Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Gadling.com

I recently discovered the travel Website Gadling.com and checked out its budget travel recommendations. The site currently has useful articles on 10 budget firendly destinations in Europe and in the Caribbean. The article on Europe seemed worthwhile-- Bulgaria, Brno, Berlin, Lisbon, Greece, and the South Tyrol were among the destinations featured. A friend who visited Bulgaria this past summer gave it high marks for interesting sights and low prices. I would also choose Ukraine in the same category. Berlin is definitely an excellent big city budget locale, with wonderful museums and cultural attractions as well as an active nightlife.
The Caribbean destinations Gadling chose included only one I have visited, the French island of Guadeloupe. That is indeed a very interesting place, and now there are a number of bed and breakfast type places called gites that are relatively inexpensive. The French islands of the West Indies are a good place to sample a blend of French and Caribbean culture togehter with beautiful scenery and warm temperatures.
The site also has articles about budget travel to a number of cities, so far mainly in North America. I checked their take on the city I know best, Montreal. The story suggests visiting Montreal at a time when few other tourists are there, namely winter, and promotes the city as a closer, less costly version of Europe. I don't quite see Montreal as a European city, but perhaps that's because I've lived there too long.
I also quarreled with the writer's choice of "budget" hotels, both boutique hotels in Old Montreal that charge more than $100 per night even in January and including discounts. There are plenty of less costly places to stay in Montreal-- hotels.com lists nice downtown hotels for as low as $79 a room in mid-January. For those who choose the hostel route, beds are available downtown for as little as $20 a night at Montreal Central on St.Denis in the student-friendly Latin Quarter.
The writer's other tips were good, especially the one about spending a lot of time in the underground city connected to Metro stations to escape the winter cold.

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