Backpackers.com

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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Digital “Roads Scholarship”: Win a trip across North America

Here’s a competition to the liking of all you wannabe vagabonds out there…The “Roads Scholarship“ from Digital Vagabonding.com.  Enter and win, and you could be travelling the byways of North America this summer, on someone else’s dime.

In the hopes of “sav(ing) a few talented souls from our culture of consumerism and set(ting) them free on the open road”, Digital Vagabonding will be offering one lucky (worthy) entrant the chance to go on a 3-month long “crash course in vagabonding America”.

Here’s what the winner will scoop:

The winner will be paid a stipend of $1,200 a month to travel North America this summer (June through September of 2009) and share their travel articles and photo essays on Digital Vagabonding.com and on two of the world’s most robust and soulful travel communities – Matador Travel and Travellerspoint Travel Community.

The winner will also get a ticket to the Burning Man Festival, which is held during the first week of September in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada. Two runner up winners will also get free tickets to this ultimate vagabonding event.

So, if you have the “wanderlust to drive into the unknown and the talent to write and photograph it” get your act in gear and apply for the Roads Scholarship before the closing date of May 15th of 2009.

Applicants must be 18 years or older and have a valid drivers license.  To find out more, visit www.digitalvagabonding.com.

Posted in Destinations, General Travel, Travel News, Travel Writing | 2 Comments »

Beware Swine Flu: travel advisories issued for Mexico

Travellers planning to visit Mexico have been advised to make other plans.  In fact, even big companies have stopped all business trips to the area for the time being.

The reason?  Well, if you have to ask, you certainly haven’t been watching the news.  Swine flu, a new virus that appears to have made the leap from pigs to humans, and then possibly from humans to humans, has caused nearly 150 deaths so far.

The epicentre: Mexico.

So, if you’re there already, take precautions, like wearing a face mask, staying out of public spaces, and being very careful about washing your hands as often as possible.  If you’re not, but were thinking about going there, put those plans on hold, if you can.

The upside?  When this eventually gets under control, it’s likely there’ll be plenty of special deals to entice travellers back to Mexico… and backpackers do love those!

Travel safe.

More info:

• Mexico travel not advised
• UK, France, Germany advise against travel to Mexico
• Swine Flu Spreading, but Officials Say Travel Restrictions Do Little to Help

Posted in Destinations, Travel News | 3 Comments »

Travel prizes, freebies and advice-on-tap at the Melbourne Adventure & Travel Backpackers Expo

The Adventure Travel and Backpackers Expo is coming to Melbourne this weekend and not only is there fantastic advice to be had, but loads of fabulous travel prizes as well.

It’s a must-visit for any backpacker setting out for the first time, and fun-to-visit if you’ve already been there, done that, but secretly might just be thinking of heading out again (aren’t we all!).

Throughout the weekend of 21-22 February 2009, you’ll have the opportunity to talk to and pick the well-travelled brains of over 150 exhibitors, all gathered at the Royal Exhibition Building, (Carlton, Melbourne) to answer your every burning question.

In between brain-picking, backpackers can attend a series of free informative travel talks by experts in the field of budget travel and load up on some freebies along the way.

The expo is on from 10am-4pm Sat/Sun and costs AU$7 at the door, but you can get in for half of that by visiting this page.

Related entries:
Get Lost: How To Ditch Your Job And Get Travelling
How To Plan Your Round The World Trip
Sticking To Your Budget: Free Things For Backpackers To Do In Europe

Useful (related) resources for backpackers:
Hostels in Australia – find and book your Australian hostels online right here!
JustAustralia.org – travel guide for Australia
Pure Australia – your guide to gapping it in Australia (work visas, jobs and more)

Posted in Destinations, Travel Community, Travel Guides, Travel News, Travel Tips & Planning | 2 Comments »

Travel the world for free on STA’s World Traveller Internship

Everyone loves free travel, and budget-burdened backpackers are probably the keenest of keen beans for something like this: 3 months of world travel, all on someone else’s dime.

Yep, you read that right… 3 months, round the world, paid by someone other than you, your friends or an anonymous good samaritan (hmmm…).

Sound too good to be true? Well, stop being such a cynic and read on then, why don’t you…

STA Travel – the world’s largest student and youth travel organization – is searching for two people to travel the world on a three month, 15-country trip as the 2009 World Traveler Interns – all at STA Travel’s expense.

For the first time in the three-year program, two World Traveler Interns will be selected and they do not have to be students, just under 26 years of age. The selected interns will document their journey through a blog, videos and photos.

To enter, applicants must submit a video detailing why they should be selected as one of the 2009 World Traveler Interns. The more popular the video (determined by comments and views on popular online video sharing sites), the better the chances the applicant will be selected.

The top 20 applicants advance to the final round, where they will go through a phone interview with the judges. The final 10 will then submit an additional video giving the judges a tour of their hometown before the two World Traveler Interns are selected.

Entries will be accepted through the STA Travel World Traveler Internship Web site until March 8, 2009.

Wanna know where you’d be going?

The most adventurous journey in the history of the program starts out with two weeks in Fiji volunteering at a local school and enjoying a few vacation days.

The interns then head to Australia, India, Kenya and Tanzania, before heading to Berlin to sample Europe with stops including Poland, Denmark and Russia. The trip finishes with a backpacking adventure in Scotland and tour of all that Ireland has to offer.

Nice. Better than nice. Rocking! So, get your travel-happy internet-savvy fingers over to STA Travel and sign up pronto.

Posted in Destinations, Travel News | 1 Comment »

Backpacking And Travel News This Week (11.04.08)

Time for this week’s bite-sized weekly summary of what’s going on in the travel and backpacking world out there (just in case you missed it) – so you can check it all out in the space of a few moments.

Tibet will re-open on 1 May – China (Iafrica.com) China’s ending its crackdown: after unceremoniously expelling all foreign journalists and tourists from Tibet last month (following the rioting of pro-Tibetan protesters), they would now be “allowed to travel into Tibet again from 1 May”.  How magnanimous.

Training with the pros in Thailand (Metronews.ca). Travel Junkie Julia Dimon finds out why backpackers from around the world are “flocking to northern Thailand” to learn the art of Muay Thai.

Tide goes out for world’s airlines (Daily Times). Airlines in general and budget/startup airlines in particular are taking strain as fuel prices soar worldwide. That’s likely to mean less competition, and higher prices for backpackers.

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Backpacking And Travel News This Week (04.04.08)

Time for this week’s bite-sized weekly summary of what’s going on in the travel and backpacking world out there (just in case you missed it) – so you can check it all out in the space of a few moments.

‘BA sees Heathrow chaos clearing‘ (Reuters). The opening of Heathrow’s new Terminal 5 was a disaster, with hundreds of flights cancelled and thousands of bags going astray. But, says British Airways, it should all be sorted by next week… (we’ll believe it when we see it!).

‘English tourist raped in NZ’ (itn.co.uk). A 27-year-old English tourist (apparently in the country on a year-long working holiday) has been dragged from a secluded track in Northland (North Island) and raped.

‘No work so visitors pack up and leave‘ (Daily Mercury). Skilled backpackers having trouble finding any work in Mackay (Queensland, Australia).

‘Backpackers ripped off‘ (VillageVoice.com.au). Six young backpackers staying in Coogee fall for a sub-letting scam, losing their $700 up-front bond payment to their “rogue landlady”.

Posted in Travel News | 2 Comments »

Backpacking And Travel News This Week (28.03.08)

Time for this week’s bite-sized weekly summary of what’s going on in the travel and backpacking world out there (just in case you missed it) – so you can check it all out in the space of a few moments.

‘Hundreds stuck in mid-air on London Eye’ (Guardian UK). A malfunction of London’s revolving tourist attraction caused engineers to shut it down to perform emergency repairs, leaving four hundred people trapped in their pods for over an hour.

‘Australia to build fake Stonehenge for wine tourists’ (Reuters India). An Australian brewer plans to construct a complete replica of England’s famous Stonehenge to attract wine tourists. (Another Falconcity of Wonders in the making?)

‘Tourist in jail for stealing statue’s ear‘ (IOLTravel). “Santiago, Chile – A Finnish tourist is facing prison and a fine for allegedly breaking a piece of volcanic rock from one of the massive Moai statues on Easter Island.”

‘Hedging hell for Ryanair‘ (TravelWeekly.co.uk). “Ryanair’s fuel costs are about to soar as their hedged fuel price of $68 a barrel comes to an end next week…Could this mean the end for some of of the carrier’s less profitable routes?”

‘Mass tourism swamps Asia’s once unique, remote places‘ (USAToday). “Destinations once deemed too dangerous or remote, such as Luang Prabang in Laos, are now being overrun with tourists” (and they’re headed for ruin).

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Heathrow’s New Terminal Off To A Bumpy Start

London Heathrow’s new terminal (Terminal 5) has come online. In theory, this should ease up the congestion for which the city’s busiest airport is so famous, but they got off to a bit of a rocky start.

According to the Telegraph, during the course of the first day over 30 flights were cancelled and “three planes left without baggage and incoming passengers were forced to wait up to two hours for their luggage to come through”.

Not exactly a flying start (ahem), but it’s only their first day after all. Just keep in mind that if you’re heading into London in the next while, there might just be a few more teething problems before they get things working smoothly – so give yourself a little extra time for delays.

Travel resources backpackers might find useful:
Hostels in England – find and book cheap hostels online
Visit England – travel and accommodation info for England.

Posted in Destinations, Travel News | No Comments »

Travel News Highlights (21.03.08)

You’re on the road, making tracks, paying as little attention to the real world as humanly possible – we’d do the same. But sometimes it’s good to get a bit of the latest news, especially if it’s likely to affect your travel plans (for better or worse).

So, seeing as we spend so much time surfing the net anyway, we’ve decided to put together a brief bite-size weekly summary of what’s going on in the travel and backpacking world out there – so you can check it all out in the space of a few moments. Hoorah for all things bite-size!

Right, so here’s the latest news to pop up on our radar this week:

• Heathrow’s Terminal 5 is officially opened by the Queen. Why should you care? Well, if you’ve been anywhere near Heathrow in the last few years you might have noticed that it’s rather an arduous process to get checked in and on to your plane (uber-security measures + unbelievably busy airport = ridiculously unbelievably busy airport). So, a whole brand-spanking new terminal means less cramped conditions, more space for all those travellers… you get the picture. The new terminal begins operations next week. (Source: The Press Association)
• Ryan Air announces a new route: Marseille – Paris. Significance? This is the “first time the low-cost airline has ever offered domestic flights in France”. We like trains better, but if flying’s your game, Ryanair is apparently releasing 25,000 seats on this route for €10 including taxes until midnight Monday. (Source: ThisFrenchLife.com)
• STA Travel Announces 2008 Travel Internship Winner. We wrote about this a while back – the chance for one student out there to travel the world for free, for a year. Well, Pat Blute is the lucky person who got the cut (let’s all hold back on that there raging jealousy developing round about right now…).
• China sends troops into Tibet to quell a week-long uprising against 57 years of Chinese occupation of the country. Things are not looking pretty.

Posted in Travel News | No Comments »