Travelling off the Beaten Track
By on Saturday, January 13th, 2007

When I travel in Europe I want to get some flavour of my destination, not just be another tourist among the tourist throng, lurching from one tourist trap to the next. I started my travel business Europe a la Carte to help you achieve this.

Travelling off the Beaten Track

When I say getting off the beaten track I don’t mean roughing it half way up a mountain. I mean thinking about a destination that will offer what you want, just not so full of tourists, over priced and over commercialised, I’ll give you some examples.

The budget airlines choice of obscure and/or distant airports can sometimes work to your advantage. Ryanair use Bergamo Orio al Serio as their Milan airport. Bergamo is lovely city, with a hilltop walled medieval old town, a one euro bus ride from the airport. Also easily reached in under an hour from Bergamo is the less well known Lake Iseo.

The largest lake island in Europe, Monte Isola, lies in the middle of the lake. There are pretty towns and villages connected by a ferry service dotted around the lake. It is not so expensive and crowded here as at the better know lakes such as Garda and Como.

Travelling off the Beaten Track

Lubeck in northern Germany is a great short break destination, It is a Hanseatic city, encircled by a river and canal. The old town is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The town hall dates from the 13th century. The Puppet Museum is great for kids. The coastal resort of Travemunde lies just north of Lubeck. Ryanair use Lubeck Blankensee as their Hamburg airport.

In the UK Edinburgh is one of the most popular destinations. However I would suggest trying Stirling, situated between Edinburgh and Glasgow. Stirling has a castle, the Wallace Monument and the site of the Wallace Monument. Dundee, around 40 miles north of Edinburgh, is another alternative.

Travelling off the Beaten Track

Dundee has undergone quite a transformation in the last few years with development of the quayside on the Tay Estuary. There are great shops, the Discovery Centre, home of the ship Discovery used to transport Scott’s ill fated Anatartic Expedition and the Verdant Works, an award winning industrial heritage museum. There’s also the beach and castle at nearby Broughty Ferry.

I hope that I have illustrated the advantages of choosing a less well known destination in Europe and that you’ll think about choosing one for a future trip.


Related Posts:





Subscribe to RSS Submit to StumbleUpon Bookmark page

16 responses to “Travelling off the Beaten Track”

Darren Cronian | 13 January, 2007 at 1:15 pm

Another great guest blog article - thanks Karen! :)

garri | 13 January, 2007 at 5:46 pm

It’s interesting you mention Germany, it’s a destination I’m currently researching for our blog ever since I saw Heston Blumenthal’s interpretation of the perfect Black Forest Gateau. http://www.justhungry.com/2006/11/tv_heston_blumenthal_in_search.html

Germany doesn’t seem too high up on peoples’ agenda as a holiday/travel destination, with the exception of Berlin. There again, neither does Denmark but it’s a popular choice on our blog.

Darren Cronian | 13 January, 2007 at 7:07 pm

I’d not agree that Denmark isn’t a popular destination amongst holidaymakers - I would agree with Germany though, it seems that the major city tend to be the major tourist attractions, especially Berlin.

After reading this article I was tempted to book a flight to Bergamo or Lubeck, with Ryanair, but that lot have annoyed me, so they can sing for my money on a flight.

Karen Bryan | 13 January, 2007 at 9:35 pm

My original destination when flying to Lubeck was Denmark. We were going to hire a car and drive north into Denmark. I was also curious to visit the former East Germany. However self catering accommodation in Germany was much cheaper than in Denmark so we decided stayed in Germany.

i agree that Germany does not exactly trip of the tongue when you mention European holiday destinations. i’ve been to Germany twice now, the other occasion was a fam trip to Rheinland Pflaz. I It depends what are looking for from a holiday but I found both trips very interesting.

Darren don’t let dislike of Ryanair put you off visiting Bergamo and Lubeck. If you fly midweek off peak they will only make 2p from you for the return flight!

garri | 13 January, 2007 at 10:20 pm

Why has Ryanair annoyed you so much that you would deny yourself a traveling opportunity? If everyone took that view the holiday rentals scene would collapse.

Like I said, Denmark IS popular on our blog - we need more places in Denmark to showcase!

Darren Cronian | 13 January, 2007 at 10:32 pm

Hmm I’m not quite sure why my opinion on Ryanair has to do with the holiday rental scene. I’m a blogger, and you can read my opinions on today’s blog post about my feelings.

garri | 13 January, 2007 at 10:58 pm

Yep, just read them! My point is, apart from being a blogger you are also the owner of a holiday rentals site ;-)

Darren Cronian | 13 January, 2007 at 11:19 pm

Anyone know how far Lubeck is from Paderborn?

My brother lives there, and I haven’t been to Germany yet, so could make use of two trips [without booking with Ryanair of course hehe]

garri | 13 January, 2007 at 11:22 pm

Darren, why not walk to both places (Lubeck and Bergamo, though not on same day ;-) )

That way, you could raise money for charridy and gain some PR.

Darren Cronian | 13 January, 2007 at 11:25 pm

Wanna join me Garri haha

I had no idea where Lubeck was until Karen posted her article today. I had heard of Bergamo though!

garri | 14 January, 2007 at 1:25 am

You know what Darren? If I were a single dude… it would be a no brainer.

Seriously though, it would be a fantastic stunt that I’m sure would have the media all over you. As long as you carry a placard saying: Brown is a w@nkah!

;-)

Debbie | 15 January, 2007 at 2:16 am

Karen I loved your article, thank you so much.

It has opened up my eyes.

Karen Bryan | 15 January, 2007 at 10:56 am

Debbie glad you enojyed the article.

Pete | 15 January, 2007 at 2:32 pm

I enjoyed the article too Karen.

It gives us regular readers a rest from reading Darren’s Rants ;)

Karen Bryan | 15 January, 2007 at 3:58 pm

Pete, it’s great to get positive feedback. When you work away on your own at the computer it can be quite isolating and it’s almost impossible to be objective about what you produce.

Rohan | 17 January, 2007 at 6:45 pm

I enjoyed reading it too.

There’s probably loadsa places like this that we forget about.

Please post a comment