I’ve been all over the ‘travel to europe because it’s cheap’ thesis a little lately if you’re an american, and this post will be further evidence of this train of thought. Fall off-season travel is approaching as travel companies across the board begin offering different deals and incentives to fill rooms, flights, or seats. Europe, still, again?

Why Cheap off-season Travel to Europe NOW:

1. Cheap Euro. The flight to the US dollar and away from the Euro is still prevalent. The medium term outlook on this does not seem to benefit the dollar given the rough shape the US economy is still in even after all of the spending and US dollar devaluing.

2. Off-Season Deals - the summer travel season is over, (more…)

I’ve seen quite a bit of discussion of Cyprus on the expat scene as my interest in the topic has grown lately. This appealed to me as I’ll be learning some Turkish this upcoming fall and am interested in Turkey, a neighbor with a large political influence on the somewhat odd island nation of Cyprus. Thus, I thought I’d do a little travel profile of the Greekish – Turkish island nation(s? - the plural from its political status)

Why go to Cyprus:

• Decent prices – as far as hot beach escapes on the Mediterranean go, Cyprus is a different and affordable option.
• Not yet fully in the EU – They have the Euro, yet with their inclusion in the EU just 2 years old, they haven’t been completely unionized in a sense of prices and entrance requirements that are a bit murky when compared to the free flow of people elsewhere through the EU.  So if ever, now might be the time when looking at price levels and ‘difficulty’ of entrance.
• Interesting Politics - Its current political state is, erm, interesting. Some may dislike the conflict, but I think it adds allure as compromised safety is nowhere near an issue. Stats show Cyprus is unbelievablye safe and content.

Why not go to Cyprus

• Greece – With Greece in the economic shit hole, you may be better off just going to Greece. Greece offers more diversity, islands, historical significance, and [probably] beauty. While Cyprus’ financial situation is very questionable at the time as well, Greece’s seems more likely to discount travel options only in the short term. Its dealing with the crisis seems likely to lead to an economic rebound in the next 5 years or so.
• Limited transit options – Cyprus is accessible only by plane and ferry from (drumroll) Greece, as services from Israel and Turkey are no more. For vagabonding budget travelers seeking a little passport stamp diversity in their travels, it may not be ideal to sit in one spot the entire trip.
• Tourism saturation – not everybody loves British tourist saturation. ‘Cyprus holidays’ is a prevalent British buzz word resulting from its status as a former British colony. So if you have an issue with stereotypical Brits, maybe more off the beaten path destinations are better worth your time.

The Lowdown:
The political issues stem from a few Turkish and Greek disagreements in the past. The North is a bit fractioned off with Turkish influence, while the South is predominately Greek, and more of the stable EU part, per say. You’ll be going to the southern part, atleast for entrance purposes. Holidays to Larnaca in southeast Cyprusare the most common method of visiting Cyprus due to the availability of cheap flights. Other airports include Ercan in the North and Paphos (another beach area)  in the southwestern part of the island. A journey between Paphos and Larnaca would be the obvious route of traveling. The coastal drive linking these two destinations along the beautiful azul waters looks spectacular and is the highlight of a few journals I skimmed.

Internal Cyprus Locomotion
Getting around within Cyprus can be done by bus, shared taxi, or car rentals. Obviously, bus it up if you’re on a budget.

Cyprus Lodging
The term “hostel” doesn’t seem too prevalent in Cyprus from initial research. No worries, however, as quick online searches yielded cheap private hotel rooms for 15 Euros and up. The supply of budget hotels seems a bit sparse, so booking ahead might be a good idea.

Off the Beaten Path
Going off the beaten path in Cyprus seems plausible. I’ve read a few interesting reports and commentary on expeditions, but nothing link worthy. With the prevalence of British tourists and the industry catering to the resort type traveler, you’ll have to search a bit harder. With that comes great potential for genuine Cyprus experiences as well, since low travel saturation in secondary non-resort cities could leave amazing experiences to be had.

Conclusion: I’m intrigued by Cyprus. It’s politics interest me, and hopefully with my future Turkish language skills, a trip to both southern and northern Cyprus is in the near term for me.

Is the European railroad system on a comeback? It’s definitely a question you must ask yourself, especially after reading a New York Times article on new European railroad expansions taking place. The article cites the several substantial decreases in travel time that will result from rail upgrades all around Europe.

Paris

First, the travel time between Paris, France and Strasbourg will be cut in half in June, to nearly two and a half hours by a new service from TGV Est. Paris will also see faster connections with Germany, Switzerland, eastern France, and Luxemborg from TGV Est’s improvements.

Great Britain

EuroStar is opening up in St. Pancras International station in London to offer the country’s first high speed rail line. This will open up northern England and Scotland to the rest of Europe. Travel to Paris from London will also be improved to about 2 hours 15 minutes.

All Over the Place…

Really, everywhere else is also getting in on the action. Brussels, Amsterdam, Italy, Spain, and Germany are all opening new high speed railroads in the next couple years.

European Travel in the Future

This is the first news piece that I have seen in awhile to suggest that European rail travel is on a comeback. In the last couple years, many budget travelers and backpackers migrated toward the European budget airlines because of their amazingly low air fares.

Well, with potential fare hikes and the future of jet fuel prices in the next decade, I see another shift back to the European rail ways. It’ll be nice to see the romantic rail traveling backpacker have better travel opportunities in the future.

Now is the time to visit Romania. Now it is cheap, genuine, and real. As the country enters the EU in 2007, some of these characteristics may diminish. This is my first short entry on Romania covering Bucharest. My next entry about Romania will pertain to its Black Sea Resorts.
Romania’s capital Bucharest is known as a little Paris because of its beautiful boulevards and buildings. In Bucharest, there are plenty of things to do. The top attractions are: (more…)

I’m kind of late to the party, but I just ran across an awesome travel blog idea. Its Europe on an Alphabet, and is about a woman who decided to travel all across Europe to cities starting with each letter in the alphabet. It’s a really unique idea that I find appealing

It’s too bad I did not find this earlier, but here is the post that started her blog it all back in February. Enjoy.

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[tags] travel, backpacking[/tags]

Cinematical blogged about the new Hostel being filmed. Hostel part two will be just as gruesome as the first, but is expected to have more twisted turns in it. The story will be about three American girls being led to Slovakia.

The movie will once again be directed by Eli Roth, and will be shot in the Czech Republic, Rome, and maybe Slovakia (if the country allows it.) I think it will be doubtful that any shooting will go on in Slovakia because of Hostel’s negative portrayal of it. I even feel for the people in Slovakia, because it seems like a charming country, but some people will undoubtedly decide not to go to Slovakia just because of the movie.

Personally, I’m a big fan of scary movies, but I could not watch Hostel. I watched the first hour, then had to shut it off. I like twisted story lines, but not disgusting torture. So I will not be watching Hostel II when it comes out in early next year.

[tags] hostel 2, hostel [/tags]