Studytrip Lloret de mar

Just got back from my second studytrip this year. This time I stranded in Lloret de mar - Costa Brava - Spain.

(Beach at Lloret)

Let me tell you my first feeling : "If you're older than 18, don't go there !!!"

Unless you want to go party with all the hormonious teenagers strolling around in the centre of town !

Lloret is one party in the evening with lots of bars, discos and fastfood corners ! Pretty convenient after a night of drinking and dancing.

But being completely honest, Lloret has some nice spots too, you just have to search for them.... There is a bar at Cala Banys that's worth a visit f.i.

(Bar at Cala Banys)

The inland though is very beautiful with nice green hills and little villages to cross, so don't hesitate to rent a car and drive around.

Then again, the hotels in Lloret are old and need to be destroyed and rebuild. (that's my opinion!)

But if you want some advice, here's whats the best of what I've seen ;

In Lloret : Rosamar Garden

Perhaps you'd like a visit to Santa Susana instead ! Nice little beach area with some nice hotels :

Aquahotel Onabrava

Luna Park and club

I will remmember Lloret de mar in a good way, as I partied along with the teenagers. We had a wonderfull time there and ate a lot of fastfood (as the food in the hotels is awfull!)

Go Lloret ! Party on dudes !!

Studytrip Almeria

Yesterday I got back from Costa Almeria where I spended 4 days visiting hotels, again for work.

Unfortunatly, I'm very disappointed about the Costa itself. I'm not a big fan of Spain and certainly not of Roquetas de Mar... But that's personal opinion.

I can understand people who want to go there, as there is a kilometers long boulevard to make nice walks, Aguadulce is a nice bay also and you're not far from Almeria city, wich has a nice Alhambra to visit.

For families there is a theme park called Oasis Mini Hollywood. It's a cowboy theme park with a zoo attached to it, wich makes a great daytrip for families !

Some highlight hotels :

Zimbali Playa - Vera
Playacapricho - Roquetas de mar
Cabo Gata garden - El toyo
Mediterraneo Park - Roquetas de mar

Studytrip to Amsterdam

Hello best readers,

Just got back from a little extra studytrip to Amsterdam ! I left on sunday 21 nov and came back just 2 nights after.

We were a little group this time, just 14 people, ann once more I enjoyed the city of Amsterdam very much !!

We visited some great hotels and did some nice tours.

A few hotels I personnaly recommand : Eden hotel Amsterdam, Albus hotel, Citadel & Vondel Amsterdam.

Those are all perfectly situated to visit the center of the city without taking the public transportations.

Eden & Albus are very trendy decorated and have nice restaurants in the hotel !

Other nice hotels, but far from the centre : Vondel Park Plaza hotel & Memphis hotel, both next to the Vondelpark (it's the central park of Amsterdam !) Those are perfect for people who allready know the centre and want to mingel with the local people and go jogging or biking in the park on a sunny day !!

1. Taste and Smell The Difference. House of Bols., 2. Coffeshop, 3. Amsterdam Red Light District, 4. Amsterdam - Anne Frank house

Want to experience something new ? Try out the House of Bols !! Bols was the inventor of Genever !

You'll get a nice free cocktail and some genever tasting inside ! Nice warm up in the winter, cause it can get really cold !

Also a nice place to visit is the house of Anne Frank. If you like history and true life stories, this is the place to be.

Off course Amsterdam wouldn't be Amsterdam without it's famous Walletjes and Coffeeshops !

Also, nice romantic watercruise dinners through the canals and shopping should be on your programm.

So enjoy Amsterdam the way it should, the city is worth every penny !

Crete on studytrip

As you saw earlier on my posts, I was in Crete last week for my job.

We where 17 travelagents arriving on the 27th september on this beautiful island.

The first 2 nights we stayed in Iberostar Mirabello close to Agios Nikolaos. For couples I really recommend taking a look at the following hotel : Aquila Elounda Village.

The coast on this side of the island (the east side ;-) ) is full of little bays and nice little villages along the mediterenean sea !

East Crete is much more dry than the west, but has lovely sceneries as well and offers nice possibilities for excursions. One of them is Spinalonga !

The "Lepra-island" is very small and a nice way to jump in to the history of Crete with all of his invasions and cults.

After spending a lovely time in Agios Nikolaos, we drove along the shore of to the centre of the island Chersonissos. This was really a disappointment...

The place to be for all the young & fun in the summer with pubs and bars all along the seaboulevard !! Though some nice hotels are nearby like the Creta Maris, the Candia Maris & Aquis Silva beach.

The other disappointment of the week was our visit to Knossos. If you allready saw some archeologic sites around the globe, please don't go to Knossos !! 

This is perfect for people who travel for the first time and want to discover something. Also, it's much smaller than I expected it to be !

Arriving on the westside of the island, the views started to change... Long sandy beaches, green hills, waterfalls and ancient cities ! What a nice place.

We didn't have the time to visit the famous Gorge of Samaria, but we did the Gorge of Myli, a smaller, less known gorge but still beautiful ! Prepare good shoes and lots of water for the walk...

Rethymno was originally a Venetian city with a great wall around it. Some parts are still there and the centre part of the city is very pittoresk ! Chania is similar to Rethymno and is definitely worth a visit or even a stay !!

Aquila Porto Rethymno, Aegean Pearl, Pilot Beach and Porto Platanias Beach, all hotels close to Rethymno and Chania and secure to have a great stay !!

The group of collegues who where there with me was fabulous and I want to thank them all for the lovely times spend together ! Next stop in 8 days.....

USA

Kalimera !!

So, now you know how to say goodmorning in Greek !! 

Aaaaahhhhh, what a pitty to be back in Belgium !!! I was feeling so good there...

Nice collegues, nice food, beautiful views & hotels, good wine...

Let me get you in the mood with this video : ....

Some pics and info is coming later on.

Yamas !!

Forget Lloret de mar !! Go to Bulgary !!

First studytrip this year.

From the 6th till 14th of june I had the chance of visiting the Bulgarian coast for my job.
We went with a group of 21 travelagents and arrived at airport Burgas (south) to end 1 week later at airport Varna (north). During this time we visited most of the hotels proposed in our brochure.

We started at the touristic Sunny Beach centre. You wouldn't believe all that we saw there ....
Hotels off course, but not only that... Sunny Beach and the other centre in the north called Golden Sands are the new Lloret de mar !! You can let everything go, lose all bounderies and party till you drop !!

An ideal way off course to make some new good friends.

Nice places to visite are Nessebar, Balchik, Varna and Kaliakra point.

1. Nessebar, 2. Typical welcome, 3. Varna cathedral, 4. Kaliakra point

Take a chance on Bulgary....

Here you have some nice views