Photo by lylycat

There’s nothing worse than running to catch a tour that has already left without you—unless it’s paying for an unwieldy, uninteresting, or too-pricey tour, of course.

Dubl!n, the official online tourist office for Dublin, has made the frustrations of guided walking tours a thing of the past. Visitors can simply log on and download one of their iWalks for free.

iWalks are podcast audio guides to Dublin that guide the listeners to specific haunts and tell interesting stories along the way. The downloads even come with their own color maps and illustrations.

At present, iWalks exist on a variety of Dublin themes, including Georgian Dublin, The Historic Northside, Castles & Cathedrals, Viking & Medieval Dublin, Temple Bar to the Docklands, Ulysses, Kilmainham, Howth, Dalkey & Dun Laoghaire, and Malahide to Portmarnock.

Just remember to charge up your batteries before you go!

Popularity: 5% [?]

Photo by Jill Stowe

If there is one ancient site outside Athens you absolutely should not miss during your Athens sojourn, it’s the Temple of Poseidon (admission: €4; +30-22920-39363) at Cape Sounion.

You could make the approximately 90-minute drive on a bus as part of a €34 tour, but we recommend the less expensive and just as efficient public bus (+30-210-821-3203). If you travel by public bus, you won’t be restricted by a tour schedule. As an added benefit, you’ll have the option of stopping off in Vougliamenis, Voula, or Varkiza for a swim or drink by the beach. Alternatively, you can opt to climb down the hill in Cape Sounion and swim there, hiking back up to the café by the Temple of Poseidon to drink a coffee or fruit juice afterwards.

The bus to Cape Sounion departs from Mavromateon and Ioulianou Streets—you can also catch it at Klafthmonos Square or on Filellinon Street—in Athens every 60 minutes every day of the week, from 6.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. Buses return to Athens every 30 minutes, starting at 5:40 a.m. weekdays and 7:30 a.m. on Sundays and holidays, the last bus leaving Cape Sounion at 6 p.m. The fare is €4.90 each way.

Popularity: 8% [?]

Photo by Frogletina

Gites de France, France’s biggest and most popular source for rural holiday rentals and farmstays, has launched a huge promotional drive called “Mai” toi au vert on its website this week, with over 2000 rental holiday homes (which sleep up to six) available at a flat rate of €200 a week. This rate represents a discount of up to 60 per cent on standard rates. Larger gites designed to accommodate up to 12 persons are going for €250. The offer is valid through May 26th.

The gites are rated with wheat stalks—or “Epis”—instead of the usual star system, and most can be rented for weekends.

The Gites de France Web site—go to the French version because the English one doesn’t feature all the promotions—has other interesting deals this month, including 30 percent off certain weekends at a 4-epi eco-gite in Normandy, near Alencon. Discounted rates apply for the following weekends: May 4-6, June 8-10, and June 15-17.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Photo by XVI iz Splita

A boat show was not on deck when my travel companion and I planned our trip to Split. However, when we blew into town last Friday, the millenia-old city had already set sail for the ninth annual Croatia Boat Show.

When in Rome—or, err, what used to be Roman—do as the former Romans do.

Many Croatians, many more Italians, a handful of Germans, and two Americans—namely, this girl and her friend— got roped into the main entrance on palm tree-lined Riva for HRK60 (€8.10; $11).

At first, it was just pleasant to see men ogle something other than the latest flat-screen teleivisions. That was before we got scared. Our prior boat knowledge didn’t include propellers the size of small cars, motors the size of stadium speakers, or dozens of 007-style yachts with trimmings to match. (Our favorite was the Pershing 90 we christened the “silver bullet.”)

But nothing could prepare us for the Pumpabike. We couldn’t stop giggling as we saw a salesman riding it, bouncing up and down like a clown atop the calm waters of the Adriatic. Slugs make better time and with much less effort. Pumpabikes sell for US$1,000, and the sales people were not amused by our laughter.

The event closed with what can only be descibed as a runway show for “brods.” While music pumped, spotlights danced along the sleek surfaces and spectators lined the coast.

The fireworks started at 10 p.m. with a boom. One lone guy set off shimmering lights with blasting sounds just outside our hotel, Garden Accomodation, barricades be damned. People and cars passed carelessly by ground zero as cats ran in all directions.

Laku noć!

Wandering Cheapo Kari Hoerchler is a blogger, budget traveller and science fiction novelist stationed on Planet Earth. She has recently been spotted on small stages of New York coffeehouses telling tall tales of a tropical island—and future vacation hot spot—in the Bermuda Triangle. Book ahead.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Photo by ldandersen

Every week should end with a list. The following things are causing tremors in our world:

1. This fellow’s daily photographs on Flickr. Why? Because we’re suckers for stark landscapes, found objects, and Nordic cityscapes. And we like to be able to depend on regularly scheduled aesthetic replenishments.

2. Eurostar’s green turn.

3. Czech Tourism’s big Brno push. With a big city festival to be held from May 18 through June 3, this is a great time to visit the Czech Republic’s second city. We dig Brno’s pairing of modern and 18th century. Note that Ryanair flies between Brno and London Stansted.

4. Turkish design collective Ilk. We hate to admit that it was Wallpaper* who tipped us off to Ilk, but there it is. Clearly, it’s time to return to Istanbul.

5. San Francisco Bay Area band The Lovemakers (see Lovemakers’ vocalist Lisa Light above) is providing the perfect soundtrack to a slowly unfolding spring. Thanks to Greg Young for introducing us to our new best friends.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Photo by mompl

State communism may have gone its way in East Berlin, but the workers of the world can still get fed at the Schwarze Pumpe (Black Pump) in Mitte.

The décor, featuring exposed pipes and wooden tables, is stylishly retro-factory canteen. The food is fresh, simple and cheap; the menu features daily specials such as goulash with salad and potatoes for €7—or a delicious cheese spätzle and salad for €6. Stop in anytime from breakfast to dinner and commune with the common man.

Schwarze Pumpe is located at Choriner Strasse 76. Telephone: +49 30 449 69 39.

Popularity: 9% [?]

Every year the city of Vienna gives away 100,000 books to the masses. In 2005, John Irving’s “Setting Free the Bears” was given away for free. Irving’s first novel was directly influenced by his long stay in Vienna.

Last November, it was Toni Morrison’s turn. Her debut novel “The Bluest Eye” was the city’s pick. Morrison’s story is about humanism and racism in early 1940s America. Its themes intersect powerfully with Vienna’s seemingly never-ending fight against xenophobia.

As far as we’ve been able to tell, Vienna is the only city in the world that hands over free books written by internationally known writers for mass consumption.

Through May 1, ORF Wien and the cultural magazine Wien Live are requesting input from the public regarding favorite literary picks as part and parcel of the launch of the Read Me: Mein Lieblingsbuch program.

By signing up, inhabitants are eligible to win prizes. This week, a complete tea service is up for grabs. We’re hoping to be notified that our tea service will arrive shortly. The main prize? A weekend trip to London for two.

A huge gala announcing the top 100 choices is scheduled for May 2 in the Main City Hall. Andrej Kurkow—a Russian best-selling author—will grace the event.

Popularity: 5% [?]

The Sixth Annual Rome Photography Festival is well underway, and over 100 venues in the city are displaying the work of Italian and international photographers. This year’s version of the multi-site festival is dedicated to “Questione Italiana,” namely, the state of photography in Italy.

The vast majority of the exhibitions are free or come at a very Cheapo-friendly price. The most you’ll pay for entrance is €10.

The Rome Photography Festival runs through June 3, 2007.

Popularity: 12% [?]

Photo by dangermain

We’ve always stood by the statement that London’s the most enjoyable city in the world… if you’re rich. That said, there are free things to do in London. In addition to the not just the free rooms at museums and galleries, there are loads of concerts and the open spaces to choose between.

Ones to watch out for are Fruitstock (see above) held by Innocent each summer and the always mad Notting Hill Carnival. In the meantime, check out the Carnival de Cuba and the Taste of London, both in June.

And then there’s the City of London Festival, a music and dance festival in “the City.” Events include free lunchtime concerts in the City’s churches or squares.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Photo by sike76

When we slept with Toni Bokun and his family, the only two things separating our spotless, freshly painted double room (€45 in off season) from the Adriatic was a little stone palace—circa 1600—and a garden bursting with color.

Tomato plants, strawberries, and tulips greeted us every morning outside of our window, through open doors and past a mellow black labrador who goes by the name of Bassra.

The Bokun family house, with its eight guestrooms and three guest apartments, functioned for centuries as servant’s quarters and horse stables. Today, sparkling bathrooms, lace window treatments, and fluffy bed coverings transport the stone house to modern times.

Over wine from the family vineyard on the patio, Toni covered the rules of the house via amusing antecdotes. Our favorites? The German who picked strawberries, the American who tried to teach him Croat history, and the man who wanted a discount because there wasn’t enough hot water.

Don’t be those tourists. Allow yourself the opportunity to enjoy the sights and sounds away from cell phones and television. While guests breath in the beauty of Dubrovnik, the Bokuns serve full breakfast for HRK35 (€4.70; $6.40, hang laundry on the line for HRK60 (€8.10; $11) a load and give out timeless smiles for free.

The Bokuns are working on a guesthouse Web site. For the time being, they can be contacted at bonitokun@yahoo.com.

Dobro došli, indeed!

Wandering Cheapo Kari Hoerchler is a blogger, budget traveller and science fiction novelist stationed on Planet Earth. She has recently been spotted on small stages of New York coffeehouses telling tall tales of a tropical island—and future vacation hot spot—in the Bermuda Triangle. Book ahead.

Popularity: 5% [?]