Booking a special holiday can be a tricky business. As much as you want it to be a luxurious trip to treat yourself or someone special and you want to know that every little detail has been covered, it would be nice to know that you won’t be paying through the nose. Holidays can vary greatly depending on the travel agent that you book through. For instance, booking an Ibiza vacation through a little-known deal-breaker website will vary in quality to something like Thomas Cook’s Algarve holidays.
But of course it is each to their own, and the people booking cheap and cheerful Ibiza breaks to San Antonio might not require their full quota of sleep, so a luxury hotel could be somewhat wasted.
Getting back to the subject of the Algarve, it is the most southern coastal district of Portugal. It is known for its sun-drenched beaches, a laid back, happy atmosphere and a sun-lounger at every turn, yet it still maintains its Portuguese charm and delivers on the local specialities. The Algarve is considered the seaside jewel of Portugal…and rightly so, thanks to its clean and picturesque seascapes and countryside. It is an ideal holiday if you are looking for somewhere a little bit special…and with a good choice of all inclusive hotels, you can really push the boat out and make sure you are truly well looked after.
The alternative types of accommodation in the Algarve range from self-catering apartments through to five star hotels, so you can pick what’s most suitable for you and your companions. The region itself has plenty to discover, so rather than restricting yourself to the hotel, why not explore the cobbled streets of Silves? Or picnic in the depths of the Ria Formosa Natural Park?
With so much to offer, you can truly let go and enjoy your special time away in the sun-drenched Algarve.
A Good Starting Point for Planning Your British Isles Itinerary
This summary of the itinerary for my recent 18 day trip through the British Isles will, hopefully, help jumpstart your own trip planning process. I’ve just completed a detailed series of postings featuring each city I visited, including where I stayed, how I got there and what I saw at each stop along the way. If you decide to follow this itinerary you’ll get a good overview of England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, while keeping the travel times each day to a minimum. For me, getting there is half the fun, so I love riding the trains and buses through the countryside from one town to the next. This is often a great way to meet people and it’s wonderful to be able to leave the driving to someone else when you’re on vacation. If you’re traveling in a group of two or more, however, it may be more economical to rent a car, but remember, driving a car with manual transmission on the opposite side of those narrow roads is not for the faint of heart!
London, England
Customize to Fit Your Own Schedule
A word of caution…as a solo, budget traveler, I like to squeeze as much as I can into my trips, so this pace may be a bit fast for some. If that’s the case or if you don’t have three weeks, you can use any portion of this schedule and tailor it to fit your own timetable. One possibility, for example, would be to separate it into two trips, the first just concentrating on England, Wales and Scotland and the second just on Ireland. Another suggestion would be to do England and Wales in one trip and Scotland and Ireland in another. By dividing the trip in this manner you would have time to spend two nights in some of the major cities like London, Edinburgh and Dublin and at major scenic destinations like the Cliffs of Moher and the Ring of Kerry in Ireland.
Conwy, Wales
City by City Itinerary
As you can see from a quick look at the list below, you will be traveling to some of the most famous and interesting destinations in the world…and getting from one place to the next will take you through some of the most beautiful scenery on the planet. Here goes!
1) London, England
-arrived by plane from SFO
2) Bath, England
-by train, 1 hour 45 minutes
3) Cardiff, Wales
-by train, 1 hour
4) Shrewsbury, England
-by train via Swansea, 8 hours
-scenic Heart of Wales train journey
5) Conwy, Wales
-by train, 2 hours 30 minutes
6) York, England
-by train, 5 hours
7) Edinburgh, Scotland
-by train, 2 hours 30 minutes
8) Inverness, Scotland
-by train, 4 hours
-scenic Highlands train journey through Cairngorm Mountains
-LochNess
9) Glasgow, Scotland
-by train, 4 hours
10) Belfast, Northern Ireland
-by train and ferry, 6 hours
11) Londonderry, Northern Ireland
-by train, 2 hours
12) Sligo, Ireland
-by bus, 2 hours 30 minutes
13) Galway, Ireland
-by bus, 2 hours 30 minutes
-Clifden and Connemara
14) Limerick, Ireland
-by train, 2 hours
-Cliffs of Moher
15) Tralee, Ireland
-by bus, 2 hours
-Dingle Town
16) Killarney, Ireland
-by bus, 1 hour
-Ring of Kerry
17) Cork, Ireland
-by bus, 1 hour 30 minutes
-Blarney Castle
18) Dublin, Ireland
-by bus, 4 hours 15 minutes
Loch Ness, Scotland
Summary of Expenses
Airfare: (San Francisco to London and Dublin to San Francisco) $807.00
Land Transportation: (trains and buses) $613.00
Lodging: $1,327.00 (average $74.00 per night)
Food: $144.00 (doesn’t include breakfast which came with most hotels)
Incidentals (including entrance fees): $73.00
Total Expenses:$2,964.00
Londonderry, Northern Ireland
Las Vegas or Europe?
Depending on what part of the country you’re coming from, a round trip plane ticket to Las Vegas can cost anywhere from $200 to $500. For just a few hundred more you could fly to the British Isles and see something new and exciting. Remember, either way you still have to eat and sleep, so the expenses once you get to either destination will be similar. The choice was a no-brainer for me! Considering all the fantastic things I saw, the wonderful people I met and the awesome accommodations I had on my nearly three week trek through England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, doing all this for less than $3,000 was a great value for this budget traveler. Be sure to check out the other articles in this series for more details on planning your trip to the British Isles. Tally Ho and Cherrio!
I boarded one of the buses going to the site of the Terracotta Warriors early in the morning. On the short ride out into the countryside, I immediately met two young globetrotters, Grace from England and Tor from Norway, and we spent a pleasant day together exploring the sights (and we’re now all friends on Facebook!). The Army of Terracotta Warriors is one of the must-see sights in China and undoubtedly one of the most impressive things that I have seen in my travels throughout the world. This army of soldiers was built two thousand years ago (210 BC) to guard the tomb of Emperor Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China (shi huang means first emperor).
An Incredible Archeological Find
Considered one of the greatest archeological finds in the world, it was discovered by accident in 1974 by peasants drilling a well. There are thought to be about 8,000 warriors in the three pits opened to the public and it is believed that more will be discovered in the future. Pit 3 is the largest and contains 6,000 soldiers, each individually sculpted and, incredibly, the features of each face are unique. In addition to soldiers, there are also horses and chariots, each beautifully detailed. After visiting the site of the Tomb of Qin Shi Huang we caught the next bus heading back to town. It was a fantastic day and could not have been easier for an independent traveler to do on his own.
