Thursday 24th December 2009 My first day of holiday was an early rise to make it in time for check in from 7:15, at the Busabout headquarters in Victoria, London. With a group of over 40 people, 7:30 sharp we were ready to hit the road to Dover, UK. The guide introduced himself and gave us a bit of inside track and history of Paris. After mostly sleeping on the bus, everyone was happy to mingle on the ferry, crossing the channel to Calais, France. The approximate 1.5 hours was enough to stock up on coffee, brunch and the necessary shopping in the duty free shops. We reached Calais, France at about 12:30 (GMT +1:00). The snow was still thick in the country side and a bit fog on the road. We made a 20 minute pit stop to make it in good time at our accommodation, St Christopher's in Paris. Most people did not waste too much time freshening up for a welcome drink, that was followed by dinner. After dinner we were back on the bus for the guide's own 'Paris by night' tour, taking in all the sights the great city has to offer. The bus made a stop at the Eiffel Tower and in time for the light show. We had to wait 20 minutes before our group could head up. All the entrepreneurs trying to sell souvenirs was more overwhelming than the rain at that time. The view from the middle was colourful with all the lights from Paris. Unfortunately, right at the top we ended up in a cloud, with absolutely nothing to see half a meter away. Friday, 25 December 2009 Xmas day! Clear blue sky! After a quick breakfast for me, it was time to get out and about in the breathtaking city. First we head out to the Chateau de Versailles for a wander around the spectacular gardens and a mid-morning snack. After Versailles I decided to have a wonder along Avenue de Champs. From The Obelisk of Concord, through all the Christmas markets, making a u-turn at the Arc de Triomphe. After sunset, dinner at St Christopher's was a traditional roast meal (including Foie gras) and all the trimmings. Not long after the Christmas dinner, armed with a couple bottles of wine, we head through the little streets of Montmartre filled with artists and restaurants. From there we had to climb a (great) few steps up Montmartre hill to get a closer look at Sacre Coeur. The Sacre Coeur looked amazing with the spot lights over the famous white finish. From the front of Sacre Coeur, a great view of Paris can be seen. Saturday, 26 December 2009 After a few baguettes and strong coffees it was time for the day's itineraries to start. I jumped on a Fat Tire bike and experienced Paris in a pack of over 40 bikes through streets and parks of central Paris. The tour guide has been living in Paris for over 8 years and had a great knowledge of the history of the city and other interesting stories to go with the scenery. All the bikes were parked for lunch in Tuileries Gardens. Then we head off with our bikes to board a river boat to see Paris from the water. Passing places such as the Grand Palais, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Louvre Museum, Saint Chapelle and Notre Dame. By late afternoon we dropped off the bikes and there was a little bit of time to stray off the pack. 'The National Lampoons Louvre Trip in 60 Minutes' had to fill this gap. With limited time we had to make a bit of a run through the Denon and Sully area to capture at least the most popular pieces; Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo and The Winged Victory of Samothrace. The evening was topped of by dinner at a local French restaurant Le Marmite. The onion soup (with a layer of cheese on top and pieces of french bread underneath) is highly recommended! Sunday, 27 December 2009 Au revoir, Paris!
Today is our final leg of Busabout. We make the 10:41 train out of Cinque Terre and we are sad to leave as it has been so relaxing. However the holiday must go on. The bus arrives at 12noon and we're on the road by 12:30pm bound for Nice, France. It's a very pretty drive along the French Riveria and as we pass Monaco, our guide Sheree tells us all about the details. There is no tax paid there as everything is funded by the Monte Carlo casino. If you want to become a resident one must pay a fee of one million euros to be considered. If you are turned down, bye bye one million euros. Such celebs to be turned down include Jacko and Madonna. However Brangelina has a place as does Bono from U2. We've been to Nice already on this trip and so this time decided to stay at a different location because there is a hostel rated in the top 5 in Europe. Getting there turns out to be a bit of a mission. We have to catch a tram - easy, but at 5:30pm the trams are chocka and we are trying to get on with our packs and hand luggage. Not the most favourite people. We eventually squeeze onto the 3rd tram that passes and it takes us to the drop off point where a white van collects us to take us up a very steep hill. The hostel is an old monastery and seems to be pretty good. Maybe it's because we are end of our trip, or maybe because it is award winning we expected more. However there is black mould on the ceiling in the bathroom, which is not the cleanest, there are no lockers for our stuff, the door to the room is a fire hazard and dinner is rather bizarre. We pay 6.50 euros for fish with quinoa and tomato's. It's nice, but we have to wait in a queue for ages while the chef cooks and plates 6 meals at a time and is not very fulling. We both could eat it again. Afterwards we have to wash our own dishes. Yes it's a hostel, but it seems like 6.50 euros is a lot when we do all the waitressing work. Oh well. The rest of the night is spent trying to work out what to do tomorrow. Mike's seen a canyoning trip which sounds awesome, but we are tired and we are not sure about having wet clothes to take on the plane and it's a little over our budget. In the end we decide not to go, mainly based on two things - one: we don't have the right shoes and two: we want to buy a digital camera that is totally waterproof. Once we have a waterproof camera we will go canyoning in NZ or wherever else we end up in the world. We have an early night which is not so early because an older Italian woman is reading on her bed. Except that she has her personal light shining to light up the whole room. That is what you get in hostels and hooray we only have 2 more nights of them.
Busabout is an excellent way of transporting your adventure around Europe. Simple, straightforward and no frills, it allows individuals to carve an independant itiniary without the traditonal 'tour guide' culture. The only flaws I found was the occasional 'cliquey' nature of travellers and the bus frequency- every second day with one bus. As demand grows, particulary in the peak of summer, often more than one bus was needed.
Busabout is a great tour company that allows great flexibility with your travel. We have been traveling on Busabout for the last 2 months and have had an amazing time. They really look after you well and always do their best to meet your traveling needs, whether it be accommodation, recommendations on places to go or booking tours. By chance we found ourselves in Valencia, Spain during the time of La Tomatina (Tomato Festival). We didn't really want to venture out to Bunol on our own by train and back, so we decided to ask our Busabout Guide if there was anything they could do. We tried booking a tour with them a month earlier but everything was taken, however Busbout decided to meet the demand and put on extra buses to take would be Festival goers out to Bunol for a bit of tomato throwing. Busabout also has a 3 day La Tomatina Tour, however we booked on the 1 Day Busabout La Tomatina Tour and it was excellent. The day started with a central morning pick up with eight buses and 450 Festival goers. So immediately it is a relief that you would have a 450 person army to take on the 45,000 people who will be there in the tomato fight! The buses head out west towards Bunol and on the way the guide tells us about the history of the La Tomatina Festival and gives us some tips on where we should go and what we could expect from the day . . . basically a whole lot of chaos! We arrive in Bunol and the little town is absolutely buzzing, there are numerous make-shift food and beer stalls on the streets for the day and our Busabout La Tomatina Guide takes us on a short cut to fast track our way into the combat zone. We are led to the Ham Pole which entertains us for hours as people try to scale a 6m grease pole to retrieve a leg of ham (a tradition of the festival). It took 2 hours for people to figure out a strategy only to slide right back down but someone finally got that ham! At 11am the rocket goes off and the trucks make their way through already packed streets. In total there are five trucks carrying a total of 125 tonnes of tomatoes. Their horns are blaring and people inside the trucks throw more tomatoes than you ever thought possible at us. The place is absolute chaos but it is all in good fun. The standard attire is to wear white and some people wear goggles to protect their eyes. People are chanting and dancing in a red sea of madness. Tomatoes are flying left right and centre and everyone is having a great time. We each took a few tomatoes to the face and at times tried to hide behind taller people! We spent the whole time laughing so hard at the absurdity of where we were and also with a little fear! After an hour of tomato throwing shenanigans (we are now covered in tomatoes) the second rocket goes off and the crowd disperses as the locals get out their water hoses to wash everyone down. The festival has a great atmosphere and everyone is there to join in and have a good time. A few tips. We think that goggles are a waste of time as they fog up fast. Also girls should wear sports bras as your clothes may get torn off in the chaos. You should wear shoes and only take to La Tomatina what you are prepared to lose. (Being on a Busabout Tour Bus we could safely leave things locked up on the bus). There is also etiquette to tomato throwing. You should squash a tomato before launching and there are to be no more projectiles after the second rocket. Everything else is fair game! Once everyone is hosed off we head back to the buses, change into clean clothes and then head back to Valencia. The 1 Day Busabout La Tomatina Tour awards your bravery with a free t-shirt to change into and then it is off to Valencia beach for a swim before heading out on a pub crawl with drink discounts. This tour was a great way to hangout with other festival goers and have an enjoyable day, throwing tomatoes, chilling at the beach and then hanging out at the pub crawl. It is an awesome day and with 450 other people there was safety in numbers. All of the transport is included on the tour and we were left very satisfied that we had attended La Tomatina and enjoyed it with 450 others! Although we couldn’t even look at another tomato for at least 2 days! Cheers 1-Day Busabout La Tomatina Tour! It was AWESOME!!! We don't know if we would put ourselves through the madness again but La Tomatina is definitely something that everyone should do given the chance. If we were to do it again we would definitely book again on the 1-Day Busabout La Tomatina Tour!
Busabout is without a doubt one of the best ways to get around Europe. For anyone aged between 20-30 years you will love this travel option. I'm a Kiwi and although the buses are predominantly packed with Aussies . . . it's ALL GOOD MATE! This bus tour offers 3 main loops the Northern, the Western and the Southern with other excursions if you want to add them on. Unlike a Euro Rail pass these guys drop you off and pick you up at selected, well priced, hostels at good locations! They can also book you excursions at the up coming destinations at discounted prices. Also if you forget, they can help you book alternative accommodation if the recommended hostel is full. On Busabout you also get regular service stops and history lessons via the friendly guide on the PA as you near cities and borders, to prime you for what is to come. It's a relatively cheap way to get around Europe getting dropped off and picked up door-to-door and also you get to meet other travellers of like minds doing the same journey. There is almost always a pub crawl at every stop but unlike other bus tours this is not just a piss-up tour Drunken Yobbos and Bogans doing the same old drinking stint in every city! This is for the traveller who wants to travel Europe and really get to experience Europe and all the different cultures! The guides are very friendly, knowledgable, helpful and the price is definitely worth it! I would definitely do Busabout again! So what are you waiting for - GET ON BOARD!
The Croatia sailing trip was by far the most amazing holiday I've ever been on! 8 days of pure paradise, sailing the flat blue ocean and stopping at some awesome destinations. We were given heaps of free time to spend however we liked, as well as the option of some guided tours of the islands. The food was amazing, as well as the wide range of bars and clubs we were shown! I'd recommend this trip to any young person looking for a relaxing holiday which also provides heaps of activities to keep you busy. Tip= book the 'Above deck' Cabin, it's the best!!!
If you want to see Italy in between other countries, or only have a short bit of time to go to Italy, and are on a tight budget, this tour is for you. If you have a longer time to spend in Italy, you may want to begin your journey with this tour, just to aquaint yourself with some of the culture. Tour guide (at least mine) was extremely friendly and helpful. Accomodations are average, I reccommend upgrading to at least the camper. Southern Italy is beautiful, and this tour takes you to some of the most beautiful places there. You will fall in love with Southern Italy, and not want to leave!