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/24618 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/24618 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/23897
Included in the price (about $10) is a great tour of the insect room (most are alive!). This is fascinating and will help you come to appreciate the magical worlds of creepy crawlies (don't worry you don't have to touch them!). They even have a full leafcutter ant colony with micro cameras so you can see what's going on in the heart of the colony!

The butterflies in the gardens include the magnificent morphos, transparent glasswings, red postmans, and the glorious owl. You also get too see crysallis and if you're lucky butterflies hatching from them!

This is a great place for kids and adults to really learn about the smaller species of Costa Rican wildlife... and the staff/volunteers seem very passionate about it all.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/23897 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/23742 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/23742 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/22642 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/22642 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/22614 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/22614 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/22601
Prams are what you need for a toddler. You're less mobile, but the good news is you can stash a box of wine, glasses, and camping chairs underneath. You won't have the same sense of freedom as with a sling, so you need a bunch of friends to find a patch with and claim it as your own.

Other tips:
Look for a small festival. With small kids it's more about the experience and the people-watching than the line-up. If you're too determined to prove to yourself that you're still hip and free, you might end up out of your depth at a manic festival, feeling more down-trodden and left-behind than ever.

Festivals that are known for being 'family friendly' might just be a big pram-fest. (Green Man 2007?) Similarly, avoid a festival that has grown very quickly. Finally, choose something that is within two hours of home. Just knowing you can get home if needed might stop you feeling trapped in a sea of mud and mucky nappies.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/22601 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/22575
They are also very fashionable, as seen on Apple Martin at Live Aid.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/22575 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/22504 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/22504 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/22491
If you have kids, I would recommend this festival. It's fun, vibrant, colourful and pure entertainment. My top tip is to get some of those mini hi-vis vests - in a dayglo neon colour like pink or orange, and write your mobile number on it. This is for your children to wear, so if they wonder off slightly, as they tend to, you can a) spot them and drag them back and b) if you don't see them, someone else will and they can call you to collect! Have Fun!]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/22491 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19779 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19779 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/17847
1. Lay out a blanket in Central Park (picnic optional) and soak up the atmosphere. The huge expanse of grass at the Great Lawn is a favourite spot and great for games too.

2. Visit Belvedere Castle in the middle of Central Park at 79th Street. It is the highest point of the park with great views, a visitor centre, walking tours and free educational programs.

3. Attend Saturday morning story time for children of all ages in Central Park at the Hans Christian Anderson Memorial (mid-park from East 73rd entrance. Check for times at www.centralparknyc.org).

4. Visit one of the spectacular toy shops: Toys-R-Us in Times Square or FAO Schwartz (the corner of Fifth Avenue and Central Park South) which has a giant electronic keyboard built into the floor upstairs that children can play with their feet. You can easily spend an hour or more exploring and trying out the display toys without buying a thing.

5. Take the Staten Island ferry. Day or night this is one of the best free (or paid for) boat rides in the world. It takes about half an hour each way. You can get straight off and back on again or spend time on the dockside at Staten Island looking at the distant Manhattan skyline. The ride gives spectacular views of the downtown skyline and the Statue of Liberty, all lit-up to magical effect at night.

6. If it’s a quiet stroll you’re after and you find yourself in Brooklyn, take a walk along the Brooklyn Seafront for a great view of Manhattan and the Brooklyn Bridge. (And if you do want to spend a few dollars there is a great ice-cream parlour there too.)

7. Stand in the middle of Times Square for ten minutes and don’t forget to look up.

8. Stand just about anywhere and play how many yellow cabs can you count in a minute?
And if it’s summer…

9. Summerstage (held at Rumsey Playfield near 72nd Street and Fifth Avenue) and Shakespeare in the Park (at the open-air Delacorte Theater near the W81st Street entrance to the park) are two of the most popular summertime programs and both are free. Top-shelf acts and great performances.

10. Fancy a dip? There are 14 miles of public beaches in four of NY’s boroughs: Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island. Contact General Parks and Recreation Department Information at www.nycparks.completeinet.net for more info.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/17847 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16929 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16929 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16516 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16516 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16089
Inside there's a water slide, a whirlpool, heated mineral bath, sauna and swimming lanes. Good place to take kids on a rainy holiday. Outside there are even more pools, plenty of grass to lay about and sometimes ducks come down to swim laps in the pools.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16089 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/15943
The big Dutch Christmas celebrations are on St. Nicholas Day. A unique experience for all the family with street celebrations, treasure hunts, sweeties from Black Pete and clogs filled with carrots!]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/15943 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/11804
Our family stayed in a camping site called Torvaig near Pontree for two nights. It was cheaper than the one we had stayed at near Ben Nevis. The services were the same; showers, bathrooms, clean drinking water for free, although at Ben Nevis there was a shop. The ground was hard, but there was a beautiful view at sunset.

We liked cooking so we didn’t eat out much. But when we did there were big portions. The food was similar to Irish food; haggis is just like a mix of black puddings and mince meat. If you asked for an apple pie you would expect to get a slice but there you get a whole pie. The Pike Hotel had particularly big portions.

When we cooked it was easy to find the supplies to cook on our own in any supermarket. There are also shops on the Isle of Skye so don’t fret.

We didn’t stay long, so we only got one trip done; a boat trip.
We saw a brochure in the campsite and my dad thought it would be a good thing to do. The boat left Armadale and got to Mallaig in 45 minutes. When you get there you can stay or you can walk back to the pier. It takes a couple of hours to get back on foot. It was a great boat ride. I even got to drive the boat. The view was spectacular. It was so spectacular - that I had a dream about it. When we pulled into the bay, it was lovely and calm. To the left of me there was a mountain sheltered under a beautiful white cloud. The bay had lovely turquoise water, warmer than the sea because of the surrounding rocks and big boulders. Just right for swimming. If you don’t like salt water there is a river up beside it.

The overall view from the high rock over looking the bay was really pretty, and one you don’t see everyday.

I would recommend the holiday to outgoing people and families with teenage kids.

I had a wicked time.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/11804 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/11520
They change the menu every day so you can try a different meal anytime you go and the food is always gorgeous.

The waiters are really friendly and, with a mixture of English and French, you can always have a good chat with them. They have time for everyone even though it's a busy restaurant.

There's not many problems with it apart from it's quite hard to find - it's on Rue Du Faubourg, Montmartre and there are at least four Rue Du Faubourgs in Paris!

The other thing is the room vibrates a bit when the Metro train passes underground!

from Roisin (age 12)]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/11520 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/11477
From Lily Rose Lawrence, from Pembrokeshire.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/11477 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/11476
It has a lot of great beaches to picnic on, where you can paddle in the sea even in April! Watching the gigs race whilst having fish and chips is fun too. There are plenty of interesting little shops to potter around in. You can get to any of the islands by boat.

My favourite island is Tresco because of the Abbey Gardens and the shell grotto inside it.

From Katie Lawrence (age 10) from Pembrokeshire.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/11476 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/11469 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/11469