Have you ever wanted to cycle through France? How about hike in Austria? REI offers award winning tours through these areas, but at a steep cost—over $3000 pp for most 8-10 day trips. But do you really need a tour guide?

Here’s a cheaper alternative…

Use their trip itinerary to plan your trip, but travel independently. You can still see the same sites, but travel for much less. Below is an example– I went through the entire trip and priced it. Feel free to steal this trip and modify it to your need or check out REI Adventures for more ideas.

Provence Cycle (8 day trip)

From the website: “Provence – the name itself signifies much that is desirable in life: beauty, art, fine food and wine, and an irresistible joie de vivre. If your travel revelries revolve around A Year in Provence, our eight-day trip captures the very best of the fantasy. “

What they don’t tell you.  With a good map and a little internet research (for this article it took me less than an hour to research) and you can recreate this entire trip.  These aren’t hidden areas of France.  Every place on the trip is easily google-mapped, located on a major road and sometimes is a famous area (one part traces part of the Tour de France).

Notes: REI doesn’t include airfare or lunches in the price.  I have included only what REI includes, to give a fair comparison.  I have purposefully NOT picked the absolute cheapest hotels.  Some of these places are very nice, so there is room for further discount, but I wanted to show the savings even if you splurge a little.

Day 1

Fly into Charles de Gaulle airport and take the train to Orange, France.

Here are three options for hotel:

• L’herbier d’Orange 18.33 Euros/night for a private
• Hotel Le Louvre 39.50 Euros/night for a private
• Villa de l’Arc 92.50 Euros/night for a private

Day 2

Enjoy breakfast (10 Euros) then start cycling towards Bédoin.  Stop and spend the night at the gorgeous Château de Mazan ($118/night).  Enjoy dinner at your budget (15-35 Euros).

Day 3

In the morning, ride down to the market for breakfast (10 Euros) and start riding towards Mont Ventoux.  After summiting return to Bédoin for another night and dinner.  Château de Mazan ($118/night).  Enjoy dinner at your budget (15-35 Euros).

Day 4

Enjoy breakfast (10 Euros).  Then head out to the Dentelles de Montmirail, stopping in Séguret and continuing on to Vaison la Romaine. Stay at the amazing Château Le Martinet (56 Euro/night). Enjoy dinner at your budget (15-35 Euros).

Day 5

Enjoy breakfast (10 Euros).  Pick your own route, as you explore the neighboring area. Return to the Château Le Martinet (56 Euros/night).  REI does not include dinner for this night.

 Day 6

Enjoy breakfast (10 Euros).  Head into the Drôme Provençal.   Continue to the Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux.  Stay in a deluxe single room at the L’Esplan.  Enjoy dinner at your budget (15-35 Euros).

Day 7

Enjoy breakfast (10 Euros).  Head to the village of Grignan (tour the historic Château de Sévigné is desired).  Ride through the country side.  Stay next door to the castle at La Bastide De Grignan (65 Euros/night). Enjoy dinner at your budget (15-35 Euros).

Day 8

Heading out.  Enjoy breakfast (10 Euros).   Head back to the airport or onto further travel.

Totals

Hotel and meals $600-800.

Flying with your bike, renting one or buying one in France $100-$400.

REI’s price:  $3499

Our price:   $1000 

Go ahead, try it.  I bet you could save even more with a little research and depending on the time of year.

Did you like this idea?  Go steal more ideas from REI Adventures here.  (Just don’t tell them I sent you).

Creative Commons Pic by Nicephore

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Bulgaira’s government is putting some money into its ski resorts in the hopes of attracting more tourists. Right now, beginners and less advanced skiers will probably find the area more to their liking. There are three resorts: Borovets, Pamporovo and Bansko with Borovets being the largest. There are good ski schools and the lifts are modern, so this might be a good location if you are looking to try your feet at skiing, or have a large group of mixed-ability skiers. Directline Skiing has 7 night packages to Borovets, including return flights from the UK starting at 329 GBP. Bulgaria Ski offers a ton of country ski info. You can book a package through them, or get information in order to arrange your own.

Austria will please all snow sport enthusiasts. Both advanced and beginner skiers, as well as all levels in between will find the slopes and support they need. Many of the resorts have joined with their neighbors to create massive skiing sites, like the 430 kilometer Zillertal. While there are plenty of first class, big budget resorts and amenities, there are bargains to be found, especially in places like Finkenberg. Ski Austria offers more information than you could possibly need on skiing in Austria, including accommodation suggestions so you can plan your own trip. Inghams arranges package deals to Austrian resorts. They have packages to Igls which include 7 nights accommodation with half-board, ski and boot rental, plus flights from the UK, starting at 334 GBP.

Thompson Ski is another package company to investigate. They arrange trips to all the budget destinations mentioned here (except Slovakia,) as well as to Finland, Spain, Italy and France.

Have you had a cheap, but good skiing holiday in Europe? Please share your tips!

Photo Credit: Graham Chastney@Flickr

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The Tatras in eastern Slovakia are an excellent example of undiscovered slopes with good amenities. Snow can usually be found as early as November, and the slopes cater to all skill levels. Beginners and intermediate skiers should hit the High Tatras, while those looking to snowboard, or for freestyle or off-piste opportunities should head to the Low Tatras. Sledging, night skiing and cross-country skiing are also available in the High Tatras. Mountain Paradise arranges ski trips to Slovakia. Prices start at 395 GBP for return UK flights, 7-nights accommodation, weekly ski pass and weekly train ticket to access a variety of area resorts. Travel Slovakia offers packages to the Jasna Ski Resort. You can find additional resources to plan your own trip at Ski Slovakia.

Slovenia may be another country to explore – however their resorts are often plagued by a lack of snow. Mount Kanin is the country’s highest peak, and two of the best resorts are Kranjska Gora and Maribor Pohorje. Slovenia’s official tourist pages have information if you want to plan your own trip or check out Directline Skiing. They are offering packages at Kranjska Gora starting at 383 GBP for roundtrip airfare out of London and seven nights accommodation with half-board. This company is a good one to use for a variety of skiing trips – they search a number of tour operators in a bunch of European countries including Italy, France and Switzerland.

Tune in tomorrow when we hit the slopes in Bulgaria and Austria!

Photo Credit: Andrew Charland@Flickr

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A paraglider in the Austrian Alps.

See more Photo Friday entries here.

Photo source: personal collection.

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Near Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland, in the Bernese Oberland, Trummelbach Falls are a series of gorgeous waterfalls inside the Alps. The water comes from the melting glaciers above. Definitely worth a visit.

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Home of the famous Crap Bar and Crap Lift.

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I hear that the ski season is off to a great start in the Alps. After last year’s ridiculous lack of snow, this is fabulous news. I can’t wait to get back to Germany and dig my skis out of storage!

Oh, and if you happen to be closer to the British Isles than the Alps, you’re still in luck… a brand new indoor ski slope just opened in Manchester. Sounds interesting.

Post from: Europe String

There’s a wide range of budget hostels which would fit any Budget Traveler’s budget. As far as I can remember, the Flying Pig is the most famous of these budget hostels. For the cheapest option, look for a dorm room (obviously, you need to share your room with other travelers) in a youth hostel.

Several budget airlines fly to Schiphol Airport. ‘Nuff said.

You can still see a lot of Amsterdam for FREE.

• Check out Amsterdam’s architectural heritage. With 7ooo registered historical buildings, Amsterdam is one of Europe’s largest historical center. The sight of the Centraal Station alone is inspiring.
• Due to Amsterdam’s Canals, some refer to the city as the Venice of the North. If you cannot afford to pay for a canal tour, walk around at night and check out the bridges juxtaposed against illuminated houses.
• Red Light District. Walking around and ogling all those display windows and the people behind and in front of the windows is an experience in itself. Shocking for some but interesting, nonetheless.
• Want to get away from the crowd for a bit? Bundle up and take a stroll at Vondelpark, Amsterdam’s most famous park. Okay, okay, it’s not exactly deserted but it’s a lot quieter than all the other areas in the city.

There are tons of options when you get hungry. You can visit Albert Heijn, Aldi or Lidl supermarkets. Falafel bars can be found all over. Same goes for cheap Chinese food. Try the local Vlaamse Frites (french fries with mayonnaise).

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Steps to tour the islands for less money:

1. Buy a Guide (or, download and print one before you leave your home)
2. Take the inexpensive Jadrolinija ferry. It runs four times a day (only 2x on Sundays). It leaves from Gruz, which is only a few minutes away by bus from the old town (1A).
3. Enjoy yourself and see the islands at your own pace.

If you can only go to one of the islands, choose Lopud. It’s the nicest of the three.

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Here’s one suggestion of where you can go, with different options on what you can do:

Take her to Arena di Verona, a Roman amphitheatre where they have opera performances.

If you’re both avid opera fans, I suggest that you buy tickets for unreserved seats on the stone steps. They’re a lot cheaper than the padded chairs below.

If the opera performance will just be part of the background to lend ambiance to your romantic evening, I suggest that you save yourself the cost of the opera ticket and just pick a place nearby where you can sit and listen to the music.

Now… for the romantic seating options where the Arena performance will be within hearing distance… and with your store bought panini and a bottle of wine from a local shop, you can sit:

• on the steps of the neoclassical Palazzo Municipale with an impressive view of the Arena and Piazza Bra
• You can find a seat amongst the cedar treas right in the middle of Piazza Bra

Or, you can head for Brek which is on the restaurant row on the north side of the Piazza. Brek is a self-service restaurant with reasonably priced food. You will spend around 8-10Euros per person here.

To cap off your evening, stroll past Casa di Giullieta to leave a note for each other.

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