Hidden Gems is a blog that gives people a platform to share stories about some of the most interesting places they have visited on our planet.
How many times have you bumped into someone, they start sharing stories about places you too have visited, and you say 'damn! wish I could have done that!!'. Well with hidden gems, I am hoping people will share stories of places they have visited, the 'off the beaten track' adventures, the jewel in the crown of their travels, that one place you won't find in your every day travel brochure!
Every traveller seeks different things, when they set off on their Journey. Some head for that hidden polynesian island beach - the type you would find in a bounty advert. Some want to be embedded in the heart of the worlds biggest metropolisis with nothing but a waad of cash and list of places to spend it. I want to hear about all of it. No matter how much you think 'people won't get it', your right not everyone will, but you owe it to yourself to share your story, no matter how small or big it is!
Please take 2 minutes from your busy schedule to share a story about the one of the most interesting place you have visited.
Český Krumlov - Czech Republic
ReplyDeleteA planned overnight stay that turned into a 7 day write off in this small beautiful city in the Southern Bohemia region of Czech. A town jam packed with bars in amazing surroundings not to mention the Vlatva River which runs through & around the town. Get involved on the River Rampage, Basically ride a raft down the river & get free shots and free beer at each bar you stop at.Massive Pub crawl on the river. Excellent stuff!!!
While I was in New York this summer, I visited a great little bar a friend had recommended. On the outside it looked quite dingy and I was almost gonna give it a miss, but now I'm delighted I didn't!
ReplyDeleteIt's a hidden bar at 102 Norfolk Street near Delancy. The beauty of it is it's designed to resemble a bar from the prohibition era. On the outside there is a sign that merely states 'Lower East Side Toy Company' and has a dodgy looking bloke (door man) at the door. On approach you get ushered along a darkly lit side alley to a hidden back door. Inside the atmosphere is electric. The bar is styled in a 1920's theme with decadent decor and 1920's music blaring. Wine is served in teacups and beer in mugs to mimic the prohibition bar rules.
It's a real interesting spot in New York, never been anywhere like it. I'd definitely go back and recommend it to anyone visiting the city!! It's also a favourite among A-listers like Sean Penn. Hope you enjoy!!
Fraser Island, Australia - Kingfisher Bay Resort
ReplyDeleteThis beautiful hotel/resort, on the world heritage site of fraser island took my breath away.
Built for the serious eco warriors and paradise lovers. We had 3 nights/4 days on the island, and will never forget it. For us,to be so close to nature in the middle of a rainforest was an amazing experience. You could smell and see and feel the jungle all around you, from a kingsize bed with egyptian cotton sheets. Sip amazing cocktails from scooped out coconut shells in the saltwater infinity pool and take long walks on the white sand beaches at sunset. Heaven on earth - Kate
Hello my name is Miquel, I live in village Ojen near Marbella Spain. It a small village 15 minutes by car from Marbella. I travelled all round world but believe most beautiful thing is in this small village.
ReplyDeletePeople of Ojen are good. Some say people of Ojen are not good but this is not true i think. I live from Ojen for 28 yrs and it is home to my most beautiful hidden gem:
People take left from Balistterez Cafe, get coffee there in morning, so nice, and go up road on mountain. Take right at sign Istrave as is near there, follow road for 10 minutes and take left when you see picnic place and park car there, get out and walk up mountain trail between trees.
When path is split in two, go left, do NOT go right. Right is to home of Snr Estefan. Snr Estefan is not good and his home will make smell and he will not make welcome to you.
Go left and the trees the open with sun shining through like God. Then you see what I call 2 Hermanas (2 Sisters), they most beautiful waterfalls that fall in crystal blue lake, so nice to swim in and have picnics, good for date and family day.
The water splashes loud which is good. You can almost not hear the rubbish dump over the hill. In Ojen we have a phrase: "The beautiful place is only more beautiful beside the smell of the dump & Snr Estefan". It shows me the closeness of good and of not good.
Please visit this place and if you have questions or answers for me email me email:
malverez2008@gmail.com
I will check my emails every weekend when I go to cousings in Marbella.
Bye,
Miquel Alverez
Hidden pro habition bar in New York, Unbelievable waterfalls in Marbella, Hotels sitting in the middle of a rainforest in Fraser Island-Australia and River rafting pub crawls in Czech Republic - really enjoying what im reading - Share your story
ReplyDeleteA little place called Aspen...
ReplyDeleteonlySelffawbor beat me to it, Český Krumlov is a little gem of a place!
However, another place of merit is Plakias - a small humble town in the south of Crete in the Greek islands. One of the reasons it was so good was because it wasn't predetermined. There were 5 of us travelling around the islands at the time, and we decided to go a 'little crazy' and take the advice of a swedish guy and his partner.
"Plakias guys, we planned to go for 3 days we stayed for 3 weeks."
There's a little hostel design by an english guy called Chris, I will never forget him. He was an architect, who suffered a midlife crises and built this hidden place in an olive grove forest, set back from the beach. If I remember correctly, it is the southern most hostel in Europe! The perfect place to do nothing at all - http://www.yhplakias.com/hostelinfo/article_en.htm
There are three Gili islands in Indoniesia just off Lombok that I highly reccomend. Gili Meno, Gili Air and Gili Trawanagan.
ReplyDeleteGili Trawanagan is known as the most populated of the three and the best party scene of the three.
I can say that at my age i didnt think that it was that fullon at all, it feels like a microcosm of all the islands you've been to in Thailand plus a little bit of Bali thrown in.
There is snorkiling off the beach you sunbake, then crawl to a bamboo banana chair thats under a palm tree thats next to a bar that does cocktails at any hour. The cocktsils are cheap, and tacky and potent. Paradise to me.
There are no motorbikes or cars on the island. Just small horse and cart that have bells jiggling on their collar so you can hear them coming. like raindeer.
FUN
Columbia.
ReplyDeleteDangerous? No.
I didn't have any issues whatsoever.
Beautiful? Yes.
What a country!, from the legendary women to the enchanting countryside and stunning coastlines!
Columbia natural beauty has everything, from the mountainous heights of the magic Parque National Natural El Cocuy all the way down to the coast... too much to write about.
So I will just mention two beach spots, two hidden Gems(I had never heard of these spots before I arrived in Columbia).
First is Tayrona national park, a jungle that rolls right onto the beach, a great place to get away from it all and live the Robinson Crusoe life, eating coconuts everyday & doing nothing but the occasional walk in the jungle with the sea meters away in case you need to cool off.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tayrona_National_Natural_Park
Second beach spot in Columbia I would recommend is called Playa Blanca, just outside Cartagena(the city is another gem, but not so hidden)...you can get the the beach on a day trip from Cartegena but this place deserves a good few days to slow yourself down to beach life pace, those lazy days where your schedule involves a swim a bit of food and a beer.... heaven
(here are some pics...)
http://www.footstops.com/argentina2alaska/album/636/7074/93485/
If you go to columbia and want to reeeeeeeellllax on beaches these are two great places to start..
That is all.
Get out there and enjoy this world before your time is up!
Brilliant Post'Argentina2Alaska', exactly what this blog is about..Two hidden gems in Columbia folks..Well worth a read!!
ReplyDeleteSkopje - Macedonia.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful city and very friendly locals.
Extremely cheap food, drink, clothes etc.
Everyone was made very welcome and a few drinks enjoyed with the locals. Was there for a football game and most places wouldn't be happy with 800 Irish people singing and dancing in the streets. The Macedonians embraced it and joined in making it an extremely enjoyable 3 days in Skopje.
Neal's Yard, Covent Garden, London. Hard to find (in behind Shorts Gardens) but if you do and its a sunny day you'll be treated to delicious and healthy food, a brilliant laid back vibe and great music! Enjoy :)
ReplyDeleteNice little spot in the heart of London and welcoming city in Macedonia.. keep them coming folks!
ReplyDeleteKo Nang Yuan, Thailand is a tiny island just off the northwest coast of Ko Tao - Takes about 20 minutes to get to in a taxi boat from Koh Tao which costs about €5. This place is the definition of pardise, well worth a visit!
ReplyDeleteWe stayed in Koh Tao and visited this gem twice while we were there.
Once for an all day trip on the beach/snorkelling and another day scuba diving around its surrounding reefs.
I would recommend doing the scuba diving here (Loads of scuba clubs in koh tao that will take you here) but if not defo go for a day trip and do some snorkelling. The water is crystal clear and the the fish are amazing.
The taxi boat guy should have snorkels and goggles for you to borrow (included in the price). You should arrange a time for him to pick you up and bring you back to Koh Tao island.
If your not into swimming the beach here is amazing too if you want to just relax in the sun - they have loads of sun loungers laid out. They also have one of those zip line things - I didn't do this but it looked like fun!
There are two restaurants on the island and a bar also.
Defo recommend this spot to anyone travelling around Thailand.
PS
If you are ever on Phi Phi Island, Thailand get a taxi boat to bring you to shark bay! its just around the corner out of the main harbour 10 minutes in a taxi boat. Dive in with a snorkel and you can swim with black tip reef sharks.
They are completely harmless to humans but its still a great buzz swimming with them.
Enjoy...
Rich
hey all, im writing to you with a smug grin on my face after checking the met erieann web page. constant rain and headlines like "summer in ireland hits all time low"! well if anything its too hot over here, but im not complaining one bit.
ReplyDeletei've been on the go now for about a month, had some great experiences and lots of stories to tell when i get back. im just back from treking up mt.batur which is an active volcano in bali, indonesia. we started out at one in the morning with our guide and made it up to the summit before the sunrise, which was incredible to see from the peak as we were above the cloud line. it is very noticable that the mountain is active as there are plumes of steam that rise out of the landscape, the soil is warm and the rock is very hot. for breakfast we buried eggs in the soil and ten minutes later they were cooked. after the climb we eased our aching joints in a hot spring.
before that we spent a bit of time on the gili islands which are just of the island of lombok. the only way i could really describe the islands is to picture your typical paradise, coconut trees, white sand, clear waters and nothing else. there are no motorized vechlies allowed on the islands, by order of the chief, so your going back to the good old horse and cart to get around. i decided to do my padi scuba course on gili air, which is a very quite little island with great diving. the course took four days which included four dives. the marine life was incredable here, there is coral life as far as you can see. swimming with 7ft white tip reef sharks and giant turtles was a lot of fun. its sad that some of the coral got damaged ten years ago due to local fishermen using dynamite as bait. they are all in jail or dead now!
indonesia has standart 3rd world prices, steak dinner costs me 1.50, my motor bike comes to 5 quid for the week and the hotel totals a ridiculous 3 bills a night!
2 gems from Ste and Richard in south east Asia.. keep them coming guys.
ReplyDeleteAlso photos and videos are encouraged!!
Queenstown, New Zealand
ReplyDeleteUnbelievable views and an unbelievable town!!
For outdoor activities this is the place to go, you can pretty much do any outdoor sport you can think of in this small town. Whether its summer or winter there's tons of adrenaline filled sports to do!
You can bungy jump, ski or snowboard, paraglide, jet boat, white water raft, skydive, hang glide, jetski, and drive quadbikes to your heart's content!
Heres a picture taken of the town itself from the top of a nearby mountain:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/southnz/5165675119/lightbox/