Panama City Hotels

When choosing a place from your shortlist of Panama City hotels, you really need to make sure you're locating yourself in the right areas. Away from the centre, with its relatively small and upmarket high-rise district, you can quickly find yourself in rundown slum areas with a heavy police

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/panama-city-hotels/

Avianca from Bogota to Panama Tocumen Airport

The final leg of our journey from Amsterdam to Panama was an Avianca flight from Bogota, Columbia to Panama Tocumen Airport. This involved another security screening, but thankfully not as inanely intense as in Amsterdam and Frankfurt.

Our arrival at Bogota airport was definately a 'habla

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/avianca-bogota-panama-tocumen-airport/

Karimunjawa Island Boat Transfer

There are variety of Karimunjawa island boat transfer options.

Most boats travel to and from Jepara, but depending on the day of the week you can also get boats to and from Semarang and Kendal (which is not too far from Semarang).

However, you need to check the latest schedules. Not all

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/karimunjawa-island-boat-transfer/

Lufthansa Longhaul Inflight Experience

Our flight from Europe to Panama involved a 3-leg flight with Lufthansa, starting from Amsterdam. Naturally, we were curious to discover how our Lufthansa longhaul inflight experience would pan out.

Our flight deal was quite exceptional. Just €310 each for a return flight ticket. We've

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/lufthansa-longhaul-inflight-experience/

Amsterdam Layover Hotel & Activities

Our incredibly low-priced Lufthansa flights from Europe to Panama departed from Holland. We therefore needed to find budget flights to get us to Schiphol airport, and then include an Amsterdam layover in our schedule.
Freezing in February
If you bring enough warm clothing with you, a February

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/amsterdam-layover-hotel-activities/

%TITLE

Apparently, Panama is among the top 5 best-rated countries in the world in which to retire. Facts like this, together with the attractions of a tropical climate and the buzz of a Latin American country are hard to ignore. Throw into the mix really cheap flights with Lufthansa from Europe and we're

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/panama-travel-plan/

The 10 Best-Value Pubs & Restaurants in Edinburgh

The 10 Best-Value Pubs & Restaurants in Edinburgh
http://www.sandspice.com/pubs-restaurants-edinburgh/
#Edinburgh #Pubs #Restaurants

Boca Chica to Panama City

Although it is a great location to break your journey between the major cities, transport options from Boca Chica to Panama City and/or David are limited.

If you don't have your own car, there are 2 ways to get from Boca Chica to Panama City: The hard way or the expensive way.


Boca Chica

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/boca-chica-to-panama-city/

Samsara Guesthouse Karimunjawa

Since we arrived 2 days late on the island, we spent only one night in the first of our selected guesthouses - the Waru Guesthouse. For our next three nights, we were booked into the Samsara Guesthouse Karimunjawa, which was just 10 minutes walk from the main harbour.

Samsara's is an

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/samsara-guesthouse-karimunjawa/

Waru Guesthouse Karimunjawa

The Waru Guesthouse Karimunjawa was the first of the 4 guesthouses we planned to visit on Karimunjawa island. We had originally planned to stay at the Waru for 3 nights, but an unscheduled 2-day delay in Semarang meant we were only able to get there for the last night.

We arrived at Kariman

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/waru-guesthouse-karimunjawa/

Karimunjawa Fast Boat

We travelled to Jepara from Semarang in order to take the Karimunjawa fast boat north to Karimunjawa island.

Since the fast boat leaves at 9am, we arrived in Jepara the day before and booked ourselves into the , close to the port.

On the morning of our departure, we were advised to get to

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/karimunjawa-fast-boat/

Hotel Samudra Jepara Port

Before leaving the in Semarang, we used one of their guest computers to book the Jepara port for the following night.

The Samudra Hotel was a last minute booking (actually for the same day) following some unavoidable changes to our travel plan (see Jepara ATM woes).

We needed a hotel close

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/hotel-samudra-jepara-port/

Karimunjawa Guesthouse Options

For such a small island community, there is a surprising number of Karimunjawa guesthouse options. During our stay there, we were able to experience a variety of accommodations at very different ends of the price spectrum.


Karimunjawa Guesthouse Options
In Karimunjawa, you can pay anything

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/karimunjawa-guesthouse-options/

Hotel Quest Semarang

After successfully retrieving our credit card from the BTN bank (see Honey, the ATM ate my card), we could finally get our travel plan back on track. The BTN debacle had effectively taken 2 days out of our planned itinerary. We were now looking forward to an un-scheduled overnight stay in

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/hotel-quest-semarang/

Backtracking to Semarang City

Following our misfortunes in Jepara, we were heading back to Semarang city to try to rescue our vacation from disaster.

With no credit cards and insufficient cash, we wouldn't be able to continue our journey to Karimunjawa, where cash is the only form of payment accepted by almost all

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/backtracking-semarang-city/

Jepara ATM woes - down & out in the suburbs

This marked the low-point of my trip to Indonesia.

Events had spiralled relentlessly downhill from our arrival at Semarang airport, on a domestic flight with Lion Air from Jakarta.

Following the loss of a credit card at Semarang airport (see Honey, the ATM ate my card), we continued with

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/jepara-atm-woes/

Hotel Elim & Minibus to Jepara

There are several options for getting over to Karimunjawa island from the mainland of Central Java. However, the boats run most frequently from Jepara. More importantly, there is always a boat leaving Jepara port early on the Sunday morning (weather permitting). It's for this reason that we chose

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/hotel-elim-minibus-jepara/

Boca Chica and Boca Brava

It took us around 7 hours to travel by bus from Bocas Del Toro to Boca Chica and Boca Brava. This would be our last taste of the Pacific ocean before returning to Panama City and the end of our 4-week vacation.

After the upbeat tempo of Bocas Del Toro, we were looking forward to getting away

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/boca-chica-boca-brava/

Honey, the ATM ate my card

What was I to do when an Indonesian ATM ate my card?

We had just arrived at Semarang airport on a Lion Air flight from Jakarta. This was the 2nd day of hopefully a 15-day trip to Karimunjawa: An island 88 kms north of Central Java.

Loosing our card at this stage of the journey, with a fairly

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/atm-ate-my-card/

Lion Air Inflight Experience

On arrival in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, we were heading straight out again without delay> We had booked a domestic flight with the carrier Lion Air to take us to Semarang. Although it is a budget airline, we were hoping that the Lion Air inflight experience would be a painless

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/lion-air-inflight-experience/

Jakarta Stopover

On arrival at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, we'd decided to take a short Jakarta stopover in a nearby hotel, and then take a domestic flight onwards to Semarang. We would have time enough to see Jakarta city on our way back.

To ensure our schedule wasn't compromised by any flight

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/jakarta-stopover/

Doha Airport Layover

Our Qatar Airways flight from Rome to Jakarta included a lengthy 10-hour Doha airport layover. There was really no way of avoiding this when we booked the flight.

If we had arrived early in the day, we could have enjoyed one of Qatar's complimentary 3-hour tours of the city. However, we would

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/doha-airport-layover/

Bocas to Boca Chica by Bus

Following our 8-day stay in Bocas Del Toro, we prepared for the next stage of our journey - travelling from Bocas to Boca Chica by bus.

This trip requires a little more organisation since the Hello Travel bus shuttle company which operates from Bocas Del Toro does not provide a service to Boca

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/bocas-to-boca-chica-by-bus/

Qatar Airways Inflight Experience

With their elitist tv commercials and tip-top rating in the World's Best Airlines, we were expecting great things from our Qatar Airways inflight experience.

This is why we snatched up the opportunity to fly with them from Rome to Jakarta for around €500 per person, economy class.

We could

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/qatar-airways-inflight-experience/

Terravision Turmoil

Our first experiences with Terravision 2 years ago had been positive (see Thumbs Up for Terravision). Fast-forward to the present, and things appear to be deteriorating into Terravision Turmoil.

At least, this is our impression from recent experiences travelling between Rome and Ciampino

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/terravision-turmoil/

Indonesia Travel Plan

Under €1200 all-inclusive for a 3-week trip to a secluded tropical island? Our Karimunjawa Indonesia travel plan also included a couple of days in Rome and flights with top-rated Qatar Airways.

This seemed like an unbeatable deal to us when we first started to plan this trip. It all started

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/karimunjawa-indonesia-travel-plan/

Paradise Inn Sigiriya

We set out in the morning from our guesthouse in Negombo. Our next destination was the Paradise Inn Sigiriya.

We took a tuk-tuk for the 2km ride to Negombo bus station. From there, we asked around for the first bus to Kandy. We would have to change buses in Kandy, then take another to Sigiriya,

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/paradise-inn-sigiriya/

Edinburgh City Break

If you ever need a great excuse for an Edinburgh city break, the availability of some great international flight deals flying from Edinburgh to the Far East has to be high on the list. Combine this with a low-cost budget flight to Edinburgh from many British and European cities, and you can be

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/edinburgh-city-break/

Galle Fort

From Unawatuna, we moved a few kilometers along the coast to Galle Fort. Here, we planned to stay for 2 nights at a guesthouse located inside the fort walls.
Inside Galle Fort
Galle is an old Portuguese colonial town that now functions as an over-priced honeytrap for unsuspecting tourists.

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/galle-fort/

Jungle Beach Unawatuna

After 6 days lounging around the beaches of Tangalle, we headed west up the coast by bus to the small town of Unawatuna. We had heard about some special beaches in the area, in particular Jungle Beach Unawatuna.

We had booked a 3-night stay at Sam's Guesthouse, located on the inland side of the

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/jungle-beach-unawatuna/

Palm Paradise Cabanas Tangalle

Palm Paradise Cabanas Tangalle is a medium-sized beach and garden resort located a few kms west along the coast from Tangalle. My last visit to Palm Paradise - 19 years previously - was very enjoyable, so I was keen to return.

The highlights I remembered from my first trip were the beautiful

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/palm-paradise-cabanas-tangalle/

Karimunjawa Island Beaches & Snorkeling

For many travellers, the big attraction of the small tropical islands of Indonesia are the beaches. After travelling through the urban cities of central Java to reach our destination, we were looking forward to spending 10 days relaxing on the white sands of the Karimunjawa island

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/karimunjawa-island-beaches-snorkeling/

Tangalle Beaches - Tantalizing Tangalle

Following our stay high in the mountains around Haputale, we took a morning bus for the 7-hour journey down to Tangalle, on the southern coast of Sri Lanka. For this part of our journey we were winging it, with nothing booked in advance. We were just looking forward to those fantastic Tangalle

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/tangalle-beaches/

World’s End Sri Lanka - Far Above the Clouds

World’s End Sri Lanka: The first stage of our journey through central Sri Lanka would conclude with a visit to the hill town of Haputale, and the World’s End plateau at Horton Plains. After spending several days in and around the old capital Kandy, we arranged to travel by train from Kandy to

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/worlds-end-sri-lanka/

Malaysia & Borneo : Highlights & Costs

Our actual trip to Malaysia & Borneo closely followed our plan regarding the places we would visit. These were based on 2 main areas:
♦  The Malaysian peninsula: We arrived (and departed) Kuala Lumpur, and spent roughly 10 days there.
♦  Borneo: This second half of the trip also lasted

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/malaysia-borneo-highlights/

Philippines Tokay Gecko - The "Little Britain" Lizard

Wherever we travelled throughout the rural areas of the Philippines, we were entertained most evenings and nights by the strange and intermittent Philippines Tokay Gecko night call.

The call was too loud to be emitted by an insect. It sounded more human - like a negative response

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/philippines-tokay-gecko/

Buy Your Own Panamanian Island

Our 4-week trip to Panama wasn't just about taking a holiday. We've read many of the reports about Panama being a great place to live: It's also one of the top destinations in the world in which to retire. We were therefore interested to find out more about property opportunities and costs

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/buy-panamanian-island/

Girona City Stopover - Where to stay and eat

Our Girona city stopover allowed us just one night in Girona, before heading south to Barcelona-El Prat airport later the following day.

We therefore needed a hotel that was close to the bus and train stations, and still within easy reach of the attractions and restaurants that the city has to

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/girona-city-stopover/