Hey there,
There's a hostel right near the train station called Intermission Hostel (the website says rates start at 210 NOK): https://www.hostelworld.com/findabed.php/ChosenCity.Bergen/ChosenCountry.Norway?dia=500
There's heaps of options on that website!
My boyfriend and I are both in our 20's and are form the UK.
We want to travel around Canada for a few months asap as we have already applied for our 12 month Visa's.
Looking to go more over to the west of the country.
Just wondered if anyone had any suggesting about where to stay/live for a few months. Is it better to hotel it around the place, stay in hostels or camp out?
Obviously we want to probably only stay in each town around 6 weeks tops so not sure what to do.
Also how easy is it to get a temporary job over there? We have funds but just incase we run low quicker than we thought we would try and get some form of work for a bit.
Hi, guys,
Thanks for all the feedback regarding my first post, I have considered your points and decided to make some changes to my initial itinery!
I am now looking at a total travel duration of 15 days, not included arrival/departure time.
The route below, would give me about 3 to 2 & half days per location!
Q. I would be interested if anyone has done a similar trip, and if they felt it was enought time for each place?
I have reluctanly dropped Mykonos, due to costs, but would consider attempting a day trip from either Naxos or Paros?
I understand I shouldn't have a problem finding ferrys to each island, however I am struggling to find cheap accommodation, especially for Naxos/Paros!
It seems for my dates/budget the only option is either:
Q. Naxos - (Soula Hotel) or Paros - (Jimi Hostel), any thoughts on the benifits of choosing either island?
The other locations have more hostels available, but I understand you can find hotel owners offering rooms when you arrive at the ferry ports?
Q. Does anyone have a rough ideal of what they charge and if its worth the hassle compared to pre booking beforehand?
I realise am travelling at peak season, so I think having my accomodation already booked would be advisable!
Q. Do any of the ferrys on my routes ever sell out and need pre booked?, (not counting the faster seacats!)
Route so far..
Arrive
Sunday 19 August - Athens (9:30am)
20 Athens
21 Athens
22 Athens to Paros or Naxos
23 Paros or Naxos (?)
24 Paros or Naxos(?)
25 Paros or Naxos to Ios
26 Ios
27 Ios
28 Ios to Santorini
29 Santorini
30 Santorini
31 Santorini to Heraklion, (Bus to Chania)
1 Chania
2 Chania
Depart :
Monday 3 September - Chania
I am open to making further routes changes if anyone has alternative suggestions that fit the timescale and
starts/ends in Athens & Chania!
All advice much appreciated.
Lan Ha Bay only, less touristy = less dirty. THat's first day hanoi and then, 2-day cruise (one day only is an heresy because it takes 6 hours round trip to go Hnaoi-Cat Ba-Hanoi. As soos as you arrive in Hanoi, ask your hotel or go to a travel agency next door and book a junk cruise Lan Bay ; the operator picks you up at and brings you back to your hotel (return arrival between 17 and 18:00).
I think it is safe for me to assume that the Kuala Lumpur-Chiang Rai direct flights didn't quite take off and airasia has quietly removed them without any fanfare (that is unless someone can show me otherwise). It's a pity though as the promotion was done incorrectly . Chiang Rai's peak season is the end of the year and they should have started the flights from around November or so, As I recall, there were not many advertisements in the newspapers compared to the noise they made about their Kuala Lumpur to Vietnam flights recently. With a bit of promotion this could easily have been a big hit. As I recall, they were one of the first to promote international flights to Krabi and they succeeded in making Krabi a big hit with people from Malaysia and Singapore especially and occasionally Australians transiting in Kuala Lumpur.
Air Asia seems to focus on beach destinations and I'm guessing that the next time they try to introduce a new direct flight from Kuala Lumpur, they are going to focus on a Southern Thailand(obviously because it's nearer and will be cheaper from Kuala Lumpur - which will be ideal for those looking for a cheap short weekend holiday) destination with access to the beaches. Trang? Nakhon Si Thammarat? These seem like the most likely choices and I really hope they happen soon.
Thank you for your brilliant ideas and the detailed travel options. We will try to follow your recommendations. so I take it that driving is not too much of a challenge in Morocco? we have driven in many European countries but not south America or Asia. What is a reasonable price for the camel overnighter? Do you have a recommendation for a place to stay in Marrakech?
we have been backpacking for a few years... however this is the first time that we have had a young person to be responsible for ... so I guess we are being extra cautious.( Usually we just land in the country and book a hostel for our first night and take it from there ... )So your advice is particularly crucial for us.
We are also very open to and very much appreciate your recommendations for places to eat (Cheapies are good) and places to stay.
TR for a short stopover in Moldova.
Click here for full report with a few pics.
Cheers.
Jon
That would be Finland but I've been in Moldova for the past couple of days for the sole purpose of hitting yet another European high point. Moldova formerly had the unfortunate distinction of being ranked the unhappiest country in the world. After 2 days here it's fairly safe to say that the Moldovans have shaken off that reputation and ranking.
I arrived Monday afternoon after an easy [i]marshrutka[/i] ride from Odesa, Ukraine and made my way from one bus station on the edge of the city center (there are 3 stations in the city) to the central market. Using my best Russian at the station there (Russian still a primary language here together with Romanian), I tried to suss out the schedule for the next morning to Bălăneşti, the wine-country village at the base of the hill of the same name. The first direct bus wasn't leaving til 10:30 which I thought would be too late to tag the "peak" and get back to Chişinău the same day without having to shell out for a taxi for the 60 km one way trip. But one of the drivers assured me I could go earlier to Nisporeni and catch another bus from there.
The hostel was a bit of a walk from the market so I first grabbed a cheap meal at the [i]stolovaya[/i] and changed some US$ at surprisingly good rates before heading to the crash pad. I booked a dorm room and met another traveler, Alex from Moscow, whom I convinced to join me for the trip to Bălăneşti in the morning. He had a train departing for Moscow at 21:00 so we'd have to leave pretty early so as not to risk missing the train.
Following morning we were at the central station for the 8:45 [i]marshrutka[/i] to Nisporeni, took ~1½ hours. The bus to Bălăneşti wasn't leaving til 11:10 so we passed the time asking car drivers at the adjacent gas station if they were headed our way. No luck so we wandered the main drag picking up a lot of unshelled walnuts that had fallen off the trees onto the sidewalk. The bus didn't leave til 11:30 and dropped us at the edge of the village 20 minutes later where we could see what looked like a dirt road leading to the summit, presumably to service the antennae located there. We asked a local how to get there and it seemed pretty straightforward until we got to a left turn onto a dirt road where we double checked with another local tending his drinking well. From that point it was basically straight up the dirt road and after ~50 minutes we reached the top.
The way down ended up being slightly different and we ran into another local bringing water back from a different well. Alex asked him if he knew where we could get some homemade wine and he replied, "V magazeen (at the store)." Alex persisted that we had to have homemade wine for the simple reason that I was from America. That seemed to do the trick and Zhora invited us into his yard under the vine-thatched cover where he brought out a pitcher of really sweet but excellent red wine. He explained the 5 different varieties of grapes that he grows and then clipped a few bunches that we ate, along with some plums, while drinking another pitcher of wine.
We had to leave even though we had long missed the 13:00 bus from Bălăneşti direct back to Chişinău. Before departing, Zhora gave us a huge bag of grapes and plums for the road. We continued our walk down to the main road then caught a lift to the bus stop and, after about 10 minutes, another ride in a truck to Nisporeni where there was conveniently a [i]marshrutka[/i] leaving for Chişinău [i]muy pronto[/i] at 14:30. We got off before the central market as we were passing one of the local [i]stolovaya[/i] chains and we were famished, nevermind all the fruit and wine we had consumed back in the village...
US$ ≈ 17.7 Moldovan lei
[h1 left]Chişinău[/h1] Didn't see much of the city aside from the area between the hostel and the central market. It appears to be designed in the classic Soviet style - lots of trees, parks, wide boulevards, and imposing government buildings to give the impression that Big Brother is watching.
[b]Accommodation and food[/b] Reserved 2 nights in Hostel City Center, 140 lei/night in a 4 person dorm. Honestly, this is one of the best hostels I've ever stayed in, desperately needed free laundry too, just BYOD. Coffee shops abound, 10 lei or so for an americano. There are several of the local Gălbenuș cafeterias nearby, figure less than 100 lei buys a very substantial meal, great desserts.
[b]Transport[/b] [i]Marshrutka[/i] 178 runs from the northern bus station (arrival point coming from Odesa) to the central market, 3 lei. For Bălăneşti we took the 8:45 departure, arrived Nisporeni 10:20, 34.6 lei... exactly. The bus from Nisporeni to the village runs a few times a day for 10 lei. Same price and duration returning from Nisporeni, last departure 17:00 or 18:00. For complete schedule, autogara.md is very useful but seemingly only for departures from Chişinău, not back to the capital.
Heading to Romania Wednesday there is a night train departing Chişinău 16:56 arriving Bucharest 6:20, 587 lei in second class (4 bed compartment) but only 678 lei in first (2 beds) for which I "splurged" since it was a whopping $5 more.
I stayed at the Hostel Candeleria in a dorm. If I had not been traveling for so long and alone and watching my costs, I would have gotten a private room. I liked the hostel as they had a nice breakfast and grounds so it was nice to chat with other travelers. I would also consider Airbnb, though I have not looked at what is offered there.
