Wolfgang Busch

Travel doesn't have to be expensive; unless you want it to be, of course. I start from the premise 'for every problem, there is a solution'. We just have to look for it; and recognize it as such when we've found it. If you want to travel in luxury, please do so; it is as good an experience as traveling on a budget. It doesn't matter how you do it as long as you learn something from the experiences you are having.  As I see it budget travel is the art of stretching you budget so you can experience more for the same money. Here I put together five tips I hope you will find both helpful and inspiring. Alternatively you can check out my list of free activities you can do wherever you travel.

Many airlines charge for extra luggage, therefore the best thing to do is to try to keep it all within one bag per person. You won't need your whole wardrobe during your one week vacation, nor will you read two books, I know it and you know it too. Packing stuff 'just in case', can be kind of unfriendly for your budget. Unless you are traveling to the end of the world, there is a good chance you'll find a pharmacy, a supermarket and some shops at your destination. Having less clothes to choose from can also save you some time in the morning. A vacation from the working life can be a great opportunity to also take a vacation from rampant materialism. We can survive on amazingly little. For extra advice check out my packing light tips list.

Bicycle riding is slowly becoming an integral part of the public transportation system in Valencia as it is a healthy, fast, cheap, environmentally friendly and fun way to travel around the city; and since Valenbisi introduced their urban bike sharing program, there are no more excuses for not doing so.

Valenbisi docking stations

For 10euro per week or 18euro per year, you can rent one of the 2.750 bikes available. The bikes are distributed in 275 stations in close proximity to each other, in different parts of the city, many of these docks being placed along the shores of the Turia Gardens, one of the best biking itineraries Valencia offers. The city's most busy streets have been recently equipped with bike lanes that provide access to many businesses, as well as some very cool bike lanes along the above mentioned Turia Gardens.

For the one week subscription all you need is a credit card and you can get your Valenbisi card from one of the terminals fitted out for this purpose. The first half hour is free. If you don't return the bike to one of the terminals within 30 minutes you are charged an extra fee for every half hour. But with so many terminals available it is really worth returning the bike and taking another one so the free 30 minutes start all over again. In case you get to a station and there are no empty docks left, all you have to do is swap your card and you'll be granted 15 more minutes to find an empty terminal.

In order to help you organize your trip better you can make use of the free Valenbisi app available for both Blackberry and Android. The app tells you where the nearest stations are and checks the status of the Valenbisi terminals for you, available bikes and free slots, so you don't have to waste your time searching from station to station.

One of the major advantages of using Valenbisi bikes instead of the ones from the more expensive bike rental companies in Valencia is that you can leave your bike at one of the terminals and enter a museum or grab something to eat without having to worry about the safety of the bike, nor your deposit. The down part however, is that they are quite heavy and not suitable for kids.

Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated, nor did I receive money from Valenbisi to write this article.

Photo via Flickr Creative Commons

Most travelers make it to Valencia sooner or later. The reasons might vary from the classical Mediterranean cuisine and simple Spanish dishes the city generously offers to its visitors to the world known Santiago  Calatrava's City of Arts and Sciences. Whatever the reasons, Valencia is a lovely city, fashionable and trendy, just perfect for a budget break.

One of the best itineraries Valencia has to offer are the Turia Gardens. Some of the city’s greatest cultural attractions are placed along these spectacular gardens that seem to have something to offer to both activity-seekers and culture-seekers. Turia Gardens stretch for about 8km, crossing the city from the City of Arts and Sciences to Bioparc, the new zoo, and they are the largest urban gardens in Spain.

Aside from the beautiful promenades of flowers, parks, ponds and fountains, the Turia Gardens have tons of sports facilities, including bike lanes, running tracks, football fields, rollerskating areas, a giant chess board, a skateboarding zone and a rugby field. Valencia is an incredibly health conscious city and you will see people of all ages practicing yoga, Tai Chi, jogging, riding bikes, and doing gymnastics throughout the park. You can join them and take advantage of the free activities the city offers.

The gardens are very popular with dog walkers, but in spite of that, stray cats made the riverbed their home, and they can be spotted in trees or sleeping in the grass, fat, happy and free, as people leave them cat food in the places where they know the little fellows hang around.

The park is safe for everybody and at times you will see policemen on horseback doing their rounds. During the summer months, a ferries wheel and other children orientated attractions are installed and medieval markets are organized every now and then just next to the Calatrava Bridge.

The Turia Gardens are very pleasant to walk through, but because of their vastness, they are best explored by bike. Valenbisi bike sharing scheme makes it easy and cheap to rent a bike and explore the city. The docking stations are spread all over the city, many of them being placed along the shores of the Turia Gardens.

Turia Gardens can be accessed from the steps nearby the nineteen bridges that cross the old riverbed. Some of these bridges are more than 5 centuries old; however, the most famous of them all is the Calatrava Bridge (Puente de Calatrava), which the Valencians call Puente de la Peineta (‘little comb’), because it looks like the combs falleras wear in their hair. Nevertheless, my all time favorite is the Flowers Bridge (Puente de las Flores), covered in thousands of flowerpots that change shape and color according to the season.

On one end of the Turia Gardens, situated pretty close to the sea, is the City of Arts and Sciences, one of the most imaginative millennium projects and a truly mind-blowing futuristic complex made out of white tiles and surrounded by blue waters. Described as a city within a city and designed by the local architect Santiago Calatrava, this open space is meant to be discovered by walking. While the six buildings comprising the complex - Oceanographic, Hemesferic, Principe Felipe Science Museum, Reina Sofia Concert Hall, Umbracle and Agora - charge a pretty expensive entrance fee, walking around the complex is free of charge and you can explore it at your own pace.

Just next to the City of Arts and Science is the Fallero Museum, housing the collection of ninots (colorful sarcastic cardboard and wooden figures) that each year, one per year since 1934, have been spared (not burned during the Las Fallas March festivities). There is also a collection of posters announcing the Fallas festivities, typical garments and a series of photographs related to the subject. Entry is free on weekends and public holidays. On weekdays the admission price is 2€. Some discounts are available.

If you are really tired you can tour the Turia Gardens on a cute looking little train and the youngsters can have fun in the Gulliver Park, featuring the giant figure of Jonathan Swift's beloved character, Gulliver, attached to the ground by the Lilliputians.

One of the top attractions of the Turia Gardens is the beautiful concert hall, Palau de la Música. Opened in 1987, it is considered one of the best concert halls in Europe. Free concerts of the local orchestra are held on Sunday mornings and on selected evenings of the week. An enormous glass dome covers its entrance and just outside, in the beautiful palm tree garden so popular with skateboarders, cascading fountains leap up and down into a pool, making this a favorite spot for parents and children for sailing remote-controlled model boats. In the evenings, classical music is played in the park, while the fountains wobble a colorful dance.

The Fine Arts Museum is situated just on the shores of the Turia Gardens, in a beautiful 18th century Baroque palace with blue turrets. The museum is one of the most outstanding painting archives in Spain and houses Spain’s most significant collection of 19th-century painting after the Prado museum in Madrid. The Fine Arts Museum San Pio V is renowned for its collections of primitive Valencian painters, although there are also works by El Greco, Velázquez, Murillo and Goya. The Fine Arts Museum also exhibits sculptures by Mariano Benlliure and some interesting archeological pieces. Next to the museum are the Royal Gardens, definitely worth a visit. Both the museum and the gardens are free of charge all year long.

The imposing 14th century Serranos Towers are considered to be the largest Gothic city gateway in all of Europe. They were once the main entrance to the city and part of what was then the city wall. The Serranos Towers were initially built for defense purposes, but mainly they were and still are used today for ceremonies on many festive and solemn occasions. During their long history, the towers provisionally served as a prison for knights and noblemen and during the Spanish Civil War were used as a repository of artworks from the Prado Museum when it was evacuated. Entry is free on weekends and public holidays. On weekdays the admission price is 2€. Some discounts are available.

José Benlliure Museum was formerly the residence of the wealthy Benlliure family, a family of artists that gave the world both the sculptor Mariano Benlliure and his brother, the painter José Benlliure. Just as you enter, you find yourself in a traditional Valencian house, with beautiful tiles and old furniture. Then the visit moves on to the spectacular landscaped gardens with shaded seating areas and ceramics, and on the other side of the gardens you can visit José Benlliure's workshop, my favorite part of the whole museum. Entry is free on weekends and public holidays. On weekdays the admission price is 2€. Some discounts are available.

Valencian Museum of Contemporary Art (IVAM) is one of Spain's most famous art galleries. It actively promotes the work of local artists and contains both permanent and temporary exhibitions of high quality. Entry is free on Sundays. On weekdays the admission price is 2€. Some discounts are available.

On the other extreme of the Turia Gardens is the Bioparc, a new generation zoo, strongly committed to sustainability and conservation. The wild habitats that have been recreated - the Savannah, Madagascar and Equatorial Africa - and visitors can enjoy, practically without barriers, spectacular landscapes in which different species co-exist as they would in nature. They usually sell discounted tickets in September.

But Turia Gardens were not always the spectacular gardens we can visit today. Turia was the river that crossed Valencia from the remotest of time until... the recent years. The history of Valencia is closely related to the river that gave it life and prosperity throughout the centuries, a river that magically transformed into a massive and beautiful garden.

Weird looking trees in the Turia Gardens

On October 14, 1957, the River Turia burst its banks and flooded big part of the city of Valencia. Some of the most attractive and central streets like Calle La Paz and Calle Las Barcas were submerged in water up to 2.5m. Small inscriptions can still be seen today on the buildings saying ‘the water came up to here’. This was not the first flood Valencia had suffered, but it was the most devastating.

For safety reasons, the government took the decision to divert the Turia River southwards. A great debate took place whether to build a motorway in the now empty riverbed, but the people of Valencia united and protested and hopefully managed to stop the authorities from such a dreadful deed. Eventually, throughout the following decades the riverbed was turned into the magnificent garden that is today and offers numerous possibilities for walking, and sightseeing to visitors and residents. A city break in Valencia lets you not only get to know the history of the great flood but also to enjoy the river as it is today, making it the experience of a lifetime.

People embark on the Camino de Santiago or the Way of St. James for any number of reasons. For many it’s a religious pilgrimage which ends at the tomb of St. James, the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. For others, it’s a way to keep fit, an adventure, a desire to try something different or a challenge. And if you look at the Camino de Santiago as a holiday, it will be the cheapest holiday of your life.

The Camino de Santiago is a large network of ancient pilgrim routes that pass by cathedrals, monasteries, churches and other historic buildings and through some idyllic small towns, sprawling vineyards and misty forests. The Way of St. James is a great opportunity for spending some time alone and making new friends.

Many parts of the Camino de Santiago are accessible only to people walking, riding horses or mountain biking, as the route mainly follows country lanes and paths. The cost of the refugios along the route is very low, with most of the refugios basically free but inviting a small donation if you could afford it.

The route was declared the first European Cultural Route by the Council of Europe in 1987; it was also named one of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites in 1993.

Here are five tips any Camino de Santiago traveler should take into consideration before joining the other shoes and boots walking this route for body and soul.

Any hiker's best friends on Camino de Santiago are the shoes he/she are wearing. If you choose to walk the Camino Frances, the most popular of the pilgrimage routes, you will be hiking about 780km in four weeks. To make it even more clear you will be making more than 1,500,000 foot steps. The shoes will be on your feet from dawn till dusk. The distance you will walk each day depends on your personal preferences, fitness, geography of the route and frequency of the refugios. If you are doing all the walking during the summer months, you won't need waterproof shoes, leather ones are usually the best. The road can be dusty and rocky, and at times, boring. That's when you will love your shoes the most.

The second most important pieces of advice one can get before starting the Camino de Santiago is to pack light. You don't need an extensive wardrobe, just the basics. Believe me, the last thing you want is walking around for four weeks with your whole book collection in your backpack, or with ten T-shirts just in case. Cloths can be washed.

Sore knees from carrying too much weight is common between the hikers of the Camino de Santiago, so better avoid any extra excess right from the beginning. However, don't lighted your bag by leaving behind: sunglasses, sunscreen, mosquito spray, poncho, sleeping bag, flashlight, sharp knife, some blister remedy, a hat, a towel and a camera. You will so need them! But you don't have to pay for extra luggage on the flight. You can buy all these things upon your arrival in Spain. Depending on your country of origin, these products might be cheaper and you can find them in the local stores and pharmacies. You can always buy suplies on the go, no need to carry ten toilet paper rolls with you, no matter how light they might be. And in case you find yourself with a heavier backpack than expected you can always ship some of your belongins ahead of you; that's if you don't want to take the cheaper approach and leave them behind.

The best backpack is light and not likely to fall apart before four hard weeks use. Make sure your backpack (full) is no heavier than 10% of your body weight and that its weight sits on your hips, not on your shoulders.

Find a good stick and try not to forget it anywhere. You will find out that you can lean on it, use it to balance the weight of your pack or even stop you from falling over in the mud. But besides that, you can use it to ward off unfriendly dogs.

One of the most amazing things about the Camino de Santiago will be the people you will meet, both backpackers and locals. Many of the walkers will be happy to talk about their past and present experiences and conversations can last for days and be remembered forever. The walking, and the nothing-to-do-but-walk thing, makes for a gentle, rambling, stream-of-conciousness type conversation that’s precious and unique. Also, don't be shy and ask the locals for advice whenever advice is needed and locals are around. They might not speak much English, you might not speak much Spanish, but you'll generally find they don’t mind and it’s quite fun conversing with people using the universal language of charades.

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." (Mark Twain)

What other tips do you have for walking the Camino de Santiago?