Hotel in a Drain

I didn't get a chance to stay there myself but I find this a great idea! Andreas Strauss re-purposed drain pipes into guest rooms which you can book and called it dasparkhotel.




At the moment there are two of these hotels - one at the Emscher bicycle route at Emscherinsel in Bottrop-Ebel close to Essen in Germany and the other one in Ottensheim at the River Danube in Austria. You can make a reservation online under http://www.dasparkhotel.net and pay-as-you-wish that means as much as you want! Sleeping in a pipe might feel like camping only in a cozy bed and if you on a cycle tour go for it!

Go Camping Maui!

The Wai'anapanapa State Park is a great place for camping almost at the end of the road to Hana, Maui. It offers a shady lawn near the beach, cold showers and toilets (that are kept clean by the staff).

The best thing about it is that there is so much to do: you can swim in a cave, sun on a black-sand beach or walk the coastal trail with blow holes and old lava fields.

Don't forget to make a reservation in advance and have your permit with you as rangers are quite strict and ask you to leave if you do not have a permit. Also, take some food with you as there are not too many shopping opportunities in that area!

For more information on camping in this and other Hawaii State Parks see http://www.hawaiistateparks.org.

Go Camping Oahu!

The Hawaiian islands are not well known for camping. However, there are a few really nice camping sites on Oahu & Maui!

Since there is not much budget accommodation (we did not like the Plantation village too much!) along the North Shore we decided to camp and it was a decision.

Malaekahana Campgrounds are great, quiet and quite private camping grounds with a nice beach! You can perfectly explore the North Shore and its surf from there with being only a few minutes away from Waimea, Sunset Beach and Haleiwa.

Note that you need a car and there is no way to drive into the grounds after 7pm but you always can walk in!

You can get your groceries shopping in Haleiwa or Foodlands in on the Kamehameha Hwy. Visit Haleiwa's Joe for lunch or dinner and have the best shaved ice on the island in Haleiwa. And, don't forget to stop by at Ted's bakery where all the locals have their breakfast - you won't regret it!