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/

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

Lion Air inflight experience - How do budget Asian airlines compare?

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

Although not scoring high in airline ratings, our #LionAir inflight experience was a positive one. Comfortable & on time, with ample legroom.

#Travel #Indonesia

Jakarta Stopover

Overnight #Jakarta stopover? Choose a hotel with free shuttle-service.

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

Close to the airport, the Ibis Budget Hotel is clean, comfortable & affordable, with a free #shuttle bus service. Ideal for a 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 be

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

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 ha

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 w

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/

Sri Lanka Top 10 Activities

 






 

 
No 10 - Eco Living
Try out a tree-top cabana. Everywhere you look in Polwaththa, you'll see a wealth of fascinating insects, butterflies, giant squirrels and birds. There’s also an abundance of edibles growing like weeds in the surrounding jungle ar

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/sri-lanka-top-10-activities/

SandSpice - Plan Your Travel | Travel Your Plan

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com

Edinburgh City Break

If you ever need an excuse to enjoy 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 Ryanair budget flight to Edinburgh from many British and European cities, and you c

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

Where to stay and eat in Galle Fort

From Unawatuna, we moved a few kilometers along the coast to Galle. Here, we planned to stay for 2 nights at a guesthouse located inside the fort walls. In particular, we were looking forward to enjoying  real Indian food at the Galle Fort Indian Hut restaurant.
Inside Galle Fort
Galle is an old

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

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/

Denpasar Souvenir Shopping

Our last port of call in Bali was Denpasar, not far from the airport. Here we had just one day and night before taking a Cathay Pacific flight back to London, via Hong Kong. Our plan for this 24 hours was to get in as much souvenir shopping as possible, since we had discovered that Denpasar is know

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/denpasar-souvenir-shopping/

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 ca

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

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 be

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 Ha

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 around

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 occa

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

Girona City Stopover: Where to stay & 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 o

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

Girona in Giro - What to see

What can you do in Girona if you have just 5 or 6 hours to spare?

Actually, quite a lot.

Our hotel was located in the centre of Girona, next to the Onyar river. We started out early after breakfast and followed the river northwards - passed the brightly painted façades of the houses - headin

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/girona-ingiro/

Girona transfers from airport and onwards to Barcelona

Located within sight of the Pyrenees in the northeast of Catalonia, Girona is a great place from which to start a journey to some really exotic locations. This is due to Girona's proximity to Barcelona - a main Spanish hub from where many flights depart in the direction of South America, Latin Ame

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/girona-transfers-from-airport/

Canary Islands via Spain

A trip to the Canary Islands had long been on our agenda. This year, the availability of cheap budget-airline flights with stopovers in Spain finally made this trip too good to resist. We carefully put together our 14-day Canary Islands itinerary.

Instead of getting return flights direct to the

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/canary-islands-itinerary/

Mumbai & The Thousand-Yard Stare

After spending more than 3 weeks in India, absorbing the dubious charm of overcrowded Sleeper coaches and chaotic inner city streetlife, we were apprehensive that Mumbai would trump - in aces - anything that had gone before.

This was the reason we saved Mumbai metropolis until the last.

We

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/mumbai-thousand-yard-stare/

Mumbai City Fort Area

We'd put off visiting Mumbai City until the end of our trip to India. Arriving by plane from Goa, we planned to spend 2 nights in the central Mumbai city Fort area.

We would be staying at the .

At €59 per night (excluding breakfast), this hotel was considerably more expensive than anywhere el

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/mumbai-city-fort-area/

Airlines, Airports & Transfers

The single most expensive item of your trip to the tropics will no doubt be your air fare. Getting a great deal here could easily be worth an extra week or two in your chosen destinations. But it's not just about the cost - How about reliability and service?... and most importantly of all -

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/free-independent-travel/airlines-airports-transfers/

In the Footsteps of Jason Bourne

It's no doubt due to the seclusion and natural beauty of Palolem beach that this location was chosen for the shooting of The Bourne Supremacy - the 2nd of the Jason Bourne movies, in 2004.

The beach itself is immediately recognizable at the the beginning of the movie. Two years after the events

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/jason-bourne-footsteps/

Palolem Beach Guesthouses

It was through circumstances rather than planning that we ended up spending around 10 days in a variety of Palolem beach guesthouses.

Cancelled trains and poor or overbooked guesthouses meant we had to change our itinerary on the fly. However, this all turned out for the best, since Palolem is a

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/palolem-beach-guesthouses/

Goa Beach Hopping

One of our favourite activities on visits to Asia is beach hopping. Just pack a lightweight bag with a picnic, grab a hat and plenty of water, and head out to discover whatever is beyond that distant headland. We spent some really enjoyable days doing this in Sri Lanka and Borneo. Now it was time t

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/goa-beach-hopping/

Palolem Beach Goa

A few kms south of Agonda beach is Palolem beach, which stretches across a 1.6 km curved bay. The beach is pretty much built up from end to end with a large variety of accommodation, restaurants and shops. Rooms and cabins range in price, for anything between 200 to 5,000 rupees per night.

With

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/palolem-beach/

South Goa Beaches - Agonda

When we arrived in Goa, fresh off the night train from Kochi, we hadn't yet decided between the South Goa Beaches - Agonda beach or Palolem beach. We had nothing booked, so left it to chance. As it turned out, our first experiences would be on Palolem beach.

After an hours march from the s

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/south-goa-beaches-agonda/

South Goa via AC2 Train Class

As relieved as we were to be leaving Kochi, we were a little apprehensive about our forthcoming train journeys to South Goa via AC2 train class.

We had pre-booked berths on an AC2 train leaving that evening from Kochi at 10pm. We should arrive early the following morning in Madgaon, Goa. From

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/south-goa-via-ac2-train-class/