LayoverIdeas Blog

Wednesday 1 November 2017

10 Unique Montreal Tours

Looking for something different to do on your Montreal layover?

If you want to avoid the crowds, or have simply seen the big sights, it's easy to get off the beaten track in the city.

Here are some unique Montreal tour options to consider:
1. Quebec City and Montmorency Falls Day Trip from Montreal
2. Small-Group Quebec Wine Tour from Montreal with Optional Gourmet Lunch and Cheese Tasting
3. Main on a Plate: 375 years of Food and Culture
4. Montreal Rafting Trip on the Lachine Rapids
5. Professional Racing Simulation Experience
6. Old Montreal Discovery Tour
7. Downtown and Underground Montreal Walking Tour
8. 4-Hour Montreal Half-Day Bike Tour
9. Fashioning Expo 67
10. Montreal Mural Tour

Plus 3 great freebies!
FREE Things to Do in the Old Port - Old Port of Montreal
FREE Public Art in Montreal - Art Pubic Ville de Montreal
FREE Montreal Event Calendar - Montreal Mom

Related resources
10 Unique Paris Tours
10 Unique Chicago Tours
10 Unique NYC Tours
10 Unique Los Angeles Tours
Layover Ideas and Things to Do in Montreal
Montreal International Airport (YUL) transportation guide - IHateTaxis

Sunday 1 October 2017

10 Unique Hong Kong Layovers

Looking for something different to do on your Hong Kong layover?

If you want to avoid the crowds, or have simply seen the big sights, it's easy to get off the beaten track in the city.

Here are some unique Hong Kong tour options to consider:
1. Private Hong Kong Layover Tour: City Sightseeing with Round-Trip Airport Transport
2. Hong Kong Layover City Tour with 2-way Airport Shuttle Transfers
3. 4-Hour Private Hong Kong Layover Tour
4. Hong Kong Small-Group Hiking Tour: Life of Local Communities Beneath Kowloon Peak
5. 2-Hour Private Chinese Porcelain Masterclass
6. Fireflies Watching Tour at Tai Po Kau Nature Reserve
7. Lantau Island and Giant Buddha Day Trip from Hong Kong
8. Lantau Island Sunset Tour Plus Airport Express and MTR
9. Hong Kong Travel Pass: MTR and Airport Express Tickets
10. Café 100 Dining Package with Sky100 Hong Kong Observation Deck Admission Ticket

If you stay at the airport:
Hong Kong International Airport Plaza Premium Lounge

Plus 3 great freebies!
Best FREE Things to Do in Hong Kong - Timeout
FREE Workouts in Hong Kong - Sassy Hong Kong
Top FREE Things to Do in Hong Kong - Ovolo Hotels

Related resources
Travel Fail: How not to visit Hong Kong - Glbetrottergrls
10 Unique Bangkok Tours
10 Unique Amsterdam Tours
10 Unique Rome Tours
Rock Your Layover Hong Kong
Layover Ideas and Things to Do in Hong Kong
Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) transportation guide - IHateTaxis

Wednesday 20 September 2017

Do You URBEX? - USA Sites

Ruins in Jerome, Arizona (wikicommons)

Previous blog posts on the subject of urban exploration:
Do you URBEX? 1. Defined, Trends & Picks

With this post, we look at some of the more accessible sites popular with urban explorers in the United States. Plus we share USA-specific news, inspiration and resources.

In USA URBEX news

Matt Lambros' After the Final Curtain photographs show America's forgotten movie theatres - Denzeen
Urbex Photographer Discovers Eerie ‘Train Graveyard’ in North Carolina Forest - Petapixel
Urbex Instagram Photog Killed While Subway Surfing in NYC - Petapixel
‘Urban explorer’ arrested inside Niagara Falls church - Niagara Gazette

URBAN PHOTOGRAPHY INSPIRATION - USA

Liz's URBEX Photography Blog - Peeling Walls
Philip's URBEX Flickr Photos - DJ Philly GEE
Abandoned America: Dismantling the Dream - book by Matthew Christopher

USA-specific URBEX resources

10 Eerie, Awesome or Abandoned Places You Can LEGALLY Visit in the US - Architectural Afterlife
Abandoned America: An Autopsy of American Dreams - Matthew Christopher's blog, books, events
Abandoned America Photography Workshops - USA workshops by Matthew Christopher
After the final curtain - Matt Lambros' blog, events
URBEX Location List USA - Urban Exploration Resource
A listing of tunnels in Kentucky, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia - Tunnels & Bridges

ALABAMA
Spectre from the film Big Fish - Millbrook, Alabama - Jackson Lake Island
Hollywood Built A Town Then Left It To Decay On An Island In Alabama - Only in your state

Friday 1 September 2017

10 Unique Vancouver Tours

Walking the iconic seawall in Vancouver is free!

Looking for something different to do on your Vancouver layover?

If you want to avoid the crowds, or have simply seen the big sights, it's easy to get off the beaten track in the city.

Here are some unique Vancouver tour options to consider:
1. Historic Gastown Photography Tour
2. Segway Tour of the Botanical Gardens at the University of British Columbia
3. Vancouver Trolley Hop-on Hop-off Tour, Lookout Observation Deck and Vancouver Aquarium Combo
4. Small-Group Granville Island Market Tour
5. Vancouver City Tour Including Capilano Suspension Bridge
6. Independent Bike Tour of Vancouver
7. Stanley Park and Downtown Vancouver Running Tour
8. Stanley Park First Nations Interpretive Walking Tour
9. Private Chauffeured Whistler Transfer from Vancouver with Sightseeing
10. Seaplane Flight to Victoria with Ground Transport and Butchart Gardens Admission

Plus 3 great freebies!
25 FREE Things to Do in Vancouver - Tourism Vancouver
Top Vancouver Gardens (mostly FREE) - Trip Savvy
The Best FREE Tours in Vancouver - Experience Vancouver Group

Related resources
10 Unique Paris Tours
10 Unique NYC Tours
10 Unique Los Angeles Tours
Layover Ideas and Things to Do in Vancouver
Vancouver International Airport (YVR) transportation guide - IHateTaxis

Wednesday 23 August 2017

10 Unique Berlin Tours

Meta Trabant: Berlin Wall graffiti of the iconic Soviet-era car

Looking for something different to do on your Berlin layover?

If you want to avoid the crowds, or have simply seen the big sights, it's easy to get off the beaten track in the city.

Here are some unique Berlin tour options to consider:
1. Private Layover Tour: Berlin City Sightseeing with Airport Transport
2. Private Berlin David Bowie Walking Tour with a Historian Guide
3. 'An Evening at Charlottenburg Palace' Palace Tour, Dinner and Concert by the Berlin Residence Orchestra
4. Evening Berlin Food Tour by Bike
5. The Real Berlin Walking Tour: Art, Food and Counterculture
6. Private Half-Day Photo Shooting Tour With Local Photographer in Berlin
7. Private Tour: Berlin Art Galleries Walking Tour
8. Berlin Live-Guided Self-Drive Trabi Safari Tour
9. Private Tour: Berlin Architecture Tour
10. Berlin Street Art Tour and Graffiti Workshop

Plus 3 great freebies!
How to See the Best Views of Berlin for FREE - Travel Update
How to Enjoy Berlin for FREE - I Heart Berlin
Top FREE Things to Do in Berlin - Global Blue

Related resources
10 Unique Paris Tours
10 Unique NYC Tours
10 Unique Los Angeles Tours
Layover Ideas and Things to Do in Berlin
Berlin Schönefeld International Airport (SXF) transportation guide - IHateTaxis
Berlin Tegel International Airport (TXL) transportation guide - IHateTaxis

Wednesday 9 August 2017

Do You URBEX?

Kolmanscop, Namibia - an urban explorer's paradise
creative commons image wikicommons

Urban exploration, or "URBEX", is the exploration of man-made structures, either abandoned ruins or normally unseen components of man-made environments. May also be referred to as dark tourism.

Unauthorized exploration involves all manner of risks associated with climbing derelict structures, entering dark tunnels, crawling into drains, breathing or coming into contact with toxins and so on. People have died pursuing this hobby. Yet the purists follow their own code of conduct of "leave everything as you found it" and "take nothing except pictures".

While exploring these structures may involve trespassing onto private property, this is not always the case. Some sites are open to the public, or are accessible on a tour. Still others have added methods such as mini-railways to take you through the site.

If your layover doesn't provide easy access to an abandoned site, you can easily pass hours exploring incredible photographs online. As many devotees don't even reveal the exact location of their finds, this is the only way you can see them.

In this, our first blog post on urban exploration, we introduce you to a sampling of popular sites.

The URBEX Trend

Generation urbex: The extreme urban adventurers risking all for the right to roam - The Independent
Urbex: Is It Really Abandoned? - Darbian's Photography
When Time is the Architect: Urban Exploration by Photographer Tekprod - Wix Blog
Discover the Compelling World of Urban Ghosts: 20 Top Articles to get You Started - Urban Ghosts Media
Here's why I won't share locations locations - The Bohemian Blog
How Photographing an Abandoned Hotel Cost Me $2,800 - Petapixel
Stories Like This are Why Urbex Photogs are So Secretive About Where They Shoot - Petapixel

URBEX OBSESSIONS

This photographer is taking jaw-dropping photos of Europe’s abandoned buildings (Christian Richter) - The Independent
Matt Van der Velde photographs abandoned insane asylums (Matt Van der Velde) - Dezeen
Josef Schulz documents abandoned checkpoint architecture across Europe (Josef Schulz) - Dezeen
Abandoned Soviet architecture photographed by Rebecca Litchfield (Rebecca Bathory) - Dezeen

URBEX PHOTOGRAPHY

How To Photograph Models in Abandoned Buildings - Contrastly
The Underworld: Princess of Darkness & the Importance of Teamwork - Rebecca Bathory Blog
Urban Exploration Photography Blog - blog dedicated to taking great URBEX pictures
An Introduction to Urban Exploration - Digital Photography School
Finding Your Way Around Urban Decay Photography - Contrastly

URBEX RESOURCES

Everything About Urban Exploration - Forbidden Places
A Brief Introduction to Urban Exploration - Urban Ghosts Media
Urban Exploration Location List - Urban Exploration Resource
URBEX: Enter at Your Own Risk - Red Bull TV
Reddit URBEX Forum (specific locations not revealed)
The Bohemian Blog
Ancient Origins
Urban Ghosts Media

PICKS

The train cemetery in Uyuni, Bolivia
The Train Cemetery in Uyuni, Bolivia - URBEX Playground
Private visit to the train cemetery from Uyuni

An eerie Communist relic in Bulgaria
Exploring the Iconic Buzludzha Communist Building in Bulgaria - PetaPixel
One Day Private Tour By Car From Varna or Sofia To Buzludzha Monument

A Cold War spy station in Berlin, Germany
Field Station Berlin Teufelsberg: NSA spy station on buried Nazi college - Abandoned Berlin
Berlin Half-Day Cold War Tour to Teufelsberg

The compelling encroaching sand in Kolmanskop, Namibia
Kolmanskop, the ghost town of the desert - Deserted Places Blog
Full-Day Kolmanskuppe and Luderitz Private Tour from Swakopmund

Riding old Kiwi rails in Taumarunui, New Zealand
New Zealand tour will take you down an abandoned rail line in a golf cart - The Star
10-Tunnel Rail Bike Tour from Taumarunui

The buried streets of black death in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
Mary King's Close: 17th century streets hidden under Edinburgh were once a breeding ground for the black death - Atlas Obscura
The Real Mary King's Close Underground Guided Tour

Feeding speculation in the Nevada desert, USA
Often mentioned in the URBEX community, please heed the caution by StrangeThings: "AREA 51 IS NOT ABANDONED, DO NOT CROSS THE BORDER!"
Area 51: In the middle of an extremely unforgiving and desolate high desert is the most secret military facility in the world - Atlas Obscura
Area 51 Day Tour from Las Vegas

Making the most out of urban decay in Detroit, Illinois, USA
Detroit, City in Decay - Deserted Places Blog
Detroit Urban Exploration and Photography Tour

Related resources
Death by Selfie - IHateTaxis blog
Go Running on Your Layover
Memorial sites near Paris Beauvais Airport
Bucketlist: Downton Abbey
Layover Ideas for the World's Worst Airports
Spot the deadly fake taxi on your international travels! - IHateTaxis blog

Thursday 6 July 2017

10 Unique Tokyo Tours

Enjoy the best views of Tokyo free at the TMG towers!

Looking for something different to do on your Tokyo layover?

If you want to avoid the crowds, or have simply seen the big sights, it's easy to get off the beaten track in the city.

Here are some unique Tokyo tour options to consider:
1. Private Custom Tour: Tokyo in a Day
2. Tokyo Local Food and Drink Experience with a Bar Hopping Master
3. Authentic Geisha Performance and Entertainment including a Kaiseki Course Dinner
4. Kimono Shopping Tour in Tokyo
5. Tokyo Metropolis Photography Tour
6. Half-Day Tokyo Architecture Walking Tour
7. Japanese Bookbinding Lesson
8. Kintsugi Experience in Tokyo
9. Hands-on Ninja Experience in Tokyo
10. Challenge Sumo Wrestlers and Enjoy a Chanko Lunch

Plus 3 great freebies!
FREE Tokyo Walking Tour
FREE Tokyo Views from TMG Observation Deck
Top 10 FREE Things to Do in Tokyo

Related resources
10 Unique Paris Tours
10 Unique NYC Tours
10 Unique Los Angeles Tours
Layover Ideas and Things to Do in Tokyo
Tokyo Narita International Airport (NRT) transportation guide - IHateTaxis
Tokyo Haneda International Airport (HND) transportation guide - IHateTaxis

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