The Tux in the Backpack

A while ago TimesOnline published a list of Europe Top 10 Boutique Hostels. The list is based on ratings on HostelBookers.com.

Few ratings may have changed meanwhile, but here’s the list as of last June:

Lisbon Lounge, Lisbon

Red Nest Hostel, Valencia

Miss Sophie’s Hostel, Prague

Mandragora Hostel, Budapest

Mleczarnia Hostel, Wroclaw

Greg Tom Hostel, Krakow

La Controra Flashpackers Hostel, Naples

Langholmen Hostel, Stockholm

St Christopher’s, Berlin

Centric Point Hostel, Barcelona

Mleczarnia Hostel, Wroclaw

The first thing to notice is that more and more hostels are catering for flashapackers. The one in Naples has the word “Flashpackers” even in the name. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 31% [?]

Low season often means less tourists around and cheaper prices, allowing the Flashpacker to pay good accommodations at sometimes even half price, and overall to have a better lifestyle spending a lot less. Low season often means also that it’s easier to get to know ans chat to the residents, who won’t be overwhelmed by hordes of tourists.

Good news is that low seasons vary throughout the year from destination to destination. And low season in many tropical places doesn’t mean no sunshine or miserable weather. In many locations in South East Asia for example, the rainy or wet season is not at all monsoon season, it simply involves having a refreshing one-hour thunderstorm in late afternoon.

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Popularity: 10% [?]

If you read about that perfect, secluded, off the beaten track destination on a guidebook remember there are thousand and thousand more that like you read and are going to read that same page.

Finding destinations not yet full of tourists, and as a consequence with a still original culture and cheap prices (remember Flashpacking is not only about having a big budget) is getting more and more difficult. Internet if you avoid LonelyPlanet and similar websites can be very helpful. Here’s how Escapework.net sees it. India (Goa in particular), Thailand and the Caribbean are no longer the realm of the itinerant traveler.

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Popularity: 23% [?]

We often mentioned how you don’t necessarily need a big budget to go Flashpacking around the world, if you know how and where to find sweet alternatives to mass tourism destinations.

In this first post about Flashpacking Destinations we want to reveal a nice alternative to the famous and exotic dream destination Bali. Located just beside Bali, Lombok is often defined as an “unspoiled Bali”, or a “Bali 20 years ago”.

You can find there the same fantastic beaches, great culture (even more actually as in Bali the main religion is Hindu, while in Lombok you can visit Hindu temples but Muslim mosques as well) and nice Indonesian food (Lombok means actually chilly pepper in the local language, Sasak). Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 19% [?]