Backpackers.com

Travel Advice on Tap at the Melbourne Adventure Travel and Backpackers Expo This Weekend

The Melbourne Adventure Travel and Backpackers’ Expo is coming up this weekend. 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!).

Over the weekend of 22 through 24 Feb 2008 (Fri-Sun), you can talk to (and get advice from) over 150 exhibitors, all gathered at the Royal Exhibition Building, (Carlton, Melbourne).

Plus, a series of free informative travel talks by experts in the field of budget travel should get the travel bug biting in a big way.

And, for those of you interested in working overseas, there’s also the Work & Travel Expo – part of the overall expo – where you can find get advice from a bunch of work, employment and volunteer exhibitors.

The expo is on from 10am-4pm Sat/Sun (12 noon-7pm Friday) and costs AU$7 at the door, but you can get in for half 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 News, Travel Tips & Planning, Working Holidays | No Comments »

Europe 2008: Seven New Eurail Passes For Backpackers

Backpackers heading for Europe this summer will have seven new Eurail passes to choose from.

This year, in addition to the existing range, you’ll be able to select passes for Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark-Sweden, Finland-Sweden, Norway-Sweden, Scandinavia (covers Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden), and Slovenia.

(Via)

Related stories:
‘Germany By Train: Eurorail Video Guide‘ (Backpackers.com)
‘About Single Europe Train Tickets – What Point to Point Europe Train Tickets Are and Where to Buy’ (About.com)
Rick Steves’ ‘How Rail Passes Work‘ (Rick Steves.com)

Useful (related) links for backpackers:
Hostels in Europe – find and book your hostel online
Seat61 – A beginner’s guide to choosing, buying & using a Eurail Pass.

Posted in Destinations, Transport, Travel News | No Comments »

Dubai’s ‘Falconcity Of Wonders’: How To See All The Wonders Of The World In Just One Day

It doesn’t get much cheesier than this…

The only thing worse than the recent announcement of the voted-in-by-internet Seven New Wonders of the World, is our recent discovery that Dubai is creating a city (suburb?) in which “larger than life” (huh?) replicas of almost all the wonders of the world (ancient and modern) are being built.

It’s called ‘Falconcity of Wonders‘: four hundred hectares bursting at the seams with replicated world wonders – the Great Wall of China, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Pyramids of Giza… to name but a few.

And for what purpose, you might ask? Well – if their uber-cheesy (cringe-inducing) promo video is anything to go by – so that visitors/residents can call home and gleefully announce that they’ve just had dinner at the Taj Mahal (right next to the Eiffel Tower, just down the street from the Hanging Gardens of Babylon).

And the name? Well, Falconcity is shaped like a, erm, falcon (the emblem of the United Arab Emirates), of course:

Where the head of the falcon is a shopping mall, the wings and body of the falcon is distributed into residential villas with different styles and themes. The legs are a collection of 4-6 story buildings with different themes ranging from Happy Yemen, Lebanon down town Solider, India Taj Mahal, Rome’s Leaning Tower of Pisa, Italian Gondola boats of Venice, and London’s Big Ben. The Falconcity includes multi-purpose/ residential buildings, Eiffel Tower (taller than original), Taj Mahal (bigger than the original), Hanging Gardens of Babylon that have never been seen before, Great Wall of China, and the Pyramids of Giza. (link)

Hmmmm, how exciting… Who needs to travel the world when you can simply take a whistlestop tour of all the wonders of the world in just one day?

Ahem, yeah. Or not. Do yourself a favour and have a good long laugh at the promo video, posted on Vagabondish – it’s definitely worth the watch.

(Via)

Related entries:
‘Why Backpackers Don’t Need The New Seven Wonders Of The World‘
‘The World’s New Seven Natural Wonders: Yet Another Tourist Checklist?‘

Posted in Destinations, Travel News | 2 Comments »

Eurail SelectPass Early Bird Special: Get An Extra Day Of Travel For Free

One of the best (and more eco-friendly) ways to get around Europe is via the continent’s extensive rail network. Hop on a high speed train from Gare du Nord in Paris and within hours you could be in Germany, or Switzerland.

Unlike flying, you don’t have to stand in never-ending security queues before boarding, and you tend to arrive in the centre of a city, rather than on its outskirts.

Buying a rail pass doesn’t always work out to be the cheapest way to navigate the rails, but if you use it carefully, you should be able to get your money’s worth.

One of the more flexible Eurail passes available to backpackers is the Select Pass. This pass allows you to tailor-make your own journey by selecting three to five adjoining countries in which you plan to travel. You then choose the duration that most closely matches the number of days on which you expect to travel (6-,8-,10-days etc).

Good news then for backpackers considering going the rail route is that Eurail.com is gearing up for the European summer season with an Early Bird sale. Anyone who purchases a six-, eight- or ten-day Eurail Select Pass before the end of March 2008 will get an extra day of rail travel tacked on, free of charge.

Once the pass is bought, you’ll have up to six months in which to start travelling. This promotion is only for travellers coming from outside the UK and Europe.

Related stories:
‘Germany By Train: Eurorail Video Guide‘ (Backpackers.com)
‘About Single Europe Train Tickets – What Point to Point Europe Train Tickets Are and Where to Buy’ (About.com)
Rick Steves’ ‘How Rail Passes Work‘ (Rick Steves.com)

Useful (related) links for backpackers:
Hostels in Europe – find and book your hostel online
Seat61 – A beginner’s guide to choosing, buying & using a Eurail Pass.

Posted in Destinations, Transport, Travel Deals, Travel News | No Comments »

STA Travel Summer Internship: Get Paid To Travel The World This Summer

All you student wannabe backpackers out there, yearning to get out and travel this year, but not sure how you can possibly afford it, there is hope.

Via Vagablogging comes the news that STA Travel is offering up a travel internship for the (northern-hemisphere) summer of 2008. They pay for your trip (14 countries over 3 months), and all you have to do is report back regularly using blog posts, podcasts and video footage to share your experiences. Sweet!

Of course, there’s only one winner, and he or she must be (here comes the fine print): completing an undergraduate or grad degree in any field at an accredited university in the United States (or studying abroad through a US university); 18-26 years-old; available to travel between June 1-September 1, 2008.

If you fit that bill, then best you get yourself over to STA Travel pronto, read up on the requirements and get your application in before the 1st of March 2008.

Well, okay, so there’s only hope for one of you, but it can’t help to try, right?

Good luck!

Posted in Destinations, Travel News | 1 Comment »

Last Chance To Enter The British Airways Christmas Ticket Giveaway Competition!

A few weeks ago we wrote about the British Airways Christmas Ticket Giveaway: 5 pairs of tickets for any of their worldwide destinations, up for grabs.

Well, if you haven’t entered yet, and are feeling that luck is in your corner in this ever so new year, today is your last chance to do so (entries must be received by midnight tonight – 3 January 2008). All you need to do is tell them where you’d like to travel, and why, and provide your contact details. Pretty simple.

Winners will be drawn on Tuesday, 8 January 2008. Good luck!

Related stories:
‘British Airways Christmas Ticket Giveaway Competition’ (Backpackers.com)

(Photo: Ivan Chan/Flickr)

Posted in Competitions & Giveaways, Transport, Travel News | No Comments »

Easyjet’s New Budget-Friendly Ski-Route: Bristol to Innsbruck

Getting to the ski slopes just got a little easier for budget-watching backpackers.

European low-cost airline Easyjet has just launched a new route between Bristol (UK) to Innsbruck (Austria).

Flights are available from £17.99 one-way, including taxes and regular fees, but don’t get too excited until you’ve checked out what extra charges may apply.

Taking your own ski gear on board, for instance (eg. boots and poles), will set you back £15.00 ‘per item per flight’ (£30 per return flight). And any checked luggage will cost you £3.99 per person per flight (ie £7.98 for a return flight).

Flights to Innsbruck are also available from London Gatwick and Liverpool.

(Photo: caribb/Flickr)

Related stories:
‘Ski Season Starts Early: Good Deals For Backpackers With Snowtrip‘ (Backpackers.com)

Posted in Destinations, Transport, Travel News | No Comments »

The World’s New Seven Natural Wonders: Yet Another Tourist Checklist?

Earlier this year, we wrote about the announcement of the New Seven Wonders of the World and pondered whether backpackers really need them (we don’t think so).

And now there’s going to be another global poll, this time to pick seven new natural wonders (ie non man-made).

Well, there’s no existing definitive list of natural wonders (a few variations can be found here, here and here), but again we have to ask: do we really need yet another travel checklist to draw hordes of happy-snappy camera-toting tourists?

What do you think (feel free to leave your comments below)? Maybe we could start a revolution and nominate and vote for ugly places instead – if enough of us did, we could send those checklist-addicted hordes to places remote and uninteresting and let them trample those flat instead.

(Photo: Sven & Yara/Flickr)

Related stories:
‘‘ Global poll to name seven natural wonders’ (Backpackers.com)
‘Why Backpackers Don’t Need The New Seven Wonders Of The World‘ (Backpackers.com)
‘The World’s New Seven Wonders Are Announced (But Do We Really Care?)‘ (Backpackers.com)

Travel resources backpackers might find useful:
Cheap hostels – choose from over 12,000 hostels worldwide and book them online!

Posted in Destinations, Travel News | 1 Comment »

Thailand Goes Dry For The Elections: No Booze For Sale For The Next Two Weekends

It’s rather hard to imagine a weekend on the beach in Thailand without some sort of tasty (alcoholic) beverage in hand… but for the next two weekends that could be your fate – unless you stock up in advance.

For real! According to travelhappy.info (Thailand and south-east Asian focused travel blog), there will be absolutely no alcohol on sale over the next two weekends (14-16 and 22-23 December 2007).

Shock shock, horror horror. Why on earth would they do this? Well, there’s an election coming up, that’s why, and the “powers that be have decided that there will be no alcohol on sale on both the weekend of the election and the weekend before it”.

So, lest you suffer the fate of being alcohol-less all weekend, best you get shopping!

Related stories:
‘No Booze In Thailand For The Next Two Weekends’ (Travelhappy.info)

Useful (related) resources for backpackers:
Hostels in Thailand – find and book your hostel online.

(Photo: ‘alexydiary’/Flickr)

Posted in Destinations, Travel News | No Comments »

Visiting The United States Just Got More Difficult: Prepare To Present All 10 Fingers At The Airport!

Entering the United States just got harder.

After the disaster of ’9/11’ security measures introduced included the compulsory collection of your biometrics (digital fingerscans and photographs), to be ‘checked against a database of known criminals and suspected terrorists‘.

Until now, only two fingerprints were taken, but apparently that just isn’t enough.

So from the end of 2007 (depending on the system’s roll-out) all international visitors to the United States will have all 10 fingers scanned and recorded (and presumably checked against all 10 fingers of all those aforementioned known criminals and suspected terrorists).

Phew! Sounds a bit laborious, but the Department of Home Security is adamant it ‘furthers the department’s ability to keep dangerous people out of the United States, while making legitimate travel more efficient.’

Yeah well, it might just make some of those legitimate travellers go where the queues are shorter, don’t you think? More information on US-VISIT requirements here.

Related stories:
‘DHS now collecting 10 fingerprints from foreign travelers‘ (CNN.com)
‘Washington begins collecting all ten fingerprints‘ (Scopical.com.au)
‘10-Fingerprint Scanners to Deploy at all Ports of Entry‘ (DHS)

Posted in Destinations, Travel News | No Comments »