Travel for the Over 30s

Harrogate is a picturesque spa town in North Yorkshire, famed for its beautiful award-winning gardens and mineral spring. England in places is one of the most over-touristed countries in Europe - which is saying a lot - but check out somewhere like Harrogate if you want to get off the tourist trail

The town is one of the North of England’s most popular tourist destinations, attracting tens of thousands of families, pensioners and foreign visitors each year.  Harrogate itself is quite small and offers little in the way of entertainment for younger people, however it sits right at the very heart of the Yorkshire Dales which makes it an ideal stop over for extreme sports enthusiasts. The Dales boasts an abundance of mountain bike tracks, climbing centres, kayaking destinations, potholing caves and much more.

Harrogate’s nightlife is surprisingly lively for a town of its size. There are a number of bars in the town centre, all within easy walking distance of each other. Pitcher and Piano, Banyan Bar, Edwards and Restaurant Bar and Grill all serve as restaurants during daylight hours but turn into bars at night. They are all busy without being overcrowded and the atmosphere in each is pleasant, safe and welcoming.  In fact, the same can be said for Harrogate in general.

If eating out is your thing then you’ll be spoilt for choice. Harrogate town centre is littered with fantastic boutique restaurants catering for traditional and more contemporary tastes. The famous William and Victoria restaurant and the imaginatively titled Harrogate Brasserie serve beautifully prepared traditional food that leaves you wanting more every time. The award-winning Orchid specialises in fine oriental cuisine and Harrogate’s latest addition, the Royal Baths Chinese Restaurant, is perhaps the most spectacular. Set inside the old Royal Baths building, it truly is one of the most beautiful restaurants we’ve ever seen. The only problem is you’re likely to spend more time looking around the £1.5m interior than you will eating your magnificently presented meal.

Accommodation in Harrogate varies from quaint friendly B&b’s (of which there are plenty) to stunning boutique hotels like The Hotel du Vin and The Old Swan. If you prefer somewhere a bit more private then perhaps one of the stylish luxury serviced apartments in Harrogate town centre would suit your tastes. These sumptuous contemporary hideaways can be booked through local agent Nightspace. Prices start from £90 per night, per apartment.  

Harrogate sits just 15 miles from Leeds, ons of the UK’s best shopping destinations.  Transport links are excellent, with regular trains and buses getting you to and from in around half an hour. The drive is also very easy between Harrogate and Leeds and takes 25 minutes. It’s the same road all the way so even the worst navigators should have no trouble finding their way.

Not sure whether to take the all inclusive bus tour which promises 13 countries in 15 days or the tour that is based in one region from where you take a more in depth look of one part of Europe? Want to catch the highlights of Europe without the hassles of driving on one of the world’s most crowded continents?

Then you need to think again - and maybe think specifically about river cruises. Long before the invention of the internal combustion engine and freeways, rivers were the world’s first super highways. Europe’s great cities all share one thing in common - they are  are built on major waterways - think of Paris and the Seine, London and the Thames, Vienna and the Danube. That’s why river cruising is the ideal way to see Europe.

Compared with planning a European bus tour, river cruising has huge advantages. Rivers are the heart of European cities - you can be guaranteed that your floating hotel will be located central to the action - not hours away in the suburbs. There is no requirement to be packed up and ready for the bus at 6am. Rather than having to choose between a leisurely lunch and sightseeing, you combine both on a river cruise where boats usually feature dining rooms with panoramic views. You aren’t going to spend hours of precious vacation time stuck in traffic - well OK you will probably pass the odd lock - but that’s a lot more interesting than being stuck in a Parisian traffic jam (trust me on this).

Compared to ocean cruising, river cruising comes up trumps for anyone who suffers from seasickness- no waves, no getting your “sea legs” required on river boats.  Its also great for singles or those just looking at connecting with others in the group - boats have to fit through the canals and locks of Europe so normally carry only between 100-300 passengers. Tours tend to be all-inclusive including “shore excursions” - which are often walking tours right from the dock. One thing that you won’t want to leave behind are good walking shoes - forget the on-board gym - try walking a few miles on cobblestones - excellent for your legs and cardio-vascular health!

With the collapse of communism European river cruising has expanded east. River cruising is a supremely practical way to visit Russia and Ukraine without having to deal with the notoriously poor quality of local restaurants and hotels. Both St Petersburg and Moscow are river cities - conveniently located about a week’s cruising apart. The truly adventurous can extend their tour all the way to the Crimea and the Black Sea.

A river cruise boat are not the huge floating palaces of their ocean-going counterparts. They do not have the space to offer climbing walls, full-size auditoriums, 21 different restaurant and multiple swimming pools. Instead the focus is on the countries that you are cruising through. Most ships offer a single dining room with free seating and an informal dress code. There is invariably an open deck for the best view and also normally a library and several other lounges. There will also be guest speakers talking about the local countries and cultures that you are traveling through. Ships will often sail at night to ensure that you have the best opportunity to explore ports during the day either with a tour or just by yourself.

The best part of river cruising has to be that you have unpack once scenario. I’ve never met anyone who enjoys the constant packing and unpacking of a typical tour - so on a river cruise you get to do it exactly once. Suites are comfortable and most newer boats offer balconies and opening windows. There is no such thing as an inside cabin on a river boat - they are just too narrow!

I do have one major problem with choosing an European river cruise though - which one to try first - I have the impression they could become extremely addictive!

This comes under the strange but true banner. I live in Australia - its the middle of winter, there is a bumper ski season happening in eastern Australia and New Zealand, and there are some nice airfare deals to the local ski slopes - well not that local to Perth - but within 8 hour’s flying time.

This post is not about Australian and New Zealand ski resorts. Instead I opened this weekend’s local newspaper to be bombarded with a “feature” - as they love to call advertorials in mainstream media - on skiing in the French Alps - weird enough when you consider that it is high summer in France at the moment.

But it got weirder - this was about life coaching on the ski fields. No not in a quaint village located near the fields, actually while skiing - you go skiing with your life coach - and solve all your personal problems.  I don’t know about you but my day-to-day problems of issues with procrastination and inability to care enough about my fashion sense - aren’t the same as the one’s I have on the ski slope - which is all about my inability to ski around trees, not into them and unsurpassed rage at the ability of the average European 5-year old to out-ski me. However if you think the two go together check out Pollen Brook’s website - though I can’t find the specific package mentioned re life coaching and skiing - maybe they are just trying it out on the Australian market first?

Lanzarote is one of the Spanish owned Canary Islands. Located around 100 miles off the coast of West Africa and much favoured by sun starved Northern Europeans. Who flock here in their millions. Helping to earn the Archipelago something of a reputation as a cheap and cheerful package holiday destination.

But these seven volcanic islands are not all birds of a feather. As each boasts a unique identity – with Lanzarote in particular boasting a series of breathtaking visitor attractions that are every bit as impressive as the island’s great beaches and year round climate.

This is all thanks to the work of an island born artist called César Manrique.

Cesar successfully campaigned against uncontrolled tourist development on Lanzarote. Securing a ban on high rise buildings and ad hoardings – while designing and constructing tourist attractions that effortlessly fuse art with nature. Transforming collapsed lava tubes and volcanic bubbles into concert spaces art galleries and nightclubs.

Cesar single-handedly saved Lanzarote from over-development - what I pleasant change from the usual story of over-development in Spain!

Ever wanted to inhale your drink, rather than drink it?Me neither but its the latest fad in London at the “Breathable Bar“. Patrons in the “breathable bar” have to done a sexy head to foot protection suit before entering the bar where they can breath in a gin and tonic.

Apparently its legit and safe: it won’t explode and it won’t harm you. It won’t get you too drunk either because you get kicked out after an hour - apparently inhaling alcohol gets it to the bloodstream faster than merely drinking it.

The bar in Soho uses industrial technology to create a vapour of Hendrick’s Gin and tonic- what a very English experience.

Visitors are charged £5 (US$7)  for entry to the Alcoholic Architecture bar - but hurry its only open for a week!

I’m not a huge fan of twitter - but for finding cool videos about people in dancing at train stations its pretty useful. This is a new one with a orchestrated rendition of “Do Ra Me” from Sound of Music. You just have to love how the passer by’s go from confused and slightly annoyed - to engaged and smiling and laughing -there is just something about dance and music that makes everyone feel good - except for one old grumpy guys who just keeps on walking!

I’m not sure this is like the early video of a flash mob at Liverpool Station, England also dancing in the middle of a train station actually a well designed ad - there is a byline at the end but my Flemish is not up to it!

Anyway keep an eye out for the usual it may be a flash mob -or at least a viral advertisment and you could get famous on youtube if you get with the beat, and remember that you can have fun even if you are not travelling!

One of the weird things living in Internet-land is that most people live in the Northern Hemisphere - so right about now they is lot of chat about spring and finding a sunny beach hotel for their upcoming holidays - or vacations if they are in North America.

Now I understand the desire -  my home doesn’t get that much sun in the winters either - or in the summer sometimes! But its weird now that I live on arguably one of the best beaches in the world Scarborough Beach, Perth - where do  I go on holiday? Well let’s face it I am not travelling for sand and surf - got that all just down the road! I don’t need to be holiday - I can just pop down after work for an hour or so!

I guess the point is that we travel to have what  we haven’t got - I’ve gotta say that as usual as humans we want what we can’t have. I would love to get to Europe again: mainly because I have forgotten what history and culture are living in Western Australia! I’d love to check out some of the castle hostels in Germany or maybe a Jumbo Jet hostel in Sweden.

As it is I am far more likely to catch a quick flight up to Asia - where the beaches are excellent and  food good and cheap. The next trip is going to be up the coast in Western Australia to swim with whale sharks, which is a whole lot different! And what do the local newspapers promote  to tempt West Australians to travel: ski holidays in Japan and New Zealand this week!

Some more great information from Simon at OverlandWannabe 

There is something special about the youth hostels in Germany.  Perhaps it has a lot to do with the fact that both countries have a lot of castles, built by Barons or towns to protect lands and collect taxes, which have no real purpose in the modern world.

Rather than let them fall to ruins or try to run them solely as museums,  the Germans have turned many of them into Hostels.  Castles are almost perfect for this as they all had barracks for stationing troops, which make excellent hostels!
Most famous (infamous) of these is actually Colditz Castle , in which of course a plane was built in the attic and planned to be flown out, allowing British POW’s to escape.  A night’s stay in Colditz is only 17euro, the question is - can you escape the next morning?!!

Other Castle Hostels in Germany

Bacharach Hostel - on the Rhine, 12th century - hard to miss but a steep walk!

Burg Altena - the original castle hostel.

Heppenheim  - fantastic views - steep climb

Leibertingen-Wildenstein

Stimpfach-Rechenberg

Kronach part of a city wall so not actually a steep climb!

Passau - stunning view over the ancient town - which means - you guessed it a steep climb!

Advantages of Staying in Germany’s Castles Hostels

•  there is no age restriction Bavaria has finally dropped their under 25 rule
• the price - very reasonable even for a private room
• the view - castles tend to be on tops of hills
• security- its a castle right!

Disadvantages of Staying in Germany’s Castle Hostels

• the hill- the castle will be on top of one normally!
• no lifts - retro-fitting lifts doesn’t happen in a castle - these are not disability-friendly hostels
• the cold - central heating isn’t common
• you have to join the German youth hostel association, or be a member of your home youth hostel asociation, or pay an extra fee a night to buy a visitors guest membership
• school groups use hostels extensively in Germany - you may run into a party - or find the hostel booked out with them

Today is a bit of a guest post from Simon from Overland Wannabe which is a great looking blog about a journey into the unknown as Simon is looking for a good used van in the UK - so if you have any ideas on this head over to his blog and leave him a comment!  Simon left some recommendations on European hostels on my previous post and offered the following in, in part, to my query on more information.

Packing list for European Hostels

• Obviously normal packing stuff is required
• Towels - you wouldn’t believe how many times I’ve forgotten a towel
• Sleeping bag - sheets are normally provided but don’t count on it (Lis notes; in contrast sleeping bags are not allowed in Australian hostels but beds are provided with duvets and sheets)
• Dressing gown or respectable pyjamas, some hostels are friendly enough that you can walk around in a dressing gown, it also makes the transition from boiling hot shower to not so hot room easier

Booking into a European hostel is simply a case of calling up and asking if they have space, most places are still 4 to 8 in a room, with sexes being separated.  A few are also offering smaller rooms, but for these the price will be higher.

How Much Does A Hostel in Europe Cost?

17euros - that seems to be the average price of a western European Hostel
12euros - is the rough average of an eastern European Hostel

Both usually include breakfast and free showers.

What Facilities to Expect in a European Hostel

This mostly depends on the hostel’s location.  If you are close to, or in, a larger city or town expect the facilities to be less as the city will be your playground.
Outside of the larger cities then expect a small bar serving hot food and local beers, pool tables, TV/Social Rooms, Cooking areas (mostly a few microwaves and electric hobs) and a dining area for those that serve meals throughout the day.

Most Hostels cater for any age and you will probably not be alone how ever young or old you are!

Best place for finding Hostels - Google of course!

Lissie notes that hostelworld.com and hostels.com are good places for mainly unbiased reviews - just read between the lines - some people expect 5-stars for 10 Euros!

And yes the castle is a hostel too - Koblenz on the Rhine in Germany

Photo Credit

Well the Swedes do it again. We reviewed the hostel on the boat in central Stockholm, now there is a new budget option to stay in a plane at Arlanda - Stockholm’s major airport!

The Jumbo Hostel combines several inprobable concepts: a cheap airport hotel, a cheap comfortable bed in a plane and a cheap hotel in Sweden!  Yes this really is a decommissioned 747 - which once flew for Pan-Am but ended up a wreck whichhas been refurbished into a hostel near the entrance to Stockholme’s Arlanda airport.

There are 25 rooms in total most of which are 3-bed dorms with a facilites down the corridor. The exception is the deluxe flight-deck suite which includes an en-suite. All rooms have a flat-screen TV which includes information for arrival and departure. There is wifi throughout the Jumbo hotel and also an onsite cafe open to the public.

Rates start at around US$43 (350SEK) for a dorm bed to US$411 (3,100 SEK) for the cockpit room. Not exactly cheap for a hostel - but not bad for a unique experience at an airport hotel!

Uniquely there is an observation deck on the left wing for those 0f you who always wanted to climb out on the wing of 747-200 but never quiet dared to!  Not sure what it is with Europe and re-purposing structures into hostels - but I think I like the idea of this one better than that off a nuclear bunker