Patrick Kingsley and Guardian photographer Sean Smith travel to the popular gap year resort of Had Rin, on the island of Koh Phangan in Thailand, to meet backpackers attending the Full Moon Party
Ever wondered what students really get up to on their gap years? A report from the Full Moon Party in Thailand
Up and down the beach, young western men are unzipping their shorts and peeing into the Gulf of Thailand. Behind them, under the light of the full moon, thousands more shirtless, shoeless Europeans are massed outside 14 beachside bars, their knees bending awkwardly to a soundtrack of the Black Eyed Peas, Justin Bieber and generic drum’n'bass. And squeezed between the bars and the crowds are 35 wooden stalls, each selling plastic buckets filled with a litre’s worth of vodka and Red Bull. The stalls are daubed with deeply dubious slogans, ranging from the lurid to the the moronic. “No Bucket No Boom Boom”, “Fuck My Buckets”, “Everybody Fuck My Strong Buckets” – that kind of thing.
Welcome to the Full Moon Party, the largest beach rave in the world. Twenty-five years ago, this was a little-known hippy hang-out on the remote Thai island of Koh Phangan. Today, frequented every month by between 10,000 and 30,000 European youngsters, the all-night party is the ultimate destination on south-east Asia’s “banana pancake” trail; a mecca for footloose gap-year tourists. This party scene, right here on this beach, is arguably the epitome, the pinnacle, of the modern gap-year experience.
Three weeks ago, the chief executive of the universities and colleges admissions service (UCAS) declared to a Sunday newspaper that “the golden age of the gap year is over”. Mary Curnock Cook argued that while in the past “a gap year has been when young people take a nice break and go out and see the world”, the period should now “be used in a focused way to support an application to the course or university you are targeting”. In a year when the number of university applications – a record 660,000 – has dwarfed the number of university places available – 450,000 – Curnock Cook may have a point.
But this is a point that has yet to trickle down, in practical terms, to the nation’s school-leavers. In fact, the vast majority of gappers do not use their year-out in anything approaching a fashion that might – in the eyes of universities – be viewed as “constructive”. Every year around 160,000 British school-leavers take a gap year before entering university. More than 80% of them, says Richard Oliver, chairman of trustees at Year Out, “just go off and travel independently without any real purpose. Sun, sand and sangria, as I call it.” Indeed, the trend might even be away from the year of constructive good deeds that Curnock Cook might be thinking of – a trend towards increasingly mindless hedonism. Hans Hoefer is the founder of Insight travel books, and the man who co-ordinated one of the first guides to Thailand back in the 70s, when fewer tourists visited the entire country (150,000) than now visit Burma annually. These days “gappers” touring Koh Phangan and its surrounding islands are, says Hoefer, “not experiencing anything apart from tourism. It’s an absolute joke. They don’t want to understand the culture – they just want to binge. I don’t understand why they go.”
Attempting to understand why they go, however, why this is the modern gap-year experience, is exactly what brings me to the Full Moon Party, surrounded by scores of topless teenagers urinating into the ocean to the words of the Black Eyed Peas’ “I gotta feeling/That tonight’s gonna be a good night/That tonight’s gonna be a good, good night.” What exactly is the lure of this beach to teenagers who are, after all, meant to be Britain’s brightest? I’m here to find out.
When gappers touch down in Bangkok, their first port-of-call is almost always the backpackers’ ghetto on the Khao San Road. In The Beach, Alex Garland’s 1996 novel about a young man’s search for adventure in Thailand, Khao San is described as a decompression chamber between east and west. But when I arrive, it soon becomes clear that even this is a generous description; the Khao San Road actually doesn’t feel like it’s in Thailand at all. The street is crammed with bars showing premiership football; Britney Spears and Bob Dylan blare out of every speaker; hawkers selling European T-shirts jostle with those selling fake British ID cards. This April, 20 Thais were massacred in clashes between soldiers and anti-government redshirt protesters barely 100 metres from the Khao San Road. But it might as well have been 100 miles away: the Khao San’s tourist festivities were barely disrupted. And when Alex, a well-travelled graphic designer from west London who “took several gap years”, muses to me that “the Khao San just feels like home”, he’s spot on, though perhaps not in quite the way he intends: apart from the fat, bald westerners parading their suspiciously beautiful Thai girlfriends, the road could be a carbon copy of Camden High Street.
In years gone by, backpackers travelling onwards to the Full Moon Party might have briefly escaped this westernised gauntlet by taking the overnight train or bus down the coast to the ferry terminal of Surat Thani. Today, however, it’s almost as cheap to take the plane down – and so this is what photographer Sean Smith and I end up doing. A couple of cramped ferry journeys bring us finally to Koh Phangan, and it isn’t long before I’m talking to the cream of British gappers.
“You know what the worst thing about travelling is?” asks Londoner Jez, 19 years old, dressed in a vest, and approaching the end of his year out. He enlightens me: “TOURISTS.” It’s a slightly strange answer: we’re sitting on the side of a dirt track near the centre of Had Rin, the main tourist town on Koh Phangan, and venue for tomorrow’s Full Moon Party. Tourists are whizzing past every 30 seconds on mopeds belching out acrid fumes. Every second shop is an internet cafe packed with tourists checking Facebook. Every third shop is a travel agent’s filled with tourists plotting their next move. It’s an odd place to visit if you don’t like tourists. And particularly if you yourself are one.
But Jez – a warm, welcoming guy – doesn’t think of himself as a tourist: he’s a backpacker. “Most of the people here are backpackers,” he insists. “Backpackers are infinitely different to tourists. Backpackers will accept anyone. Whereas tourists are the kind of people who back home would end up in fights. But backpackers have no interest in fighting anyone, do they?”
Jez directs this question at Pete, an even friendlier backpacker whom he met a few months ago in Vietnam. Pete, earringed and also wearing a vest, is 23, British and on a different kind of gap year; he’s been given a year’s leave of absence from the army. For most of his time off, he has been working as a promoter for a bar in Vang Vieng, Laos, but he’s back in Had Rin for one last Full Moon Party.
Pete couldn’t agree more with Jez. “Yup,” he says. “Tourists are the people who spend their time fighting here. Tourists are people who go on holiday for two weeks.” He pauses, then adds: “So if you can, put in the Guardian, somehow, that this is not a place where you can go for two weeks. This is a place for backpackers. Tourists may pay more money, but they’re fucking idiots.”
Pete’s not sure I’ve got the message, so he leans in once more. “Where I work in Vang Vieng, I saw these two tourist girls with handbags, wearing skirts and dresses. But in Vang Vieng you should be wearing a bikini, and nothing else. So I said to them, ‘You girls are a fucking disgrace, get the fuck out of here.’ And my job is to get people into a bar! So I’ve ruined the chance of those people coming into my bar. But that’s how much backpackers hate tourists.”
In The Beach, Richard, the protagonist, is told that “Hat Rin’s [sic] a long way past its sell-by date. They sell printed flyers for the full-moon parties now.” And that was 14 years ago. But to Jez, even in 2010, the town is still sacred. “I just fucking love this place,” he says, “because it just sums up everything about youth. Ten thousand people condensed into one area where they can do every single thing they want to, without any regrets. Back home, you get really shit-faced and there are repercussions. Out here you can do what you want. It’s somewhere like Ibiza before it turned shit. It’s way cheaper, too.”
And, of course, there are the backpackers. “As most of the people here are backpackers,” Jez re-explains, “you’ll be walking along and you’ll see someone you know. And then you’ll see them again and again. All the people you’ve met while you’re travelling will be here. It’s just awesome.”
The drugs are also a big draw. These guys know exactly which pharmacies sell speed – and what to ask for when they’re at the counter. They know where to go to buy weed, and can name the three bars in town that list magic mushroom milkshakes on the menu.
Sounds fun, I say, but if everything here is all so western and familiar – and if they’re spending most of the week off their heads – are they really experiencing Thailand? Pete is brutally frank. “This isn’t a Thai experience,” he admits, instantly. “This is a party experience. Chiang Mai and Bangkok, you get a Thai experience. Koh Phangan is a party place.” Jez agrees, but is quick to emphasise that, for them, the “party experience” is a supplement to, and not a replacement of, the “Thai experience”.
“We’ve gone through the Thai experience,” Jez clarifies. “We’ve seen it, we’ve done it. So for us this is just a nice way to cap it off and celebrate what we’ve achieved, all that we’ve been through. A lot of people just see the Khao San Road and here – and they’re tourists. They’re not travellers. They’re not going to learn anything here about Thai culture. Whereas going to places like Chiang Mai, you just learn so much about their culture of respect, and the emphasis they place on those . . . those aspects.”
Jez and Pete are having a “shroom” session with some of their many backpacker friends that evening, and, true to their backpacker philosophy, they invite me along. And so, a few hours later, we rendezvous once more in a bar built high above Sunrise Beach (where, in 24 hours, the Full Moon Party will take place) – a bar nicknamed, for reasons which soon become apparent, Mushroom Mountain. Turnout is lower than expected; Jez and Pete are joined only by two second-year medical students from Nottingham – Hailey, who took a gap year, and Laura, who didn’t.
When I raise Curnock Cook’s comments, I get: “That is one of the stupidest things I’ve ever heard,” from Jez, who will start at Newcastle this autumn, studying philosophy. “Taking a gap year was probably the best decision I’ve ever made. It’s taught me more than 18 years in school ever did. I could write you an essay on Shakespeare or tell you the strengths and weaknesses of Immanuel Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason, but at the end of the day that means fuck all in the real world, unless you go out and experience it. And fair enough, Koh Phangan isn’t really the real world, but it’s still an experience.
“I met a guy three days ago who’d done five tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, and he was telling me that during a Full Moon Party in 2008, he’d had to pull two Swedish girls who’d washed up, dead, out of the sea. To meet people like that, to see the lives that people go through, to escape the private-school bubble that a lot of kids end up in, it really opens your eyes to stuff. Shows you how life isn’t just about getting good A-level results, getting a good degree and a good job.”
Hailey’s gap-year experiences were slightly different to Jez’s. She didn’t go travelling at all, she says, but spent the entire period working in a hospital in order to enhance her application to medical school; a perfect exemplar of the kind of gap year favoured by Curnock Cook. In many ways, though, she wishes she’d chosen a more relaxed path. “I don’t know if I should say this,” she starts, pauses, then continues: “I was in a verbally abusive relationship for three years, which meant I had no self-confidence. And I turned into a bit of a slut on my gap year because I was really messed up in the head. And then I went to uni, and I thought, ‘I don’t want to be either of those people I’ve been, I want to be someone else.’ So then I sort of had three personalities. But coming out here on my own, having to go over and talk to people, having to be nice, not an asshole . . . It’s been great. It teaches you how to socialise properly. It makes you so much more confident. Coming out here, travelling on your own . . .” She trails off, and then hurriedly starts again: “If I’d done the whole travelling on my own thing in my gap year, I would have been slightly less messed up at uni.”
I’d been warned that as Full Moon night grew messier, the beach’s toilets would be rammed full of lady-boys at work, their feet three-inches-deep in urine. Old hands predicted that when the sun rose the following morning, the sand would be carpeted with couples rolling around on a terrine of broken bottles, cups, buckets, straws, pills, lost flip-flops and unconscious drunks. This isn’t quite how it happens on this full moon though. Certainly, the music is crap, and there are sordid aspects – the bucket stalls; the odd party-goer collapsing to the floor; one man vomiting into the sea beside that long line of urinators. But, despite being sober and solo, I find the atmosphere surprisingly euphoric, and my overall memories are of smiling dancers whose moves became more liberated as the night rolled into morning.
One such happy chappy is Francesco, a 19-year-old gapper from Bournemouth whom I encounter near a giant fiery skipping rope. “Mate,” he says cheerily, “throw away that notebook, get a bucket, and just get TRASHED.” Francesco would probably be described by official backpackers as a tourist – not that Francesco himself would mind. “There’s different ways of travelling,” he says. “This is about getting smashed. Getting in the buckets of Chang” – a local beer – “and just going for it. Back home, you walk in a pub, you get ID’d. Out here, you just lose the plot.”
Working-class Francesco comes from the opposite end of the gap-year spectrum to most gappers I meet. “I had to work night and day to get here,” he says. “I went round all the hotels back home trying to get work. I ended up working seven days a week, in a call-centre by day, and a pub by night.” For him, then, the Full Moon is a once in a lifetime event, and it’s hard to begrudge him his utter elation at being here.
There is though one group who seem less enamoured with this event: the locals. Though the Full Moon might be the festival highlight of the year for most of the gappers, tourists and backpackers on the beach, for the Thais that run it – and clean up after it – the party must seem like a monotonous, monthly chore. As Charlie Cassidy, a tall, bald expat who has lived in Hat Rin for the past decade, explains, “The locals don’t actually go to the Full Moon. We go to the after-party up the hill the following morning. The Full Moon’s just for the kiddies.”
At four in the morning, I visit The Rock, a bar perched high above the sand at the opposite end of the beach to Mushroom Mountain. At the back, staring out over the partying crowds below, stands the long-haired Sutti Kuasurkul. Sutti’s the man who opened Had Rin’s first backpacker accommodation in the mid-80s – the Paradise Bungalows next door – and who, legend has it, organised the first Full Moon party shortly afterwards. But rather than smiling proudly at the institution he inspired, Sutti merely looks on forlornly, face motionless, eyes dulled. Would he mind answering a few questions about the origins of the party, I ask him? He shakes his head. Maybe tomorrow, or the next day, he says, before disappearing downstairs.
“Sutti doesn’t really like talking about the party,” explains Charlie. “For him, the Full Moon’s just some farewell party he held for an Aussie mate back in the 80s, which just happened to catch on.” Sutti, it seems, isn’t too enamoured with what the party’s become. “Sutti?” asks Charlie, rhetorically. “He’d rather be fishing.”
Fifty metres away, in the DJ’s booth at Paradise Bungalows, sits Burmese immigrant DJ Shine – or just plain Shane to his friends. Shane’s 25 and he’s lived in Had Rin since he was 16. This, then, is roughly his 50th Full Moon as a DJ, and his 100th overall. And Shane’s bored – bored with playing the same electro-house on the same broken CDJ to the same crowds. He speaks perfect English, complete with a cockney accent, but he’s never been to Britain, never visited the British friends he’s made during his time on the island. And so, as he plays mix after mix after mix, month after month after month, Shane stares out at the thousands of Europeans who will soon be flying home, and wishes he could one day go with them. “But,” he says, “I just can’t afford it.”
Up and down the beach, young western men are still unzipping their shorts and peeing into the Gulf of Thailand. Though I never took a gap year, never took the chance to either let my hair down like this, or do something more constructive, nothing that I’ve heard or seen here makes me want to join them.
Some names and details have been changed.
For more on travel gap years, go to
www.guardian.co.uk/travel/gap-year-travel
Thailand has been a popular destination among British tourists for many years, and is a favourite first stop on the itineraries of many gap year students. Continuing in this trend, it has been revealed that Westin Hotels are to open a resort and spa in Phuket, offering travellers the perfect, luxury retreat.
With destinations in Thailand such as Bangkok and Phuket continuing to be a central hub among tourists, the new Westin Siray Bay Resort and Spa Phuket will offer the perfect break for travellers wishing to experience Asian culture in luxurious surroundings. Overlooking Siray Bay, the resort is ideally located for those looking for a complete holiday package, or travellers simply passing through the area wanting to enjoy some of the regions many attractions. Offering 260 guest rooms, the Westin accommodation can also provide private houses and villas – a perfect respite for couples seeking a romantic getaway, or for groups of friends looking to explore the islands. With many of the guesthouses having the added attraction of private pools, rain showers and LCD television sets, holidays to this Thai location look set to become some of the most exotic breaks available in the region.
Easily accessible via Phuket Bridge, the resort lies within relatively close distance to the airport. With flights available from both Manchester and London Heathrow, UK holiday makers seeking a unique luxurious getaway may wish to consider taking advantage of this Thailand paradise.
Cheap Flights and Travel News – © 2010 – Just The Flight
This week, Lonely Planet’s Tom Hall on Bangkok away from the Khao San Road, a Greek Island get-away, an un-Christmassy escape and Spain’s Easter Week celebrations by train
Where’s the best area to stay in Bangkok? We’re only there for a couple of days and want a decent base in the city. I’ve heard that getting around can be a bit of a pain. We’re not budget travellers – within reason.
Clair Rogers
There’s no need to stay on the Khao San Road should you not wish to – especially if you can go into the mid-range or higher bracket. If time is short, then you’ll probably want to stay as centrally as you can. Ko Ratanakosin, the royal island in the heart of the city and Thonburi, located just over the river, offer some interesting places to stay that are close to the main historic sites. Chakrabongese Villas (thaivillas.com; private villas from £156) are private dwellings set in the riverside gardens of a historic mansion. Another riverside option is the Ibrik Resort (ibrikresort.com; doubles from £80), a white waterfront house over the river in Thonburi with just three rooms, which come with four-poster beds. You could lose yourself for two days in the historic temples and food markets of Ko Ratanakosin and traditional streets of Thonburi without having to do anything more strenuous than take a short river ferry journey.
Should you seek to venture further, you’ll find that the city’s public transport is not as bad as you’ve heard. Taxis are easy to find and cheap, though when travelling from Ko Ratanakosin to more modern areas of town the canal ferry will be faster and services are very frequent. The river ferries are also useful and cheap. Once around Siam Square, Silom and other newer parts of the city, Metro and Skytrain services make getting around easy. Tuk-tuks, though iconic, will involve a little bartering to get the fare right (40B or 80p for a short trip) and many find the reality of trundling through traffic in an open-sided vehicle is not the delightful experience it appears.
Three of us have a week off from 10 September. We thought about going to Santorini, but then we noticed Berlin festival is on the 10 and 11 September. Berlin is my favourite city, I’ve been five times and can sort out that part no bother. Where I could do with your help is … what happens next? We’d probably be staying in Berlin for three nights, so after party times would look to leave on 13 September to find some sunshine and beach for a few more days (back to work in London 20 September). Greece/Greek islands would be good, but we’re open to suggestions. How can we get a last-minute deal from Berlin back to London?
Katie Johnston
I can’t offer any alchemy here I’m afraid. These two trips won’t combine easily unless you make the arrangements yourself. Cheap last-minute deals are usually for packages involving a return flight. You won’t find any last-minute deal combined with a flight from Germany to Greece, then returning from Greece to the UK. A better bet is to look for accommodation-only deals in the Greek islands – lowcostholidays.com will give you an idea of what’s available now. Costs should not increase for accommodation-only deals in September between now and the time of departure. Not sure which island to choose? Ben Mallalieu has written a useful primer to the most popular spots.
You then need to check you can arrange two flights: from Berlin to the island of your choice and from there back to your closest UK base. Berlin Airports (berlin-airport.de) has a complete list of destinations from the German capital, and Wikipedia entries for regional airports retain lists of destinations which you should double-check. Then make use of Skyscanner and Cheap Flights.
Bah humbug. My boyfriend and I want to get away from (not for!) Christmas this year. Is there anywhere we can go to get away from all the commercialised and religious festivities? We’d like to go away for a week or two, to anywhere in the world that won’t cost the earth (we’re normally budget travellers). We like to go off the beaten track, so resort hotels are a no-no.
Lesley Middlemas, Edinburgh
It’s not easy to completely escape Christmas festivities, which are hard to avoid in most cities and towns around the world. However, you don’t have to go further than north Africa – Morocco perhaps – to find a place where 25 December is just another day. It’ll be a similar story throughout the Arabic-speaking world, especially when you get into more rural areas. Oman, easily accessible through the Emirates flight from Glasgow to Dubai and then a bus ride is another interesting option. Activity holidays tend to take you far away from the commercialised world so you may wish to consider taking a small group walking tour or other type of trip. Walks Worldwide (0845 301 4737; walksworldwide.com) have a 12-day Libyan Explorer trip leaving on 22 December visiting the Roman remains at Leptis Magna, the rock art at Jebel Acacus and the Ubari Lakes costing £1,395 including flights.
I am planning a trip to Andalusia next year and will be getting there – and getting around – by train. I would love to go to Seville and Cadiz for the Easter celebrations. Do the train services run during Easter week and will it be possible to find accommodation in Cadiz or Seville at that time? Also, what public transport is available to get from Cadiz to Caños de Meca?
JenoWl1
Trains services will run during Easter week, though services will be reduced to something akin to a Sunday service on public holiday dates. Easter is late next year - 24 April is Easter Sunday. Spanish trains usually have a booking horizon of 60 days, so trains for Easter probably won’t be available to book until the end of February. You can book via Rail Europe (0844 848 4070, raileurope.co.uk) but note that booking is unnecessary on local services.
There will be a huge amount of pressure on accommodation in Seville, less so in Cadiz, but advance booking is still essential. Indeed, Cadiz’s celebrations make a good alternative to visiting Seville if you can’t find somewhere to stay. If city centre hotels are out of your price range – and many double their prices at this time of year – then you can investigate staying just outside the city, using hostels and homestays or camping. Andalucia.com has a wide range of accommodation options depending on your preference. There are daily buses from Cadiz to the lovely beach at Caños de Meca the timetable is available at http://bit.ly/aypWig
This week Lonely Planet’s Tom Hall covers measures against malaria, festive flights down under and getting from Dubrovnik to Verona
I’m going on holiday to Goa with a friend in September, but since seeing the news about Cheryl Cole contracting malaria I’m worried that we will be at risk. Is India a high risk area and what can we do to prevent getting malaria?
Carly Elia, by email
I’ve just visited all sorts of websites I don’t normally frequent trying to find out whether Cheryl Cole was taking anti-malarial pills and other preventatives, but while my life is now richer for knowing who Derek Hough is, the answer is inconclusive. While no treatment is 100% effective, you can dramatically reduce the risk of contracting malaria by taking the course of tablets for where you’re going, and reduce it even further by liberally using mosquito repellent and covering your arms and legs with loose, light clothing. The useful Malaria Hotspots website suggests that the risk of contracting malaria in Goa is variable and anti-malarials are usually advised. Not everyone does though, and you will find different opinions if you look around the web. It always seems odd to me, however, that given what a dismal and dangerous experience having malaria is so many people don’t take prophylactics. Speak to your doctor and get what you need. Useful for general travel health advice is the website fitfortravel.scot.nhs.uk.
I have recently decided to go to Australia over New Year. I was wondering if it’s best to book flights out there now or leave it to the last minute? Would there be a big price difference the later I leave it?
Alice Laura Jenkins, by email
If you’re travelling anywhere between early December and early January you should book early. There are no late deals available for this, the busiest of times to travel. When it comes to Australia, demand for economy fares is high and you may find that choice is already restricted.
Ben Briggs of Austravel says: “It’s not a case of how much flights will be if customers wait until the last minute to book, it’s a case of whether there will be any seats left. Currently, December is Austravel’s most requested departure month and customers are realising that the most popular dates around 9 December have already sold out. It is around this date that airfares also tend to rise significantly. What’s more, there is also very little availability to return before 12 January.” The fact that January is summer holiday time in Australia adds to the congestion.
Austravel also notes that if customers are flexible with their travel dates, good-value fares are still available. Malaysia Airlines has an offer flying to Sydney from £899 departing 2 December and returning 13 January. For dates nearer to Christmas, Thai Airways has availability departing 15 December and returning 5 January from £1,499. Briggs also suggests that “if you are happy to stop over en route for a couple of days more options become available”.
We will be in Dubrovnik next May. I’ve been trying to figure out the best way to get from Dubrovnik to Verona in Italy. I thought about a boat from Split to Ancona and then the train, but that means about two hours from Dubrovnik to Split, 4 1/2 hours on the ferry (if there is a fast boat at that time of year) and then four or more hours on the train to Verona. Of course that doesn’t include time to make the connections. What about a flight from Dubrovnik to Venice or Bologna and then the train? Which airlines do those routes? How much do you think it might cost?
David Chudnovsky, by email
Ironically, the cheapest route I have found involves flying back to the UK from Dubrovnik with British Airways, changing planes at Gatwick and catching another flight to Verona – both legs are currently on offer in May for around £160 in total and the whole journey takes 10 hours. But I’m assuming this isn’t what you had in mind.
Dubrovnik’s transport links reflect the fact that Croatia’s Dalmatian coast is a holiday destination rather than a national capital or business and travel hub. Therefore fast ferries are seasonal – last year the SNAV-operated Split to Ancona fast boats ran from early June to early September – and most flights go to and from northern European destinations.
If you want to get somewhere out of the main season then the journey is complicated. Slower ferries will be your main no-fly option unless you wanted to do the whole route by bus. There is a bit of land travel involved whichever route you take, either heading direct from Dubrovnik to Bari or first heading north and going from Split to Ancona. Both these services are run by Jadrolinija and fares depend on which class and route you opt for.
The only faster option is taking two flights to Verona, requiring travel via Rome and costing at least £250 with Croatia Airlines and Alitalia. It would be cheaper to travel to Milan or Bergamo instead of Verona, via Rome, Zagreb or both, but you then need to travel onward to Verona by rail.
I’ve been invited to visit a mate who lives in Singapore and to watch the Grand Prix while I’m there in September. I’d like to combine my trip with a few weeks of sunshine and had planned to head up to Thailand for 10 days or so with my girlfriend but from the various forums I’ve read, it looks like it might be a bit wet.
Should we risk it? If so, where should we go for a bit of peace and quiet, maybe a bit of pampering. Looking at a budget of £100 a night between the two of us. Also, what’s the latest situation in Thailand in terms of the protests?
Simon Towndrow, by email
There’s a remarkably detailed and helpful post on Lonely Planet’s Thorn Tree about wet-season travel to Thailand, which is well worth a read. The usual advice on this – that it rains most days but is sunny in between downpours – is essentially true, but it’s important to note that there’s no guarantee that this will be the case. At the end of September it is drier on the southern Gulf islands, such as Koh Samui, than it is on the Andaman Coast, which bears the brunt of the southwest monsoon. While there shouldn’t be enough rain to ruin your trip, you will find that some smaller or more remote resorts are closed. You may wish to play it safe by heading somewhere you’re not dependent on getting to by boat, but many travellers also suggest the only precaution you need take is packing an umbrella.
If you do choose to head for a flight-only option, you can fly direct with Bangkok Airways from Singapore to Koh Samui (returns from £170; bangkokair.com) and either settle in here or divide your time between this island and neighbouring Koh Pha-Ngan. Both have a real mix of accommodation available, from cheap and cheerful shacks to blow-out resorts, with lots of reasonably priced and fashionable options available. I-escape has a good selection of places to stay on these islands. One stand-out is the Muang Kulaypan resort on Koh Samui (kulaypan.com), a design hotel whose rates drop to £85 per night in the wet season.
It’s business as usual for many in Thailand after the protests in May and June – even though the state of emergency has been extended. For the latest FCO advice, visit fco.gov.uk
Four Britons were injured when two speedboats collided as they made their way to the monthly ‘full moon’ party on the Thai island of Koh Phangan.
Left it till the last minute again? Don’t worry, we’ve got loads of great family holidays for you, from trekking in the Himalayas to slobbing by the pool in a Greek villa – some at reduced prices
One-parent families looking for a trip full of exploration and outdoor adventure with similar families should consider a Holidays for Single Parents gulet cruise with a “house party atmosphere”. In groups of up to 12, you sail from the port of Fethiye past small fishing villages and beautiful stretches of sand, stopping for sea kayaking, swimming and snorkelling sessions, and to play games on the beach. In the evenings parents can enjoy drinks on deck while the kids watch DVDs below.
• Seven-night holidays, departing on 26 July and 23 August now have £100 off per person and cost from £795 per adult and £595 per child, including flights from Gatwick, full-board in a cabin sleeping one adult and one child aged six-15 – there are other cabin options available. 0871 200 2228, holidaysforsingleparents.com
KE Adventures arranges serious treks to some of the world’s highest mountains, but it has also turned its hand to less strenuous family breaks. This summer there’s a guided group adventure through some of Morocco’s highlights, for anyone aged six and over. After a few days combing Marrakech’s maze-like medina for treasures to take home, you head into the High Atlas mountains near Oukaimeden to go trekking with Berbers for three days, staying in a village gite where you’ll take long lunches under the walnut trees. Then it’s off to the beach at Essaouira for camel rides and swimming.
• A 10-day all-inclusive trip costs £495pp, excluding flights, from 23 July. 017687 73966, keadventure.com
The beautiful Rincon mountains are incentive enough to book a trip to Arizona, but then the Tanque Verde Ranch in the foothills also has classes in cowboy horsemanship, tennis, hiking, mountain biking, followed by tales around the campfire, rodeos, line dancing lessons and even a honkytonk disco. Kids with strong nerves might like to make friends with the nature centre’s snakes and spiders.
• Seven nights cost from £1,649 per adult (£577 off) and £699 per child aged up to 12, including return flights from Heathrow and full-board, departing 6 July, or £1,549 and £599 departing 24 August. 0871 664 0273, not available online
Belize is a great option for a first family adventure in Latin America; tropical, beautiful, but English-speaking, safe and good fun. If your children want a bit of independence and the chance to hang out with other children rather than mum and dad, the Chaa Creek Eco summer camp, at Macal River Jungle Camp, in the Cayo area, could be just the thing. The kids sleep in their own cabins on stilts close to the river, which are lit by oil lamps, while parents stay at the more upmarket cottages, with verandas and electricity. By day everyone can go horseriding, hiking to Mayan ruins, canoeing, birdwatching or walking together.
• Seven days from £791 per child and £1,171 per adult, excluding international flights, 18-24 July. 020-8747 8315, journeylatinamerica.co.uk
Imagine your children’s faces when you announce, “forget CenterParcs kids, this year we’re off to the Himalayas!” A family holiday among some of the most stupendous landscapes you’ll ever lay eyes on will be a life-changing experience. Starting in Kathmandu, this two-week family adventure tour with Nepal Uncovered takes in a camping trek into the Annapurna foothills, cycling to sacred caves, whitewater rafting, hill village and school visits, and a safari in the Chitwan national park, where you will get to help out at elephant bathtime. The trips are suitable for anyone aged over six, and can be done with a small group, or independently, for which there’s a £50pp supplement.
• Departures 25 July and 15 August, £845pp, excluding flights – £90 off per child aged six-11. 0845 130 4849, nepal-uncovered.com
The stunning Soca valley is the ideal spot for skiers in winter, and watery thrills in summer. Its turquoise water is beautiful to behold . . . but don’t just stand and stare, that’s boring, instead jump in and try kayaking, canyoning, whitewater rafting on a mixed activity holiday for families that also includes guided walks, mountain biking and half-board hotel accommodation.
• £699pp (10% discount for children under 14 – to take part children must be eight or over) for departures 7, 14 and 21 August, excluding flights. 01926 330223, vamostravel.com
Known for its unique take on relaxation and yoga holidays (such as the F**k It! retreat), The Hill That Breathes near Urbino combines wellbeing classes in a clear, geodesic dome in a gorgeous forest setting with proper Italian food (including pizza and ice-cream of course). Kids take separate yoga classes, play in the woods, swing in the hammocks, swim in the pool and bounce on the trampoline; adults can get stuck into the wine and the serious business of doing nothing.
• Seven nights from 12 or 19 August costs €845pp (30% off for ages four-11, 20% off aged 12-16), including transfers, accommodation, meals, yoga and activities – but not flights. thehillthatbreathes.com
The Ardeche has one of the most beautiful national parks in France; canoeing along the river gorges is one of the south of France’s best experiences. When youngsters’ arms tire of paddling, they can set their legs to work hiking or mountain biking in the green valleys and vineyards, surrounding the Hotel Les Cedres, the base for this multi-activity trip with Headwater. The hotel also has private river access for swimming, plus basketball and table tennis.
• Eight days from £529 per adult, £349 per child (£539 for 24 July) including flights from Gatwick to Marseille, half-board, and activities. Departures all summer. 01606 720 199, headwater.com
Mayrhofen in Austria is a fantastic ski resort in winter, with charming wooden buildings, mountain cafes and spas. But in the summer there’s no shortage of thrills either, whether you want to try mountain biking on proper mountains, rafting, tackling a via ferrata or even warm-weather skiing – on a glacier. Alpine Elements’ activity holiday includes transfers, bike hire, maps and activities, plus accommodation at the Hotel Brucke which has a wellness centre with sauna and steam room for those aching limbs after all the action.
• There’s £195 off per person, meaning a week costs £458pp for 17 July departures, including flights from Gatwick to Munich. 0844 770 4070, alpineelements.co.uk
This summer, the Alps resort of Morzine, in the Portes du Soleil area, is offering families multi-activity passes for the area’s 12 villages for just €1 per day. Passes give entry to ice skating rinks, tennis, swimming pools and museums. One family chalet, run by Chilly Powder, which has a sauna, mezzanine library, pool table, playroom with widescreen TV and a PlayStation, plus a Cordon Bleu-trained chef, is offering a two-week trip for a 10-night price.
• Price for two adults, two children, half-board sharing a family room is £1,928 for 14 nights, not including flights. 020 7289 6958, chillypowder.com; activity pass at morzine.com/multipass/index_en.html
White sands, fantastic food, boat trips and sea kayaking among limestone islands . . . Thailand’s Phang Nga Bay has lots for active families and those wanting some chill-out time. Phuket is well developed with lots of family-friendly activities, restaurants and attractions, but you can still escape to deserted beaches and hike in tropical forests. Near Karon beach, the Centara Karon Resort has three pools, tennis courts and a kids’ club.
• A week departing 22 August costs £725pp (or £370 per child sharing one adult room), or £2,190 for a family of four, including B&B, transfers and flights to Phuket from Gatwick. 0871 664 0246, hayesandjarvis.com
It sounds a bit like a 60s psychology experiment, but at the Rex Resorts, your child’s playtime is taken so seriously, they have enlisted the advice of a child psychologist, Dr Richard Woolfson, to design a “play diet”. Dr Woolfson reckons he’s come up with the perfect balanced programme of activities (rather than just a room full of plastic things with wheels) to combine physical fun, imaginative and creative pursuits and ones where they will learn and discover something new, much of it linked to the island’s history with tales of pirates and treasure. If all that sounds a tad contrived, you can just hit the beach – the hotel is right by the white sands of Dickenson bay.
• Seven nights’ all-inclusive from £755pp based on two adults and two children travelling, for midweek departures between 18-25 August, including flights. The same deal costs £709pp between 9-16 October Travel City Direct. 0844 557 6965, travelcitydirect.com
Holing up in a villa by the sea in Greece is a classic family holiday that can be as lazy or as active as you like, whether you spend your days swimming, hiking and doing watersports, or simply slobbing around in the sun by the pool. CV Travel has a number of villa deals for families still available, including a stone villa above the sea on the Ionian island of Cephalonia for eight (handy for sun-seeking couples with sextuplets, single parents with septuplets or even two bog-standard families).
• The villa is available 17, 24 and 31 July, which now costs £735pp (a discount of £95pp) for a week, including flights and transfers. 020-7401 1026, cvtravel.co.uk
There are several beaches between the city of Tarragona and the delta of the river Ebro that offer activities for kids. Near a lovely sandy beach between Cambrils and Miami Playa on the Costa Dorada, the campsite Camping Els Prats (cue lots of name-calling) has a pool, kids’ playground, basketball court, plus scuba diving, sailing and windsurfing available from the beach. Other things to see nearby include the city of Reus, the harbour of Cambril, the countryside upriver from the coast or the giant Port Aventura theme park.
• A seven-night stay between 17 July and 14 August for up to six in a fully equipped tent now costs £458, excluding ferry or flights (a discount of £281) through Vacansoleil. 0333 700 5050, vacansoleil.co.uk
Set on seven miles of white sand, the Parque das Dunas Hotel on the island of Boa Vista, renowned for its beaches and turtles, is a barefoot chic complex of apartments and bungalows clad in tropical flowers, surrounded by palms and set around a huge pool. The sea is warm and windsurfing or kitesurfing classes for youngsters can be booked on the beach. Alternatively, take a spin in a dune buggy.
• A week costs from £914 per adult, £844 per child (aged two-11) in August, including B&B, Gatwick flights and transfers with the Cape Verde Experience. 0845 330 2071
Offering your skills and time is a great way to see new places. Here are 10 voluntourist trips that really help put something back…
It’s not cheap, but it is probably the ultimate experience for a scuba-diving enthusiast. This is a rare opportunity to be part of a scientific research team, diving the reef as you collect data on coral and fish, and taking part in vital surveys of whale sharks, turtle, octopus and lobster species. Be prepared to spend the first fortnight in intensive teaching sessions.
Price From £1,745 for five weeks excluding flights; departures on 2 Jul, 6 Aug, 1 Oct, 5 Nov
Book it responsibletravel.com/Trip/Trip101021.htm
If you can handle a hammer, you can make a practical difference to the lives of streetchildren in Peru. The Vine Trust’s working parties offer basic manual labour to help build and maintain centres for abandoned boys and girls, in a country where thousands of children are purposefully “lost” by parents who can no longer afford to care for them. Your two-week visit will take in the capital, Lima, and one of the charity’s more remotely located centres – which likely means a jungle expedition. And you can opt to stay on to visit Macchu Picchu and the Inca Trail.
Price £900 for two weeks excluding flights; £300 goes to building materials
Book it vinetrust.org/workparties
Sailing a 55ft ship isn’t something many people can claim to do – and that’s the point of the Jubilee Sailing Trust’s holidays. It operates a buddy system which pairs able-bodied and physically disabled crew members in an environment so challenging and unknown that no one has an advantage. Involved in every part of running the ship, from helming to scrubbing the decks, you can take a day trip to Jersey, a week-long sail along the coast, or a longer expedition in the Mediterranean or the Caribbean.
Price From £135 for a daysail to £1,350 for a month-long passage to Antigua
Book it jst.org.uk
The rural village of Mapoch, 40km outside Pretoria, was hit hard during the apartheid years: villagers were forced from their land to an area with no infrastructure and little employment. People and Places UK, which was named “best volunteering organisation” in the Responsible Tourism Awards 2009, has worked with the Mapoch’s Ndebele community to set up various businesses, amenities and education projects. Whether your skills are practical (construction, crafts, catering) or more cerebral (IT, teaching, business and marketing), they can find a way for you to benefit the village.
Price From £1,295 for four weeks, excluding flights
Book it responsibletravel.com/Trip/Trip900591.htm
Visitors are more than welcome – they’re positively encouraged at this small orphanage in rural Cambodia. Caring for around 50 children of all ages, the orphanage feels like a large family home but also offers a range of educational and vocational opportunities, including a workshop, beauty salon and an arts and crafts centre. Volunteers help to widen the children’s horizons even further with new skills and languages. Accommodation is at a large house in the centre of the town; Phnom Penh is an hour and a half away, and there are plenty of opportunities for sightseeing.
Price From £399 for two weeks excluding flights
Book it thepodsite.co.uk/projects-destinations/cambodia-orphanage.html
Whether it’s building hiking trails in Iceland’s National Parks or coppicing on the banks of the Kennet, BTCV (the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers) runs holidays that offer a unique chance to get back to nature. There are more than 200 holidays a year on offer; accommodation can range from a humble tent to a luxury cottage, depending on your preference and budget, and food is included. You’ll need to arrange your own travel – and expect to cook your own meals.
Price Current deals include £180 (for seven nights) protecting butterfly habitats in Dartmoor; £570 (10 nights) cultivating orchards in Romania.
Book it btcv.org
Infected by World Cup fever? Responsible Travel’s football break in Brazil offers you the chance to play the beautiful game in the most obsessed nation on earth. In one of the poorest areas of Rio you’ll help at a club specially created for children who would otherwise be on the streets: no coaching qualifications necessary, just an enthusiasm for the game that matches theirs. And it’s not just footy – other projects cover a wide range of sports from athletics to volleyball and dance to martial arts.
Price From £795 for 14 days excluding flights
Book it responsibletravel.com/Trip/Trip902407.htm
For variety and value, few organisations can match the National Trust’s working holidays, where you help to protect some of Britain’s most beautiful countryside and historic houses. For £90 for a week, staying in hostel-style accommodation, the Trust offers hundreds of different activities, from goat-herding and dry stone walling to archaeology and children’s work; some also provide the opportunity for outdoor pursuits like surfing and sailing. New projects this year include tending the medieval knot garden at Norbury in Derbyshire and helping to run a food fair at the romantic Godolphin estate in Cornwall (pictured, above left).
Price From £55 for a weekend
Book it nationaltrust.org.uk/workingholidays
You don’t have to join the circus to work with elephants. At a wildlife rescue centre in Tha Yang, Thailand, volunteers work alongside professional “mahouts” (keepers) to walk, water, feed and bathe the animals. The six domesticated elephants here have been rescued from the city streets where they were used for begging; with up to 10 others, you can spend a week or three getting to know these magnificent creatures. It’s not all clearing dung: Bangkok is two and a half hours away, and there are tropical beaches close by.
Price From £425 for one week, excluding flights
Book it thepodsite.co.uk/projects-destinations/elephant-care.html
Blind filmmaker Amar Latif came up with Traveleyes’ unique tours, in which blind and sighted travellers holiday together in equal numbers. In return for a discounted holiday, you’ll use your eyes to share the experience with your companions, whether it’s Turkey’s Turquoise Coast, the golden beaches of California or Florence’s majestic Campanile. Traveleyes has won Latif several awards, and its customers – both sighted and blind – keep coming back.
Price From £499 for 8 days
Book it traveleyes-international.com
A round-up of the week’s travel news, including updates on Thailand and
Jamaica, and the latest on new flight routes.
This week Lonely Planet’s Tom Hall gives advice on travelling around Scandinavia by train, a group trip to Thailand, and the best deals to Las Vegas
We are heading for Thailand in December (everything permitting!). I’d like to fly Business Class. Which airline offers the best service from Manchester to Bangkok? Also, there could be 10 of us going – would you recommend booking the three-week holiday with a company or individually?
Peter Jackson, by email
Trailfinders (0845 050 5955 for group travel) business class consultants suggest Etihad Airways from Manchester to Abu Dhabi then on to Bangkok. They have a modern fleet with excellent service and a price of £1,869 per person including taxes. It’s a good idea to book sooner rather than later as December is peak season for Bangkok and the flights are already quite busy. You can sometimes negotiate special rates for groups of 10 or more on the same flight if everyone is travelling together on all legs of the journey. In some cases, particularly at busy times on popular routes, the rate is the same but you get some preferential treatment for providing passengers’ names and other details.
My husband and I are planning a trip to Scandinavia in July/August. I will be six months’ pregnant, so although I generally like a lot of walking, swimming and exploring, the pace of the trip may need to be a little bit gentler (but not too much).
I’ve read that there are some great train journeys in Norway in particular and we’re considering getting a rail pass for the journey. I don’t need to go to all four countries, but it would be nice to get a mix of a couple of the main cities (Copenhagen, definitely), but also get off the beaten track and enjoy some more remote, wild places. We will be flying from Dublin and thought it might be good to fly in and out of different major cities (using Ryanair and potentially Norwegian airlines). Any advice would be really welcome.
Emma Norton
Scandinavia would be an excellent choice, as it won’t be too hot and is, generally, scrupulously clean. Bear in mind though that anywhere in the area will be expensive during July and August. As it is peak season, you should expect big crowds at the more popular attractions and at hotels.
While a single-country Inter Rail (raileurope.co.uk) pass costs £236 for six days’ travel in a month-long period in Norway, for £359 you can have unlimited travel throughout the region. Do your sums though. The most economic option might be to fix your rail journeys and book them ahead. Trains don’t go everywhere, and in Norway you’ll find yourself paying extra for buses and ferries, even if discounts are available in some cases. If you have a three-base, 14-day trip you may be hard pressed to spend £359 on point-to-point tickets. A rail pass does, however, give you flexibility.
In terms of a route, you can fly into and out of Stockholm (Skavska) or Oslo (Rygge) from Dublin with Ryanair, and to and from Copenhagen with SAS. After a few days in Copenhagen, you can take a ferry to Oslo, and having an Inter Rail pass qualifies you for a 25% discount on this service. Oslo is an underrated city with some excellent museums and restaurants, and is also the starting point for the Oslo to Bergen railway, which can be combined with the superb Norway in a Nutshell travel package; with plenty more suggested itineraries and add-ons that are worth considering. If you take your time on this route there are opportunities for gentle walking and kayaking. Go towards the end of August for some respite from the crowds which flock to this route in summer, or break your journey with overnight stops. Most of the hordes don’t hang around in one place for too long.
From Bergen you could take a section of the Hurtigruten coastal steamer, take a bus to the art nouveau town of Alesund and explore Sunnmøre Alps and Geirangerfjord. Alternatively, head south to Stavanger for more dramatic scenery around Lysefjord and Hardangerfjord.
We were due to fly with Iceland Express from Birmingham on 13 June. They cancelled the flight two weeks ago and transferred us to Gatwick. Now they have cancelled that flight and offered us another slot, still from Gatwick but at 12:00hrs. I wonder if we will get another change of plan or if we will get there at all – any ideas?
Paul Deaville, by email
Iceland Express is juggling flights and routes in the wake of what has been a downturn in bookings to the country during the recent volcano eruption. Lower demand means lower supply. The Birmingham route no longer appears in Iceland Express’s booking engine, which means that the launch has been cancelled. In addition, the planned route from Gatwick to Akureyri in Iceland is also no longer available to book. The flight that you are now booked on is available to book online with Iceland Express, so at this stage it seems you’ll get there. As well as nine weekly flights from Gatwick there are also two from Stansted, the airline’s original UK hub. All of this, unsurprisingly, means that this is an excellent summer to visit Iceland, which is very much open for business.
I would like to know if last-minute bargain holidays still exist (if they ever did). I have two weeks’ holiday from 7 June and want to spend around seven days in Las Vegas. I can be flexible on departure times, to the point of being able to leave at a few hours’ notice, and hope that would allow me to pick up a bargain. I understand prices are expensive due to the World Series of Poker taking place in Vegas, but can you point me in the right direction of a good deal?
Phil Casey
During my last live Q&A, I said that last-minute deals aren’t what they used to be, and that’s broadly true. An airline is more likely to interpret a late-notice inquiry as proof of desperation rather than a chance to give away a seat that would otherwise be empty at a bargain price. Last-minute, rock-bottom holidays come on to the market when there’s too little demand for too many holidays. Over the past few years we’ve seen less of these as fewer holidays have been put on sale. This has left a load of hotel rooms unsold and resulted in very cheap deals available room-only in June and September.
That said, Las Vegas has a huge stock of hotel rooms which can be quieter midweek if there isn’t a big convention in town. The city is very well-connected to the rest of the US and taking an indirect flight can be a route to a better price. Going last-minute to Las Vegas may not, therefore be extortionate – flights leaving today (Wednesday 2 June) were available yesterday through Opodo for £510 with United via Chicago – but it’s not peanuts and no cheaper than booking as far as possible in advance.
Where you can do well is with hotels and buying a city-break package. As long as you’re not too fussy, you can pick up midweek rooms for less than £30. Lastminute.com offer nights throughout June at the Stratosphere Tower starting at a mere £19.13 including taxes. That’s a great price for a room, whether it would be your first choice or not. You can always try giving the hotel a call to see if they’ll beat that rate, too. Failing that, tie it in with a flight and you should be able to get a return flight and a week’s hotel for under £700.
• Post a question to Tom Hall below or email him at tomhalltravel@googlemail.com