A MINI-VIENNA ON A MINI-BUDGET

The Slovak National Theatre is a sort of reverse Tardis – big and grand on the outside, surprisingly intimate inside.

I had to hold back on a full report on my brief stay in the Slovakian capital. Now this article has been published in the paying press I can release it on the blog.

That’s a fine way to start a new year, and Bratislava is well worth a few days of any traveller’s time…

We canny travellers don’t usually buy the most expensive opera seats, but in Bratislava I make an exception. They’re a fraction of the price of the cheapest seats in that swanky opera house in that swanky city up the river.

I had my brilliant ‘Visit Bratislava’ idea just seconds after blanching at the hotel prices in neighbouring Vienna, the only place where I’ve seen ATMs issue €100 banknotes. They know you’ll need them there.

WORLD’S CHEAPEST CITIES – and those fast being unfriended

Where in the world can you stay 38.9 nights on an accommodation budget of 100 British pounds? Okay, not counting Mum’s place or your mate’s cousin’s sofa.

What is the destination fastest being abandoned by budget travellers? Where are the new hotspots? In which city can you find wifi in every hotel and hostel?

There are some surprises in the figures I’ve been sent by budget accommodation experts HostelBookers.

WORLD’S WORST HOTEL – and proud of it

Part of Hans Brinker’s advertising campaign.

Bragging about your luxurious stay in a six-star hotel won’t make people jealous; they’ll think you’re crass, unimaginative and richer than you deserve to be.

Brag about your worst hotel experiences and you establish yourself as an intrepid traveller, a courageous citizen of the world.

Amsterdam’s Hans Brinker Budget Hotel is playing up its credentials as the world’s worst accommodation, hoping to attract the brave, the curious and those looking for an impressive traveller’s tale.

Could it really be as bad as the website suggests?

AMSTERDAM FOR MISERS – 10 tips for cheap fun

It costs nothing to look at one of the world’s most beautiful cities.

As a renowned scrooge, usually travelling on a tight budget (read: ‘my own money’), I’m regularly asked for advice about finding cheap fun in otherwise expensive cities.

100 FREE THINGS TO DO IN AUSTRALIA – (my ‘done that’ count: 51)

Phillip Island, Victoria. Just looking costs nothing.

Thanks to Leo who contacted me with the Tourism Australia list of 100 things people can do for free in our country.

I was delighted with all the ‘hits’ and the comments on my previous blog post about Tourism Australia’s latest glamorous ad, apparently catering to the glamorous potential visitor.

We skinflint locals know that there are plenty of things to do DownUnder that won’t cost anything but the time and trouble (okay, a bit of transport money too) you take to get there.

I love lists, so of course I picked through Tourism Australia’s top 100 freebees, ticking off the ones I’d done. I scored 51.

Here are my top 10 ‘been there, done that’ Australia for tightwads experiences, in no particular order:

CHEAP FUN IN PARIS No 3 – Montparnasse cemetery

There’s nothing like a good cimitiere on a wet day in Paris.

We understand that cemeteries are intended to be places for grief, remembrance and quiet reflection. But when a cemetery is filled with the graves of people who moved us with their art, writing or music, visiting final resting places leads to ‘oh yes, I remember him/her and that song/film/book/play.’  We can’t deny that it is entertaining too. In a quiet reflective way of course.