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This is a blue multi-strip ticket which can be used on trams, metros and buses in Amsterdam and all over Holland. Works out about half the price of buying a ticket on board.
See www.gvb.nl (Amsterdam Transport organisation, mainly in Dutch)
Good English explanation of the Strippenkaart at
www.amsterdamtips.com/getting-around-amsterdam-the-strippenkaart.php
You've had fun on the buses, trams, metro etc. on you day of arrival using the ticket you bought for three euros (Feb 08) on the air shuttle bus, but what about day two?
Get a card Viva for three euros fifty and have more fun, but don't throw the card away, as you can top it up for more days/journeys the following day.
I don't know if you can have two or more days added when you buy it, as I didn't know you could top it up at the time of original purchase!
Word of warning: when we went in to the shop selling Carris travel cards on Praca da Figueira on Day two of our stay in Lisbon they wanted to sell us each a plastic card (four euros apiece, not returnable, unlike the London Oyster card) and then top those up with a day pass each for three euros fifty.
Being mean (and green) and not planning to be back in Lisbon in the foreseeable future, I decided to walk to the Cais do Sodre metro station where we were sold the paper Viva card for three euros fifty each.
We found out about the top up when we showed the cards the next morning at the metro cashier to explain what we wanted (my Portuguese is limited to ordering drinks!) and the cashier took them and topped them up.
Enjoy this fab city and use your card to max on the ascensores, elevadore and the ferries as well as the trams, buses and metro.
Metro stations and (possibly) Carris ticket booths - not open in Feb.
When staying in Rio, definitely do not stay in Copacabana etc - too many tourists… and you may as well be in Benidorm.
We stayed in St Theresa. There are great authentic restaurants, cafes etc. The architecture is colonial Portuguese. And best of all, to get down into Rio centre you take a tram down the 3:1 slope, this too is 100 years old, and it feels like it.
The new tram has finally arrived in Nice. It runs eight km from Las Planas to Pont Michel, stopping in between at Gare Thiers, Jean Medicin, Place Massena and up to Place Garibaldi.
The cost per journey is a standard fare of 1.30 euros. You can also get a day pass for four euros entitling you to unlimited travel for the day. You can buy tickets at any of the self-service stations where you catch the tram.
The journey from Place Massena to Pont Michel takes approx 16 minutes and there is a tram every four minutes during peak times and every eight minutes off-peak. Trams run from 4 am until 2.30 am the next morning.
For more information go to:
www.tramway-nice.org
www.lignedazur.com
Pension Vltava offers a fine stay as it is reliable for really cheap, really basic and very clean rooms. It is great to know about for very cheap breaks to see the city or see a concert, and flying visits when you haven't booked anywhere.
It's also good if you need to to save money and have a private room if you are just passing through the city and need a place you can rely on for a cheap room which is clean.
This guest house happens to have a tiny coffee shop and bar which stays open all night every night and is really cheap. You can relax with tea or coffee, beers, wine, cognacs or becherovkas back in your room at any time.
I recommend this place. I have nearly always got a room when enquiring on the same day (it is a quite a large guest house). The price is around £11 to £14 for a room for one person per night with very clean common shower and loo.
For those who don't know the city and especially for those to whom the central places are familiar, for the lowest budget place to stay the guest house is ideally placed. It is around eight to ten minutes on a tram from near the guest house to central areas. Around it are a few interesting bars and cafes. There aren't very many tourists around here though the area is quite nice and fresh if you know Prague, except backpackers and younger travellers are noticeable as Sir Toby's travel hostel, Extoll Inn, a few other guest houses and a Czech H.I. travel hostel are around here.
The river where it bends is just over five minutes walk away and it is a pleasant walk into the centre along the riverside from near Pension Vltava. Set aside a couple of hours for a great walk across the river, away from the city, to a leafy part on the outskirts of the city, to the Trojska Chateau gallery and courtyard cafe in summer, Prague Zoo and the lovely Botanic Gardens.
It is ideal to walk here, if you have the time, and better than taking a tram, though you can eaily go by tram. Either way, it is a quiet part of the city which is lovely and I really recommend it.
A good walk away of over ten minutes is the nice Cafe Lisbon on the main riverfront road, which has characteristic pizzas especially and is good for drinking at. Just over ten minutes in the opposite direction, toward Stromovka park, is the Absolut Hotel which has an unpretentious and quite minimalist, pleasant bar and restaurant. The Mecca Music Club is a few minutes walk from the guest house. Not far, good food at a good price in the restaurant of Hotel Henry, U Papírny.
www.pensionvltava.o1.cz
(Web site in Czech, with photos and readable contact details and map)
Dělnická 35
Praha 7, 17000
Phone: +420 220 809 795
Email: josefrandak@tiscali.cz
Go up the Peak on the tram on a clear day and you get one of the best views of Hong Kong.
View all of my Hong Kong tips here:
www.alib.co.uk/guides/index.htm
Any Taxi or walk (5 mins) from Central.
Right beside Powell Station on Market there is a little hut selling tickets for the old cable cars. If you buy a one-day or multi-trip MUNI ticket you can ride on the old trams, buses and new trams operated by MUNI. Saves walking up all those hills! I think it was $11 a day but well worth it if you are on foot.
www.sfmuni.com/cms/mms/home/home50.htm
May also be available in nearby shops.
Sintra is wonderful. If you have more time take the old tram from the terminus near the art gallery over to the coast - some good beaches there and a lovely run to them. Trams are infrequent, so plan!
Regular trains from Sete Rios station or Entrecampos station (Estação Rossio closed at time of writing)
I highly recommend an easy tram ride to Glover Garden where the view over Nagasaki Bay is superb.
I strolled up there early one fresh January morning and had the place practically to myself - a feat in itself considering Japan's human abundance. One can enjoy a peaceful and uninterrupted view in the pleasant surroundings of this colonial garden. I was not surprised to hear that Nagasaki Bay at night rates in the top three of Japan's most romantic views.
There are also many other places of interest in Nagasaki. No visit there would be complete without a trip to the world-famous Peace Park or U-Bomb Museum close by. It is a sobering yet enlightening experience to see the fresh beauty and growth of a place that was all but obliterated a mere sixty years ago. The message of Nagasaki is hope.
At Nagasaki bus and train station, there is a very helpful tourist information desk that provides detailed maps highlighting places of interest. A discounted day pass for Nagasaki's tram can also be purchased here. There is a tram stop right opposite the station and Glover Garden is a pleasant 15 minute ride away
You can buy travel cards for various numbers of days in the major Metro stations (such as Mustek, at the bottom of Wenceslas Square.) These entitle you to unlimited travel on any bus, tram or metro line in the city and represent an economic and convenient way to get about. At the time of writing, a 24-hour pass costs KCs80 (less than £2), a 3-day pass costs KCs220 (£5) and a 7-day pass costs KCs280 (£6.50)
Major Metro stations. Prague Transport Authority website: www.dp-praha.cz/en/
At the top of the list are the trams (take the old double-decker green and cream ones not the 70s converted buses that trail in their wake).
Take the tram up the Stubai valley to Fulpmes which is really beautiful, or the number 3 tram to Igls, then the cable car to the top of Patcherkorfl. I found a nice cafe at the top selling wonderful Goulash Soup.
Another nice trip is up the Hafflekar, funicular then two cable cars, but wear good boots with good soles. NOT trainers or high heels!
This is a very cheap (approx $0.25) and exciting tram service that starts just beyond the white viaduct arches of Lapa and winds its way up into the hills around the glorious Cristo, into the area known as Santa Teresa, and is the last remaining tram service in South America.
Jump on and buzz through the scenic backstreets as schoolchildren jump on and off for free in an excited frenzy. Its a great journey which takes about thirty minutes from bottom to top and shows you the very best of the old Rio. At the top you can take the walk back down via craft and antique shops, wonderful little eateries, museums and the occasional art exhibition.
Truly a magnificent mini trip to fill an afternoon away from the beaches, amongst the true and vibrant spirit of Rio, with the added bonus of some of the best views of the city.
Estação Carioca is found near the city centre opposite the Petrobras Building. It is a bit tough to find but persist and it will pay off.
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