Category Pages For: Where To Stay

Detailed analyses of where to stay in particular destinations

Little Corn - Port Beach Hammock View
JANUARY 2018: Why not read our Retirement Reviews. OVERVIEW: I had so much trouble getting to the Corn Islands that, in a way, I was DETERMINED to stick it out. I booked a Vacation Rental on Big Corn Island for 1 month and tried to get the best out of Big Corn that I could. The rental that I had in Big Corn was very nice: a 2-story, 2-bedroom house all to myself for US$500 / month. Big Corn Island didn’t “cut the mustard” so, it was time to move on to Little Corn to see if it offered anything better. AFTER ALL, […]

Little Corn Island – Nicaragua – A ...

DECEMBER 2017 / JANUARY 2018: Why not read our Retirement Reviews. OVERVIEW: In my “Beginner’s Guide” to Big Corn Island, I provided information about: How to get from Bluefields to Big Corn Island Why I chose Brig Bay What Brig Bay looks like Where to stay What ‘short term’ accommodation I found What ‘long term’ accommodation I found In this post, I will tell you more about what it is like to actually live on Big Corn Island and a lot more about everyday costs. I will, also, compare Big Corn Island with the Bay Islands (Roatan and Utila) in Honduras. […]

Big Corn Island – Nicaragua – Information

DECEMBER 2017: Why not read our Retirement Reviews. OVERVIEW: I tried to get from Greytown to Bluefields to catch the boat out to Big Corn Island. I had to abandon this route and make my way from Greytown to Bluefields by land via Rama. This added 1 week to my timeline. I wanted to compare Big Corn Island to the Bay Islands in Honduras (Roatan Island and Utila Island). I arrived in Bluefields on a Monday and booked myself into the Mini Hotel y Cafetin Central (MHCC) at N$400 / night for a Fan Double with Private Bathroom. I booked 2 nights. The […]

Big Corn Island – Nicaragua – A ...

JULY 2017: Why not read our Retirement Reviews. OVERVIEW: I spent 1 month living in an apartment on Utila Island. Utila was a pleasant place to stay … with a nice, party, SCUBA diving, backpacker ‘vibe’. It was time to move on to Roatan Island … to compare the two islands. UTILA: I arrived in Utila by ferry on a Monday to avoid the busy (and booked) weekend. I stayed for 2 nights in an hotel for US$20 / night (discounted down from US$26 / night). This gave me enough time to find a nice apartment at Maggie’s Place for US$450 […]

Roatan – Honduras – A Beginner’s Guide ...

JUNE 2017: Why not read our Retirement Reviews. OVERVIEW: We spent a week making our way from Palenque, Mexico across northern Guatemala to La Ceiba, Honduras. Both San Pedro Sula and La Ceiba were ‘interesting’ places to say. Be cautious and stay safe. La Ceiba was our target destination … this is where you catch the ferry to the Bay Islands (Utila and Roatan). LA CEIBA: We arrived in La Ceiba late afternoon on a Friday. We had no accommodation pre-booked on Utila, and we didn’t want to rush and head straight out to Utila that same day on the 4:00pm […]

Utila – Honduras – A Beginner’s Guide ...

MAY 2016: Click here to read our Philippines Retirement Reviews. OVERVIEW: As with many other destinations in The Philippines, the cost of pre-booking nice accommodation online was too high for a GRANDPAcking Budget. Malapascua Island prices were comparable with El Nido, Boracay, Panglao and Bantayan prices. High. Very high. Accommodation in The Philippines ‘known tourist destinations’ is, generally, a problem for GRANDPAckers … the accommodation is poor value for money. Everywhere. Anything less than PHP900 per night is likely to be backpacker rather than GRANDPAcker Standard. PHP2400 / day is our total GRANDPAcking Daily Budget! As a rule, I try and keep accommodation costs to no more than 50% of our Budget; this […]

Malapascua – Philippines – Where To Stay

MAY 2016: Click here to read our Philippines Retirement Reviews. OVERVIEW: As with many other destinations in The Philippines, the cost of pre-booking nice accommodation online was too high for a GRANDPAcking Budget. Bantayan Island prices were comparable with El Nido, Boracay and Panglao prices. High. Very high. Accommodation in The Philippines is, generally, a problem for GRANDPAckers … the accommodation is poor value for money. Everywhere. Anything less than PHP900 per night is likely to be backpacker rather than GRANDPAcker Standard. PHP2400 / day is my total GRANDPAcking Daily Budget! As a rule, I try and keep accommodation costs to no more than 50% of my Budget; this […]

Bantayan – Philippines – Where To Stay

MAY 2016: Click here to read our Philippines Retirement Reviews. OVERVIEW: As with many other destinations in The Philippines, the cost of pre-booking nice accommodation online was too high for a GRANDPAcking Budget. Panglao prices were comparable with El Nido and Boracay prices. High. Very high. PHP2400 / day is my total GRANDPAcking Daily Budget! As a rule, I try and keep accommodation costs to no more than 50% of my Daily Budget; this is what a GRANDPAcking couple can afford (and still have enough money left to exist on). In The Philippines, my target price is, therefore, BELOW PHP1200 / night. WHAT’S ON THE INTERNET […]

Panglao – Philippines – Where To Stay

APRIL 2016: Click here to read our Philippines Retirement Reviews. OVERVIEW: As with Sabang, Port Barton, El Nido, Coron, Tablas, Carabao, and Boracay the costs of pre-booking accommodation online where too high for my GRANDPAcking Budget. Siquijor prices were higher than I was expecting – for an island that is supposed to be ‘off the beaten track’ … There were several budget options to choose from but most looked very basic. I decided to book something online in advance (for 3 nights), so that I could look around the island and choose a nice beachfront location. My plan was to stay for a further […]

Siquijor – Philippines – Where To Stay

MARCH 2016: Click here to read our Philippines Retirement Reviews. OVERVIEW: As with Sabang, Port Barton, El Nido, Coron, Tablas, and Carabao the costs of pre-booking accommodation online where too high for my GRANDPAcking Budget. I knew that Boracay was popular, and one of the most expensive places in The Philippines, so I did not want to take a chance… This time, I definitely needed to book something online in advance. PHP2400 / day is my total GRANDPAcking Daily Budget! As a rule, I try and keep accommodation costs to no more than 50% of my Daily Budget; in The Philippines, my target price is, […]

Boracay – Philippines – Where To Stay

FEBRUARY 2016: Click here to read our Philippines Retirement Reviews. OVERVIEW: I made my own way from Coron to Tablas Island. I had looked online for Tablas Island hotels but there weren’t many options; and, there were very few within my GRANDPAcking Budget. I decided not to book in advance and take a chance… WHAT YOU FIND ONLINE: I started my search about 1 week before my arrival. My search on BOOKING.COM returned only 2 results for my dates: the cheapest was US$42 / night (PHP2000). My search on AGODA.COM returned more properties but only one of those properties was less than US$30 / night (PHP1400). Please […]

Tablas – Philippines – Where To Stay

FEBRUARY 2016: Click here to read our Philippines Retirement Reviews. OVERVIEW: As with Sabang and Port Barton, the costs of pre-booking accommodation online where too high for my GRANDPAcking Budget. I had been lucky in Sabang to just arrive and find somewhere walking in off of the street in a resort that was not online. I wasn’t so lucky on my first night in Port Barton, but got there in the end on my second day – again, walking in off of the street into a resort that was not online. I knew that El Nido was more popular, so did not want to take […]

El Nido – Philippines – Where To ...