Backpackers.com

Only 9 Days Left To Enter The March Travel Quiz (And Win A Travel Jetpack)

This month we’ve teamed up with the guys at Student Jetpacks to give away two of their Jetpack PLUS packages, for the destination of your choice (from currently available destinations).

Every Travel jetPack contains country-specific maps, information and accessories for your trip Plus, with a local SIM card in every jetPack, you can give your friends and family your phone number before you go, and call them as soon as you arrive.

The Jetpack range currently includes the following destinations: Australia, Austria, Germany, New Zealand, Poland, Spain: Barcelona, Spain: Madrid, UK, UK:London and the USA.

Right, so, to enter the quiz to win one of these cool prizes (worth up to £34.99 each), all you need to do is answer the following questions:

1. How much airtime is already loaded on to a pre-pay Australian SIM card in the Australia Travel jetPack – Plus?
2. How many new railpasses is RailEurope offering in 2008? (hint)

Use our contact form to send your answers, your preferred destination and your contact details to the “March Travel Quiz” before 20 March 2008. First two correct entries drawn win!

Good luck!

Posted in Competitions & Giveaways, Destinations, Travel Tools | No Comments »

March Travel Quiz: Win A Student Jetpack!

This month we’ve teamed up with the guys at Student Jetpacks to give away two of their Jetpack PLUS packages, for the destination of your choice (from currently available destinations).

Every Travel jetPack contains country-specific maps, information and accessories for your trip Plus, with a local SIM card in every jetPack, you can give your friends and family your phone number before you go, and call them as soon as you arrive.

The Jetpack range currently includes the following destinations: Australia, Austria, Germany, New Zealand, Poland, Spain: Barcelona, Spain: Madrid, UK, UK:London and the USA.

Right, so, to enter the quiz to win one of these cool prizes (worth up to £34.99 each), all you need to do is answer the following questions:

1. How much airtime is already loaded on to a pre-pay Australian SIM card in the Australia Travel jetPack – Plus?
2. How many new railpasses is RailEurope offering in 2008? (hint)

Use our contact form to send your answers, your preferred destination and your contact details to the “March Travel Quiz” before 20 March 2008 (extended to 25 March 2008). First two correct entries drawn win!

Good luck!

Posted in Competitions & Giveaways, Destinations, Travel Gear, Travel Guides, Travel Tips & Planning, Travel Tools | 1 Comment »

Virtual Backpacking: 100 Things to do with Google Maps Mashups

Ever played around with Google Map ‘Mashups’? If you haven’t, hoo boy have you been missing out!

With these cool online adaptations of Google Maps, you can do all sorts of nifty mappy things like:

• Locate your nearest coffee shop/public toilet/fast-food joint
• Get a weather overview for wherever you’re headed.
• Check out the latest global incidents happening right now around the world (and make sure you don’t stumble into one)
• Take the mystery out of wondering where you’d end up if you dug a very (very) deep hole.
• Find out what countries you’d pass through, if you walked in a straight line, all the way around the world.

The possibilities are endless, really, given enough bandwidth and web-surfing time, and Google Maps Mania, an ‘unofficial Google Maps blog tracking the websites, mashups and tools being influenced by Google Maps’ has put together a list of 100 Things to do with Google Maps Mashups.

Some of them of particular appeal to backpackers might include:

• Finding a nearby brewery
• Browsing through photos of the world
• Finding the perfect mid-point meet-up
• Locating a UNESCO World Heritage Site
• Pinpointing a world airport, airline or connection (or make your own map)
• Find a popular map in any area
• Find out what the time is, anywhere in the world
• Watch a travel video (or find a local webcam)
• Avoid disease outbreaks
• Calculate a New York cab fare
• See where UFO’s have been spotted (I kid you not)

And that’s just a drop in the proverbial ocean – Google Maps Mania has many, many more (some of them conveniently organised into a travel-related mashups section). Be prepared to set aside some serious surfing hours, folks – this can get addictive.

Posted in Backpackers Bookmarks, Destinations, General Travel, Travel Guides, Travel Tips & Planning, Travel Tools | 1 Comment »

Schmap Guides: Free Online Travel Advice For Backpackers

Schmap Guides produce regularly updated online travel guides, perfect for backpackers looking for advice, tips and news.The guides are easy to access, free to all, and contain invaluable information about an impressive number of destinations in Europe, North America and Australasia. They cover just about everything: a neighbourhood guide to Amsterdam, events and festivals in Munich, top attractions in New York and loads more, all accompanied by interactive maps to help you get your bearings.

If you’re not yet travelling, or have access to a fast internet connection (and unlimited bandwidth), you can also download it all at once with their Schmap MegaPacks for the world (199 guides), Europe (95 guides) and America (94 guides).

We like, we like a lot.

Posted in Backpackers Bookmarks, Destinations, General Travel, Travel Guides, Travel Tips & Planning, Travel Tools | No Comments »

The Germ Eliminator Wand: Zap Those Bugs When You’re On The Road

Here’s a nifty gadget to take on your travels to places remote and bug-ridden: the ‘Germ-Eliminating Wand’ from Hammacher Schlemmer.

This cool piece of machinery uses UV-C light to eliminate “99% of bacteria, viruses, mold, and dust mites”:

The ultraviolet light eliminates E. coli, salmonella, staphylococcus and germs that cause the flu and the common cold when it is held 3 inches above the contaminated surface for 20 seconds.

The price of this portable bug-zapper might be a little steep for a penny-pinching backpacker (US$100), but it’s probably worth it. And, hey, you could always be enterprising and rent it out at hostels for a nominal fee (or just become everyone’s new best friend).

(Via Gadling)

Related stories:
‘Germ-eliminating wand: an addition to your travel-kit’ (Gadling.com)
‘Bedbug Lovin’: Close Encounters of the Bloodsucking Kind‘ (Backpackers.com)
‘Australia’s BedBug Plague‘ (Backpackers.com)

Posted in General Travel, Travel Gear, Travel Tools | No Comments »

Tips For Finding The Lowest Airfares

Cutting down on the cost of your main airfares is a good way to keep the budget down, and can ultimately make a big difference to the total length of time you’ll be able to travel.

Mark Kahler of About.com has some advice for backpackers in this regard, recommending five internet tools for tracking low airfares.

And, if you’re planning a round-the-world trip, give our flight travel planner a try.

(Picture: sohvimus/Flickr)

Related stories:
‘Planes, Trains, Automobiles, Buses And Boats: Getting Around Europe On A Backpacker’s Budget‘ (Backpackers.com)
‘Planes, Trains and Automobiles: Tips For Getting Around Europe, On A Budget‘ (Backpackers.com)

Useful (related) travel resources for backpackers:
Skyscanner.net – find and compare flights on low cost airlines in Europe and Australasia.

Posted in Destinations, General Travel, Transport, Travel Tips & Planning, Travel Tools | No Comments »

How To Score The Best Free Accommodation Around The World: Tips From A Couchsurfer

You’ve heard of Couchsurfing.com, right? Right? Free accommodation, provided by locals, all over the world?

Any self-respecting backpacker with an eye for the freebies that stretch ye budget should definitely have cottoned on to it by now…

But, if you haven’t yet encountered it, Couchsurfing is an online travel community wherein backpackers can find locals willing to give them a place to stay for a night or two, free of charge. The theory being that, one day, you’ll be in a position to do the same for travellers like yourself.

Sound interesting? If so, definitely check out these great tips from regular couchsurfer, Eva Holland (Vagabonding), on ‘how to score some sweet couch‘. She’ll also reassure you about any security concerns you might have (staying with a complete stranger can be daunting, until you know what precautions have been put in place).

Posted in Destinations, General Travel, Hostels, Travel Community, Travel Tools | No Comments »

Ubid4rooms.com: Last-Minute Prices For Australian Accommodation

Backpackers heading for Australia might just be interested in a new online accommodation booking service recently launched in the country.

Ubid4rooms.com offers travellers the opportunity to bid on discounted rates for rooms provided by participating accommodation providers. You submit a bid with the rate you’d be prepared to pay, and the hotel either accepts or declines your offer

Unlike other auction processes, you are not bidding against others, but making an offer directly to a hotel. The bid is only open for three hours, so same day confirmation is assured if bid is accepted.

Backpackers might not always get rates quite as low as hostels tend to be able to provide, but if you’re looking for an escape from dorm living/eating/sleeping for a few days, and are willing to put in a few bids, Ubid4rooms might just be the way to go.

Posted in Destinations, General Travel, Hostels, Travel Deals, Travel Tools | No Comments »

Fire Awareness Week: Free Backpacker Hostel Fire Safety Guide Released

Hostel fires are a very real danger when travelling. Not something to be paranoid about, perhaps, but certainly something backpackers should be aware of.

Back in June 2000, 15 backpackers died in the infamous Childers Hostel fire. And, according to a press release put together by members of the global youth travel industry (among them Flarebrands Ltd and GapYear.com), in the past nine months alone there have been 18 hostel and hotel fires reported in 12 countries, resulting in 35 deaths, 115 injuries and 1,633 survivors.

The primary danger lies in the fact that many backpacker hostels still do not have basic fire equipment and procedures in place and are regarded as death-traps (think remote Cambodian guest-house/backpackers hostel made entirely of extremely flammable wood…no safety procedures in place – not good).

Add to this a backpacker’s general ignorance or lack of interest in basic fire education (it couldn’t happen to me, right?), and the hazard increases tenfold.

So, in order to increase awareness of the very real peril of hostel fires, the guys at GapYear.com and Flarebrands Ltd – in conjunction with STA Travel, YHA, and WYSTC (the World Youth Student Travel Conference) – have launched an Annual Backpacker Hostel Fire Safety Awareness Week, which will run globally from November 1st – 7th.

As part of the Awareness Week, a free fire safety guide for backpackers and other travellers has been released and is currently available for free download here.

It really could happen to you.

Posted in General Travel, Travel News, Travel Tools | No Comments »

Tips For Backpackers Trying To Find Cheap Airfares

Backpackers are always on the hunt for the cheapest airfares as one of the many ways of getting around. If you’re looking for some tips, take a look at this handy top ten list.

Suggestions given include looking for web deals, considering a mileage credit card and shopping for airports.

Posted in Transport, Travel Tips & Planning, Travel Tools | No Comments »