Category Pages For: Budgets

Actual travel budgets and projected GRANDPAcking costs

OCTOBER 2019: OVERVIEW: We have just spent a month in Georgia. We ended up in Tbilisi to catch a flight from there to Nepal … PLEASE NOTE: The currency in Nepal is the Nepalese Rupee (or the ‘NPR’). I will refer to them as N$s. At the time of writing, the wholesale exchange rates were: US$1 EU€1 GB£1 N$115 N$127 N$147 Over time, these exchange rates will change. Please check the current rates. GETTING THERE: There are no direct flights from Georgia to Nepal. TBILISI: Getting to Tbilisi International Airport is easy and cheap. Public buses (#37 or #137) leave […]

Kathmandu – Nepal – Information

SEPTEMBER 2019: OVERVIEW: We have just spent 3 nights in Kutaisi, Georgia. KUTAISA (QUICK NOTES): I won’t provide a full write-up of Kutaisi because, to be brutally honest, I didn’t do much. That said, Kutaisi offers many good day trip options: Gelati Monastery, Prometheus Cave, Okatse Canyon, Martvili Canyon, and Imereti to name a few. You can also take multi-day tours from Kutaisi north into Svaneti National Park. GETTING THERE: I started in Akhaltsikhe. I walked to the Central Bus Station and caught the 10:30am bus to Kutaisi. My suitcase went under the back seat. I was not charged extra […]

Mtskheta – Georgia – Living Ideas

AUGUST 2019: OVERVIEW: We have just spent 5 nights in Timisoara which is located in western Romania near the Serbian border. I found it to be a little ‘ho hum’. We, now, head further east into Transylvania … our first ‘port of call’ is the historical town of Sibiu. PLEASE NOTE: The currency in Romania is the Leu (or the ‘RON’). I will refer to them as R$s. At the time of writing: US$1 EU€1 GB£1 R$4.26 R$4.73 R$5.16 Over time, these exchange rates will change. Please check the current rates. GETTING THERE: Sibiu is about 270 kms east of Timisoara. […]

Sibiu – Romania – Information

AUGUST 2019: OVERVIEW: PLEASE NOTE: The currency in Romania is the Lei (the RON). I will refer to them as R$s. At the time of writing, US$1 = R$4.26. We have just spent 4 nights in Bajina Basta, Serbia … … followed by a long weekend in Belgrade, Serbia. We, now, head east into Romania … our first ‘port of call’ is the city of Timisoara … GETTING THERE: You can get from Belgrade to Timisoara by public transport: Train-Taxi-Train (via Vrsac / Moravita), Bus-Taxi-Bus (via Vrsac / Moravita), and long distance bus. I chose to go by Shuttle Bus. […]

Timisoara – Romania – Information

AUGUST 2019: OVERVIEW: PLEASE NOTE: The currency in Serbia is the Republic of Serbia Dinar / the RSD (I will refer to them as S$s). At the time of writing, US$1 = S$105. We have just spent 4 nights in the famous Ski Resort town of Zlatibor.We now head north to the small town of Bajina Basta … GETTING THERE: We need to get to the Bus Station in the centre of Zlatibor. I purchased my ticket to Bajina Basta the previous day to guarantee a seat. The ticket costs S$400. The bus leaves at 2:15pm. You pay an extra […]

Bajina Basta – Serbia – Information

AUGUST 2019: OVERVIEW: PLEASE NOTE: The currency in Serbia is the Republic of Serbia Dinar / the RSD (I will refer to them as S$s). At the time of writing, US$1 = S$105. We have just spent 4 nights in Sofia, Bulgaria … … and 3 nights in Nis, southern Serbia. We experienced a lot of history and culture. Back in Bulgaria, we made an off-season, summertime visit to Borovets which is a famous ski resort. It was now time to compare Borovets to the famous ski resort of Zlatibor in Serbia. Again, we were going in the off-season / […]

Zlatibor – Serbia – Information

JULY 2019: OVERVIEW: PLEASE NOTE: The currency in Serbia is the Republic of Serbia Dinar / the RSD (I will refer to them as S$s). At the time of writing, US$1 = S$105. We have just spent 4 nights in Sofia, Bulgaria. For me, a visit to somewhere like Sofia is all about experiencing history and culture. We, now, head north to our first stop in Serbia: Nis … to experience more history and culture … GETTING THERE: We need to get to the Central Bus Station in Sofia which is located north of city centre next to the main […]

Nis – Serbia – Information

JULY 2019: OVERVIEW: PLEASE NOTE: The currency in Bulgaria is the Lev (I will refer to them as B$s). At the time of writing, US$1 = B$1.75. We have just spent 3 (Summer Season) nights in the famous Ski Resort of Borovets. We, now, head for the capital city: Sofia … GETTING THERE: We need to get from Borovets to Sofia via Samokov. The bus from Borovets to Samokov stops in front of Hotel Ela. It leaves every 30 minutes: on the hour and half past the hour. The price is B$1.50. I caught the 10:30am. Travel time is about […]

Sofia – Bulgaria – Information

JULY 2019: OVERVIEW: PLEASE NOTE: The currency in Bulgaria is the Lev (I will refer to them as B$s). At the time of writing, US$1 = B$1.75. We have just spent 1 week living in an apartment in Plovdiv Old Town. Plovdiv is the 6th oldest city in the World boasting over 8,000 years of continuous occupation. There are many sites to see: It was, now, time to move north to Borovets (en route to Sofia) for some time in the Bulgarian countryside … GETTING THERE: I walked the 600 metres from my Plovdiv accommodation to a bus stop on […]

Borovets – Bulgaria – (Summer Season) Information

JULY 2019: OVERVIEW: PLEASE NOTE: The currency in Bulgaria is the Lev (I will refer to them as B$s). At the time of writing, US$1 = B$1.74. We have just spent 2 months in Turkey. It is, now, time for us to move on to Bulgaria … GETTING THERE: I came direct from Istanbul on a long distance bus. I used the Istanbul Metro to get to the Otogar (main Bus Station). I bought a ticket on the Metro Busline (a different company) to Burgas, Bulgaria for 150 Turkish New Lira (about US$26). The bus left Istanbul at 9am. The bus […]

Sunny Beach – Bulgaria – Information (Butlitz ...

JUNE 2019: OVERVIEW: PLEASE NOTE: The currency in Turkey is the New Turkish Lira (I will refer to them as T$s). At the time of writing, US$1 = T$5.78. We are making our way slowly up the Mediterranean (Turquoise) Coast from Antalya to Istanbul. Our last stop was Ayvalik: Next, we go north to Canakkale … GETTING THERE: We need to get to the nearest public bus stop on Ataturk Boulevard in Ayvalik town. Mine was about 150 metres from my hotel. I was there at 10:40am. The bus to the Otogar (Bus Station) costs T$2.50 and takes 20 minutes. […]

Canakkale – Turkey – Information

JUNE 2019: OVERVIEW: PLEASE NOTE: The currency in Turkey is the New Turkish Lira (I will refer to them as T$s). At the time of writing, US$1 = T$5.87). I was making my way slowly up the Mediterranean (Turquoise) Coast from Antalya to Istanbul. My last stop was Kusadasi: It was, now, time to move north to Ayvalik (via Izmir) … GETTING THERE: Kusadasi to Izmir: I walked out of my Kusadasi waterfront hotel to the nearest Bus Stop. I was there at 11:15am. I caught the No 5 bus to the Otogar (T$2.50). A taxi costs EURO3. I was […]

Ayvalik – Turkey – Information