Travel
ROOM AT THE INN? The best time to hit St Petersburg
If you're planning to j()'ll iii St Petersburg's 300th anniversary celebrations. you n‘ight as wel= rule out a trip at the end of May. The city has iiiyited the world's heads of state and block booked all the rooms in the iiiaior hotels between 27 May and 1 June. The; reckon private lets WI” be landing at the airport every 15 iiiiiiutes.
But there are better illl‘OS to Vis‘it according to the staff in three of the grander hotels ‘.‘.’ll(}"() I stayed: the Nevskij Palace. the Radisson SAS Icentrally placed next door to each other On Nevsky Prospecti and the Astoria (fer true luxury. oar-"’ooking the stunning St Isaac's Cathetirall. Even if you can find a place to stay. it my said. parking WI“ be suspei‘ue’i’ and roads blocked at the {ITOI’CSi s:.;igic-st'oi‘- of a presidential (IE1VEtI(IEi(I-f), ii‘aking things a\.'~./k\.'./ard for anyone taint; to make their way about.
Insteazi. the city is pushing a 'white nights progra'v‘r“e to f?’l‘l)ilEiESlSC — quite I'lgiliQ," the fair",ta'e beauty of a (:in decorated f;ll()‘.'.’. It's a contrast to the 'Whtte nights 'I the Iast ten days of June WI‘OI‘. :iarkness never quite falls. In Winter there are ‘ewer tourists and none of Survivor's hui“i<iity A toui‘~'iiglit Winter package at the Nevskit Palace including breakfast. dinner and theatre tickets costs around $1305 for two iplus airfare).
At the opposite (,‘l‘d of the scale. Findhorn Eco Travels owns a basic
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Cheap Airfares for Students & Backpackers
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Astoria
but clean and wel located flat. which can fit up to fetir peeple. Prices range from it 65 for two people for a week.
For the celebrations themselves. keep up to (late at i."./w\.'./.300.Spbru culture index enhtni ilvtark Fisheri I Nevsky Pa/gice. OO 7 8 72 380 200 I; Rat/isson 8A8. 00 7 322 5000; Astoria. ()0 7 8 72 3 73 5 75 7: and Find/Torn Eco Trave/s. O I 309 69099.
Excess Baggage
Festivals, flights and (€991.99. _’€(€§_--_-. -_-..____--
I NEW YEAR, NEW CITY STA Travel has teamed up with Rough GUides and the result is this handily sized booklet naming the best city breaks on offer. Whether you fancy joming the cycling masses in canal- lined Amsterdam or viSiting the beautiful beaches and buildings of Barcelona. STA's Rough Guide to City Breaks has it covered. With flights. aCCOmmodation and top tips. Return flights and two nights accommodation start for as little as $383 rtn. Click on wwwstatravelcouk or call on 0870 160 6070.
I TRAIL YOUR WAY INTO 2003 with Trailfinders’ Tailormade Worldwide Brochure 2003/2004. This year’s brochure is bigger and better than ever, offering a carefully selected range of hotels, tours, cruises, rail travel, and car and motorhome hire in Australasia, the Far East, the Pacific Islands, Africa, South America and the Middle East. For flight reservation and your own package deals
call Trailfinders on 0207 938 3939.
I CLOSER TO HOME, THOSE kindly folks at GNER are cutting the cost of travel for hundreds of thousands of passengers travelling between Scotland. the north east of England. Yorkshire and London. Standard class fares start as low as E12 return for journeys between Edinburgh/ Glasgow and Newcastle. Tickets between Edinburgh/Glasgow to London Kings Cross are good to go from as little as 225 return. Although there are plenty of tickets going begging, they are available on a first-come. first-served basis. So go get organised. folks.
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Amsterdam £23
one-way
Paris £45 Ski Austria £255
INCLUDES rtn flights & 7nts accom
London £35 Round The World £919
Edinburgh or Glasgow ° London ° Phuket
£66 Singapore ° Brisbane° make your own way Sydney °Auckland ° Fiji ° Raratonga
Los Angeles - make your own way - Las Vegas
London ° Edinburgh or Glasgow
Madrid
one-way
New York £278
3;: E Cairo £264 Multi Stop £38:3 g ' Edinburgh or Glasgow-Amsterdam Toronto £325 may”: A t d d b gh Cl 8 back the cost of your flight Vancouver £387 Kathmamu £401 w up to 21,000 with purchase g 6
of a VIP Backpackers Card
Buenos “'85 £473 and any flight to either
Hong Kong £389
- Australia New Zealand Ban kok £ Australia s: i g 409 596 or Round the World g Cape Town New Zealand £675 Before 31 March 2003 my; $.63:
08708. 900 898
www.5tUdentf'ith$.com
110 THE LIST ,a' "I, ‘ei: 29,51.