Bus & coach travel in North America
June 18th, 2009 by Tim Uden
The Wall Street Journal have an article on their site about bus and coach travel in the United States.
It basically says that the standard of coach travel in the United States has improved a lot in recent years, although I would add that most of the improvements have been in the Northeast where there are shorter distances, more customers and more competition between bus and coach operators like Greyhound, Megabus and the various Chinatown bus operators.
Here’s the video from the Wall Street Journal article:
Free membership in Qantas Frequent Flyer programme
June 18th, 2009 by Tim Uden
Qantas normally charge a one-off AUD $82.50 fee for Australians who join their frequent flyer programme. However membership is free for a limited time if you have a Woolworths Everyday Rewards card (like an Aussie version of the Nectar card) .
The deal is that from June 22, Everyday Rewards cardholders can earn Qantas Frequent Flyer points when they shop at Safeway and Woolworths supermarkets in Australia (except in Tasmania). To coincide with the introduction of earning frequent flyer points when you buy your groceries, Everyday Rewards members can sign up online for a free Qantas frequent flyer membership through the Everyday Rewards website.
This is only really applicable to Australian residents, but there is no reason you couldn’t sign up for the programme if you’re travelling around Australia.
Qantas in part of the OneWorld alliance, which also includes American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, LAN, Japan Airlines, Malév and Royal Jordanian. This means that you can join any of the member airlines frequent flyer programmes to earn points on any other airlines. In other words, even without the Everyday Rewards promotion, you can simply choose a OneWorld airline that has a free-to-join frequent flyer programme.
I’ve known a few frequent Qantas flyers who had previously joined American Airlines Advantage programme, simply because it was a free alternative to Qantas’ overpriced programme. These people had never flown AA but just wanted to earn points on Qantas, BA and LAN. With the current promotion, these people are now signing up for the Qantas programme.
If you live in Australia, you will simply earn more points with Qantas’ own programme, likewise Brits will earn more points with British Airways and Americans will earn more points with American Airlines.
Although you can earn a lot of points with long haul flights, most points are earned from other things like rental cars, hotels and, now, the weekly grocery shop. This means that you will almost always earn more points if your frequent flyer programme is with a local airline that has more options for earning points without leaving the ground.
I’ve given up by American Airlines Advantage and Air New Zealand Airpoints programmes and now stick with my two local airline programmes: Qantas Frequent Flyer and Virgin Blue’s Velocity Rewards.
Some hostel managers need to grow up and treat their guests with respect?
June 12th, 2009 by Tim Uden
We recently had a review submitted to BUG complaining of petty and childish treatment by a hostel manager.
A guest booked the Lyons House Hostel in Niagara Falls (Ontario, Canada) through Hostelworld and after an enjoyable stay she posted this positive review on Hostelworld.
Afterwards, she recieved a rude email from Patrick, the manager of Lyons House, saying she wasn’t welcome at the hostel in the future because her rating wasn’t positive enough. Patrick’s rude and childish email said:
“Megan I am very disappointed by the scores you gave our hostel. The comments are nice and appreciated but the score is horrible. You’ve rated is a full 20 points lower than our average for the month of May. The ranking that you gave us is lower than the foulest puke smelling bed bug ridden hostels in Toronto and New York. Our guests have consistently rated us very highly and your score is completely off the mark in comparison. I would never suggest that a guest stay in a hostel rated as low as you have rated us. The character of a hostel has nothing to do with the outside of the hostel and everything to do with the quality of the experience inside it. We are consistently rated very high for character. What was wrong with security? You had your own apartment with a deadbolt as well as your locked room We live on site and have 24hour security staff, the front door is protected by a security system as well. I can only assume that you are comparing us to motels and hotels.
If you have an suggestions on how to improve our hostel I would be happy to hear them. But, please do not book with us again as your score has hurt our business and I cannot allow that. I suggest you try the other hostel in town or perhaps a cheap motel.
Regards Patrick”
What sort of wacky thoughts could posibly have been running through Patrick’s mind to conjure up such as rude and childish response to someone who wrote a positive review of his hostel? Could you possibly imagine what a fit of rage he may erupt into if he actually got a negative review?
Megan gave his hostel a score in the mid 70s. I don’t see anything wrong with that is the sort of score; translated into a star rating, anything in the 70s would be regarded as four stars. Working as a professional reviewer, I reserve a rating of four stars or higher for the truly outstanding. When I researched BUG’s travel guidebook to Britain & Ireland several years ago, I visited virtually every hostel in the land and assessed an objective star rating for each place. In total only three hostels in England acheived a score this high.
Hostelworld’s rating is on a scale of 0 to 100 and anything above 50% should be regarded as above average. Well it would be if so many people weren’t so free in giving out abnormally high scores (above 90%). When people give such high scores without objectively assessing the standard of the hostel, then it creates a sense of entitlement among hostels who think that they deserve a rating that is way beyond the standards of their establishment. Earlier this year I wrote a blog post commenting about how percentage ratings on review sites seem to be skewed much higher than five-star ratings. A professional reviewer for a print publication would reserve the four and five star ratings for the truly exceptional, yet on some review sites anything below this is considered abnormal. So, come on guys; be fair and objective when you write reviews and don’t worry about giving out one or two star (or 10-20%) ratings. This helps your fellow travellers as they can see what a place is really like, and those truly outstanding hostels that earn a high rating get the credit that they deserve by standing head and shoulders above the rest.
Patrick doesn’t seem to realise that a high rating is something to be earned and some travellers have higher standards than others. His response was rash and came across as petty and childish and a guest who left the hostel with good memories, now has sour memories of his hostel.
In the past 12 years that I have been writing about hostels I have only come across this sort of behaviour a couple of times and each time I was shocked and disgusted that a hostel manager could act in such a petty and childish manner with such little regard for his guests.
According to most reports, Lyons House Hostel is a great hostel and it consistently gets good reports from travellers. Why would a hostel manager want to spoil his hostel’s good reputation by writing rude and petty emails to his guests after they have stayed at his hostel? Doesn’t he realise that upsetting one of his guests will result not only in losing her repeat business, but the business of her friends. And with the internet, one can have a lot of friends.
Grow up Patrick, show your guests some respect.
New Zealand’s top 10 small hostels
June 4th, 2009 by Tim Uden
The latest BUG New Zealand guidebook reviews of around 500 hostels throughout New Zealand.
New Zealand’s hostels range from small intimate places to large modern multi-storey hostels with hundreds of beds although compared with Australia the emphasis is mostly on smaller hostels.
When I asked the authors working on the travel guide, their favourites were invariably these smaller hostels where the managers remember your name and provide a warmer welcome and a more personal service, all while keeping the hostel clean.
New Zealand’s smaller hostels also have the advantage of catering more to true independent travellers as they are generally too small to cater to backpacker buses like Kiwi Experience, Magic or Stray.
Based on the guidebook author’s recommendations I have compiled a list of New Zealand’s top 10 small hostels.
Most of New Zealand’s top 10 small hostels – all with less than 60 beds – are unique hostels with lots of charm, but some are known for the top-quality fittings and others for the friendly hospitable staff.
New Zealand’s top 10 small hostels are:
- Bay Adventurer (Paihia, Northland)
- Beaconstone (Charleston, West Coast)
- Billy Brown’s (Port Chalmers, Otago)
- The Bug (Nelson)
- Hopewell (Marlborough Sounds, Marlborough)
- Juggler’s Rest (Picton, Marlborough)
- Moana Lodge (Plimmerton, Wellington)
- Mt Cook YHA (Mount Cook, Canterbury)
- Old Slaughterhouse (Hector, West Coast)
- Tree House Backpackers Lodge (Kohukohu, Northland)
All these hostels are reviewed on the BUG website and also in the third edition of BUG New Zealand, which is now available in bookshops in Australia, New Zealand and the UK.
You can also buy the book online from amazon.co.uk, Waterstones (with free delivery in the UK) or the Book Depository (which has free worldwide shipping).
Australia’s cheapest airport transfers
May 28th, 2009 by Tim Uden
The Lifehacker blog recently ran a post comparing public transport options between Australian airports and their respective city centres. The conclusion made Adelaide and Perth the winners with airport buses costing no more than a regular suburban bus fare in those cities.
The Lifehacker survey only covered the major airports and even left out the Gold Coast, which in my opinion is a relatively major airport, especially now that AirAsia has cheap flights to KL from there. As for public transport to Coolangatta (Gold Coast) Airport, you could pay $21 for the airport shuttle bus, but what’s the point when it’s just a simple case of walking a couple of minutes from the terminal to the Gold Coast Highway and hopping on local bus route 700. The fare from the airport to the centre of Surfers Paradise is just AUD $4.30.
That puts the Gold Coast in the same league as Adelaide and Perth, but are there any cheaper Australian airport transfers? Well there’s Broome Airport, it’s just a five minute walk to the town centre.
BUG guidebooks on the Book Depository’s bestseller list
May 21st, 2009 by Tim Uden
Today I was checking how the BUG guides were doing on various online bookshops and found that both guides are on the Book Depository’s travel bestseller list.
BUG New Zealand was at number four when I took this screenshot, although earlier today I saw it at number three…
and BUG Australia is at number 19.
I’ve been a fan of the Book Depository ever since I bought some books from them last year. I bought a hardback copy of the Oxford Style Manual, which my local Borders store was selling for over AUD $120. The Book Depository had it for under £18 with free worldwide delivery. I ordered it on a Friday evening and it arrived the next Tuesday; and I live in Australia which is the other side of the world to the Book Depository’s Gloucester warehouse. I was very impressed and will certainly order more books from them.
If you live in the UK, then amazon.co.uk is often – but not always – a better deal; but if you live abroad, then the Book Depository is well worth checking out and in many cases it is your cheapest option. Books in the UK are cheaper than in Australia and a lot cheaper than New Zealand bookshops and if you live in North America – where BUG guidebooks aren’t available – then the Book Depository is the most logical choice if you want to buy a BUG guidebook.
Australia’s top 10 small hostels
April 22nd, 2009 by Tim Uden
The latest BUG Australia guidebook reviews over 600 hostels throughout Australia.
Australia’s hostels range from small intimate places to large modern multi-storey hostels with hundreds of beds. The large hostels like Beaches of Broome, Gilligan’s Backpackers in Cairns plus Sydney Central YHA and Wake Up! in Sydney are world class with hundreds of beds plus top notch facilities that include resort-style swimming pools.
When I asked the authors working on the travel guide, their favourites were invariably the smaller hostels where the managers remember your name and provide a warmer welcome and a more personal service, all while keeping the hostel clean.
Based on the guidebook author’s recommendations I have compiled a list of Australia’s top 10 small hostels.
Most of Australia’s top 10 small hostels – all with less than 60 beds – are unique hostels with lots of charm, but some are known for the top-quality fittings and others for the friendly hospitable staff.
Australia’s top 10 small hostels are:
- Bellingen YHA (Bellingen, NSW)
- Black Cockatoo (Nannup, WA)
- Eco-Beach YHA (Apollo Bay, VIC)
- Eumeralla Backpackers (Yambuk, VIC)
- Grampians Eco YHA (Halls Gap, VIC)
- Lakeside Manor YHA (Robe, SA)
- Number 14 (Katoomba, NSW)
- Olembia (Melbourne, VIC)
- On the Wallaby (Yungaburra, QLD)
- Tim’s Place (Halls Gap, VIC)
All these hostels are reviewed on the BUG website and also in the fourth edition of BUG Australia, which is now available in bookshops in Australia, New Zealand and the UK.
You can also buy the book online from amazon.co.uk, Waterstones (with free delivery in the UK) or the Book Depository (which has free worldwide shipping).
BUG guidebooks now available on amazon.co.uk
March 23rd, 2009 by Tim Uden
BUG’s two travel guidebooks – BUG Australia (4th edition) and BUG New Zealand (3rd edition) are now available on amazon.co.uk.
The books have been available in the UK since late January and other online stores like Waterstone’s and the Book Depository have had both books available for a couple of months now. Now that Amazon have them in stock as well it should now be much easier to get hold of a copy.
If you’re in the UK, it really doesn’t matter where you buy it as most high street bookshops will be able to order the books in for you and all online shops will ship it to you pretty quickly, although Amazon and the Book Depository are usually the cheapest option.
BUG guidebooks aren’t distributed in North America so you’ll need to buy them online if you live in Canada or the United States. Amazon.co.uk is a good option – although the books aren’t available through amazon.com – however the best option if you live outside the UK is to buy from the Book Depository, since they have free worldwide delivery.
Cheaper flights to Australia from the US West Coast
March 15th, 2009 by Tim Uden
In previous posts I’ve mentioned the high prices for trans-Pacific airfares - typically the 14-hour flight between Sydney and LA costs considerably more than the much longer 24-hour flight between Sydney and London. These high prices are due to the cosy triopoly between Air New Zealand, Qantas and United; however the USA-Australia route is becoming more competitive with Delta and V Australia starting trans-Pacific flights.
We’re starting to see some results of this competition already with lower prices from US West Coast to Australia and New Zealand, however these are just promotional fares so you’ll need to act fast to get a cheap flight.
Qantas have cut their prices by up to 60% with return flights from Los Angeles or San Francisco to Auckland, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney going for USD $598 and return flights from New York for $798. This special deal is only on sale from today until Friday 20 March.
V Australia also has cheap fares from Los Angeles to Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. V Australia’s promotional fares are USD $655. This special fare is valid for travel between 1 March and 15 June and is only on sale until midnight tomorrow night (16 March 2009).
Air New Zealand also has a two country deal with flights from the US West Coast to both Australia and New Zealand for USD $798. This fare is good for travel between 1 May and 21 September.
The above fares are inclusive of fuel surcharge but don’t include taxes and fees, which add another USD $150-250 to the total fare.
If you’re going to take advantage of these special fares to Australia or New Zealand, you can buy a copy of the BUG Australia or BUG New Zealand guidebook from the Book Depository. The Book Depository has both titles in stock and offers free worldwide delivery, including to Canada and the United States.
New coach travel pass for New Zealand
March 14th, 2009 by Tim Uden
I’ve just added information about the new Naked Bus New Zealand coach pass to the BUG website.
The Naked Passport is the simplest of New Zealand’s coach travel passes where each pass is valid for a set number of trips so it is obviously better value on longer trips.
Passes are NSD $157 (£59) for five trips; NZD $260 (£98) for 10 trips; NZD $330 (£124) for 15 trips; NZD $370 (£139) for 20 trips; NZD $437 (£164) for 25 trips; NZD $497 (£187) for 30 trips. There is also an Unlimited Pass that costs NZD $597 (£224) for as many bus trips that you fit into one year.
A travel pass costing around £8 per trip may not sound like a good deal when you can buy tickets on Naked Bus from only NZD $1 (38p) each. However those cheap seats need to be snapped up around a month in advance and last minute seat on a route such as Auckland-Rotorua can still cost NZD $42 (£16).
Flexibility has a price, but with the Naked Passport at least that price is still very affordable compared with the alternatives.
The Naked Passport is better suited to independent travellers who don’t want to plan everything months in advance, while travellers who don’t mind booking a set itinerary weeks in advance just to get the cheapest fares will do better with individual tickets.
A compromise between flexible travel and getting the best deal is probably the best way to use this pass. For instance you can plan a rough itinerary and pre-book a handful of tickets in advance to get the cheapest seats and then buy a Naked Passport to use on last minute travel when prices are higher. This means that you still have an independent element to your trip, but pre-booking some tickets in advance can mean the difference between buying a 20-trip pass and a 25-trip pass and it can save you up to £20.
Alternatively, travellers on a one-year working holiday visa can get a lot of value out of the Unlimited Naked Passport bus pass, which lets you make as many bus trips as you can handle within a one-year period all for less than $600.
The Naked Passport passes are really good value, especially when a one-year unlimited pass costs around the same as two weeks of car rental; and if you rented a car you would still be up for fuel, insurance excess and parking.
