potential revellers just don‘t have the cash. we at The List consider it our patriotic duty as mUsic lovers to ensure that the best from the recent bloom of festivals don‘t go the same way. Why not combine the top travel trend with a service to Scottish culture. and book your week or fortnight's holiday around the 'I' in the Park. Wickerman or IlydroConnect weekend? (let in there early and grab a bed and breakfast in Inverary. Perth or Dundrennan. not only avoiding the seriously sticky campsite situation. but establishing yourself with a good base for exploring the local area. Staying locally also maximises your chances of sharing scrambled eggs with whichever indie chancers are headlining the smaller stages this year. You can also take advantage of the buses back to your town of choice from the festival site every night. but because you're not travelling back to Edinburgh or Glasgow at the same time as everyone else. your transport options will be cheaper and less prone to traffic jams/ rip off ‘festival special‘ rates run by bus companies.
Have no morals. can
stlll travel
While the liuro (and increasingly the US dollar) are rapidly gaining against the pound. meaning that holidays in the Iiurozone and shopping trips to the States are going to shoot out of most UK tourists' budgets. there are some currencies we can still beat up round the back of the bike sheds. The South African Rand and the Argentinian Peso. as well as the previously very costly Icelandic Krona (see feature. right). are all
suffering and anxious for a dose of
tourist pound.
Alternatively. and slightly less opportunistically. look for European countries outside the Eurozone — it‘s still possible to have budget breaks in Croatia. which has some of the most beautiful beaches outside the Mediterranean. or Lithuania. an alternative to the historical spires of the Czech Republic.
14 THE LIST 22 clan—5 Feb 2009
Surf's Up
As part two of our budget travel special, Peter Geoghegan jumps on board travel's latest trend, couchsurfing
hat if I said you could
travel anywhere in the
world and not pay for accommodation: that you could leave your Lonely Planet at home and be given a personalised itinerary of everything to see and do‘.’ Sounds too good to be true. right‘.’ Well. no. actually. Provided you don't mind staying with strangers. CouchSurfing could be
your ticket to a cheap and completely unique holiday expenence.
Website www.couchsurfing.com was set up four years ago. as a not— for-profit social networking site that aims to connect (usually single) travellers to people with a spare bed
— or couch — for a couple of
nights. However. underpinning the system is a philosophy reaching well beyond free accommodation. ‘Surfers‘ can bring their host gifts. cook dinner or offer to help around the house in return for a bed and expert local knowledge. but the most valuable reward most users seem to get from the site is the exchange of ideas and cultures. and the creation of international friendships.
Creating a profile on the site is
IT COULD BE YOUR TICKET
TO A TOTALLY UNIQUE HOLIDAY
quick and free. although some hosts prefer that a friend who‘s also a member vouches for you. so they
know they're not getting a psychopath. Having uploaded a friendly-Itmking photo. I pick a destination. Recent economic problems mean a week in Iceland seems suddenly affordable. Within hours of firing off 'can I surf your couch.” emails to Icelandic hosts. I have accommodation set tip the
a
whole way around the island and am readytishl to take a plunge into the unknown.
Rule ntnnber one. (‘ouchSurling hosts are probably the most laidback people you vv ill ever meet. and they understand how unreliable planes. trains and automobiles can be. So when delays in (ilasgovv affect my flight and I arrive at my Rey kiavik host Sigrnn‘s house at live in the morning. she doesn't bat all eyelid. \IIL‘ jtlsl lets Inc in. slums me her couch and shuffles back to Ik‘tl.
I learn rule number two in the time it takes my rucksack to touch the ground. If you place a high premium on privacy then (‘ouchSurfing is probably not for you. Sigrun‘s living room has no doors. and I have plenty of L'ttls l‘tll'
company. And four—legged friends may not be your only companions the
following night in .'\kureyri. Zillkm north of the capital. I share one rather cramped bedsit with my host. lilin. and two other ('oucliSurfers. 'I‘hat's when I learn rule number three: unexpected fellow (‘ouchSurfers can be a blessing in disguise. The Polish couple on the floor across from me in lilin‘s poky basement have a rental car and plan to spend the next day driving around .\lyvatn. the spectacular lunar landscape Used as a training ground by astronauts and ask if I fancy joining them.
Sitting in one of My v'atn‘s famous hot mud springs. getting to know my new (‘ouchSurfing friends . I realise this is about more than just a spare bed. It gives you an improved belief in human nature and the kindness of strangers and -—-~ probably most important of all in these cash strapped times , it shows that you can still see the world without it costing the earth.