A trip to Cinque Terre is a must if you are visiting northern Italy. The five towns that cling to the seaside cliffs look like they are ripped straight out of a guidebook and they are a lot of fun to wander around. There is a train that stops at each village, but if you’re able bodied and want a more in-depth look while visiting Cinque Terre, then you should try the hike that connects all the towns.

It is possible to do the trial in one day, but it would make for a busy hike with little time to meander and enjoy each spot. I recommend you spend at least two nights in the area so you can space out the time on your hike, check out each village and relax a little. You can buy a bottle of wine and a pizza to go and sit on the cliffs as the sun sets, or you can take the time to check out the little watering holes and spend some time swimming in the Mediterranean.

There are plenty of hotels and hostels in the five towns, but they are not necessarily budget. A hostel typically costs about 25 – 35 euro/night and with the two of us that adds up pretty fast. Our solution for staying on a budget in Europe was to camp and Cinque Terre was no exception.

Camping La Sfinge - The campground we stayed at.

There are a few campgrounds in the towns surrounding Cinque Terre (which is a National Park), but there are no campsites at all within the park. We did some research and settled on staying in Deiva Marina–a small town about 20 minutes north by train.

We decided to stay at Camping Valdeiva, which was 20 euro a night and had the added benefit of a van pickup at the train station. By the time we made it to Deiva Marina it was around 8 p.m. and getting dark. The campground told us to call them at a nearby payphone and they would come get us. We searched around for a payphone, and when we eventually found one, we couldn’t figure out how to use it because we couldn’t read the instructions. It didn’t have an obvious slot for change and it looked like you needed a card to use it. We didn’t have a phone card or a bank card with a ‘pin & chip’ so we were out of luck. (Not having a pin & chip card actually screwed us in a couple of spots in Europe, but they aren’t common in the United States, so we had no idea what they were until we needed one. We’ll write more on this at a later date.)

We went back to the train station and started walking down the long, dark (no streetlights) road to the campground. It was actually a little nerve wracking–we had no idea where we were, where we were going or how long it would take to get there. We only had a vague idea that the campground was down that road and while walking blindly in the dark, with heavy bags, it was a bit too much. I’ve watched too many zombie movies so after a half mile or so we decided to turn back. It was now about 10 p.m. and we were starting to get worried about where we would stay. The town had pretty much shut down and since we didn’t see much of it in the daylight, we had no idea if there were any other places that we could stay at.

The beach at Deiva Marina. This place was pretty nice!

Luckily, when we got back to the train station a shuttle for another campground had arrived. We jumped in it and ended up staying there, which ironically was right across the street from the one we had initially tried to camp at. The name of this campground was La Sfinge and the spot was great–everyone was nice, it was basic but clean and quiet. It was 18 euro a night, and they had WiFi but it barely worked and it wasn’t free. La Sfinge also had a small shop with basics (pasta, cheese, bread, etc.) as well as a laundry room. Because we were last minute, we ended up at the tippity top of the campground with about 120 stairs between us and the bathroom. It was great for exercise but a real pain the butt when you just came back from a day of hiking and realized you forgot your toothpaste in the tent. If you make a reservation there, you can probably stipulate which site you want (they had plenty of drive in sites too) so keep that in mind if you don’t want to run up and down a million steps a day.

The best part is the shuttle, which runs hourly (until 10 p.m.) to the train station–you don’t need to call. This campground was a bit cheaper than the one we originally planned on; though, they didn’t have as many amenities. However, if you wanted to grab a bite to eat you could just walk across the street to the Valdeiva campground, which has a restaurant (some of the best pizza I had in Italy) and WiFi. Because we weren’t guests at that campground we had to pay for WiFi, but if we were staying there we wouldn’t have been charged. Both campgrounds were great and both are good options if you want to to camp in Italy near Cinque Terre.

The building in the back left is where the train station is. The bridge to the right leads to the beachside campground.

Deiva Marina was actually a really cute town. It’s a seaside village with a beautiful beach and friendly people – a great place to chill. As it turned out there was actually one campground almost right next to the beach, but we didn’t see it the first night. We went over to check it out on the last day, I think it was about 20 euro per night but it didn’t have WiFi. If you don’t need the Internet, then it would probably be a great option.

Camping Fornaci - this is the campground right by the beach.

For two days we hiked around Cinque Terre and then trotted off to sleep in our tent at night. It was completely budget friendly and we had a great time. We planned to stay for 4 – 5 days but the third day we got rained out and literally woke up in a puddle of mud. We were exhausted and dirty, and decided we needed time to catch up on work and grab a little R&R. We still had a couple days before we were due in Tuscany for our WWOOFing in Italy adventure so we decided to blow our budget and  stay in a fantastic hotel that was right on the beach. Free, fast WiFi and breakfast were included, so for two nights (about $75/night) we sat in our cozy room at the Hotel Lido and watched the clouds pour down as the huge, stormy waves broke on the beach. I like camping, but I have to say the days in the hotel were a nice getaway and felt very relaxing.

The view out our room from Hotel Lido.

Apparently, I didn’t take any photos of the other campground. Sorry about that– it looked very nice though and like I said the pizza was great! If you’re headed to Cinque Terre on a budget be sure to check out Deiva Marina. This little seaside town is a perfect place to relax for a few days in between hikes. The hotels are cheaper and the campgrounds are perfect if you’re on a shoestring. You might also get lucky and meet these guys at the grocery store a couple blocks from the beach.

Italian boys love to have their photos taken!

*Please remember all photos on this website, unless otherwise noted, are copyrighted and property of Beers and Beans Travel Website, Nariko’ s Nest Weddings & Bethany Salvon. Please do not use them without my permission. If you want to use one of them please contact me first because I do love to share and I would be flattered. Thanks!

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Today’s super cool guest post is from Heather Taylor. It’s always been one of my dreams to drive through Europe in a camper van and I’d be a liar if I said I was jealous of her amazing van ride through France! All you foodies will want to be sure to check out her blog since it is all about her world in food! She’s got a lot of great recipes and stories about traveling in a camper van. Be sure to check out her bio at the end of this post.

We knew our van, Charlie, might have been in trouble. We’d had a few false starts during our long journey from Leeds to southern France, and he’d always had issues with hills. But so far he had managed to take us beyond Dover’s white cliffs to the gaping gorges of the Ardeche, finally crawling towards the south coast. The van, once a humble Nissan Primastar used for lugging around building tools, was now our kitchen/living-room/bedroom, but recently our relationship with Charlie had begun to deteriorate.

We’d just spent three days exploring the craggy coastline of the Calanques, where walkers navigate slippery limestone paths with trepidation, all eager to drink in the beauty of the tiny beaches nestled below impenetrable cliffs.  As the Mediterranean heat and a distinct lack of funds started to become more of an issue, we decided to head back to the mountains in Chamonix to find work.

Heather has seen some beautiful sights!

There was, however, the small problem that our van seemed a tad reluctant to start. A familiar feeling of dread crept over us as the engine stuttered unhealthily. With gritted teeth we tried again and again but it remained stubbornly stationary. We were parked in the pretty town of Cassis, which despite being charming, (a bustling market selling beautifully printed fabrics, glistening olives and ripened tomatoes; winding cobbled streets framed by eggshell- blue houses), was not  the most practical place to be during a van crisis. Not only was it punishingly hilly, there was no garage. We looked at each other in despair.

Dining with the goats.

In the world of camping, there’s an unspoken communion between van dwellers, and when we spied another camper parked nearby we decided to test a theory that this could override all those years of poor English/French relations. The three Frenchmen’s camper made ours look more than a little bordel (“They’ve got a shower!” I exclaimed, “and you can stand up in it!”), but luckily they were sympathetic to our pleas, packing up their breakfast things and manoeuvring their colossal van next to Charlie in the hope that they could resuscitate his battery.

Inside Charlie the Camper Van

What ensued was a touching demonstration that people aren’t really so bad, as the men cheerfully set about finding their battery and connecting it to ours, joking about Wayne Rooney. They erupted when we told then we were Chamonix-bound; they too would be heading there the following day. After a few excruciating false starts, Charlie finally roared back to life. We knew we had to keep the engine running but wanted to thank the men. I mentally pictured the food we had stored in the van and wondered what a Frenchman’s reaction to a tin of corned beef would be, before remembering we had a solitary bottle of red wine and thrusting it into their reluctant hands. As we crawled towards Chamonix, the men bid us adieu and I was reminded of the decency of people willing to pack up their breakfast and help two young travellers and a battered looking van, no questions asked.

*Please remember all photos on this website, unless otherwise noted, are copyrighted and property of Beers & Beans Travel Website, Nariko’s Nest Wedding Photos & Bethany Salvon. Please do not use them without my permission. If you want to use one of them please contact me first because I do love to share and I would be flattered. Thanks!

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Somewhere in Time is a weekly photo from around the world. Enjoy! (You can click the photo to make it bigger.)

One day in Iceland we rented a car and drove from Reykjavik to Hofn. It took 5 hours and we took our time so we didn’t arrive until late at night. All the hotels we happened upon on the way were really expensive ($200+/night) and we couldn’t figure out why. They looked nice but there were in the middle of nowhere. We concluded that they get away with charging that much just because of that fact. Needless to say, we continued on.

Around 11pm we arrived in Hofn and found a hostel. Only thing is that it was definitely one of those annoying hostels with a lot of rules. Due to a lot of water drinking and lack of facilities en route when we arrived in Hofn I really needed to use the ladies room – coincidentally the hostel was the only spot open in town. I went in to inquire about 2 beds and I stood around a while – no one showed up. So finally I just decided screw it and I went in to find the bathroom. Turns out it was a really small hostel with only a handful of people in it and they were all in this next room. Awkward. I stood out like a sore thumb and it wasn’t because I was a new face sneaking into to use the co-ed bathroom. Nope, I had broken the cardinal rule which labeled me as an outcast – I didn’t take off my shoes.

I’m not going to lie – I HATE the rule of taking off shoes, especially in public places. Hate it. (Disclaimer: Except in Diane’s house. Love ya Diane:)).

Now I didn’t really see the sign (ok, I did) but no one was around initially and the place was very quiet so I figured what the heck, I would run in and out really quietly WITH my shoes on – I mean who would know right? Right off the bat Randy was mortified. He absolutely hates it when I do things like that and takes it personally when I do something directly against the rules. He threw a little hissy fit at me with his eyes but I marched on – right through the glares and whispers and into the bathroom. Randy retreated, thoroughly embarrassed, to the car. He didn’t want to be involved in my crazy shoe wearing, bathroom seeking, late night Hofn shenanigans.

It was insane, before they looked at my face, they looked at directly my feet and I’m not lying – everyone’s face fell when they spotted my clunky hiking shoes traversing their tiled floors which, duly noted, were sparkling clean. A man & woman followed me into the bathroom (not gonna lie, freaked me out a little) but their ruse did not stop me -I was on a mission. No doubt irritated, they waited for me, right outside the stall – weird. After I peed I was descended upon immediately- who was I, did I need a room and why for the love of God, why did I have my shoes on? Did I not see the sign?

Above all else this was the major faux pas I had committed. Their faces were priceless, as I’m sure was mine – shocked I was just followed into a bathroom I wasn’t supposed to be in and lectured about my ‘indoor footwear’. Thank god Randy had gone back to the car.

Nope – guess I didn’t see the sign- oops. After some not so pleasant pleasantries I discovered it was $30/per person for the hostel. Ahhh $60 to spend like 6 hours in a place where I can’t wear my shoes (hello it is Iceland, it’s freaking cold!) and would have to deal with their weird attitudes after I had already alienated myself and Randy by association. I could imagine the bunk whispers if we stayed -”That’s her -the rouge urinator in shoes!” I declined the beds and woefully went outside to deliver the news to a less than enthusiastic Randy who was not pleased.

So now we’re in Hofn, it’s 11:30 at night, I’ve pissed in and pissed off the only hostel in town, which was overpriced anyway – where would we stay? There was a campground down the street so we decided to pull in. No one was working so we couldn’t pay. We debated for a bit on this- was it wrong to sleep at the campground and not pay? Should we park on the street instead?

We decided to sleep in the car at the campground and pay in the morning. We woke up before dawn because Randy was uncomfortable in the car and no one was there to collect money so we left. We did feel a little guilty about it but there wasn’t much we could do and they didn’t have a box to leave a payment in.

Thanks to our early morning wake up we got to see this out of control sunrise. On the ride back we stopped along the road when the sun started to rise over the Norwegian Sea. It was spectacular. The color was hypnotizing.

If you go to Iceland, make sure you wake up early to see the sun rise. You won’t be sorry. I have never seen a sunrise like this anywhere else. It was outrageous and absolutely gorgeous.

Just think, if we had stayed in that hostel then we probably wouldn’t have woken up early enough to see it!

*Please remember all photos on this website are copyrighted and property of BeersandBeans.com, NarikosNest.com & Bethany Salvon. Please do not use them without my permission. If you want to use one of them please contact me first because I do love to share and I would be flattered. Thanks!

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Somewhere In Time is a weekly travel photo from around the world. Enjoy!

Last March I was lucky enough to visit both Bryce Canyon N.P. & Zion National Park in Utah. It was a girls trip with two of my best friends, my cousin Sarah (in the photo) and my eternal roommate Lauren. It was amazing – we had a fantastic time!

We camped in Zion and then went to Bryce for a night. I was blown away by the beauty of both places but there was something about Bryce that made it much more beautiful and special in my eyes. Sometimes when you visit a place, you feel something. You can’t put your finger on it but it’s there and it changes everything, even who you are. I felt that at Bryce and I have felt this only in a couple of other places – another one in the U.S. being Taos, New Mexico. Certain parts of the west have such a hold on me and I don’t know why. Whenever I happen upon one it reaches out, slaps me in the face and surrounds me like a warm blanket. I always have to leave before I am ready, before I figure out what it  was I was supposed to learn there.

We were pitifully unprepared when we decided to do this hike which is called Navajo Trail Loop. We had one glove between all of us and 1 bottle of water. We intended to just peek around the corner (it was freezing) and then hop back in the car. The problem was that it was so beautiful we kept going around one corner, then the next corner and on and on until we were so deep in we had to complete the entire thing. The hike was probably the most beautiful I have been on in my life. We slipped, slid and shimmied our way down – sometimes actually going down the snowy trails on our butts. In fact at one point Sarah couldn’t stop her slide down and plowed into a German family on vacation. They all thought it was hysterical, especially the father who, much to Sarah’s dismay, had filmed the entire thing.

I had always wanted to hike inside a canyon and this hike delivered. If you ever have the chance to visit Bryce Canyon N.P. you should go and definitely put this hike on your must see list. Try to do the hike in the late afternoon when the light just bounces off all the hoodoos and canyon walls. I believe this particular section of the hike is called Wall Street and it is absolutely stunning. The photo doesn’t even come close to doing it justice . After Wall Street the trail opens up to a large expanse with green pine trees, adobe colored hoodoos, blue skies and the brilliant sun shining down. You can literally hear the cowboys and Indians coming over the ridge.

*Please remember all photos on this website are copyrighted and property of BeersandBeans.com, NarikosNest.com & Bethany Salvon. Please do not use them without my permission. If you want to use one of them please contact me first because I do love to share and I would be flattered. Thanks!

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We were approximately 1 day (yes, the very first day) into the big trip when Randy’s backpack suffered an irreparable and massive fail.

The hip buckle broke.

Busted flat in Reykjavik, waitin' for a bus. First day of a camping trip through Europe the backpack buckle snapped.

We have no idea why, but he put it on and it just snapped. Since it took 4 hours just to find simple black thread in Iceland’s capital city of Reykjavik, we didn’t even attempt to find a replacement.

Saved by – My father’s ancient wheelie luggage thing.

One of my father’s pride and joys in life is his ability to pack luggage in the smallest, most compact way. He’s a genius at this! I have totally taken on this trait as well and I’m sure it drives Randy nuts, because I take my time packing and I make sure everything is done in the most aerodynamic way I can think of. Because of my father’s luggage pride, my parents have a large and strange assortment of luggage and luggage accessories.

Ancient luggage wheelie thing saves the trip!

One of the oldest things in this collection is this little luggage wheelie. Seriously, this thing is from the 80′s. I remember using this on family trips before wheeled luggage was invented. Yes, I am dating myself, but I know other readers on this site must remember the old days before luggage actually had wheels on it. At that time, travelers strapped their suitcases and duffel bags on these fold up carts and lugged them around airports & cities. Once wheeled bags hit the scene these thing got dropped like a hot potato in a snowman’s hand.

Fortunately, the day before we left the U.S. I asked my father if I could borrow one of his luggage wheelies. With all our camping gear and my photo gear, our bags were a bit heavy and I was nervous I might not be able to carry my backpack on my back for the entire trip. Because I was a little anxious about this, I remembered this ancient rolling goodness and the blue bungee cords from our family trips when I was a teenager.

My father dug it out of the closet and quickly it became the subject of conversation in the last 24 hours before we left. Everyone had a different opinion about bringing it. Most of my family said I shouldn’t bring it, because it would just be one other thing to lug around. My brother in law said it would be a disaster on cobblestone streets in Europe. Then, my dad said I should bring it and if it was a pain I should just leave it wherever I was and give it to someone else that might be able to use it.

Good thing we didn't have to lug it around uselessly for long - this is as small as they could make 'em in the 80's!

So I brought it. Thank God I brought it!! After the epic Kelty fail on day 1, Randy had no way to carry his backpack around. Without the hip belt for extra weight distribution it was too painful to carry the bag on his shoulders only.

Enter little life-saving wheelie luggage thingy circa 1989.

This thing saved the trip. We strapped Randy’s bag on it for the rest of the trip and it wasn’t bad because we would trade off carrying the other backpack which really helped. I think maybe they just made things better in the 80′s, because this thing wheeled like a champ over all types of ground cover including asphalt, cobblestones, grass, sand & even the rocky dirt driveway at the farm in Tuscany.

Of course the first thing I tried to do was stuff both bags on here so we wouldn’t have to carry either of them.

On our last day in Iceland, we decided to save ourselves the $10 ride and walk the 20 mins to the bus terminal in Reykjavik. You should have seen the way we huffed and  puffed through the streets. I came up with a variety of ways to push and pull what had to be like 80 lbs of luggage through the city. I even started using my scarf to pull it over my shoulder. In a few minutes we had ditched our heavy jackets and started sweating. At one point we were walking downhill and couldn’t stop! The wheelie thing broke free and crashed into a bush. I have no idea why I was hell bent on making it work but it didn’t — about 50 yards from the bus terminal the bungee cords broke from all the weight.

The engine that could - but not totally. Two backpacks is one bag too many! But didn't I do a nice job stacking them?

You can imagine our frustration at this point.  Luckily, it was an easy fix. I took off my bag and jimmy rigged one of the cords, which amazingly lasted for the rest of our time in Europe. The set up worked like a charm for the rest of the trip. We used it to carry Randy’s bag, the tent and an extra bag I had for photo gear.

The only other bummer about using this on the road was whenever we encountered a set of stairs it had to be picked up. We couldn’t pull it up or down because inevitably the carefully constructed backpack, tent and camera bag conglomerate would start falling apart until everything was a jumbled mess on the floor. It seemed this always happened when we were running down subway stairs late for a train. After doing that a few times and looking like total idiots in the process, it just became obvious that Randy would have to pick up and carry the entire ensemble up and down any flight of stairs we happened upon.

It wasn’t a big deal until we got to Venice.

We got lost in the maze of Venice streets right off the bat going up and over what had to be at least 100 small bridges. Each time we came to a bridge Randy had to pick this 45lb contraption up, carry it over the bridge and then put it back down again. Rinse, Repeat. We were lost for 3 hours and we went over an insane amount of bridges during this time. Randy was not a happy camper and at least a few foul words were muttered over every bridge. Looking back at it now really makes me laugh, although, at the time it wasn’t funny at all, at least not to him.

The Kelty Coyote backpack. It's cool but doesn't live up to a life on the road.

Anyway, I’ve been wanting to write this review for a while because the Kelty didn’t hold up on the road at all! If you’re in the market for a backpack you might want to try some other brands out before you settle on this one. This bag was about 1.5 years old and had only been used on a couple local trips previously. We bought it early on because of a great sale – it was marked down $100 to only $99. It was basically brand new when we brought it on the big trip. If we didn’t have the wheelie from my father, then I don’t know what we would’ve done. Most likely we would’ve had to buy a new bag on the road somewhere, which would’ve been a blow to our budget. It’s too bad because Randy really liked this backpack and it had a lot of great pockets. In all other aspects he loved this bag but a backpack without a working hip belt is like having no backpack at all.

Luckily, we bought it at REI and it will be getting returned. In the meantime, Randy is going to need a new backpack or piece of luggage for the next upcoming leg of our trip. If any luggage/bag distributors think their gear can live up to a life on the road and if you are open to having your gear reviewed give us a shout out – Randy is open to accepting luggage or a backpack in exchange for a few reviews of your bag on our blog.

Advice needed from our fantastic readers – do any of you have recommendations for a sturdy, budget friendly bag? Randy is also considering a wheeled suitcase instead, so if you have any opinions on wheeled luggage for budget travel in Southeast Asia or South America (good or bad idea?) please chime in. Thanks!

Somewhere in Time is a photo from around the world. Enjoy!

One day while wandering the streets of the Iceland capital, Reykjavik, Randy and I decided to blow our budget and rent a car. To be honest, we hadn’t budgeted in a car rental but spending almost a week straight in Reykjavik was getting a bit boring. Renting the car was one of the best decisions we ever made because we got out to see the country. Foolishly, I did very little research before we went to Iceland and in fact didn’t even have a guidebook until my sister gave me one the day before we left. If I had done some research I would’ve known that it is a driving country and I could have budgeted in a couple days for a car rental – which would have been awesome! (Read this if you want some tips on renting a car in Iceland). In fact, I would love to return to Iceland specifically to drive around the entire country.

As soon as we left the city the scenery changed instantly, and we realized that the open road was integral in witnessing Iceland culture.  We saw glaciers, waterfalls, mossy landscapes, horses and icebergs. Our budget constraints ($50/day total for 2 people) left us with one option for sleeping that night – the car. Oh we did look around and stopped in at the few random and far off hotels we spotted. They all ran about $250 night. Agh! We also stopped in a hostel which was over $30/pp a night and I pissed off the people running the place since I didn’t take my shoes off when I first walked in. Needless to say the car was the best option. We put down the seats and jumped into our sleeping bags. We woke up before dawn to start the drive back from Hofn to Reykjavik. I took this picture at some point during that morning and I don’t really remember exactly why I took it or where exactly it was, but it reminds me sleeping in the car in the middle of Iceland during the first week of the big trip, and of all the places to visit in Iceland that we have not seen, yet.  This photo has a lot of memories for me and even though it is a bit non-descriptive it speaks volumes to me. It reminds me of the desolate Icelandic roads, the Icelandic horses that run along side them and the birds that sleep in the middle of them. Even more so, it reminds me of the surreal feeling that accompanied me for the first couple of weeks on the big trip.

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*Please remember all photos on this website are copyrighted and property of BeersandBeans.com, NarikosNest.com & Bethany Salvon. Please do not use them without my permission. If you want to use one of them please contact me to ask first because I do love to share and I would be flattered. Thanks!

This review is the second in Beers and Beans ongoing video series: 90 Second Gear Reviews. With Randy’s recent nomination as one of the hottest guys in travel, we’ve added nearly a minute of shirtless gear review goodness to this installment! We filmed this video in the summer when we were camping in California. After spending months camping with this tent in Europe we love the Marmot Limelight 2 even more and highly recommend it!

As Randy says in this dry humor video – “You can really breathe right in here.” Plus, Chachy (the cutest dog in the world) makes his acting debut!

Did you miss Randy’s first shirtless gear review?

You can view it here – Eagle Creek Pack It Koala Toiletry Kit Review, or better yet subscribe to our RSS feed today so you don’t miss the next one!

The Good:

An economic, light weight two person multi-season tent with a vestibule.

Marmot includes a gear loft and footprint, usually sold separately buy other brands (REI and North Face I’m looking at you).

Sets up in minutes and weighs 5 pounds.

The rainfly can be used with the footprint to create a minimalist shelter.

A catenary cut floor with taped seams lifted off the ground keeps the water out.

The Bad:

A small rip in the nylon floor after only a few camping trips. User error or durability issue? Only time will tell.

The Ugly:

The duct tape patch where a rodent chewed through the nylon to get to our dog’s food.

You can check out these links for other travel gear reviews including our ExOfficio Underwear reviews for the ExOfficio Newsletter.

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*Please remember all photos on this website are copyrighted and property of BeersandBeans.com, NarikosNest.com & Bethany Salvon. Please do not use them without my permission. If you want to use one of them please contact me to ask first because I do love to share and I would be flattered. Thanks!

Ahhh Paris – that amazing, beautiful city by the Seine. Who wouldn’t want to visit it? Maybe you’ve thought about Paris but the hostel & hotel prices have kept you away. Most hostels will run you about 25- 35 Euro a night and if you’re traveling with another person this can add up very fast. But good news – you can camp in Paris and it will only cost about 24 Euro a night for two people!

Camping in Paris – what?? Is that even possible?? Yes my friends, yes it is.

Paris has one campground located at Bois de Boulogne park and it is called Le Camping du Bois de Boulogne.

Campground at Bois de Boulogne in Paris.

Ok, so this campground bills itself as “camping on the Siene”. Technically that is true but in reality it is a more industrial part of the river so it’s not the beautiful green river banks that you’ve probably imagined. This campground has limited spaces for tents and a lot of spots for RVs. We did not have a reservation and didn’t have a problem getting a tent spot but if you’re planning on going in the summer you should probably book ahead of time.

They have large bathrooms which are kept clean enough. It’s not anywhere you want to spend a lot of time but it’s not dirty either. Just make sure you bring your shower shoes. There is no charge for the showers and there is hot water.

There is internet available but only if you pay to use their computer station which has to be from circa 1992. You can’t plug in your own laptop and the internet isn’t cheap. On top of that we heard from several people that it was extremely slow and sometimes didn’t work. One guy we met was complaining that it cost him 10 Euro just to read one email. So we never used it and instead looked for places in Paris to get work done.

The campground also has a store and a small restaurant so you can grab a quick bite to eat. Also we noticed the campground sold subway passes but we found out they were more expensive than buying them in the subway station so avoid buying these at the campground if you can.

Getting to and from the campground in Paris without a car:

It’s not terribly out of the way (and it is still w/in the city limits) but it’s isn’t as convenient to reach as the campground in Iceland was. I guess you could walk to the city but it would take a LONG time and it would be pointless to waste that much time getting to the city. To reach the campground from the heart of the city you take the yellow metro line to the Porte-Maillot station and then take a bus line 244 to the bus stop in the park. From there it is about a 4 minute walk to the campground. However the last bus is at 10pm. Alternately you can take a shuttle for about 3 Euro that goes directly to the campground. The shuttle picks you up at the same 244 bus stop and it stops running at 12 am. Something to take into consideration is that the walk to the campground from the city bus is very dark. Personally I would not walk it alone at night. However every night there was always a lot of people headed back to their camp sites and we all walked together. If I had to go alone I would take the shuttle that brings you directly into the campground. Also if you miss both buses than a cab from the bus stop will cost you about 15 – 20 Euro. The entire journey will take you about 45 – 60 minutes from the center of Paris to the campground. It really isn’t bad but it is something worth considering because it will prevent you from having any crazy nights out in Paris unless you budget in the taxi ride. We always had leave the city around 9pm and that was a bit of a bummer for me.

This website has excellent Metro and bus maps to help you plan your trip. If you are serious about camping in Paris please contact me and I can give you more tips.

Over all we liked camping here because it was the only way we could see Paris on a budget. Even though this campground didn’t give us the warm fuzzy feeling like the one in Reykjavik did, I would definitely stay here again and I would recommend it to anyone visiting Paris on a budget.

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*Please remember all photos on this website are copyrighted and property of BeersandBeans.com, NarikosNest.com & Bethany Salvon. Please do not use them without my permission. If you want to use one of them please contact me to ask first because I do love to share and I would be flattered. Thanks!

If you want more information or want to inquire about having your wedding photographed by Nariko’s Nest please contact me at Beth@NarikosNest.com. BeersandBeans readers get 20% and all destination weddings book at 50% off regular rates!! To see more photos please visit NarikosNest.com.

Working On the Road As Long As The Battery Holds Out On The Train From Paris To Venice.

Europe is fascinating but finding internet access has been REALLY tough.

Yet again, we are stuck in Europe without access to the outside world. It seems this is a recurring issue on our trip and it has made keeping up with the blog increasingly difficult. Despite seeking out campgrounds and cafes that claim to have WiFi, we are constantly skunked once we have set up our tent or have already ordered drinks.

Here was a typical scenario in Paris:

While we did find a couple of cafe/bars that did have WiFi, the problem was that by that time we were so ravenous for a connection we would blow our meager budget on wine, beer and espresso to get caught up with our online work and Skype calls.

One day we got so desperate, we ended up in McDonald’s using their WiFi (Note to Quentin Tarantino: They no longer carry a Royale with cheese.) Turns out McDonald’s had some of the best WiFi in Paris. The only thing they didn’t have was electrical outlets to plug into. Camping in a tent without electricity has definitely caused limitations in our working online ability because somehow we have to find a way to get a charge and it hasn’t been easy. Outlets seem to be a pretty rare thing in Paris.

And now, as we sit at our campground in Deiva Marina in Northeastern Italy preparing to visit Cinque Terre, we find that mysteriously, even though the campground charges 1€ an hour, which we gladly paid two days ago, their WiFi is still not working; go figure! No one really seems to care and no effort is made to reset the button to fix the issue, but yet they still sold us the connection like everything was working just fine.

So, we’d like to know what you do? Do you sign up for a mobile hot spot, pay a little extra for hotel or hostel with WiFi or just say screw the Internet and use a fax machine and snail mail? Our only solution has been to pay extra and get a hotel for a night here and there.

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*Please remember all photos on this website are copyrighted and property of BeersandBeans.com, NarikosNest.com & Bethany Salvon. Please do not use them without my permission. If you want to use one of them please contact me to ask first because I do love to share and I would be flattered. Thanks!

Getting Married? We also shoot weddings in any location! If you want more information or want to inquire about having your wedding photographed by Nariko’s Nest please contact me at Beth@NarikosNest.com. BeersandBeans readers get 20% off!! To see more photos please visit NarikosNest.com.

Today’s post is the first one written by Randy!

If you’ve got $8.50 in your bank account and a tent, then you have enough to travel to Iceland on a budget.

Traveling in Iceland is expensive, but the Reykjavik Campsite offers up tenting on a grassy lawn for under $9 a person in Reyjkavik. In a city, and country for that matter, where a cup of coffee averages $3, this by far the cheapest way to see to Iceland’s vibrant boutique laden capital city on a budget. In fact, they actually rent tents as well for an extra $10/day if you don’t want to carry your tent with you.

(Our campsite in Iceland.)

Located 15 minutes–walking time– from the downtown area, the campground has clean showers, bathrooms and an abundance of hot water. In addition, the campground offers a kitchen area with hot plates, numerous picnic tables (that provide a bustling social atmosphere) and free wifi. And if that’s not enough, it is operated in conjunction with Reyjkavik City Hostel, run by Hosteling International. Literally, a stone’s throw from the campground, the hostel’s common area, which looks more like a ski lodge, provides free wifi, more bathrooms and showers, and laundry.

Reykjavik Campground is located less than 2 miles from Reykjavik’s city center, and is open from May 15th – September 15th. According to their website the campground “can accommodate up to 650 persons in tents, cabins, cars or caravans so it is almost impossible that you will not find a place to stay. Therefore reservations are not required and spaces are not held.”

With limited budget options in Reyjkavik, as well as Iceland, the Reykjavik Campground is a great way to enjoy the city on a budget. Also another item worth noting is the fact that the campground is located right next door to one of the city’s thermal pools – Laugardalslaug . We visited the pools a couple of times and we loved it aside from the group showering! After a day walking around the city, relaxing in the pools is fantastic!

(The hostel in front of the campground.)

Note from Beth: We were spoiled camping in Rejkavik. The location was perfect (we never had to use public transportation), the price was budget friendly and having the comforts of the hostel right next door was the icing on the cake. Also if you want to use public transportation there is a bus stop right in the front of the hostel and it cost about $2.80 each way into town. We also drove around Iceland a bit and I noticed plenty of camping sites in other towns. I highly recommend camping in Iceland because it is cheap, convenient and fun. The hostel charged $30/per person a night, camping cost us under $20 USD a night for the both of us and really helped us stick to our insane budget of $50/day for two people.

(Us camping in Iceland.)

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*Please remember all photos on this website are copyrighted and property of BeersandBeans.com, NarikosNest.com & Bethany Salvon. Please do not use them without my permission. If you want to use one of them please contact me to ask first because I do love to share and I would be flattered. Thanks!

If you want more information or want to inquire about having your wedding photographed by Nariko’s Nest please contact me at Beth@NarikosNest.com. BeersandBeans readers get 20% and all destination weddings book at 50% off regular rates!! To see more photos please visit NarikosNest.com.