http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/ Welcome to Been there. Your tips on the places you know - that you love, live in or have just visited - are what make this guide. http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19696 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19696 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19581 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19581 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19244 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19244 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19091 low-impact tours. We took two teenagers who thoroughly enjoyed our five-day trip around Northern Vietnam. We cycled, walked, sailed and stayed with local people. One day was spent cooking with a family in a small village in the Red delta. The trip to Bai Tu Long bay was heavenly. We met no tourists there and only saw local fishing boats. Ask for Khanh who will tailor a tour to your needs. All the guides are really friendly and soon feel like old friends - our guide was so calm and had a great sense of humour. There are tours across Vietnam including Sapa and the Mekong Delta in the South. They even managed to book our hotel in Hanoi for us which we had previously tried to contact unsuccessfully.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19091 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19061 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19061 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19001
Expect live music, all solar and wind powered of course, have your say in the new Love London Speakers’ Forum or chill out with a short film in the solar cinema.

Younger visitors can go wild with animal encounters from London Zoo and get the chance to learn about all things green in the Green Roadshow circus tent. There is also Eco-fashion workshops, ethical finance zone, an improved Bikefest and a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party.

For this year only, the fair will host the Strictly Fairtrade Tea Dance, which aims to break the world for the biggest open air tea dance ever attempted.

The festival is put together by a group of local volunteers, and it's totally free and well worth the trip to join in the fun.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19001 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18683
Near the sea and near the moors - fantastic situation for everything. Great carbon-free getaway for two.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18683 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18615
My experience of Kerala was fantastic, it has the most verdant flora and fauna, vibrant culture and the people I met were so welcoming. Besides many teaching and renovation projects at schools that really need help and support, Yearoutindia gives you the opportunity to be involved with the local communities and make a real difference to the lives of people in rural South India. They also run link school projects with schools in UK and looking to so the same with school in France and USA.

The coordinators and staff really go out of their way make sure volunteers have a great experience and that they really make a positive and direct contribution to the people and communities they work with. They only take on limited number of volunteers (usually 2-3) per project site, ensuring a personal commitment to the projects and a unique individual experience.

Yearoutindia is also a non-profit organisation who don’t advertise in print media, all their ex-volunteers who work on community development projects, conservation and environmental work, teaching in schools and orphanages act as volunteer coordinators back in their own country. A true volunteer experience run by volunteers themselves!]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18615 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18421
Also enjoyable local culture with traditional music, dancing, arts and drama.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18421 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18396
Beautiful space - an amazing gothic Victorian building with great views, 11 acres of land, organic walled garden (lots of the food is grown on site) and a farm - and a really good atmosphere. It's three miles from Charmouth and Lyme Regis for seaside fossils and swimming. You can also go there as a volunteer - help out in return for free board and lodging.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18396 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18365 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18365 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18249 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18249 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18152 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18152 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18033 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18033 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16864 www.mafiaislandtz.com, get there quick before everyone else discovers it.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16864 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16831
The Campaign for Better Transport are actually running a competition to win coach tickets down to various skiing destinations (including Val D'Isere).

Take a look at: www.bettertransport.co.uk.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16831 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16328 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16328 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/15183
Not at all touristy, well off the beaten track (you need to speak some Spanish) but well worth the journey to experience genuine village life in Ecuador. They do river raft trips, too, and you help build the balsa wood raft. They have some suggested tours, and help you arrange whatever you want to do (in one case, a bug-hunt for a 10-year old and a 12-year old fascinated by the local insect life!) and make you feel very welcome.

It's run by a reforestation charity, so you plant a tree for each day that you stay there.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/15183 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/15059
There are over 10,000 bikes which are very solid and adjustable, and numerous 'bornes' or terminals where you can pick up and drop off.

You can get a day ticket for one euro and, provided you drop off each bike within half an hour of pick up, it won't cost any more. You can pick up and drop off as many times as you want within the 24 hour period. There are plenty of cycle lanes and, provided you have some road sense, it's a safe, interesting, very cheap and much healthier way to get to know Paris.

Mairie de Paris say there have been more than 2 million individual hires in the first 39 days of operating. Vive le velo! / Get on a bike!]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/15059 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/14514
Unlike anywhere else visitors will never see a cigarette end or other litter as the instant anything is dropped it is disintegrated by this built in device. Try it for yourselves and see if you can spot any litter at all!]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/14514