Tips to Visit Norway on the Cheap(ish)

This blog post contains tips for travelling around on the cheap. We were based in Bergen and we have detailed all the trips we made, with maps, in our previous post, so readers can recreate the journeys.

When Katie’s cousin Jadz applied was accepted to do her Erasmus year in Bergen, we booked our flights and reserved the airbed in her little student flat for a week. It was a real chance to see Norway for cheap(ish), despite the pound being at its lowest level since the Great Fire of London, and Norway being hella expensive. How expensive? A chocolate bar (200g) is £4 at the cheapest supermarket and some road tolls cost us £15 each time we passed through them. My credit card was physically heavier after this holiday! But it was worth it, we had a great time and are very thankful to Jadz for her hospitality.

Norway is one of the most beautiful countries I’ve had the pleasure of visiting. It reminded me of Scotland (geography wise) but with a shit tonne more waterfalls and snow covered mountains. The roads are excellent quality (thanks to the tolls) and it's a great place to rent a car, with not a pothole in sight!

Tips and tricks for seeing Norway on the cheap:

Transport

Public transport in Norway is quite expensive and won't get you into the nooks and crannies of the fjords and mountains, so you'll miss out on a lot or end up spending loads on taxis. Renting a car is therefore a very good option, just watch out for tolls. Use ViaMichelin for toll prices. The good thing about the tolls though, is that the roads are excellent quality so driving really is a dream.

We rented a car through the comparison site easycar.com, and used Quidco to get cashback (use our affiliate link to get £10 off!). It cost £310 for the seven days. One thing I didn’t really minimise was cost of the tolls, which totalled £130 plus another £50 in ferries over the week. This was a considerable tax, averaging £1.20 every 10km for our trip!

Petrol costs about the same as the UK (~£1.20 a litre). We did three day trips from Bergen and one trip with an overnight stay in Gudvangen, driving 1476km in total - a considerable feat. Again, maps and details of our driving routes can be found in our previous post.

A big way to save when renting a car is to buy separate, annual excess car hire insurance from a provider via Quidco. Google it to understand what it means but basically you then get zero excess on hire cars for ~£30 a year.

Food

Supermarkets are expensive but brands like “First Price” and "El Dorado" available in Kiwi are the cheapest options. Eating out is very expensive so if you can, only have a couple of meals out and make sure they are at fancy restaurants – the price difference between fancy and standard is about 10% so if you‘re eating out, you may as well go all out and get a really delicious meal.

Buy and prepare food for your day trips and always have snacks and some bottled water. Tap water is drinkable (and delicious!) but there aren’t many potable water points out and about when you’re visiting the fjords.

As with out budgeting advice for Japan, make the most of lunchtime deals when available, as these may be a better choice than the more expensive evening option.

Packing

Take toiletries as these are hella expensive in Norway. You may even want to take caffeine tablets if you'll be driving a lot because coffee is 25NOK (£2.30) minimum, and that is for a crappy coffee from a petrol station vending machine.

Take all your waterproofs, and cold weather clothing because surprise surprise, clothes are expensive so you don't want to get caught short, especially as it rains a lot in Bergen (wettest city in Norway).

Accommodation

Stay with a family member on Erasmus (shit advice but it saved us loads!). Alternatively, camping is widely available and there are a some “budget” hostel/cabin options in Norway.

Activities

Nature is free and Norway has a lot of this to offer. However there is an off-season and in mid October when we visited, hikes were closing for the winter and only allowing guided treks, which are expensive. The reason for this is, of course, the worsening weather as winter draws in, which makes hiking difficult and dangerous without proper equipment. Things begin to reopen mid-April to June, so look into this if hiking is your bag.

Finally, don't forget you're on holiday, so don't get too worried about pinching every penny. Life is to be enjoyed and savoured!

*All prices are from October 2017.

What's Up Beaches?!

Rio de Janeiro is incredibly famous for its beaches, and there is little wonder why as they are truly sublime. This year the weather has rarely let us down and we've noticed that the average Carioca spends more time on sand than grass. This post reviews some of the wonderful beaches we have visited, giving tips and advice for visiting, as well as hopefully some ideas for when you are next in Rio.

Essential Rio Beach Terminology:

Posto

Pronounced post like in posture rather than postman. Each beach is lined with postos, which are tall lifeguard stations. They are used as location markers along the beaches, and often have toilet and shower facilities (for a fee). We have been told that along the more popular beaches certain postos are frequented by certain groups of people, meaning there is as a family zone and a gay zone etc, although in reality we haven’t really noticed the different "sections" at all.

Quiosque

Pronounced similarly to the English word kiosk. These kiosks sell more than just newspapers and sweets - they are permanent beach stalls that are normally located on the promenade with seating facing the beach. The food and drinks available range dramatically from quiosque to quiosque and beach to beach but you should definitely drink an agua de coco at every available opportunity. Oh and try an açai as well.

Barraca

Nothing to do with the President, as the rr in the middle sounds like a h. So it's more like bahaka. These are the temporary huts on the beach from which you can rent chairs, umbrellas, and  often buy drinks. They are sometimes associated with a quiosque, meaning some can provide food for you right there on the sand. I recommend trying the aimpim (mandioca) frita, which is fried cassava - similar to potato for those who haven't tried it. At the barraca you generally start a tab and then pay for everything when you leave the beach. Be sure to ask in advance if you intend to pay by card, as some only accept cash.

Orla

This is the Brazilian word for the promenade, or boardwalk along the beach. Each major beach in Rio has its own unique pattern on the pavement, following an old Portuguese tradition of making pavements with black and white stones.

Copacabana (Zona Sul)

The most famous beach in the world (go on, think of a more famous one!) and for good reason. It is a gorgeous beach with lovely sand and fantastic views of the surrounding mountains, including Pão de Açúcar (Sugarloaf) and Corcovado (with Cristo Redentor on top). The downsides of this beach are the busyness and the safety - we have been warned by our Brazilian friends about the safety issues of the more famous beaches. They recommend not using mobile phones in public and of course not to wearing jewellery or expensive clothes – this should be considered fairly standard practice in all Brazilian cities though, not just these beaches.

Copacabana Rating

Barracas & Quiosque Availability: 5/5 - Bloody excellent variety and quality

Beach Vendors: 2.5/5 - Plenty around but they do give you a bit of hassle

Busyness: 1/5 - Rammo

Cleanliness: 2/5 - Pretty dirty

Ipanema (Zona Sul)

This beach is right next to Copacabana and is equally as wonderful. My only comment is that the quiosques aren’t to such a high, fancy standard as the ones you find in Copacabana. But then I have found no quiosques that are as nice as Copacabana (except in Fortaleza!). Leblon is also alongside Ipanema and is to a similar standard.

Ipanema Rating
Barracas & Quiosque Availability: 4/5 - Great stuff!

Beach Vendors: 2.5/5 - Plenty around but they do give you a bit of hassle

Busyness: 1/5 - Rammo

Cleanliness: 2/5 - Pretty dirty

Barra da Tijuca (West Zone)

Living in front of the longest beach in Rio has turned me from being grumpy and annoyed about sand getting everywhere, to accepting it for what it is - a permanent reminder of living in such a glorious location. It is a stunning beach and cycling along the dedicated beachfront cycle paths is something every visitor should do. We suggest you use the very cheap Itau bikes (R$10 a month) by downloading the BikeRio App (rather than using the more expensive phone service).

A lot of volleyball is played, as on all of the main beaches, and the quality of these games is very high, making them fun and interesting to watch. The quietest parts of this beach are between posto 8 and 9, which is long a stretch of beach between Barra and Recreio. You need a car to get there though, as the buses don't go that far. For us, Barra beach is our preferred place to be – it's safer and quieter than the Zona Sul beaches but with all the conveniences of the quiosques, chairs, umbrellas etc. Also the sand under my feet is so smooth and there is next to no litter. I love it.

We generally hang out by posto 5 as this is where we live and it’s quieter than some other parts. With the subway soon coming to Barra, I imagine this beach is going to get busier. But it's a great place to visit and the area around posto 2 is really lively so great in the evenings too. The bus 332 goes from Zona Sul all the way to the beach, so it's easy enough to visit even before the subway station is finished.

Barra da Tijuca Rating

Barracas & Quiosque Availability: 4/5 - Coco Loco!

Beach Vendors: 4/5 - Plenty but without the hassle of the tourist beaches

Busyness: 3/5 - Quieter than Zona Sul

Cleanliness: 4/5 - Pretty clean

Prainha and Grumari (West Zone)

We started out trip to Prainha and Grumari beaches by waking up before sunrise. With weekends rapidly running out and our must-do activities planned in every available moment, we had the arduous task of doing them all. I’m being facetious of course, it was an absolute privilege to wake up and drive to these beaches for sunrise. I had just had my stitches removed after my final wisdom teeth were pulled and we wanted to celebrate in style. My friend recommended a great view point to stop at, on the first hill as you enter Prainha from Recreio, called Mirante do Roncador. It was completely empty and the two of us took in the awesome view of the sun rising over the sleeping giant with only the sound of the crashing waves as company. The experience was truly breathtaking.

Once we decided we had seen enough of this view, we drove along the coastline, stopping at various points to take it all in. Having a car was proving to be a real delight.

As we got to Grumari at around 6am, the beach was a bit chilly so Katie had a nap in the car. I walked along the beach and soaked up the beauty. It was just me and a few surfers. But it wasn’t too long until the hoody had to come off and swimming trunks and sun cream were put on. I woke Katie up and she made it to the sand before falling asleep in the beach chair. We stayed for a few hours, with me running my toes through the sand, before driving down the coast and stopping for lunch. It was now incredibly busy by Prainha and we couldn’t stop at the restaurant we had first chosen. Grumari was still quite calm and we stopped at a restaurant there with a lovely garden where we saw this hummingbird buzzing around, which was very cool.

We then drove around the twisty steep roads and eventually came to another area called Barra da Guaratiba. We had planned to explore a beach we had only seen from above as we flew over, with its ridiculously long stretch of sand, but unfortunately it seems like this beach belongs to the military. We stopped at a nearby party beach, which was crazy busy with a loud Brazilian vibe going on. We didn’t stay long but it was another beach ticked off the list of 2095 beaches in Brazil.

Prainha and Grumari Rating

Barracas & Quiosque Availability: 1/5 Few and far between

Beach Vendors: 1/5 Just a few wanderers

Busyness: 2.5/5 Empty in the mornings but pretty busy as the day goes on, especially weekends

Cleanliness: 4/5 Pretty clean

Geriba Beach (East of Niteroi)

We recently went on an adventure along the coast running east from Rio, and during the drive we visited many beaches. We have already written about the drive and the places to stop but it’s impossible to review all the beaches separately. Instead, we will review Geriba beach, which is where we spent the most time compared to the other beaches.

Barracas & Quiosque Availability: 4/5 - Coco Loco!

Beach Vendors: 4/5 - Plenty but without the hassle

Busyness: 3/5 - Quieter than Zona Sul

Cleanliness: - 3/5 Pretty clean

Visiting the Brazilian Amazon? Here's our advice!

Advice, guide, tips, hints, what to take, how much to pay

Visiting the Amazon is going to be an amazing experience and you can read all about our adventure in three separate posts starting here. However, booking and arranging the tour was not the simplest thing in the world so I hope to add a bit of clarity to the proceedings and share our experience. 

We went into the Amazon from Manaus (Brazil), which is a fun place to visit in its own right. We went at the end of June 2015 and what follows is only our opinions of our experience. If you agree or disagree, leave your comment below.

First of all, price...

The cost of the tour is a hot topic on forums and it is difficult to know how much you should be paying. We did a 3 night/4 day tour and paid r$720 per person for a private double room. A dorm was r$600 pp. We booked through the hostel we were staying at - Local Hostel- who work with Iguana Turismo.

Before we booked, we had been in contact with several tour companies in Manaus (thanks to my amazing new Portuguese skills!) and the best price we got was r$1050 per person. As a last minute stab in the dark we emailed the staff at Local Hostel and were very pleased with the price they offered and the reviews that Iguana Turismo have online. Unfortunately we didn’t get the prices for other tours they offer. A can of beer/soda is around r$5 in the lodge btw.

Which tour company?

There are quite a lot of tour companies in Manaus and they all seem to be reviewed very highly on tripadvisor - two examples being Iguana Turismo (who we went with) and Amazon Jungle Tours (who we got a quote from). I was speaking with one of our tour guides to try and understand the process a little better. Here’s the inside scoop - the lodges are not owned by specific companies and the guides don’t work for specific companies. The tour companies have a preferred lodge that they work with but at busy times will move you to a different lodge if needs be. This is true for all the Juma lodges, although there are a few companies that go to specific lodges in the north. The guides work "freelance" for whoever has customers and can pay them.

So basically you have no guarantee that you will get the same guide or lodge that was reviewed so highly on tripadvisor, but luckily there seems to generally be a high quality of both available. So with regards to which company we recommend, I'd say booking the cheapest tour is fine and our research suggests that going through Local Hostel is a good option, even if you're not going to actually stay at the hostel. (Note: We have received no money or freebies from them for saying this, Scout's honour!)

How many days / nights?

We met and spoke to people who did 1 night, 2 nights, 3 nights (us), and 4 nights. Everyone that stayed less than us wished they had more time. The one girl who stayed an additional night loved it but said she had repeated a couple of activities. We didn’t repeat any activities and thought it was a perfect length of time. So we think 3 nights/4 days is best.

When to go?

If you do have the luxury of choice, May to September are the best months as the river is at its highest. This is what our two tour guides told us and they've been working there for years so we trust their advice. May is the tail end of the rainy season so might be a bit more hit-and-miss than the later months but since the Amazon is a rainforest, expect to get wet whenever you go! 

Size of groups?

On day one, our group consisted of six people, including the guide. On day two there were five of us. Day three started as a group of five for the morning and then there were about eleven of us on the boat in the evening. Day four there were twelve of us in two separate boats. Smaller groups are definitely better, as the guide can cater the activities and tour more to your preferences. Our trip was at the end of the low season and we were told that July and August are very busy so that is something to consider when booking your trip.

What to expect?

Don’t expect to see a jaguar. You won't. Animals are harder to come by than on other wildlife tours, so I would lower your expectations and rely on your guides to spot what they can. Remember that nature isn't just about big animals; it's about the trees, birds, insects, sounds and smells. Take the time to really appreciate where you are. You might not be able to see them, but you will be surrounded by millions of insects, snakes, fish, birds, spiders and more. It's an incredible privilege to be able to visit their habitat so even though I didn't see a macaw, it was pretty cool being in their playground.

It won't be an activity soaked 4 days. You will spend time sitting around at the lodge, taking in the sights and sounds of the forest for a few hours during the day and if you ask me, that's great. The humid Amazon is not a place to be charging from activity to activity so it was nice to stop and breathe that freshly made oxygen. The evenings are as calm or as drunk as you would like to make them. Do wear mosquito repellent though.

Should I sleep in the jungle?

We were hesitant about this before going but it was definitely the best thing we did. We cannot recommend this highly enough. It was incredible and we actually preferred sleeping in the hammock to the lodge itself.

What should I take?

- Insect repellent, and lots of it. Use it like it gives you special powers. Or find these ants.

- Malaria meds. Hello, malarial zone!

- Yellow fever vaccination. You don't want a tropical disease...

- Long sleeve shirts that are thick and loose. Mosquitoes bite through everything, the fuckers!

- Long trousers that are thick and loose. See above for pesky mosquito reference. NO LEGGINGS.

- Torch (flashlight)

- Towels

- Hiking boots

- Sandals / flip flops

- Swimwear

- A book for the chilled out times

- A camera (as if you needed telling)

- Sleeping pills (always useful!)

- Waterproofs, just in case.

- A big bottle of water - you can refill it at the lodge

Anything else?

SLEEP IN THE JUNGLE. It is amazing and you won't regret it.

But what about food?

Most if not all tours provide you with three meals a day (you may want to bring some snacks – we didn't for fear of ants!) and the food was of a high quality. It was mostly fish (pirarucu) but we also had chicken and eggs as well. The food didn't blow us away but it was pleasant enough. Vegetarians shouldn't have a problem - there was plenty of rice, beans, salad and they might cater specifically for you if you ask. Photos of food are below and reviews of Amazonian food are coming soon.

You can see the cabins in the background

We spent several hours each day just chilling looking around for wildlife. We saw dolphins one day!

Japan on a Shoe-shi-string

This post will examine how Katie and I managed to spend less than £500 each in a 10 day, action-packed adventure, during which we explored 6 different areas of the country. Hopefully this give you some tips and ideas for budgeting so you can afford to visit this amazing country as well.

We saved money by first getting a ferry from Busan, which (after taxes, port charges, etc) cost us about £100 each for a return ticket – a true bargain. We used this company. The website is all in Korean so I suggest calling them [Korean dialling code] (051-466-7799) where they have someone who can speak English. Of course this initial saving will only apply to people travelling to Japan from Korea, so anyone back home reading this, we are sorry but you'll have to fork out for the plane ticket.

The two main expenses once you're in Japan are accommodation and travelling around the country. These can both be greatly reduced with decent planning. Choose where you want to go and decide on a route.

Our route

Fukuoka - Kyoto - Tokyo - Fuji Five Lakes (Kawaguchiko) - Tokyo - Osaka - Hiroshima - Fukuoka

We decided to use the Willer Bus Pass, which is fantastic for budget travellers. We spent £103 for a four-day pass that covered the major routes between cities. It also meant that by getting 4 night buses we would save significant money on accommodation those nights – bargain! A more thorough explanation of the pass is here, and you can buy it and reserve buses here. All reservations are made online and in English but you must purchase the bus pass outside of Japan. I also recommend printing off your tickets (obviously) but more importantly information and maps regarding WHERE the meeting points are. It can get very confusing.

Willer did not have a route from Hiroshima to Fukuoka so we had to use a different bus company to book it. It cost us 4000 Yen (£33) each but if you book a week in advance, you can get it for 2000 Yen. Book at Fukuoka or Hiroshima or find a travel company like we did. All the info I got was from this Lonely Planet forum post. Again, print off where the bus station is, although this one was fairly easy to find.

The only reservation I have about using night buses is the lack of sleep. If you need 8 hours a night then maybe it isn’t for you. We took sleeping masks, ear plugs and blow-up pillows for comfort as well but a few mornings we both still felt a little irritable.

Once all our main buses were booked and our route known, we started contacting couchsurfers, and this is where the real money was saved. We took an overnight ferry to get to Japan, which meant we arrived at 7am and giving us an entire first day. We then couchsurfed for 3 nights, night bussed for 5 nights, and so only actually paid for 1 night in a hostel (£22 each) - bargain! If you don’t know what couchsurfing is, check out their website.

What about food and drink?

Well, the cheapest place to buy coffee is in a fast food restaurant (McDonalds, Burger King, etc) and this was always a good place to sit down and rest for half an hour or so before continuing the adventure.

We soon noticed that most restaurants had lunch time sets that were significantly cheaper than their evening menus. So we ate big, trying the fancier foods at lunch time and then ate a smaller dinner.

The cheapest way to eat is from a convenience store (Lawsons, 7/11, etc) and we often had noodles or a quick sandwich as a snack or light evening meal when we had gone over budget. Oh yeah, keep and stick to a budget.

The best tip though is to hunt around for cheaper restaurants. We would see maybe 5 or 6 restaurants all selling similar food, charging from 600 to 2000 Yen. Guess which one we ate in?

As for booze - buy it in a supermarket if you come across one because convenience stores charge 240 Yen (£2) a can and bars are VERY expensive. Katie and I barely drank anything this trip. Perhaps considering Japan as a detox holiday may be a good idea!

How about Sightseeing?

Well it’s almost impossible to get away without paying entrance fees unless you have ninja skills. However trying to get a student ticket for half price is a valid option, especially if you have a young person’s card or something that resembles student ID. Do your research and only pay for sights you really want to see!

City bus passes are often the cheapest and best way to get around a large city while consuming tourist attractions. They range from 500 Yen (£4.20) to 800 Yen (£6.70) a day. But maybe they aren’t necessary every day – try walking around the city and just getting lost. We stumbled upon many wonderful temples this way.

What did we do with our bags while sightseeing all day?
We put them in a coin locker at any major station, costing around 500 Yen (£4.20) a day.

Here’s a top tip: Shrines are normally free to enter whilst temples will charge from 100 to 600 Yen.

We didn’t buy any souvenirs either. Our photos and memories will be good enough!

Last thing: Do not get too carried away and focussed on saving money. You are on holiday in Japan so have some fun. You’d rather be £10 down than living with regret about not eating that awesome plate of sushi!

I hope this has been helpful. Please ask questions in the comments and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.