travel tips

Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada, supplied by Don Lobb, UVic

Some of our members have graciously supplied travel tips for the following destinations in the hopes that they might be useful to you as UVRA members:

• England and Brittany, France
• South Africa
• Coach tour of Newfoundland
• Travel Society
• UK and Europe
• Spain, France, Portugal, Canary Islands, Italy and Mallorca
• New Zealand

England, and Brittany, France

Hugh and Vivien Irving give some tips from a recent visit to England and Brittany, France.

Some recommendations: High Greenrigg Cottages, in Cumbria, Nr.
Caldbeck.. The one we rented (for 1 week) was called Brae Fell, a wonderfull cottage, fully equiped with all mod cons and very quiet.
Lovely walking country.

In London, we recommend Tophams Belgravia, an excellent hotel just 5 minutes from Victoria Station. If you choose room no. Mews 5 you won't hear a thing. Just around the corner is La Campagnola, a modestly priced Italian restaurant.

In St. Malo, Brittany: L'Ascott, 35 rue du chapitre, www.ascotthotel.com a charming hotel 3 km from the ferry terminal. Not exactly cheap however: for 4 nights we paid 620 Euros, continental breakfasts included. Very close to an excellent restaurant "Sainte Placide". Even better was one called La Corderie, overlooking Port Solidor. It offered an excellent set menu for 44 Euros for 2 persons. One further note: we took the Brittany Ferry from Portsmouth to St. Malo. These ferries are like miniature cruise ships. Excellent food and very pleasant lounges and staterooms.

South Africa

Interested in South Africa? George recommends you contact Marianne Schaubeck at 386-1335 or check out the web site at www.reservationsafrica.com.   She offers many options but all of the accommodations are A1. She selects them herself and goes every year to inspect them. Good exchange rate too.

Coach Tour of Newfoundland

Closer to home the Smiths recommend a coach tour of Newfoundland organised by McCarthy's Party - a real family affair. Says George: "We were lucky enough to get Regina (pronounced Regeena) McCarthy as our guide. She was the one that started it 20 years ago and has given over the admin work to one of her sons and she's gone back to giving tours. Although they use 42 passenger buses they only take about 30 or so at a time so there's lots of room." The company can be contacted directly at 709-781-2244 or check out their website at www.mccarthysparty.com  Hillside TotemTravel has their brochure.

Travel Society

George Smith passed on this tip: "We subscribe to a travel newsletter called Travel Scoop put out by the Travel Society and it is full of ideas, comments from other travelers and some good tours. We did their China tour and it cost less than others. The Society costs about $44 per year."

Other recommendations: If anyone is planning a trip to Australia or NZ then Linda at Pacesetter Travel is a marvel. She planned our trip last year and it was 10 weeks which went like clockwork.

George can be contacted at 250.477.4797 if you wish more information.

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UK and Europe

When travelling to the UK and Europe often the best deals can be picked up on the spot says Barbara Jackson (formerly of the Maltwood Gallery). Go to a travel agent when you arrive in the UK and check out last minute deals to other places in Europe and you might be surprised what they can offer - especially for those with time and no fixed schedule. (Isn't that what retirement is about!!!) Barbara cites a two week holiday to Bodrum, Turkey including airfare & accommodation for approximately $400.

The Jacksons recommend The Lonely Planet and Rough Guide books as excellent travel companions with lots of travel tips and reliable information.

Finally, two inexpensive places to eat in London: the crypt of St Martin in the Fields Church in Trafalgar Square (your money will help the "down & out" of London) and the buffet service at the National Film Centre on the South Bank.

Spain, France, Portugal, Canary Islands, Italy & Mallorca

For those UVic travellers interested in unique and beautiful accommodation in these countries, Barbara Judson, suggests you check out the following
websites: www.innsofspain.com, www.innsoffrance.com, www.innsofportugal.com, www.innsofitaly.com, www.innsofcanaryislands.com www.innsofmallorca.com  Barbara (late of the Learning and Teaching Centre) is the web representative for small charming hotels throughout these countries. Barbara tells us that she has visited the inns on her site and can guarantee a warm welcome, friendly owners and wonderful old buildings. Most are off-the-beaten track and are in interesting areas of their respective countries.

Barbara would be delighted to assist in choosing a route and appropriate inns for your particular interests. There is no charge for her services.

In addition she represents the Paradoes in Spain (they describe their role as "guardian of our national and artistic heritage while promoting quality tourism:. See the Paradoes at www.paradoes.net

Barbara can be contacted at the above noted web sites or email tol info@innsofspain.com

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New Zealand

Jessie Mantle passes some travel tips for people going to New Zealand.

1. Top 10 Holiday Parks well sited throughout New Zealand  are great places to stay. They have all levels of accommodation including: Motels, Tourist Flats (bring your own sheets and towels), Very basic cabins, sites for campervans , motorhomes, and  tents as well as backpacker
accommodation. You pay $20 NZ   for membership once only (you can stay at 10% more cost without membership although economically it is cheaper to belong and get the discount) and you receive a map of all the parks in New Zealand. They have a free information phone number. The sites are very nice, accommodation excellent, are privately-owned so the managers have a real investment in your being satisfied, and there are usually phones and laundry services as well as barbecues available. They give lots of advice about local sight-seeing and often can sell you tours which will come to the Park to collect you. The manager is also very knowledgeable about the next phase of your trip and will book ahead at the next Holiday Park for you. We stayed in Tourist flats for about $55NZ a night. Motels were only about $10 more/night and provide full motel service. Motels have a full range of cooking appliances and tourist flats usually have top burners for pots and a microwave oven. Dishes are provided. These parks are also in Australia although I didn't have occasion to stay in them.

2. If you are a member of BCAA, you can go to any New Zealand Automobile Association office ( I suggest you find one in a small town which has easier access) and receive a free membership with all the privileges of roadside service etc. and maps and books at members prices. BE SURE TO TAKE YOUR BCAA CARD WITH YOU.

3. The  Tourist Information offices (identified by the big "I" sign) are excellent sources of information and should be a first stop in any town or city. They have excellent local free maps and can tell you the highlights of the area such as the museums and tramrides etc. as well as local bus schedules. They usually know where the internet sites are if you need to send or check email, will book tickets for all manner of things for you including boat and rail, have local and national maps, and will book accommodation. A good place to start is the one at the Auckland airport. They will give good advice where to stay as you travel about so that you can avoid the tourist spots that are generally much more expensive. They have excellent accommodation books - the Bed and Breakfast and the Farm and Home Stay options are very popular and you should try at least one.

4. It is a good idea to check the Oanda currency site on the internet before leaving and carry the conversion tables with you. At present the Canadian dollar does very well in New Zealand but less well in Australia.

5. Bus travel is very good and has routes to almost any place you want to go.  It is very reasonable and can be booked at a Tourist "I" office or at the bus station. Local bus travel is also good and avoids the difficulties of parking in the city centre where parking can be restricting and is limited in time and number of spaces. Train travel is a little more restrictive in that it has fixed routes which may not take you near your destination. There are several excellent tourist trains such as the Transalpine which crosses the south island from Christchurch to Greymouth and is a wonderful way to cross from east to west and see the mountains.

6. Driving - New Zealand drivers have a unique style of road behaviour and you may find that driving the smaller roads off the main routes much more pleasant. The Automobile Association has a very good book with city maps for a lot of the towns and excellent road maps for the whole country divided up into regions.

7. The National Bank of New Zealand does not attach any fee to the cashing of traveller's checks. All the other banks do charge.

8. If you have a tendency to get seasick, try ginger pills, a natural remedy available in health food shops. They are readily available in drugstores in New Zealand. The catamaran boats are the most likely to give you a rough trip and you might be best on the bigger boats unless you can check out a weather forecast before leaving.

9. Auckland has a wonderful Circle Bus which goes between the major sites on a regular schedule. It is easily the best way to get around the city and you can get off for as long as you want. They do pick up at some hotels and even the Centra Airport Hotel. There is a one and two-day rate so you can plan accordingly.

10. Some of the excellent attractions are: The Volcanic Centre at Lake Taupo; the Antarctic Centre in Christchurch; the Kauri Museum  at Matakohe on the north island; Waimangu, not very well known and a very good place to see the hotsprings etc about 14 km south of Rotorua and not crowded; Te Papa museum in Wellington; Hamner Hotsprings on the south island which has several very relaxing pools; the penguins at Oamaru on the south island (far fewer tourist than further south) ; and the Royal Albatross at Dunedin on the peninsula.

New Zealanders are great travelers in their own country and love to help tourists. They have a lot of local information not easily found from other sources so chat them up wherever you may be.

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