European budget travel news

Travelodge £9 room sale

2009-06-18T10:37:00.002+01:00

Travelodge has another sale starting today (18 June 2009). Rooms are available at £9 at hotels all over the UK between 1st November 2009 - 31st January 2010. Rooms can accommodate up to a family of 4 so are extremely good value at the normal selling price. So if you intend visiting friends or family around Christmas and the New Year, then what are you waiting for, go to www.travelodge.co.uk now and grab a £9 room. Rooms at this rate are limited so be quick.

Ferry Fortnight - Norfolkline

2009-05-14T11:53:00.006+01:00

Norfokline is a very competitively priced ferry operator. Part of the Maersk Group the company operates the following routes:
Dover <> Dunkirk
Liverpool <> Dublin
Liverpool <> Belfast
Rosyth <> Zeebrugge
Their latest deals are:
5 day return Dover <> Dunkirk fare for £16 each way. (£32)
Liverpool <> Dublin from £75 €85 return
Liverpool <> Belfast from £99 return

DFDS Seaways Ferry Fortnight Offers

2009-05-11T10:45:00.006+01:00

DFDS Seaways is running a big campaign for the UK National Ferry Fortnight. They operate on the following European routes:

Newcastle (UK) - Amsterdam (Netherlands)
Harwich (UK) - Esbjerg (Denmark)
Copenhagen (Denmark)- Oslo (Norway)

Offers include:

Harwich - Amsterdam from £65 for car plus 2 passengers
Harwich - Esbjerg £142 (car goes free)

There are also offers for foot passengers including these two:

Newcastle - Amsterdam 2 night mini cruise from £69 for 2 people (includes en-suite cabin)
Harwich - Esbjerg 2 night mini cruise from £75 for 2 people (includes en-suite cabin)

For more details go to the DFDS Seaways web site at http://www.dfdsseaways.co.uk/offers/ferry_fortnight/exclusive_ferry_fortnight_reader_offers

Ferry Fortnight - P&O Ferries

2009-05-09T14:29:00.005+01:00

P&O Ferries have started Ferry Fortnight with a 5 Day sale. Day trips come in cheapest, at £19 for a Dover - Calais return for a car plus up to 9 occupants. Ideal for a family day trip to France. You could spend time at Calais, Boulogne, Dunkirk or even Lille. If you would like to linger then 2 day returns are on offer for £29 or 3 Day return tickets for £39.

In all, 50,000 tickets are available in the sale, which runs until 22:00 on Tuesday 12 May 09. Travel must be taken before 15 July 09.

Eurapart is dropping Air Travel

2009-05-07T21:05:00.003+01:00

Today, I have decided to stop covering air travel on the Eurapart site. Instead, I will look at sustainable ways of getting around Europe. Eurapart started as a site to cover European Apartment vacations. Then due to the large number of requests for information on budget hotels chains, a section was included, which went on to attract the bulk of the traffic to the site. It is to these roots that Eurapart will return but with the emphasis on sustainable and affordable travel.

Review of Snow Base Indoor Ski Slope

2009-04-28T21:47:00.003+01:00

I really enjoyed my day riding at Snow Base, near Terneuzen, in the Zeeland Region of the Netherlands. Only 30 minutes from Gent. The 10 day pass is excellent value so I may be back if I can find a way of getting there.

Travel competitions

2009-03-14T19:26:00.007Z

There are a number of travel competitions running at present. Why not enter some, they are free and who knows maybe you won't have to pay for your next break away.
P&O Cruises Win a 15 night cruise holiday
SHE Magazine (p172) Win a a weekend break in Carbis Bay 5 Star Apartment
MySwitzerland.com Win a week's holiday in Switzerland
UKHotel.com Win a 2 night stay at De Veres Venues Wokefield Park
Monarch Holidays Win a holiday in the Maldives
Gordonisimo Win a week's diving holiday on the paradise island of Lanzarote, in The Canary Islands!
Milkwood House, Swansea Win a free night

Good Luck!

Ski weekends defy the credit slide

2009-02-25T09:49:00.005Z

According to a press release from the budget airline easyJet, 16% more Winter Sports enthusiasts are flying off to the Alps for the weekend than last year. Overall passenger numbers out of the United Kingdom's airports are down on last year. However 2008 / 2009 has been on of the best years for snow for a very long time. Browsing through the Ski Travel Operators' late booking offers there appears to be plenty of spare capacity at the resorts. After Christmas and New Year the February Half Term Holidays are the busiest time at ski resorts and there is still some capacity. According to easyJet, many British families have not booked a Winter Holiday but instead are taking the opportunity to get a cheap flight and are taking ski weekends.

Swansea Cork Ferry

2009-02-24T17:51:00.005Z

In the first of my 2009 posts, I mentioned that the Swansea - Cork Ferry service had gone. Adrian from Bring Back the Swansea Cork Ferry Campaign contacted this blog to say that it was far from the end of the ferry service. The campaign has negotiated discounted port rates at Swansea and Cork, has an experienced ferry operator and a modern ship available at a reasonable price. They have 2 million of the 3 million euros required to start operating. They have been been holding public meetings and roadshows at at Kinsale and Cork. Today they are running 2 at Swansea. I hope everything goes well and they get the service going again.

Snow Train price cuts

2009-02-24T16:07:00.007Z

The Snow Train service has just announced significant price cuts on all of its March services with savings of up to £70!
Friday 27 February 2009 returning Saturday 7 March 2009 starts at £219 save £50
Friday 6 March 2009 returning Saturday 14 March 2009 starts at £199 save £70
Friday 13 March 2009 returning Saturday 21 March 2009 starts at £219 save £50
Friday 20 March 2009 returning Saturday 28 March 2009 starts at £219 save £50
You can book at Rail Europe.co.uk or by phone: 0844 848 4088
Departing on a Friday evening, the Snow Train experience involves a journey by Eurostar to Paris Gare du Nord, where you board the overnight snow train to the French Alps. Sleeping accommodation is in couchette compartments sleeping up to 6 passengers, and have seats that convert into bunk style flat beds for the night . Toilets and washrooms are located at the end of each compartment. If you like to party then there is an a bar and disco on the train. You arrive in the Alps at either Chambery, Albertville, Moutiers, Aime, Landry or Bourg St Maurice. The return journey is made on a Saturday evening, thus allowing nearly 8 days on the snow.

Full Eurostar service resumes

2009-02-24T11:39:00.003Z

Following the fire in the Channel Tunnel last September, Eurostar train services to Paris, Brussels and Lille are now back to normal as of 23 February 2009. The journey times from London – Paris 2h15, London – Brussels 1h51 and London – Lille 1h20 are once again the norm . The full timetable has also been restored, with up to 19 trains per day on the London – Paris route and up to 10 per day on the London – Brussels route.

LD Lines may take over Sea France

2009-02-23T16:58:00.006Z

Sea France the French ferry operator owned by the railway company SNCF may be taken over by LD Lines. LD Lines is a newcomer to Dover. It operated on longer cross channel routes until the demise of SpeedFerries last month. Sea France has already announced it will need to restructure in order to survive in the present climate. It announced that 650 jobs were under threat. A merged company would be a major cross Channel operator.
Christophe Santini of LD Lines said that at least 350 jobs would be saved if the takeover was successful. It has also pledged to continue to operate the ships under the French flag.
Sea France currently services the popular Dover - Calais route.

Back again!

2009-02-23T12:41:00.004Z

Hi,
Its been a long time. Over two years in fact. A lot has happened in that time. The world financial slowdown and credit crunch is affecting us whether we like it or not. In the UK it means that the pound buys less Euros and dollars than last year
Many travel companies have failed since I was blogging here last. These include XL Airlines's UK division, Sterling and Zoom.
On the ferry scene SpeedFerries ceased trading at the end of last month, but LD Lines have stepped in and taken over the Dover - Boulogne routes and even added a service from Dover to Dieppe. Superfast Ferries Rosyth - Zeebrugge service will now be operated by Norfolkline. Swansea Cork Ferries have gone altogether and so have the Newcastle - Norway ferry services.
The good news is that there are still some very cheap offers from the remaining ferry operators, hotel prices are actually falling and the budget and superbudget chains continue to expand.
John

Virgin Trains Christmas service and special offers

2006-12-12T14:21:00.000Z

Virgin Trains will not be running trains on Christmas Day (25 December 2006)and Boxing Day (26 December 2006). Engineering Works are being undertaken on these days.
In addition they are relaxing the rules for Saver tickets so that they will be available for purchase all day between Friday 22 December 2006 and Monday 1 January 2007.

Express by Holiday Inn £39 / 49 euro room offers

2006-11-29T22:32:00.000Z

The budget hotel arm of Holiday Inn have some tempting offers at present starting at £39 for a room including continental breakfast. Here are just a few of the deals available right now from Express by Holiday Inn:
Valencia from 49 euros (£33)
Düsseldorf from 49 euros (£33)
London from £39
Ipswich from £39
Lille from 59 euros (£40)
Cardiff from £55

Eurotunnel creditors vote for restructuring

2006-11-27T22:03:00.000Z

Eurotunnel has today achieved the first part of its restructuring plans. At a meeting with its creditors got a vote favour of a deal that will lead to 50% of the debt for the operation being dropped. The vote accounts for 72% of the Junior and Senior debt of the cross channel operator.
Eurotunnel is currently operating under the French Safeguard Procedure, similar to Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in the USA. There is still a long way to go to finalise a deal but we will keep you informed on here.

Cairngorm Ski resort to open this weekend

2006-11-24T21:51:00.000Z

The Cairngorm ski resort in Scotland plans to open this weekend (25 November / 26 November) if the weather permits. It plans to operate the funicular, the Ciste T-bar, and possibly the M1. Lifts will be open 09h30 -15h30 with the upper lifts closing at 15h00. It could be busy though as it will be the only Scottish resort open.
A ski pass will cost £16.50.

EasyHotel to open in Budapest

2006-11-13T20:51:00.000Z

The easyGroup headed by Stelios founder of easyJet is to open another easyHotel. This time the location will be Budapest in Hungary. It will follow three easyHotels in London and one in Basel, Switzerland and is planned to open in Spring 2007. Centrally located it will offer rooms starting at 29 euros a night. The hotel will have 57 rooms with en-suite facilities. The easyHotel brand has signed an agreement for 38 hotels in India, the Middle East and North Africa over the coming 5 years.

New Newcastle – Stavanger – Haugesund – Bergen service from DFDS

2006-11-10T23:43:00.000Z

DFDS will launch a new overnight service from Newcastle to Bergen via Stavanger and Haugesund tomorrow 11 November 2006. The voyage is a gateway to Norway’s spectacular fjords. The service will be served by a new ship the m.s. Princess of Norway. Connecting the ports twice a week on the low season and three times a week in high season.
Prices start at a low £28 per foot passenger and £130 for a car plus four people one way. They also have some excellent introductory offers on with a three night break to Bergen on offer for £50. The deal includes two nights onboard in a two berth cabin and a night in Bergen.

Ski offers from £149 from Opodo

2006-11-09T11:22:00.000Z

Opodo the travel company comprised of Europe’s leading airlines is offering some tempting deals on Winter sports breaks to Europe. They have 2 Star breaks in Italy, 3 Star breaks in Andorra and France starting at a low £149 per person.

New ski holiday site launched

2006-10-20T22:14:00.000+01:00

A team of Co-op Travel professionals with over 100 years combined skiing / travel experience have just have just launched new website - www.ski-direct.co.uk. The site contains a wealth of ski holiday information with helpful tips and hints as well as flight and hotel deals.

David Tonks a keen skier and one of the team behind the new site said: "We know, because we are skiers, that using general travel websites can be a frustrating experience when booking a ski holiday.

"On many holiday websites the ski resorts are in the same list as all other resorts, making it harder to find the information you want and there is a distinct lack of useful information about the natures of the slopes and resort facilities."

The site caters for all types of Winter resort fans from the adrenaline junkies to those just there for the apres ski parties.

David says: "Over the years working in the travel industry and going skiing, the team has seen many changes in the sorts of ski holidays customers prefer. For example, in the last ten years or so snowboarding has become hugely popular, especially among younger people."

People who have already booked their ski holiday can keep an eye on the weather where they are going by checking out the www.ski-direct.co.uk Snow Reports.

Ski-Direct is a member of the Co-operative Travel Trading Group.

Win a free night at a Golden Tulip Hotel

2006-07-15T11:52:00.000+01:00

Golden Tulip Hotels are giving away 500 free nights in their hotels in the Untied Kingdom and Ireland. To enter all you need to do is visit www.gtsummernights.co.uk and pick a room at one of the participating hotels. The competition rooms are available on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays up until 3 September 2006. If you are the first person to pick it then you win a free night there. Even if you are not successful you will be offered 10% off the room rates so it is well worth having a go.
The hotels in the offer are:
Dublin
Glasgow
Leeds/Castleford
Manchester
Newcastle Gateshead
Portsmouth
Rooms start at £44.50 at Leeds Castleford.

Travelodge £26 rooms

2006-06-17T14:31:00.001+01:00

Travelodge, the budget hotel chain still have some of their rooms for £26. The chain has hotels all over the United Kingdom and Ireland. To get rooms at £26 you will need to book at least 7 days in advance.

Latest Ferry prices

2006-06-14T22:23:00.000+01:00

Ferry prices are stll very good value. Information on how to book a crossing can be found on our ferry pages. Here are some of the deals that can be found at present:

P&O FERRIES
Dover-Calais: Return - Car+9 - from 70GBP
Please note, you are most likely to obtain the 70GBP fare on early morning and late evening sailings.

Hull-Rotterdam / Zeebrugge: Car+2 from 143GBP each way including standard ensuite cabin.

Portsmouth-Bilbao: Car+4 from just 361GBP each way including standard ensuite cabin.

SEAFRANCE
Dover-Calais: 5-day return - Car+5 - from 60GBP

NORFOLKLINE
Dover-Dunkirk: Mega deal standard return - Car+9 - from 38GBP

EUROTUNNEL
Folkestone-Calais: Return - Car+2 - from 98GBP
Please note that we charge an additional booking fee for Eurotunnel.

BRITTANY FERRIES
Portsmouth-Caen: 5-day return - Car+2 - from 150GBP
Valid for selected Monday-Thursday departures.

Portsmouth-Cherbourg: 5-day return - Car+2 - from 150GBP
Valid for selected Monday-Thursday departures.

Portsmouth-St Malo: 5-day return - Car+2 - from 150GBP
Valid for selected Monday-Thursday departures.
Friday night departures from the UK and cabin accommodation on all overnight crossings are excluded from this offer.

Poole-Cherbourg: 5-day return - Car+2 - from 150GBP
Valid for selected Monday-Thursday departures.

Plymouth-Roscoff: 5-day return - Car+2 - from 170GBP
Valid for selected Monday-Thursday departures.

Plymouth-Santander: 5-day return - Car+2 - from 570GBP
Selected departures, includes reclining seats.

STENA LINE
Stranraer-Belfast: Single - Car+driver - from 50GBP

Fishguard-Rosslare: Single - Car+driver - from 65GBP

Holyhead-Dublin: Single - Car+driver - from 70GBP

Holyhead-Dun Laoghaire: Single - Car+driver - from 70GBP

Harwich-Hook of Holland: Single - Car+driver - from 59GBP
All above prices are based on travelling out and back Monday - Thursday. Extra adult 15GBP single, extra child (4-15 years) 5GBP single, under 4 years FREE. Please note that we charge a booking fee for Stena Line.

IRISH FERRIES
Pembroke-Rosslare: One way fare - Car+driver - from 69GBP

Holyhead-Dublin: One way fare - Car+driver - from 79GBP

Holyhead-Dublin (Swift): One way fare - Car+driver - from 89GBP
All above prices are based on travelling out and back Monday – Thursday. Subject to availability. Book 14 days in advance, and by 22 June, for travel completed by 6 July.

P&O IRISH SEA FERRIES
Cairnryan-Larne: 5-day return – Car+2 adults / Children go FREE - from 134GBP

Troon-Larne: 5-day return – Car+2 adults / Children go FREE – from 164GBP

Liverpool-Dublin: 5-day return – Car+2 – from 169GBP

CONDOR FERRIES
Weymouth-St Malo: One way fare - Car+2 - from 144GBP

Win a year of French Apartment Holidays

2006-06-04T20:43:00.000+01:00

Pierre & Vacances, Europe's largest vacation apartment chain have a competition running at present. The prize is 5 weeks accommodation in an apartment at their Holiday Villages or Residences. The stay can be taken in a Pierre & Vacances, Maeva Residence, Latitudes Hotel, MGM or Pierre & Vacances City Residence in France.
Click here to enter competition.