St Ives, Cornwall – One of the Best Holiday Destinations in the UK

When people travel to the UK there is a natural tendency for the majority of visitors from overseas to gravitate towards the city of London. While the country’s capital does of course have a great deal to offer backpackers, families and couples alike including many great visitor attractions, it is completely wrong to assume that this is all the UK has to offer. Above all else, the country has some highly underrated coastal regions that are great ways of seeing a different side to the countries history and heritage rather than just the usual London based tourist traps.

     Amongst my personal favourite places to visit in the UK is Cornwall. The region – based at the countries most south westerly tip – offer beautiful scenery and coastline, great beaches, towns, restaurants and pubs which are ideal for visitors from the UK and abroad. The weather is also generally considered to be amongst the best in the UK, with some very comfortable summer temperatures and high sun levels for the UK making it a great place to stop off at if you are looking for a short summer break.

     

     Younger party seeking visitors and fans of surfing will enjoy the popular destination of Newquay, but there are other great places to visit in Cornwall including Padstow (famous for Chef Rick Stein’s seafood restaurant) and St Ives - which has a thriving artistic community and heritage. If you are a traveler seeking to cut back on costs or enjoy cooking your own food, self catering St Ives can be booked online, but during the peak summer months in the UK can tend to become busy – so book early in order to avoid disappointment. The town also hosts a 15 day arts festival in September that proves very popular and draws a great deal of visitors to the town, so during this period you may also find apartments in St Ives become less readily available. Another option for accommodation could be to stay in a Caravan Park in Cornwall which can offer dog friendly options for people visiting the region.
 

Top 5 Online Resources for Budget Travelers in Europe

In this blogpost were going to be looking at what I believe are the 5 of the best online resources and travel websites to help you plan, prepare for, book and ultimately enjoy your dream backpacking holiday to all of the best holiday destinations in Europe. With the following travel tips and advice hopefully you will find some useful resources to help your trip go smoothly - and also save you a heap of money too!

1. InterRail - http://www.interrailnet.com/

It may be somewhat cliché, but as any young backpacker will tell you these days, getting around Europe with an InterRail travel card is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to travel - and importantly give you the great amount of flexibility you will need to enjoy all the brilliant backpacking holiday destinations in Europe. Booking a ticket online is quick and easy, and the travel cards are valid in the vast majority of countries in Europe.

2. Hostel Bookers - http://www.hostelbookers.com/

Quite possibly the biggest and best online resource for backpackers who are looking to compare and book hostels in Europe and indeed, across the rest of the world. I used have used this site when traveling, booking holidays, stag dos - you name it. Its really easy to use, has an extremely simple booking system and has many useful reviews from likeminded travelers to help you make informed decisions on where to stay based on your personal requirements whether it be location, cost, atmosphere etc.

3. Gaynors Sports of Ambleside - http://www.gaynors.co.uk/

While far less well known outside of the UK than the 2 sites I highlight above, Gaynors is a great shop for anyone looking to take on a backpacking holiday, camping trip or who simply enjoys the great outdoors. Their shop in Ambleside in the Lake District is packed with great gear at low prices or you can also save time and money by buying online. Whether you are in the need of backpacks, waterproofs or boots they have hundreds of products from well known outdoor brands and tend to have some great deals available throughout the year.

4. Low Cost airline Guide - http://www.low-cost-airline-guide.com/

Need help on finding the availability and price of cheap flights to Europe? This great resource is one of the quickest and easiest ways to compare and find out the latest flights online with this low cost airline guide. Listing all of Europe’s best holiday and backpacking flight destinations in the UK, Spain, Romania, Russia, Norway, Serbia, Portugal and pretty much anywhere else you can think of - you’re sure to be able to find the details you need to plan and book your flights whilst traveling in Europe.

5. World Backpackers Forum

If you are planning a backpacking trip or simply need help along the way its nice to be able to share your thoughts, questions and concerns with other likeminded individuals online. With this travel forum you can find backpacking tips and advice, ask questions, raise concerns you may have and generally soak up the knowledge and info of other people who are enjoying their traveling in Europe and other holiday destinations around the world.

Booking Holiday Accommodation Made Easy Online

If you are planning to take a holiday in Europe this summer then regardless of your personal choice of Euro holiday destination, one of your main concerns will naturally be finding a suitable hotel, hostel or other form of holiday accommodation that falls within your budget in the place you are travelling to. Luckily for travellers of all ages, these days a holidaymaker or backpacker can readily use online resources to find cheap hotels in their chosen city destination quickly and easily and comparing prices and facilities that may be available in potential places to stay can now be carried out with ease at the push of a button or click of a mouse. Whether you are looking to make a 1 or 2 week hotel reservation for a family holiday in Europe or are looking to book a few nights stay at your next hostel in a city destination on a larger backpacking holiday in the European region, then the widespread availability of the internet has undoubtedly made the whole process incredibly simple and streamlined for travellers to find accommodation cheaply, quickly and easily.

Find the Best Holiday Accommodation in Helsinki, Finland

If you are thinking of being a bit different and taking the plunge by looking for a somewhat alternative holiday destination or city location to visit on your backpacking trip in Europe - then please consider taking the time to have a visit to the beautiful city of Helsinki, Finland. The city is surely one of the best city destinations to visit in all of Scandinavia if not Europe itself, and indeed has a host of great places to see.

Amongst the most popular tourist attractions in the city of Helsinki is the National Museum of Finland which is a stunning piece of architecture to behold in itself, with its so called “national romantic” building style giving it a unique and distinguished appearance. The city’s cathedral and maritime attractions are also popular draws for tourists visiting Helsinki, but the city also has the very pretty Esplanade Park in which visitors often like to have a romantic stroll, which is situated in the very heart of the city itself.

If you are looking for a place to stay in Helsinki then you can check out the many “hotelli helsinki” that are dotted across numerous great locations across the length and breadth of the city. One of the best known hotels in Helsinki is the Best Western which is great place for holidaymakers to stay either as a couple or with their family and kids. Wherever you stay, you are sure to find a great holiday experience that few places in Northern Europe can match.

Visit Finland - The Best holiday Destination in Scandinavia

The Scandinavian country of Finland is perhaps not the first place you would necessarily think of when planning on taking a holiday in Europe. When considering such vacations it seems as though many people immediately think of that European holiday destinations with high levels of summer sunshine and hotter temperatures - so it is often the case that locations such as coastal Spain, the Greek Islands or the South of France will immediately spring to mind.

While these are all great places to take a holiday in their own right, one country that is perhaps not immediately considered as a prime European holiday destination is Finland. However, you may be surprised to find that the country has a great deal to offer the visitors, travelers and backpackers alike that make this country a holiday location of choice for a surprising number of people - and indeed Finland currently proudly boasts an ever growing tourism industry.

Those travelling to Finland are often seeking a somewhat more upmarket and unique holiday experience from the package holidays so widely available in the Mediterranean region of Europe - and the country sports an extensive array of simply stunning natural scenery. The Finish capital Helsinki is also a brilliant tourist city to visit at any time of year with a host of cool visitor attractions and some great “hotellit” as the locals call them (or hotels in English) such as the Halvat Hotellit in which you can spend your nights in Helsinki.

Best US Holiday Destinations: Las Vegas

Now that we are out of the hectic Christmas and New Year period and my life has returned to some sort of parity again, I’ve been giving some more serious thought to planning my next holiday travel destinations to visit in 2010. I feel like I’ve spent a lot of time travelling and backpacking in Europe over the last few years - and while this has been fantastic fun, meeting some great people, and I would always recommend it to any one - I think its time for me to explore some pastures new a little further from home. I’ve been considering doing the whole West Coast USA thing as many of my friends have recommended it as one of the best holiday destinations in the world. I have been grabbed by the idea of renting a car and checking out all the unusual scenes and landscape of the desert and surrounding areas - and of course visiting some of the great cities in the region like Las Vegas. It looks like a real great city to go and party for someone my age, packed with all the grand style Vegas hotels, bars, clubs, music and live entertainment that you come to expect from one of the worlds most famous places to take a break. Basically, I’m looking to soak up all the fun and bright lights that the city of Las Vegas has to offer - without breaking the bank! Indeed, I’ve already committed a bit of time looking online for some cheap hotels and flights to try and find something affordable within my budgets - then of course there are also a raft of discount saving Vegas coupons which you can get hold of online to save yourself a few good bucks along the way. Now all I need to do is keep working hard and save up some cash then I can get back on a plane and get out of here once again!

I put the real tourism dip around 10%

Apparently, it's not easy going for tourist trap hacks and luxury travel businesses in Italy lately. Blaming the global economic downturn--and suddenly tighter-wadded American tourists--this New York Times article helps a few of the least practical exemplars of travel-related business bemoan the state of their finances.

Whether you're a pointless tourist trap (a cheesy gladiator by the Colosseum no one wants to pay to pose beside, a glum horse-drawn-carriage driver with no passengers) or a pointlessly overpriced hotel or restaurant (the Exelsior bar in the Westin Hotel on Rome's Via Veneto--which went out of fashion 40 years ago--or the lovely but ridiculously priced Hotel Danieli in Venice, which has had to "slash" its prices to a mere $335 a night), no tourist seems to want to crack open his or her wallet and pay for your services.

To which I say: Good for the tourists. The only reason most people assume they can't afford a trip to Italy--which, even in this economic climate, they can--is that msot newspapers and magazines make it sound as if you _need_ to spend $20 for a martini, $150 for dinner, and $650 for a double room.

That's not only wrong, it's elitist and it's ridiculous.

Patronize mom-and-pop hotels and B&Bs and you'll never pay more than $200 for a room (and often well less than $100), eat at family-run trattorie and you can dine like a king on unforgettable Italian home-cooking for $20 to $30. What's more, those prices are even better now than they were just a few months ago, as the Euro has slipped against the dollar from the dizzying highs of $1.60 = €1 during this past summer to around $1.30 = €1. That's like a 30¢ discount on every dollar you spend, relatively speaking. That's money you can take the the bank...and spend in Italy.