When planning your trip to New York, it’s easy to forget to pack your bathing suit. (After all, not many affordable hotels are blessed with swimming pools.) However, the city’s Downtown Boathouse offers kayak rides in the Hudson River throughout the summer and fall… for free!

The all-volunteer boathouse has been getting New Yorkers (and visitors) into the Hudson for 10 years, and an estimated 250,000 kayak trips have been enjoyed so far. The group provides several programs: kayaking lessons, three-hour kayak adventures up the Hudson, harbor tours, and the popular “walk-up kayaking.”

Free Walk-Up Kayaking

Between May 17 and October 19, the group offers its free walk-up kayaking program. It’s simple: walk up to any of the group’s three boathouses, sign a liability waiver, put on a life jacket, and grab a kayak and paddle. You’re restricted to paddling inside the protected waters surrounding the boathouse (so lay aside your plans to head for Lady Liberty). The staff keeps a watchful eye on the kayakers.

Rules: Anyone who can swim is permitted to kayak. Children between 16-18 years may take a kayak out on their own, if a parent or guardian is present at the boathouse. Children younger than 16 may go out, but must be accompanied by an adult in a double-kayak.

Boathouse locations and hours

The Downtown Boathouse has three locations, each with their own hours:

Pier 40 at Houston Street and the Hudson River — 9 AM to 6 PM, weekends and holidays.

Pier 96 at 56th Street and the Hudson River — 9 AM to 6 PM, weekends and holidays. Also open weekday nights from 5 PM to 7 PM, June 16 through August 29.

72nd Street and the Hudson River — 10 AM to 5 PM, weekends and holidays.

For more information, visit the New York City Downtown Boathouse’s website.

Popularity: 4% [?]

photograph courtesy of Josh Clark on FlickrParis Runners

Visiting Paris as a tourist usually means long days of hiking across town, climbing steps, and carrying a backpack. With so much physical activity, you can just forget about the need to hit the gym, right? 

Well, for us it also means days that begin with a butter croissant (268 calories) and end with a creme caramel (759 calories). In between the two — well, let’s not go there. After about a week, no matter how much you’re walking, one can start feeling the pastries.

What’s a Cheapo to do? We’ve tried a number of strategies, but they usually amount to very little (read: Semi-distracted push-ups on the hotel room floor while watching CNN International). There must be a better way to stay in shape, raise your pulse, and sweat off some of those delicious sauces.

Here are five cheapo ways to stay in shape in Paris:

1) Run

It sounds obvious, but if you’re a runner, pack your running shoes when you’re visiting Paris. If your hotel is located anywhere near the Seine, a morning or evening run along the river is a must. 

Every Sunday, the city’s “Paris Respire” (Paris Breathes) program closes traffic along the banks of the Seine to automobiles from 9 AM to 5 PM, offering the perfect spot for running, walking, or cycling.

2) Bike

The city-run Vélib’ public bike program allows short-term subscriptions (one-week passes: €5, one-day passes: €1). More than 10,000 cute bikes are available at 750 kiosks around town for 30-minute free rentals. Sign up, grab a cycle, and head for one of the many bike lanes. If you want a better workout, stay on the bike for an hour and you’ll only be charged €1. (more pricing info)

If you’re up for a Friday night adventure, join the “Paris Rando Vélo” group for a free group ride through the streets of Paris. The cycling group meets at the Hotel de Ville at 9:30 PM every Friday night, and on the third Sunday morning of the month at 10:30 AM. 

3) Rollerblade

Every Friday night, 12,000-15,000 rollerbladers hit the streets of Paris for a 3-hour speed skate through the city, escorted by the police department. The weekly event is not intended for beginners, as the massive group rolls over all manner of road surface, including cobblestones (yikes).

A more relaxed skating tour, the “Roller Rally“ leaves every Sunday afternoon from the Place de la Bastille at 2 PM. Rollerblade rentals are available at Roulez Champions, 5 rue Humblot (Arr 15), Metro: Dupleix (01 40 58 12 22).

4) Take an aerobics or yoga class

The American Church in Paris offers daily one-hour aerobics classes open to the public featuring a different focus every night. Classes are €10 each or €72 for 8 sessions. More information is available here.

Yoga classes are held all over Paris on every day of the week. Check out the extensive list of yoga classes on the AngloInfo website.

5) Go to the gym

The gym craze is just beginning to hit Paris (we’ve heard that several gyms are even getting rid of their smoking sections…). While most chains require expensive memberships that are not practical for most travelers, certain gyms do allow single admissions. Among them:

The Body Gym, 157, rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine near the Bastille. (€16 single entrance).

Club Quartier Latin, 19 rue de Pontoise in the Latin Quarter (€19 single entrance). 

Find more gyms, classes, and fitness ideas on the Paris Fitness website.

Popularity: 5% [?]

Vienna’s fascination with sports and healthy living has always been striking. There’s the city’s popular spring marathon, the women’s marathon, the children’s marathon, and a host of additional runs.

Registration for the four-kilometer Erste Bank Vienna Night Run 2007 opened this month. The run will kick off at dusk on October 10 and will raise money for the benefit of blind and disabled people of the poor countries through a non-governmental Austrian organization, Licht für die Welt (Light for the World). Licht für die Welt’s aim is to totally reduce blindness among the poor people who need medicinal care through 2020. The start and finish lines will be around the former imperial stables in the Seventh District.

The registration fee is €20. Your cash will get you a trendy blue Puma running shirt along with the satisfaction of having done a good deed.

Popularity: 5% [?]

Photo by Gertud_K.

Heat. Sand. Volleyball.

Yes ladies and gentlemen, that’s in Vienna. On Friday, June 1, the lot of the Wiener Eislaufvereins in the Third District will transform into a trendy beach complete with sand, beach games, and parties mimicking the feeling of a vacation to the tropics. Because the Viennese love summer, the festivities will last until the end of September.

SandCity Vienna, occupying more than 6000 square meters (3.5 miles), consists of Sand Sculpture Park, Catering Zone, and Activity Zone. Visitors will revel in tons of fine brown sand, palm trees, and water areas, not to mentionbeach sports and (goody) 14 bars. But the real highlight is the sand sculptures exhibition created by several international carvers. The theme will be “Euro 2008: Europe as a guest in Austria,” in reference to the much anticipated European Football Championship 2008, which will be hosted by Austria and Switzerland.

Expect to see a mini-Pisa, an Acropolis, or even the Eiffel Tower made of sand. And just as important as European landmarks will be the sculptures of international football stars like Germany’s Michael Ballac.

The regular entrance fee is €7, and reduced price €4.50. The event will be located at Lothringerstraße 22 and opens from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Photo by triptothegluefactory

Golf isn’t generally up our alley, but we’re nothing if not suggestable.

Dublin Tourism is now offering a host of great golfing offers from clubs around Ireland. Participating clubs include Malahide Golf Club and St. Anne’s Golf Club in County Dublin.

Until June 30, 2007, Malahide Golf Club is offering greens fees of just €30 for play on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays before 9:30 a.m., and only €40 for play after 9:30 a.m.

At St. Anne’s Golf Club the fees will stand at €40 until May 31 for play before 8:30 a.m. on any weekday.m

Popularity: 5% [?]

Photo by Aknay Tibor

For the third year running, the town of Szilvásvárad (translation: plum castle!) is hosting its outdoor festival on May 26. The festival features all manner of extreme sports: rodeo riding, bungee jumping, speed, hot-air ballooning, hang-gliding, and motor sports among others. Great news for Cheapos: the outdoor festival is free of charge.

Best of all, the setting of the festival is idyllic. Szilvásvárad is located in one of the most beautiful parts of Hungary, at the foot of the Bükk Hills. The area is surrounded by forests and blessed with trout pools, an old wooden train that passes through forests, and even a prehistoric cave.

To get to Szilvásvárad from Budapest, take the train from Keleti Station. The journey takes just over three hours and costs HUF3570 (€14.40; $19.60.)

Popularity: 4% [?]

Photo by gek_at

The path is clear for all bicycles in Vienna—the old, the cheap, and the new.

On April 14 and 15, 2007 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. in front of the Viennese Rathaus, bicycles—and, perhaps, their owners—will be the stars at Vienna’s Fifth Bike Festival. The event is sponsored by Argus, a non-profit, non-partisan association of like-minded bike-crazed individuals aiming to promote the use of bicycles to ease traffic in the city and protect the environment.

For anyone searching for cheaper bikes (or wanting to sell an old bike) the Bike Festival is there to help. This year’s theme is mobility. A flea market for two-wheeled transport will be joined by a few tents selling bike accessories and parts at bargain prices. The latest maps for bikes will also distributed for free. A Nostalgia Corner will exhibit historical bikes, and seminars will tackle issues, including bicycle mobility in the city and children’s safety.

One of the festival’s highlights is Vienna Air King, the International Dirt Jump Contest. Participants will show off back flip or Superman tricks. Hardcore.

For more information, call +43 (0)1 505 0907 or email service@argus.or.at.

Popularity: 3% [?]

photograph courtesy of zim182

French soccer legend Zinedine Zidane briefly came out of retirement this past weekend to play in a charity match in Thailand. The match was organized by Adidas, one of Zidane’s many corporate sponsors.

In France, the icon’s celebrity has barely tapered off since the infamous head-butt in last year’s World Cup final. Despite Zidane’s seemingly violent streak, he continues to be the focus of several marketing campaigns. These include a relationship with French corporate heavyweight Danone. “Zizou” is a staple on highway billboards, TV commercials, and on both the sports and tabloid pages.

These days in France, Zidane is known for his humanitarianism, celebrity, football legend, and philanthropy. Everywhere else, it seems, he is known for one, wild, ram-like head-butt.

Popularity: 3% [?]