makes the hostel buzz.
Guests come from all over the world and some stay months or even the whole season to enjoy the local beaches and simple life that Plakias affords.
A world away from the resorts of the north the Plakias youth hostel gives much in return for the thoughtful and social traveller.
Plakias can be reached by bus from most major towns in the north of Crete.
Mirthios 74060, Rethymno, Crete, Greece
Tel. +30 28320 32118
book on reservations.bookhostels.com/psacreative.com/hostel.php?HostelNumber=10176
www.theworldtraveller.net/plakias.html
A stunning youth hostel in a Jacobean manor house looking over the Shropshire countryside. The stone building may be austere but the food is superb and you can wash it down with a cold bottle of Hobson's Town Crier. It also has the benefit of being haunted! Handy for walking and not far from the superb Royal Oak in Cardington out towards Church Stretton.
Link: www.yha.org.uk/find-accommodation/heart-of-england/hostels/Wilderhope-manor/index.aspx
Longville in the Dale, between Church Stretton and Much Wenlock, Shropshire.
I went here to these gites with my children at Easter for a week's holiday, it was fantastic. The children loved the place. It had a heated pool, a great play area and loads of space for them to run around.
The gite itself was spotlessly clean, very well equipped, light and airy, and still homely and comfortable. There was loads in the area for the children and for us to explore, we didn't have a dull moment.
The owners were really welcoming and we had an Easter egg hunt and BBQ to finish off our week. A special place and a special holiday. We will definitely be returning in the summer.
Le Petit Husson
Charme
Charente
16140
France
www.frenchconnections.co.uk Property ID 149697
email : lepetithusson@yahoo.co.uk
Tel : 0033 5 45 30 21 74 leave a message
Airports - Poitiers
- Angouleme
- La Rochelle
- Limoges
Ferry Terminals - Caen
- La Havre
- St Malo
Railway station - Ruffec
- Angouleme
Flores is a small island on Lake Peten set near the beautiful Mayan temple ruins of Tikal. Rooms are easy to find here and Amigos Hostel is by far the most colourful. Remember to get up early and take the 4.40 am tour to tikal. This means you get to see the jungle wake up.
Bus to Flores then minibus to Tikal. Hostel Amigos can be found at www.amigoshostel.com
In general the Temple Bar area is to be avoided but there are a few exceptions:
The Larder on Parliament Street - good food, reasonably priced, nice atmosphere.
Gruel, Dame Street - laid back place with very tasty hearty food.
Pintxo's, Eustace Street - good value tapas bar, right in the centre of Temple Bar.
Boccaccios ice-cream parlour - authentic Italian gelato. Not cheap but delicious.
There are a number of decent places very near the Temple Bar area:
Byblos, Andrew Street - delicious Lebanese food at good prices.
Havana Tapas, Georges Street - great value, good mojitos.
Yamamori Sushi, Ha'penny Bridge - huge portions of good Japanese food.
SoHo, Georges Street - good selection of classic dishes at reasonable prices. Good for a group as there is something to suit everyone.
The Port House, South William Street: Dark, intimate, romantic tapas spot. No reservations taken. Put your name down and head to Grogan's across the way for a pint.
Fallon and Byrne: Those on a budget should forget the (very good) expensive restaurant upstairs, grab what you want at the hot counter in the food hall and bring it downstairs to the wine cellar where they have lots of wines by the glass. Alternatively, order the fish stew from the wine cellar menu.
For lunch:
Cafe Odessa, Dame Lane - my fave spot for brunch in the city.
Queen of tarts, Cows Lane - have the potato and red onion tart. Yum. Try to resist the cakes and pastries.
Avoca food hall, Suffolk Street - go down to the basement where they have a great selection of Irish food to eat in and take away.
Nude, Suffolk Street - owned by Bonos brother, good spot for a pit stop.
Dunne & Crescenzi, South Frederick Street - authentic Italian food and great capuccinos which are strangely hard to find in the city.
La Maison des Gourmets, Castle Market: cute French cafe tucked away in a side street between the Powerscourt Centre and Georges Arcade. Great croissants.
Suburbs:
The Cheese Pantry, Upper Drumcondra Road: If you are staying in the area, pop in here for a pie.
Anderson's Creperie, Carlingford Rd, Drumcondra: All day breakfast crepe. Just what the doctor ordered.
Jo Burger, Rathmines: Delicious giant sized burgers.
Outside the city:
Johnnie Foxes, Dublin Mountains: Yes, it's touristy but you'll hear plenty of Dublin accents. A perfect place for a pint on your way back from a Wicklow hike. To stick to the budget, have the seafood chowder and a bowl of mussels to share.
Lebanese restaurant in Dublin city centre. For the best value, choose a selection of starters to create your own mezze. Everything is tasty but especially the hummus and falafel and anything with lamb.
Andrew Street, Dublin 2
Travellers Oasis was by far my favourite hostel in Australia. It's just five minutes from Cairns's main drag but is a haven of peace. The rooms are colourful, the kitchens and bathrooms clean, and the owners and staff incredibly helpful and friendly. My A$42/night single room was wonderful after a day's snorkelling on the reef!
8 Scott Street, Cairns; opposite the main train station; free pickup from the airport until 8pm; www.travoasis.com.au/
Google map: tinyurl.com/ndtbjo
Leh in the summer is THE Indian destination for the many, many travellers who flood this small town.
It's hard to believe that a shortage of accommodation does not exist in Leh, but from what I saw, there is no shortage.
The guide books mention only a small number of places, which led travellers I met to panic and book into the only places left with rooms - usually the most expensive ones.
I entirely understand that you may want to book in advance, but bear in mind that even in peak season in 2008, there appared to be far more rooms than tourists, and new guest houses are being built constantly.
As long as you've got a decent torch to walk home with, there are beautiful places to stay a short walk away from the centre of Leh, so if you are struggling to book accomodation, I would recommend trying to get a night or two booked somewhere, but then hunt around if you're staying a while - I paid a tiny fraction of the central hotel prices by staying in a family run beautiful but basic guest house 10 minutes walk from the centre.
Of course, you can turn up with no accommodation booked, but it is worth noting that when flying into at altitude, you will give your body the best chance of acclimatisation if you do very little on arrival and rest, rather than hump your bag around searching for the cheapest hotel (which is my tactic in other locations!).
I phoned a guesthouse listed in a trekking book (rather than the more popular mainstream guide books) the day before I flew into Leh, they seemed surprised that I was phoning to book, but I was glad as my flight arrived so early in the morning, I knew there was a room waiting for me, where I could dump my stuff, grab some filtered water, and then cafe-hop for 48 hours of acclimatisation chilling. I was just hugely shocked at how much some other travellers were paying in their upmarket hotels, which they weren't wanting to stay in, but they were all that were available in the popular guide book recommendations.
From the centre of Leh, there are hotels and guesthouses everywhere. The posher hotels tend to be southwest of central Leh, the densest backpacker area is in Changspar (north east). But I think the most interesting accommodation is in the Old Town area (to the east of centre), and off to the west are a few roads that wind through beautifully quiet scenery with homely looking guest houses.
If you've just arrived in Leh, even if you've come by road, for the purposes of allowing your body to acclimatise to the high altitude, beware of walking far with heavy bags.
I have stayed in the Park Inn Cardiff City Centre hotel a few times and I recommend it. It is good value for the price you pay. A modern hotel right in the center of Cardiff it, it provides its guests with high quality food and very helpful staff.
A bright modern hostel situated in the centre of Lagos on the Algarve. It has sixty odd, four-bunk rooms, a kitchen, free breakfast, a central courtyard for meeting fellow travellers. An excellent place to meet people and rest up on the grand european tour.
Rua Lancarote de Freitas in the old town of Lagos.
www.theworldtraveller.net/lagos.html
There's quite a few places to see jazz in Glasgow, these are the ones I'd recommend both for the music and the bars.
Every Saturday 5-7pm The Griffin: 266 Bath Street (just off Sauchiehall St)
Every Sunday 9pm:The 78: 10-14 Kelvinhaugh Street.
Every Wednesday 8pm Mono: 12 Kings Court
Every Thursday 9pm The Beer Cafe: 78 Candleriggs. G1 1NP
Tiny resort on the western coast of the Sinai peninsula, about halfway between Sharm and Cairo (you can fly to either, and then it's a fairly long drive though they will send someone to pick you up).
It is mainly a windsurfing place but they also run yoga courses which are really good, and also cheap - about £400 for a week half-board, including the yoga but excluding flights and drinks. It's a three star place but clean and with nice airy chalets dotted around the grounds, and a beach-front bar. Food is good and plentiful.
The yoga sessions (when I went a few years ago) are held for 1.5 hours every morning and evening in a shady room just off the beach. Mats and other cushions are provided and you can hear the sea as you practise.
The teachers change every couple of weeks so aim to go at a time when a teacher who interests you is going. The one just before I arrived was very meditation/breathing focused apparently (which wouldn't have suited me) but my teacher was fantastic - very position-focused and good at explaining what you were trying to achieve, so you're actively in the pose and not just standing there with your arms out. So make sure you check out which teacher will be there when you want to attend.
I was travelling alone and really enjoyed the social aspect. The yoga class was very small when I stayed (off-peak) and we always went into breakfast or dinner together after class, and met in the bar later. When I was there they let you bring your own booze for the week and store it in the windsurfing bar so you could drink more cheaply too!
I also did their trip up Mount Sinai to watch dawn at the top, and that was a very spiritual experience which fitted in brilliantly with the yoga ethos. It was about £35. They also had a lady doing massages a couple of days.
The windsurfing/yoga resort is part of a larger place which Egyptians use at weekends, so it got much busier and less 'Western' then, which was an interesting thing to be a part of - we got chatting to some young people from Cairo and played cards with them, which was a great night.
Bring lots of books as there isn't a huge amount to do between yoga sessions. You can snorkel (they lend you equipment) or try windsurfing, but it is often quite windy (there's a reason why it's wind-surfing centre) so I mostly read on sun-lounger behind a wind-break.
www.moonbeachretreat.com
Fly to Cairo or Sharm-el-sheikh
Yattus is a self-catering cottage in the Lake District. For me, the best things about it were:
* two king-sized bedrooms (very unusual in my experience) so perfect for two couples going away together
* Amazing old building, 17th century with wood fires and even some original furniture. Felt like a real treat to stay there.
* Location - Eskdale seems to be a bit off the beaten path but you're really near all the big peaks (Scafell, Bowfell, etc) and L'al Ratty (toy steam train) goes through the village too
Eskdale Green
www.yattus-eskdale.co.uk/
Got to Casablanca by train - first class from Marrakesh cost a couple of quid more than second and is well worth it. Stayed at Hotel Galia, great spacious rooms, clean, cheap and the hotel manager is lovely and really tries to help you. Computer with internet free to use downstairs too. Went to Rick's, food fantastic though not the cheapest! Hassan II Mosque very very impressive!
Simon's place is a throwback of a cafe, reminiscent of a time where not every inch of Dublin was dedicated to profit maximisation. You can get coffee, tea, juice, a sandwich, salad, some homemade soup and a bun, and that’s it. Oh and toast if you get there before 12.
The coffee is good, the hot chocolate strong, the sandwiches fair, the soup middling. The cinnamon buns are meant to be delicious, but as I hate cinnamon I didn't try them.
The ambiance, however, is brilliant. The wall are utterly covered in posters advertising gigs (often serving to show you what you've missed), the music is eclectic but relaxed, the customers the eclectic but relaxed and the staff lovely.
Part of the George Street Arcade
Slap bang in the centre of Madrid near to many of the major attractions, the old town, main shopping areas and a block from the Plaza Mayor is 100 Montaditos. It's your best bet for cheap lunch on the run in the city. Take a ticket and wait for your turn to order from the extensive menu of bocadillos (small Spanish sandwiches), starting from just a Euro, there's something for all tastes.
Calle Mayor 22, 5 mins from the Sol metro station
This small and friendly hostel is right on the beach, with great views of the Olympic Mountains.
Close to Golden Gardens beach, the hostel is 30 minutes from downtown, but is a great spot to soak up Washington's outstanding natural beauty before heading into the city, and a restful retreat after a hard day's sightseeing.
Housed in a modern beach house, there's a rooftop deck for watching the sunset, and the rooms smack of urban cool, with steel bunkbeds, a huge lounge and kitchen with funky sofas and fairy lights, and a glowing fireplace with floor cushions.
The rooms are clean, comfortable and there's a whole host of free extras, from wi-fi and breakfast to bikes for cycling around the local area.
If you're on foot, the surrounding area is artistic and quirky, full of boutiquey shops, cool taverns showing live music, independent cafes and a local Farmer's Market.
I've stayed at Tenface for the last two weeks. It's located on Sukhumvit Road. Nice touches like a iPod in my room, sim card for local calls, Bangkok travel tips with BTS card and more. Plus excellent staffs who can speak English very well.
Just down the road from Pike Place Market, this is an American Burger chain and diner with a kitsch fifties spin.
For cheap eats in Seattle, you can't go better than this blast from the past - the mock up fifties diner is surprisingly well done, with bright red booths, a jukebox you can request rock-n'roll tunes from, and perky staff who break into jive routines in the middle of a shift.
Kooky touches include old Coca-Cola ads on the walls, ketchup splodged into a smiley face on your plate, and a long bar for sipping shakes and malts, and watching the behatted chefs flip burgers.
Of course the main draw here is the food - all of it highly calorific but delicious fare. Oreo milkshakes so thick you're straw will get stuck (use a spoon, and don't be ashamed to drain the last dregs from the metal 'shaker' that comes with your glass), mountainous BLT's and oozing chili dogs. The burgers are even better; thick and juicy and come in all shapes and sizes, from the gut-busting Bacon Cheddar Double, to the 'Route 66' - complete with mushrooms, grilled onions and mozzarella cheese.
These burger's separate the men from the boys - don't even think about ordering a salad. After eating here, you'll never be able to face a McDonalds again.
Pacific Place
600 Pine Street
Seattle, WA 98101
Ok, so it's a Seattle Institution and every tourist bus goes here, but it would be a crime not to visit this historic market.
America's oldest Farmer's Market hasn't lost any of its buzz, with an underground maze of mezzanines filled with weird and wacky shops, the overflowing blossoms of the Hmong flower market, and stalls laden with fresh fruit, vegetables and an international sweep of gourmet treats.
The entertaining fishmongers put on a good show, hurling fish over customer's heads, whilst street performers and musicians add to the chaos - look out for the kazoo and spoons player!
During the Spring and Fall harvests, the market hosts 'Organic Wednesdays', where you can scoop the best local produce for a cheap picnic.
You could spend hours browsing the stalls, but there are a few that really stand out - 'Read All ABout It' sells unusual newspapers and magazines from all over the world, Three Girls Bakery does the BEST garlic rosemary bread and peanut butter cookies in Seattle, and you can visit the very first Starbucks (quaint and nothing like the cookie-cutter chains across the country) for the original Tall Skinny Latte.
Between Pike and Virginia Street, from 1st-Western Avenue.
Is this your business?