The nightlife in Dublin is a big deal, and the young and the restless head over to this pulsing city to experience a brilliant meeting of the traditional, the modern and the hip. If you want to experience some of the fun, here’s an outline of what you could get up to on a weekend break in Dublin.

You might want to start your night with a good meal. There are quite a few seafood restaurants in Dublin, which happens to go very well with Guinness. For a pleasant detour, you might want to venture to the Guinness Storehouse in the city centre, to see how it’s made. If you have a little cash to spend, then you could try the Alex Restaurant at the Conrad Hotel who specialise in seafood dishes (try the grilled dover sole with prawns).

The Clarendon has a very good reputation, with a good atmosphere and great music. It’s all quite chic and cheerful, and you’re encouraged to try the bangers and mash.

Czech Inn is a traditional style Dublin bar that would be good place to settle , with a friendly lounge atmosphere. However, if you want something really traditional, go to The Temple Bar itself, situated in the Temple district - it is 160 years old and a very popular choice for drinkers.

For clubbing, head to the exotic and swanky, Lillies Bordello nightclub. It’s an allegedly star-studded and extravagant venue, with top DJs, decadently decorated rooms, and some expertly made cocktail conjunctions and very strong martinis. You will be expected to dress like ladies and gents though, so remember shirts and stilettos.

To cool down, try The Dice Bar, on Queen Street, which is dressed up in black and red on the inside and open until very late. It attracts an edgier, tattooed crowd and is a good place for a few nightcaps, with DJs and beers and no frills.

After all this boozing and enjoyment, you’ll be looking for a place to crash and rejuvenate for the next morning. To save money, it might be worthy considering hostels, especially if you are only there for a short time and want a reliable but budget bed. Try hostelbookers for a list of hostels in the area.

Getting there shouldn’t be a problem with a range of airlines flying to the city. Try Air Arann for a helpful list of flights to Dublin and other Irish destinations. If you haven’t got it together and are in a fluster about where to stay, you might want to look at Lastminute.com, for some last minute availability for city breaks and holidays.

Athens is a city of fascinating paradoxes. On the one hand, it’s bustling and congested; a true modern metropolis. On the other hand, it’s home to some amazing relics of the ancient world. If you visit Athens, history is never very far away. Here are some experiences that you don’t want to miss.

The Parthenon

Located on the rocky plateau of the Acropolis, the Parthenon is a stunning example of Doric architecture. It was constructed in the 5th century BC during the reign of Pericles. The Parthenon is a temple to Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom and war. The temple is still quite well intact considering it’s age, and some astonishing features still remains. What remains has historical, archeological and mythological significance.

The Parthenon is made from white marble. It features multiple columns, the metopes, which are carved panels that portray classic conflicts, sculptures, and a frieze along the upper part of the temple wall.

If you’re visiting in the summer, be aware that the temperatures on the Acropolis can get very hot during the afternoon. If you want to examine the Parthenon in comfort, schedule your visit for mornings or evenings.

The Byzantine and Christian Museum

If you’re interested in the early days of Christianity in this region, the Byzantine and Christian Museum is an unmissable treat. Located off Vassilis Sofias Avenue, the museum features exhibits from the 4th to the 19th centuries. Items on display include paintings, sculptures, a wide selection of religious icons, religious artifacts, architectural elements from churches that have fallen into disrepair, and textiles such as cloth embroidered with gold.

The National Archaeological Museum

Ranked one of the top ten museums in the world, the National Archaeological Museum is located in an impressive neoclassic building reminiscent of the ancient temples found throughout the city. It is the largest museum in Greece with over 20,000 exhibits ranging from prehistoric times to late antiquity. Displays include sculptures, pottery, utensils, weapons, funerary masks, and jewelry.  

Syntagma Square

Syntagma (Constitution) Square was founded in 1843 when, following an uprising, King Otto was forced to produce a Constitution that freed Greece from foreign powers. Syntagma Square has been the site of numerous battles and political rallies. Demonstrations in Syntagma Square still occur frequently to this very day. The Greek Parliament is located to the east of the square.

Another interesting attraction in the square is the Monument of the Unknown Soldier which is guarded by Evzones (Presidential Guard) in full 19th century regalia. The guard is changed every hour. On Sunday mornings at 11:00 am, the changing of the guard takes place on a much larger scale and is accompanied by the army band.

The National Gardens

If you’re ready to take a break from the hustle and bustle of modern city life, the National Gardens is a great place to visit. Here you’ll find over 500 species of trees and plants, a small zoo, lakes with friendly ducks (you can buy popcorn to feed them), and even a few peacocks.

Athens is a unique combination of a thoroughly modern city with a thoroughly rich and vibrant history. Take all the time you can here—it won’t be wasted. However, if your time in Athens is short, this article outlines some of the main attractions you don’t want to miss. If you’re heading to Athens, then take a look at Cheapflights.co.uk for some cheap flights, while ASDA Travel also have useful travel guides and good deals on European city escapes.

An island of gambling heaven in a sea of strict legal restrictions, Hong Kong is a diamond in the rough for prospective bettors. In a world becoming more and more obsessed with sports betting, and still yet discovering the ever-growing trend of online betting, Hong Kong makes for an exciting and attractive Asian destination. With a long and glittering tradition surrounding its famous jockey club which is one of the oldest institutions in the city, the former British colony of Hong Kong remains (along with Macau) one of the only areas of China in which gambling is not illegal. Since 1844 the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club - which promptly dropped its ‘royal’ after its reclamation by China in the 1990’s - has been the formal heart of gambling administration in the metropolis. Increased activity and more regular horse races in the 1970’s saw its status soar from that of an amateur to a professional racing organisation.   

These days the club administrates all sport gambling in the city, and hosts a wide range of athletic events. Looming large as a feature in the 2008 Beijing Olympic games, the club’s famous Sha-Tin racing centre will be the focus of not just the equestrian events but will act as a foundation for the Paralympic venues. The club’s horse racing scene, though having lagged since the handover to China, is still, without a doubt, going strong. In 2007 a one-day crowd of sixty thousand brought in a record one hundred and six million dollar cache to the club in bets, despite recent anti gambling protests in the city. There are now more than one hundred legitimate betting branches in and around the Hong Kong territory signalling that betting on this island city may only be getting started. 

Somebody had told me that Malaga was beautiful. From where I stood, in a seedy hostel room overlooking the McDonalds across the street, it wasn’t quite ringing true. The harsh sun beat down relentlessly on streets covered with litter, exhaust fumes hovered on the morning air, and a pale woman with a bouffant hair-do was using the next-door room as a brothel. 

It all just seemed to confirm my theory that the place you stay in can colour your perception of a whole town. It happened in Paris, where a hostel in the Clichy (nobody told me it was the red-light district) soured my romantic ideals about the City of Love. It happened in Barcelona, which might be one of the most beautiful cities in the world but which doesn’t look so great if you’re staying in the industrial suburbs. It happened in Tarragona, home to a gorgeous cluster of central hostels and also one completely characterless no-star hotel which happened to be where yours truly ended up. But Malaga was by far the worst of the whole bunch.

I had been working my way down south for a few months, and by this time I had learnt a few valuable rules about accommodation while travelling. Number one: Never arrive peak season in a popular tourist destination without booking in advance. I had become extremely efficient, taking an hour or two in internet cafes each week to pre-arrange accommodation in a number of hostels along the route using HostelBookers.com, and until now it had worked out fine. Then there was the night in Granada, the flamenco bar, the oh-so-delicious bottle of sangria, and the rash determination that I would try my luck in Malaga without pre-booking a hostel. Bad decision.

Now I was stuck in a hostel with a red light at the window, my room was a dark broom closet, and my sheets were covered with extremely suspicious-looking stains. Worst of all, there was a three-quarter length wall between my room and the next two, which meant that I could hear everything that was said either side. It was time for drastic action.
“Dad,” I wailed into the lobby payphone, “Can you come and pick me up?”

Being a single child, I have the liberty of being able to exploit my parents at every available opportunity. Better still, my dad had just bought a house in the Granada mountains and was spending the summer there in semi-retirement. It was the work of but a few hours for him to nick the neighbours car, drive a hundred miles along narrow mountain roads, and meet me on the outskirts of Malaga.

“So much for your new-found independence,” he growled, as I chucked my dirty bag into the back. “You can’t even handle a few nights in a hostel.”
“Not one like that,” I said.

We drove in the pale dusk away from Malaga and up into the mountains, where the air changed quickly from close and humid to bitingly cold. Soon, the sparse grass and scrub gave way to lush crops of avocado, orange and almond trees; a perfect fresh supper, free of charge (although my dad strongly disapproved). It was 3am when we finally arrived home, and sunk gratefully into comfortable beds.
“I’m staying in Almeria tonight,” I announced the next day at breakfast. “I’ve heard the nightlife is really good.”
“In that case you had better book a hostel,” my dad warned.
“Oh no,” I said blithely, “I think I’ll just chance it.”

 I've been back to Malaga since, and on second thoughts it wasn't that bad. I booked some last minutes cheap flights to Malaga through Monarch Airlines and this time didn't stay in a seedy hostel - instead I got booked my hotels through the trusty Lastminute.com - I probably wouldn't have gone unless it was as cheap as I got though!

How do you manage to capture the real flavour of a city? Everyone professes a desire to do what the locals do, but the bigger the tourist destination, the more difficult it is to achieve this (particularly if most of what the locals do is cater for the tourists).

Truly experiencing a place is much more than a week wandering along the main districts and the side streets, but the opportunity to spend three months exploring is not a luxury available to most. So with maybe only one week available how do you get the most comprehensive experience possible?

Taking for example hunting for a good place to eat – once again in hunt of the ‘authentic’ experience. The simplest approach that probably yields the most results is to wander away from the tourist areas and get yourself as comprehensively lost as possible. This might not exactly sound like prudent advice, but it’s only by going where most tourists don’t that the real city begins to emerge. The next step is to find a restaurant that does not offer the English translation as an option, the locals aren’t likely to speak English fluently, so why should their restaurants? This will inevitably lead to a lot of guessing at the menu, frantic hunting of pocket dictionaries and then the horrible mauling of the native tongue as you try to impress on the waiter what exactly it is that you want, but that is part of the process of actually getting under the skin of the city. More often than not the waiters will be more friendly, the food better value (or if not better value, than simply better), and you get the innate sense of satisfaction of having ordered a native dish in it’s own language.

Most large airports in the UK offer a number of different options for car-parking, dependent on the differing needs of their customers. Bookings can be made online, which can save a lot of time, effort and money. It is important, though, to know the different types of airport parking before you begin the booking process.

On-Airport Parking
On-airport parking refers to parking that is available within the boundaries of the airport. With many airport sizes increasing to meet the demands of increasing numbers of customers, it can be a long way from the edge of the airport boundary to the terminal and often there is not transport offered from the car parks to the terminals. Generally speaking the closer you park to the terminals the greater the cost will be, as you pay for convenience of being closer to the terminal. Either way, if you are parking within the airport boundaries make sure that you check the transfer times from your car parking spot to the terminal.

Off-Airport Parking
If on-airport parking refers to car parking within the airport boundaries, off-airport parking refers predictably to car parking outside of the boundaries of the airport. Due to transport links the transfer times from off-airport parking can often be less than for on-airport parking. It also has the advantage of being generally cheaper than on-airport parking. This is by no means a general rule though, but it’s easy to find out by looking at Holiday Extras’ website, which has comprehensive guides on airport car park locations.

Valet Parking
For those that can afford it the most convenient parking method has got to be the valet service. This means you will be met at the terminal by a driver who will take your car to an on or off-airport parking space leaving you free to check in with minimal transfer time from your car to the airport. When you return, the driver will bring your car back to you outside the terminal. This is by far the most convenient option, particularly for those with large families or large amounts of luggage.

Car Hire
It might sound like an expensive option, but it can be a crafty way of reducing your costs, and you won’t have to leave your car in a car park for the duration of your holiday. It’s possible to hire a car at a nearby depot, and then drop it off at the airport when you arrive. It’s a particularly good option to look into if you are travelling in a large group that is flying and then staying there for more than a month. If this sounds like you, then take a look at car hire from Holiday Autos.

Cambodia and Vietnam certainly do not provide travellers with a totally restful time, but rewards are to be had for those willing to go the extra mile and sample their incredible cultures. But how do they match up in three key areas?

Drink

Cheap, usually cold, and several times better than the rubbish served up in this part of the world, Asian beer is the best. ‘Anchor’ and ‘Angkor’ in Cambodia are excellent, but the best by far is ‘Beer Lao’, imported across the border from Laos. How this lager has not become more well-known elsewhere it is difficult to say. In Vietnam meanwhile, favourites like ‘Hanoi’ and ‘Saigon’ are to be found everywhere, but the ultimate drinking experience in this country is ‘Bia Hoi’, made without preservatives and consumed on the same day. Available at bars on pretty much every single corner of Hanoi, it comes cheap at about 7p per glass, and no hangovers! Word of advice: stay away from lethal ‘rice wine’ and any kind of alcohol with whole snakes or scorpions in it.

For those not alcoholically inclined, both countries do the usual soft drinks, while Vietnam’s green tea is incredibly refreshing and goes well with your noodle breakfast.
 
Verdict: Vietnam wins, Bia Hoi rules

Locals

Though the Vietnamese people are for the most part friendly, there are some who are extremely unhelpful and will attempt to rip off tourists. The majority, however, are really welcoming and will work hard to make you feel at home in their country. There is, though, no comparison between the Vietnamese and Cambodians. With the odd exception, the Cambodian people are brilliantly friendly and welcoming. Local guides are tremendous and there are many new friends to be made, while you may even be lucky enough to have the opportunity of staying with a rural Cambodian family, which is a pretty uncomfortable but worthwhile experience.

Verdict: Cambodia

Climate

Hot and humid, most British tourist sweat like pigs. Most restaurants and bars don’t have air-conditioning either so it is a good plan to carry a can of deodorant around at all times. For those with warmer blood, the temperature can be draining, with many tourists spending a lot of time dripping with sweat, mopping their brows and breaking their necks to get myself in front of the nearest fan. Go during the summer months and the heat will be offset by refreshing bursts of rainfall that last for about half an hour. The so-called ‘wet season’ isn’t in my experience as wet as the name would suggest, but when it rains, it pours.

Verdict: Tie 

Not much to choose between them, but the Cambodian people may just swing it in their country’s favour. Both provide fantastic opportunities for travelers, however, which have to be sampled to be fully appreciated. If you’re planning such a trip and think it might be the best idea to book accommodation before you arrive, then take a look HostelBookers.com for a useful directory of hostels , where you can find a great selection of hostels in Vietnam, as well as some in Cambodia. You’ll also need to get some decent backpacking travel insurance, and Go Travel comes as a recommended provider of this.

Three Reasons for a Family Visit to Nerja A great idea for a family holiday to Spain would be to visit the beautiful seaside resort of Nerja, which is in the region of Andalucia, and not far from Malaga. Nerja is at the bottom of the mountains of the Sierra de Almijarra and surrounded by the mountains of Malaga's Axarquia region. Also there are great beaches in the area and the average temperature, all year round, is 20 degrees. As Malaga is a major destination, reasonably priced holidays to the area are relatively easy to come by; check a specialist holiday website, such as Travelzoo, just to see how many there actually are. When you get there, here are three things you could check out.

One of the most interesting places to visit in Nerja is the caves. These have become very popular tourist attractions in recent years and are something of an historic curiosity. Although they were only discovered - or rather rediscovered - in 1959, there are cave paintings which were painted by our most ancient ancestors. There are massive stalactites and stalagmites making it seem like a prehistoric cathedral, as it been nicknamed.

If you're with young children, a visit to the Nerja Donkey Sanctuary will also make a good day out. The Sanctuary is a charitable organisation that rescues donkeys from the surrounding areas and nurses them back to health. It is open every day, which is great if you’re at a loose end. Once there you can see all of the donkeys and even take one for a walk if you wanted. They even featured on one of the series of Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares.

If it’s food and drink that you're interested in then there is a fantastic - and historic - bar called El Molino Bar. This is a flamenco bar that is situated in a building that is over 350 years old, which makes it the oldest bar in Nerja. It has an amazing, traditional feel to it with flamenco shows, guitar playing and singing, all erupting out of nowhere. The building itself has been refurbished and extended over the years but still retains many features from its 17th century origins. Whether you’re strolling through the caves or doing serious potholing, it’s worth getting the appropriate level of travel insurance before you go.

For great deals on travel insurance you can visit websites, such as AA Travel and for holiday car hire try Lastminute.com.