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Lastminute.com’s ‘good stuff sale spectacular’

The lastminute.com sale spectacular is here! From Christmas Eve until the 4th of January you can get up to 50% off hotels, theatre and restaurants….

With entire holidays from £199, 2 for 1 spa days and 2 for 1 days out, half price on restaurant meals and more there’s plenty of festivity to go around, even for backpackers on a tight budget.

To find out more, visit www.lastminute.com.

Handy travel resources for backpackers:
Book hostels – book a hostel at thousands of locations around the world.
RTW flights – book your round-the-world flights at backpacking prices!
Travel Insurance – instant, cheap travel insurance for backpackers.

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Bmi Baby Winter Sun Sale

It’s a little icy in Europe right now… to say the very least.  And, if you’re starting to get cabin fever and a craving for some sunshine, you might find Bmi Baby’s latest offering rather tempting.

The UK-based budget airline is offering winter-weary travellers a chance to skip off to sunnier climes at discounted rates.  Jet off to Palma, Alicante, Malaga, Nice and Faro this winter, for as little as £19.99 (one way, including taxes)

The offer is valid on selected flights until the 27th of March 2010, with two blackout periods (22nd December 2009 to 6th January 2010 and 12th to 22nd February 2010).

Handy travel resources for backpackers:
Book hostels – book a hostel at thousands of locations around the world.
RTW flights – book your round-the-world flights at backpacking prices!
Travel Insurance – instant, cheap travel insurance for backpackers.

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Icy weather wreaking travel havoc in Europe

Travelling around Europe is a little trickier than usual this year – and it’s not just because of festive season congestion.  An unusually cold spell has caused travel chaos on all fronts.

The Eurostar has just re-opened, but only after being out of action for four days because of electrical problems – that’s four days’ worth of impatient travellers waiting to get on the next available train… ouch.

Air travel has been hit hard as well,  with flights cancelled and more backlogs expected.

Not a fun time to be trying to make one’s way to somewhere special for Christmas.  Good luck to you all, and safe travels!

Handy travel resources for backpackers:
Book hostels – book a hostel at thousands of locations around the world.
RTW flights – book your round-the-world flights at backpacking prices!
Travel Insurance – instant, cheap travel insurance for backpackers.

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Coachella 2010: dates announced

The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is definitely one of the highlights of California’s festival calendar.

Held at the beautiful Empire Polo Field in Indio, California, the popular music festival will be held over three days on 16, 17 and 18 April 2010.

The lineup has yet to be announced, of course (being so far away ‘n’ all), but to give you an idea of calibre, the lineup for last year’s event included the likes of Leonard Cohen, The Killers, Joss Stone, Paul McCartney, James Morrison, The Chemical Brothers and more!

To find out more, visit www.coachella.com.

Handy travel resources for backpackers:
Book hostels – book a hostel at thousands of locations around the world.
RTW flights – book your round-the-world flights at backpacking prices!
Travel Insurance – instant, cheap travel insurance for backpackers.

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Tiger Airways 11c sale

Singapore-based airline Tiger Airways is having a whopper of a sale.  Pay only 11c for flights around the Australasian region.  11c plus tax, that is, and the tax, which is clearly indicated at the get-go, ranges from S$25 to S$50.

All flights are one-way ex-Singapore and destinations include Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Langkawi, Phuket and more.

To find out more, visit www.tigerairways.com. Offer ends Wednesday 16 December 2009.

Handy travel resources for backpackers:
Book hostels – book a hostel at thousands of locations around the world.
RTW flights – book your round-the-world flights at backpacking prices!
Travel Insurance – instant, cheap travel insurance for backpackers.

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Early Bird tickets for Splashy Fen 2010 now on sale!

Early Bird tickets for Splashy Fen 2010 (April 1-5) are now on sale at Computicket for just R350, which is a massive saving of R200 on the gate price.  This offer is valid until the end of December only and tickets are limited.

Established in 1990, Splashy Fen is South Africa’s longest-running annual music festival, which every Easter attracts thousands of people to a farm near Underberg in KwaZulu-Natal for a unique outdoor music experience.

Supported by Tourism KwaZulu-Natal, the festival offers a four-day line-up of some of the country’s hottest acts, top-class sound and lighting, plus a wide choice of outdoor leisure activities for the whole family.

Add to that the beautiful scenery of the southern Drakensberg, an abundance of different food and drink outlets, colourful arts and crafts, a crèche and children’s entertainment programme, as well as various camping and accommodation options and you’re set for a winner of a long weekend!

As part of the Early Bird promotion, tickets for children aged 4-11 will cost R50 during November and December 2009.  These are available at physical Computicket outlets only.  Children under four get in free.  All tickets include camping for the entire festival from April 1-5.

For more information and to find out about the new ‘Splashy Made Easy’ travel packages available through Thompsons Travel, visit www.splashyfen.co.za or contact 031 563 0824.

Handy travel resources for backpackers:
Book hostels – book a hostel at thousands of locations around the world.
RTW flights – book your round-the-world flights at backpacking prices!
Travel Insurance – instant, cheap travel insurance for backpackers.

Posted in Destinations, Festivals | 1 Comment »

Rockness 2010 Launches: Get your Early Bird tickets now!

The official dates for Rockness 2010 have been announced:  Friday 11th to Sunday 13th June 2010.

And, with the announcement comes a special early bird offer of £120 for a weekend ticket (general sale starts Monday 7th December 2009).

Here’s the news from the horse’s mouth (so to speak):

The countdown to ROCKNESS 2010 officially commenced today with the announcement that THE STROKES – recent recipients of ALBUM OF THE DECADE by NME for ‘Is This It’, the seminal work that defined a moment and sent the band on a trajectory to global acclaim – are confirmed to headline the Highland music festival in June.

Widely acknowledged as one of the finest exponents of alternative garage rock in a generation and renowned for their electrifying live shows, the band’s RockNess assault signals an end to a four year hiatus and comes with the tantalising news of a new album on its way.

In a hugely exciting new development, which bears testament to the kudos and blossoming popularity of RockNess, BBC RADIO 1 is today announced as the OFFICIAL RADIO PARTNER to the festival. The station’s hottest names du jour including Annie Mac and Rob da Bank are all set to head north with the two each hosting their own unique arenas. Expect an array of awesome talent to be revealed over the coming months!

In true RockNess style, the proverbial envelope continues to be pushed to the max for 2010 with more new arenas added that once again promise to deliver an exceptional soundtrack signalling the start of summer as well as the most festival fun to be had over any weekend.

Handy travel resources for backpackers:
Book hostels – book a hostel at thousands of locations around the world.
RTW flights – book your round-the-world flights at backpacking prices!
Travel Insurance – instant, cheap travel insurance for backpackers.

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Tiger celebrates its 2nd Birthday with 90% off airfares

Singapore-based budget airline Tiger Air is celebrating its second birthday by offering a whopping 90% off airfares.

The airline operates in the Australasian region, with flights to various cities in Australia and Asian countries.

The sale ends tomorrow (November 30th, 2009).  Taxes are not included, but are clearly displayed at the outset.

Visit tigerairways.com to find out more.

Handy travel resources for backpackers:
Book hostels – book a hostel at thousands of locations around the world.
RTW flights – book your round-the-world flights at backpacking prices!
Travel Insurance – instant, cheap travel insurance for backpackers.

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Ryan Air Winter Sun fares: from £9.99

In the UK? Tired of the rain?  Who wouldn’t be… and there’s likely to be plenty more where that came from.

So why not find yourself an escape… Ryan Air has a bunch of Winter Sun deals from £9.99 one way. Splash around on the sunny beaches of Gran Canaria, Lanzarote or Tenerife from selected UK airports.

Offer ends midnight tonight (23.11.2009 GMT).

For more info visit www.ryanair.com.

Handy travel resources for backpackers:
Book hostels – book a hostel at thousands of locations around the world.
RTW flights – book your round-the-world flights at backpacking prices!
Travel Insurance – instant, cheap travel insurance for backpackers.

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Hogmanay 2010: Full programme unveiled

Organisers of the world famous Edinburgh’s Hogmanay are pleased to announced full details of the extended 5-day New Year celebrations. From Tuesday 29 December 2009 – Saturday 2 January 2010, this year’s expanded programme features music, dance, art, conversation, fireworks, street theatre, light and fire… lots of fire.

Expect brand new events featured alongside old favourites, bringing Edinburgh’s streets alive with non-stop enjoyment for both residents and visitors to Scotland’s capital city.

The highlights:

•  Torchlight Procession. (29 December ’09). The spectacular Torchlight Procession is the opening event of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay 2010. Join thousands of torch carriers as they create a river of fire from the historic Royal Mile to the Son et Lumiére and fireworks finale on Calton Hill.
• Light Night (30 December ’09).  Edinburgh Castle is an iconic destination recognised the world over and visited by over a million people every year. This is an exclusive evening event that gets you inside the Castle walls after dark for something rather special.
• Edinburgh Hogmanay Street Party (31 December ’09). Three stages of incredible music and entertainment, giant screens, a light and laser spectacular, and the world famous Edinburgh’s Hogmanay Fireworks.
• Concert in the Gardens (31 December ’09). A music and fireworks spectacular.
• New Man Walking – on the morning after the night before Puppet Lab’s spectacular, giant ‘Big Man’ who has attracted massive crowds as he walked throughout Scotland this autumn, is reawakened to walk the capital’s historic Royal Mile, from Holyrood Palace to The Tron.

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