Hostel Virgin?

You're a virgin?!  You mean you have never experienced one before?!  A bit scared about it?  Well...let me help you; I've done it loads of times before!  With my advice, I guarantee you will have a pleasurable experience EVERY time!  Is this sexual nirvana, I'm referring to?  Nope...I'm talking about your first stay in a hostel.  These FIVE top tips will help you through your first hostel stay.

For the hostel averse out there, my advice is to give it a try.  As I have said before, hostels are an affordable, good value accommodation option for the budget-savvy traveller.  And for those that do not fancy the sights, sounds and smells of your average dorm room, staying in private rooms in hostels need not feel like you are 'slumming it' and can give you access to a host of activities and services you might miss out on if you were to stay in a hotel.

Par-tay! (source - hostelworld.com)

1. Choose Your Hostel Carefully...
- Selecting the hostel that most suits your personality and travel requirements is key.  Need a riotous party?  Make sure the hostel you choose offers free shots on arrival and bar crawls every night.  Need to chill out after a day's sightseeing?  Opt for the hostel that can hook you up with a local yoga class and 'knits' their own muesli for breakfast.  My main advice here would be to read the reviews on hostel booking websites such as Hostelbookers and Hostelworld; where travellers post frank reviews about their experiences and the quality of the accommodation on offer.

I just need to use my hair straighteners...and charge my iPad...and my camera battery! (source - open.edu)

2. Don't Be The Hostel Oddball...
- You are likely to be sharing a dorm room with several others.  It is therefore, paramount that you do not mark yourself out in a negative way in the microcosm of the hostel environment.  Taking up all the floor space, leaving your underwear strewn across the room or hogging all the plug points for your phone, iPad and hairdryer is not going to win you many fans.  The key to being a good 'roomie'?  Easy!  Treat others as you would expect to be treated.

Greet the travel massive! (source - mastersotu.com)

3. Press The Flesh!...
No, not that way!  Though, that will help you make friends very easily!  Hermits and hostels do not go together very well.  The recluse will find it difficult, in the sociable community you get in most hostels, to be completely alone.  This, for me, is one of the real advantages of a hostel stay.  You get to encounter and share experiences with fellow travellers.  These 'micro United Nations' allow you to meet people from different countries, cultures and socio-economic backgrounds that, ultimately, help you understand yourself, your own country and its unique culture a lot better.

Breaking bread at the Lisbon Lounge Hostel (source - MikeW)

4. Get Active!...
Linked into the previous tip about the social nature of backpacker accommodation; hostels will often offer a range of formal and informal activities I would heartily encourage you to get involved in.  For example, the fantastic Budapest Bubble hostel runs an informal nightly bar crawl which allows even the most hardened wallflower the chance to join a group of like-minded travellers for a drink or two without the pressure to finish the night at 5am, staring up from Hungary's finest gutters and covered in vomit.  However, that option is there...if you want it!  The brilliant Lisbon Lounge Hostel is one of many excellent, top quality boutique backpacker pads in the Portuguese capital that offers a number of free and reasonably priced activities for their guests from free tours of the city (something I highly recommend in any city you visit - see 'The Glorious Free Tour') to tours of the Fado scene as well as fabulous in house dinners, cooked by Pedro the chef, for a reasonable price that would shame many of Lisbon's well-established and costlier eateries.  Remember...a good hostel and its staff will want to show off their city and country at its best and ensure you have a great time.  At the very least, make it a priority, once you have dropped your backpack, to ask a member of the hostel staff to sit down with you and map out the best places to visit, eat and drink.  This quick orientation can be a good way to get to know your hosts and offers an invaluable local insight into your destination.

Lock it up! (source - onestop-padlocks.co.uk)

5. Stay Safe!...
I am the first to admit, I am anally retentive when it comes to my safety and well being when I travel.  In addition to this, I am keen to ensure my belongings remain safe and secure.  When I stay in hostels I always take a good quality medium sized padlock with me to lock your backpack or to allow you to lock it or any belongings in the lockers many hostels provide in the rooms.  And, if there is a safe in the hostel...use it for your passport, at the very least.  I have stayed in hostels where people have left valuable electronic items within easy reach and in once case an iPad on their bed while completely unattended in a busy room of 9 other strangers, while the woman went for a shower.  This was despite having a locker in which she could have easily stored the tablet safely and securely.  It made no sense to me.  I do not mean to worry you and you should not be consumed by fear about hostel security as most hostels are filled with friendly like-minded folk who probably will have absolutely no interest in your treasures, but the way I see it is...the less hassle you can get into the more enjoyable your trip will be; saving you from laborious insurance claims, visits to the police and angst about the cost of replacing your stolen belongings.

So, there it is...five great tips to help you navigate your first stay in a hostel and make it go as swimmingly as possible.  Please let me know, in the comments box below, how your first stay went or if you have stayed in hostels before the tips you would offer the plucky hostel first timer.

How Can You Afford it?! (AKA - The Art of Funding Your Travel...)

MikeW splashing out on his bargain trip to Budapest at the Szechenyi Baths (source - author)

I have been getting myself a bit of a reputation, these past few years, among my friends, family and work colleagues.  The gadabout, the one flush with cash and the line everyone says (or variants of)..."you're always going on holiday!"  Granted, I do take a fair few trips here and there, particularly in the last three years.  Last year alone, I visited 7 countries and this year I have taken trips to 4 countries and with 2 more on the horizon before the year is out.  So, how do I do it?  Am I, perhaps, rolling in money...unfortunately not.  Do I have family to fund my trips?  Apart from a contribution to the 'Ice Cream Fund' or giving me money for my birthday and Christmas presents to put towards the costs of my trips, my family do not bankroll these adventures.  Are you selling your body, MikeW?!  Alas, what I would get for that would not get me the bus fare into Leeds!

What follows are a series of tips to help you save and build up some funds for your trips; whether that means blowing it all on one big trip to a long haul destination or doing what I have been doing these past couple of years, taking a series of short haul trips throughout Europe.  We live in tough economic climes and, as a budget traveller, I like to ensure I get the best value and make my money go further so I can get more from my trips and get to go on more trips too.

1. Cut Back!
One of the biggest ways I save money is by not going out every weekend partying, drinking, dining out or on expensive leisure activities such as attending football matches, owning and buying games for a Playstation of XBox.  For some people, this is a deal-breaker and I understand that.  However, I think a balance can be found.  Please do not misunderstand me, I like to think I have a fairly good social life, but to think I could save £50 from a night out on the tiles over the period of a month, would leave me with a hefty £200 to put towards flights, accommodation and spending money on my travels.  Can you economise elsewhere in your life?  For example, by finding a cheaper contract for your mobile or satellite television package.  Giving up a 20 a day cigarette habit would leave you with approximately £200 to spend per month.  Assuming you work 20 or so days a month and buy a £2 coffee every day, why not walk past Starbucks and save yourself £40 per month/£480 per year that you could put towards a trip abroad.

I find Martin Lewis's fantastic Money Saving Expert website a brilliant source of information, but particularly like his 'Demotivator' tool to help you reduce your spending!

2. eBay
Prior to my big backpacking trip to Australia and New Zealand, in 2005, I got into (by chance) buying and selling books on eBay, the Internet auction site.  I never made big bucks, but made enough in about 4 months to pay for my flights to Australia and New Zealand on Singapore Airlines.  So, hunt round your house, and get selling what you do not need or want anymore.  Remember the motto - 'Someone's trash is another's treasure'!  I recommend eBay and Gumtree as great places to offload your things.  Who needs stuff anyway?!  I firmly believe a fulfilled and fulfilling life is one filled with family and friends, not belongings.

3. Budget Airlines
You may not like the idea, especially if you like a bit of luxury when you travel, but one of the best ways to save money is to fly with one of the many budget airlines.  Ryanair, easyJet and the many others that dominate the European flight routes offer cheap and cheerful flights to a comprehensive range of destinations.  And when flying with these airlines, my recommendation is also that you travel light or you will face a number of charges for your luggage that the person taking a city break can easily avoid through some careful and clever packing.  My previous post on baggage (No Baggage!  Dare You Travel This Light?!) simply highlights how easy it is to travel with very few things.  By flying with a budget airline and timing your flight purchase right, some real bargains are to be had.  For example, my return flight to Krakow from Leeds Bradford Airport with Ryanair, last October, during the school holidays was a rather reasonable £29!  Budapest during the 2012 Easter holidays, a 'stonking' £52 return from Manchester.

4. Staying with friends
On 3 of my trips last year I stayed with friends.  Coincidentally, friends I had met on my travels previously in Australia and New Zealand.  I have extolled the virtues of staying with friends before from the viewpoint of having a local guide on hand to show you the best sights, bars and local dimension to your destination; but, these people can also (kindly) offer you somewhere free to stay.  I always make a point of taking a gift or buying dinner one night to thank the hosts, as I am extremely grateful (and humbled) that they let me stay in their homes and treat me as one of their own.  I too have done the same for the very same friends on their visits to me, here in Leeds!  If you do not have this option, I recommend staying in hostels or sharing the cost of accommodation with friends by renting an apartment.

5. Keep Costs Low
Staying in budget accommodation will dramatically reduce your trip costs, so take advantage of the places offered on HostelBookers and HostelWorld.  If you have a student card or an International Student Identity Card (ISIC) it can be used to get free or reduced entry into many of the best museums and art galleries in the world, as well as many other sights and attractions in the places you visit.  Try not to use taxis or public transport wherever possible; walking will not only keep you fit, you will see more of your destination and it is completely and utterly free.  Please, however, do not compromise safety to save a Euro or two by walking through an area that may present itself as dangerous or unsafe.  When eating out, make your lunches using bread and fillings from the local markets and supermarkets.  These are almost always cheaper than buying lunch.  Also, ask for recommendations for places to eat.  One big advantage of staying in a hostel, especially one where the staff are friendly and helpful is that they will sit with you for 5 minutes and, using a map of the destination, highlight all the places to eat and drink that offer the best value.

You too could marvel at the historic sights of Tallinn in Estonia (source - author)

6. Travel Savvy and Combine Trips
Taking a two centre trip can often save the plucky traveller a fair bit of cash.  Rather than take two separate trips to places combine your trips together into one big trip.  For example, last year I visited both Riga in Latvia and Vilnius in Lithuania, flying into the former and out of the latter and connecting myself between them via a rather luxurious and cheap coach journey.  Or, you might find, a day trip is viable to another destination that interests you.  This May, I visited Tallinn in Estonia, but managed to squeeze in a day trip to Helsinki in Finland.  Having been shocked by the prices of everything in Finland's Nordic neighbour, Sweden in the previous month, I made sure I took all the food I needed with me for the day and only spent money on my boat journey across and a couple of coffees throughout the day.  Taking the trip separately would have involved an expensive hostel in the city and rely on me purchasing my foods and drinks there.

So, there you go!  Not a comprehensive list, but one that I hope will save you money and allow your cash to go much further.  It has worked for me and provides me with the opportunity to travel more and maximise my adventures.  Please let me know how you save for trips and add your tips to the comments section below!

Happy budget busting travel!

One Year On - The TRGTALP Review of the Year So Far...

I know I said in my last post that this blog isn't about me writing about all the places I've visited; thus, leaving many readers relying on this site as a cure for insomnia.  Nevertheless, I thought it might be nice to review my year in travel so far and, rather than blather on about all the amazing neoclassical churches I visited or the many sites of Estrucan interest I encountered, I had the idea of picking out why each place provided the makings of some top trips that you too might want to take inspiration from too...

Best Budget Destination...
It has to be a tie between Budapest and Krakow!  The food and drink in these destinations is very good value.  A three course meal in a great restaurant in Krakow with alcoholic drink 9 Euros.  Who can argue with that?!  Plus, the dessert was the best tiramisu I have ever had...and, boy, have I wolfed down some  fine Italian marscarpone sponge desserts!

Fun and frolics in the Market Square in Krakow!

Worst Budget Destination...
This does no way imply I didn't enjoy myself here (see my post 'Hej Sverige - AKA Storming Stockholm with Friends') and I would certainly recommend a trip, but Stockholm provided one of my costlier trips this year.  I was prepared for the high living costs the Swedes have, but on several occassions I was still amazed at some of the prices I saw....and paid!  Prepare your wallet for a shock.

Photo-Bombing the Gamla Stan!

Most Satisfying Tourist Attraction...
The Szechenyi Baths, in Budapest, offer a great half day of fun and frolics in a thermal spa right in the heart of the city.  I loved every minute of sampling the different indoor pools and steam rooms before heading out to bathe in the thermally-heated outdoor pools in the glow of the yellow pastel hues of this amazing building!  The underground train ride to the baths is an event in itself, offering you a train carriage made from what seems like flimsy balsa wood and a network that makes the London Underground look like something out of 'The Jetsons'!

The Szechenyi Baths in Budapest

Best Day Trip...
Horrific as it is, the tour of Auschwitz and Birkenau was just incredible.  We all know the history, but to actually stand in the same place (in gas chambers, on train platforms and in camp accommodation) as the victims of the Holocaust was a truly humbling experience and one that will stay with me for life.

The enormous collection of shoes taken from the victims at Auschwitz

Best Accommodation...
The Budapest Bubble has to take this hands down!  It may not be the flashiest hostel on the scene, but what it lacks in pizzazz, it more than makes up for in charm and a brillianty warm welcome.  Olga and Gabor run a tight ship where fun and laughter rein!  On arrival I was treated to the best welcome I have ever had in a hostel that was fueled with alcohol and some hilarious chat...an hour before I made it to my room to drop my bag.  On top of this, Olga, makes sure everyone in the hostel feels welcome (sometimes with a shot of Palinka) and almost always takes her newfound friends out on the town; showing them the best nightspots that Budapest has to offer.  What this girl doesn't know about the bars of Budapest is not worth knowing.  On top of this, she is so lovely, it is like staying with a friend in their apartment!  If you visit this fine city, stay nowhere else.  I insist!  Don't believe me?  Well, then just read the reviews...

The Budapest Bubble

(at Hostelworld.com)

Best Travel Experience...
The title has to go Lake Bled in Slovenia.  In one day, I visited the awesome Vintner Gorge, walked to the top of the Ožujsko Viewpoint at the edge of the lake and then swam out to the island in the middle of Lake Bled.  The holy trinity of fantastic experiences!  All of this shared with a great, fun-loving couple from Manchester.  I was their gooseberry for the day, but one very happy gooseberry!

The stunningly beautiful Lake Bled in Slovenia

Best Journey...
I don't think it can get much better than being bussed about Slovenia to Lakes Bled and Bohinj with the stunning Julian Alps as background scenery.  Even the walk back from the Vintner Gorge back to the town of Bled was breathtaking.

The walk from the Vintner Gorge back to the town of Bled...incredibly beautiful!

Biggest Surprises...
The Baltic cities were a real surprise for me.  I did a two centre trip to both Riga in Latvia and Vilnius in Lithuania, last May, and have recently returned from another double-header involving Tallinn in Estonia and Helsinki in Finland.  All of these places were an absolute joy to visit; filled with historical sights, great food, welcoming people and some of the greenest cities I have ever seen.  Flying into Riga I was stunned to find the capital is surrounded by an abundance of forested land as far as the eye can see.  It looked fantastic!  And, as a result, the food from these green and pleasant lands is some of the freshest I've ever tasted.  Although, all very similar, they were all immensely satisfying and offered some pleasant sights and surprises along the way.  One other major bonus of these destinations is that they were not too crowded with tourists; so on several occassions I would find myself sharing tourist attractions with one or two other people or having them all to myself...mwa-ha-ha-ha!

The House of the Blackheads in Riga, Latvia

Vilnius Cathedral in Lithuania

Where next, readers?  Where should my next 'Best Journey' be?  Where will I find the next 'Biggest Surprise' on my travels?  And, where will be my next 'Best Day Trip'?  I would love to hear what you think!

Inspiration - That Photo...

When I'm deciding on where I want to travel, I take a lot of inspiration from photos I have seen in newspapers, magazines and on the Internet; via my day-dreaming browsing on Google and friends' Facebook photos of their travels. What grabs me is 'that photo'...the one picture where you look in awe at a place or scene that looks so magical, so unreal that you feel that you have to see it for yourself to confirm it exists. Spotting a photo of Lake Bled, in Slovenia, via Facebook, was one of the driving forces for my trip to Slovenia this year. Seeing the place for myself and swimming in the warm waters of the lake was just phenomenal.

My photo from the Ozujsko viewpoint at Lake Bled

These places are often, for me, the stand out element of any trip. So, below (as a departure from my usual ramblings) are a few of my photographs of my favourite amazing places that I hope inspire you. Please feel free to suggest some of your favourites in the comment box below.


The tiled rooftops of Dubrovnik, Croatia


Trakai, Lithuania


The beautiful Chrysler Building, New York


Budapest, Hungary

The view across to Rangitoto in Auckland, New Zealand


Dusk at Milford Sound, New Zealand
The sun setting on The Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge, Australia


The Reichstag in Berlin, Germany


The soft sands and clear blue waters of Makriamos Beach, near Thassos Town, Greece


Angkor Wat, Cambodia


The incredible Whitehaven Beach, Whitsunday Islands, Australia


Le Jardin de Luxembourg in Paris, France.

Wat Mahathat in Ayutthaya, Thailand

USA...Tick! France...Tick! Azerbaijan...erm...

Location, Location, Location!

On a recent flight, I was surrounded by a party heading to Slovenia to...erm, party.  One of the group, exclaimed to the others a few minutes after we took off, "when we land, this will be my 50th country!  And, all before my 30th birthday too!"  The milestone birthday, it turns out, was being celebrated in Slovenia, so the girl in question made it to her target by a whisker!  This little story got me thinking...do we travel to put a notch on our proverbial hostel bedpost or is this just a satisfying byproduct of a wide and varied travel diet?  For those of you that were wondering, I have made it to 24 countries - so long as you count Monaco and the Vatican City as independent states.  I think that is pretty impressive for someone who has never taken a gap year that wends through a number of South East Asian and South American countries or is that flush with cash.

Some people take this tick-listing of countries visited to an extreme.  Take, for example, Kashi Sammadar, who has visited all of the countries of the World.  Or even our own Queen Elizabeth II who has visited 116 countries to date.  You can compare your travels to Liz's on this BBC News website - 'Have you been where the Queen's been?'

Though, sad to admit it, I quite like seeing where and how many places I have visited.  I love updating my travel map on Facebook; putting virtual pins into a map to highlight the cities and countries I have trampled with my size nines.  I look at the gaps on the map and think, 'I really must visit ... or ...'.  I do this, not to ensure I fill in those gaps, but help me think about the places I would like to travel to, not the ones I feel I should visit simply to pin on my map.  My travels this year have included four new countries and hopefully, a fifth before the year is out.  I realised looking at my map, I had not really seen much of Eastern Europe, but for a short break to Prague a few years back.  So, when I saw the flights to Hungary, Latvia and Slovenia at a reasonable price, I jumped at the chance to see these countries and cultures that had previously been virgin territory for me.

As for the girl at the start of the post, she may have achieved her 50 countries mostly via travel through her work commitments.  For all I know, she could have been a pilot or stewardess; jetting all over the world on a daily basis.  She might be filthy rich, with a purse deep enough to allow her the opportunity to travel lots and see a whole host of countries.  It is easy to become cynical about such people - mocking their approach to travel.  Besides, we all enjoy travel for different reasons.  Either way, we all have something in common...we like to travel.  Therefore, I am always in admiration for those people that are lucky enough to visit so many places.  They make me want to travel more as I reason with myself, 'if they can do it, so can I!'  I often fail to remember that they may have more time or cash at their disposal, but still the desire to travel remains.  So, look to your tick-listers as inspiration, a source of ideas for future destinations and most of all enjoy the experience of travel, seeing it not simply as a chance to 'tick' another place off on a list of places you have travelled to.

The Glorious Free Tour...

The Ljubljana Free Tour - MikeW in the middle on the front row! (Source - The Ljubljana Free Tour)

 

Free!  My favourite price!  The old saying goes, "there's no such thing as a free lunch", but I disagree when it comes to one 'free' aspect of travel and it is one of my top tips for the solo traveller.  Whenever I am in a place that has one on offer, I always take the free tour.  I've free toured in a number of cities including Lisbon, Budapest, Riga, Vilnius and most recently, last week, in Ljubljana.  And, what a treat these tours are.  The concept is pretty straightforward: a person in their early twenties (often an inhabitant of the place) will have advertised a meeting point somewhere in the city, at a set time everyday, usually via a leaflet or poster in the hostels and tourist information offices.  They will walk you and a group of other fact-hungry tourists around their fair city all for nothing, nada, nowt!  OK, OK...before you all scream, "Mike, you're wrong...it's not free!"...the tour is not completely free as the tour guide will explain to you at some point on your walk round the city.  They work on a tip based system, whereby you pay what you think the tour was worth.  So, in theory you could pay nothing for an abysmal tour and thus, get yourself a free tour, but if you are paying nothing, it is probably safe to assume the tour was a waste of time or you are just one tight-fisted git!

I like the free tour for a number of reasons.  First of all, you get to meet a local; someone who is always very passionate about their city and their country; happy to share many interesting facts and stories about its people, buildings and culture.  I have learnt some fascinating things from these free tours.  The quality of the guides varies.  The tours where I have laughed heartily, learnt lots about the place and felt like the guide was genuinely interested in our experience have been fantastic.  The tours where the guide has been very serious or a little eccentric, making the tour all about themselves, I have found less interesting and have tipped accordingly.  Secondly, free tours are really useful in helping you get your bearings; allowing you to see the highlights of a city in a short space of time, but then give you the opportunity to decide what you want to visit again and see in more detail.

Free tours are a great way to meet other like-minded travellers.  Free tourers are usually backpackers, probably travelling solo (and on a budget) just like your good self.  On the tour in Ljubljana, I was able to meet a great girl who me and a fellow traveller, from my room in the hostel, spent the day exploring the city with and dined with in the evening.  Further than that, the people on the free tour might become future travel buddies...an Aussie girl I befriended on the free tour in Riga I am travelling to Krakow with in October.

So, take the free tour...learn about the place you are visiting, soak up the culture and meet people!

Budapest - Life in the Bubble

The brilliant Szechenyi Baths (http://www.szechenyibath.com/) - a must see for any visitors to Budapest!

I thought I would kick off with a post about a fantastic place I stayed at recently, in the beautiful city of Budapest in Hungary.  When I'm looking for somewhere to stay, being a complete Yorkshire tightwad, I always tend to look at hostels first.  Having secured some bargain Ryanair flights from Manchester I then went searching for accommodation.  As a solo traveller (and one who isn't too bothered about getting off my face every night) I wanted to stay somewhere where I could a) get some sleep and b) socialise with some fun and friendly travellers.  I knew The Budapest Bubble (http://www.hostelworld.com/hosteldetails.php/Budapest-Bubble/Budapest/20989) was going to be a good choice after reading the comments about the two people who run this relatively small hostel...(and the prices weren't that bad either).  Both Olga and Gabor are absolutely fantastic fun and soooooooo friendly.  At every turn they proved an amazing ability to get everyone involved in hostel life; so much so, it felt like I was staying in a friend's apartment during my stay.  On top of this, they made sure that their guests saw Budapest at its best both day and night!  For the solo traveller, nay...any traveller, this place is perfect!  Get booking!