in search of darn good digs

Benjamin, his tow truck, and the magnificent La Catedral-Basílica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar in Zaragoza

This past summer we spent three weeks traveling around northern Spain with our three year old son.  We’re always planning new trips, and we had started playing with this itinerary at least two years before.  We knew it was a real winner, with gorgeous beaches, dramatic mountains, world-class cities, and medieval villages.  Plus, we were confident we could easily get away from the tourist crowds and feel like we were charting our own path.

Here was our 3 week itinerary:

• Barcelona: Hostal Poblenou for 3 nights
• Cadaques: Hotel Ubaldo for 2 nights
• Olot: Mas el Guitart for 2 nights
• Girona: Bellmirall for 1 night 
• Zaragoza: B& B Siesta for 2 nights
• Tarazona: Hostal Santa Aguedo for 1 night
• San Sebastian: Pension Altair for 3 nights
• Bilbao: Iturrienea Ostatua for 2 nights
• Poo de Llanes: Cuartamenteru Rural Hotel for 3 nights
• Burgos: Silken Gran Teatro for 1 night
• Madrid: Hotel Maydrit for 1 night

We spent the first week in Catalonia, and the first three days in Barcelona.  Over the next couple of weeks we’ll post about the cool places we stayed, the sights we saw, and the excellent times we had traveling from the Mediterranean Sea to the Picos de Europa.

Artjungle Eco Lodge in Itacaré, Bahia, Brazil

Make sure to check out all of our new Digs! We’ve re-designed our site to highlight not only Darn Good Digs, which are our Editors’ choices, but also other traveler reviews of their all-time favorite places to stay. Some of our favorite new Darn Good Digs include Artjungle Eco Lodge and Pousada Santa Clara, both in Bahia, Brazil; Rumi Punku in Cusco, Peru; Pension Altair in San Sebastian, Spain; Pension Marianna in Nafplio, Greece; and Banda Inns in Kampala, Uganda.

We’ll be adding reviews from some of the nominations we received during our current Nominate-a-thon in the coming days!  If you haven’t already nominated your all-time favorite small hotel, b&b, or hostel, please do so right now for a chance to win a Rough Guide of your choice!

Casa Bella Rita

Darn Good Digs is now partnering with the following amazing digs to offer our readers the convenience of making reservation inquiries directly on our website:

Casa Bella Rita – beautiful b&b near San Jose, Costa Rica
Mosetlha Bush Camp – down-to-earth eco-safari in South Africa’s Madikwe National Park
Journeys Within – super-welcoming b&b near the temples of Angkor Wat in Cambodia
Mary Lee’s by the Sea – colorful apartments on Puerto Rico’s southern coast
Banda Inns – a home away from home in Kampala, Uganda

We plan to partner with more Darn Good Digs in the coming months.  Stayed tuned.

For our second Nominate-a-thon, you can enter to win either a Rough Guide of your choice or the Rough Guide’s stunning new photography book, Earth Bound! 

You can enter to win by 1) Nominating your favorite digs, 2) Signing up for our newsletter, or 3) Referring a friend (when they sign up for our newsletter, just make sure they mention your name in the “How’d you hear” box).

Please visit our contest page for more details. 

If we could enter this contest (which we can’t), and if we won (which is impossible), we would pick the Rough Guide to the Baltic States! Which Rough Guide would you pick?

Ten days ago we posted about the first half of our trip to Nova Scotia in 2006 in “Nova Scotia: A Two Week Itinerary (Part I)”.  Again, here was our itinerary:

• 1st + 2nd nights: Lunenburg at the Lunenburg Arms
• 3rd + 4th nights: Annapolis Royal at the Hillsdale House
• 5th + 6th nights: Canning at the Farmhouse Inn B & B
• 7th and 8th nights: Mabou at the Mabou River Inn
• 9th night: Cheticamp at Merry’s Motel
• 10th + 11th nights: Dingwall at The Inlet B & B
• 12th night: Louisbourg at the Cranberry Cove Inn
• 13th night: St. Peter’s at the Canal House
• 14th, 15th + 16th nights: Halifax at the Prince George Hotel

In our previous post we left off in the tiny town of Mabou in the middle of Cape Breton’s Ceilidh Trail.  After we hiked the Mabou Highlands Trails, we headed to the foot-stomping Red Shoe Pub for dinner and live music.

Skyline Trail at Cape Breton Highlands National Park

From Mabou we drove to Cheticamp, the gateway to Cape Breton Highlands National Park. We hiked the popular Skyline trail, high on a headland above the gulf. We spotted a moose in the brush on our walk through the stunted forest, before the trail descended a boardwalk with stunning views of the dark blue waters far below.

We stopped at the Whale Interpretive Centre in Pleasant Bay on our way through the Park. While we skipped the whale watching boats, we did enjoy learning about whale evolution and seeing a life-size model of a pilot whale.

Dingwall Beach, adjacent Cabot's Landing Provincial Park

We spent two nights in the tiny hamlet of Dingwall at the Inlet B&B, which was essentially staying in a second bedroom with the friendly and welcoming Fitzgeralds. Dingwall was our base for exploring Bay St. Lawrence, where we enjoyed our lunch overlooking the harbor. And we had a lovely afternoon at Cabot’s Landing Provincial Park, a gorgeous stretch of windswept Atlantic beach where we lingered and walked along the four miles of sandy coast.

On our way to Louisbourg we parked at the upscale Keltic Lodge on the Ingonish peninsula for a hike out on Middle Head trail that follows an ever narrowing finger headland into Ingonish Bay.

Inside the Fortress at Louisbourg

In Louisbourg we stayed at the Cranberry Cove Inn, on the recommendation of Allison’s sister. It was a lovely Victorian home with immaculate themed bedrooms. We were truly impressed with the recreated Fortress of Louisbourg, a Canadian National Historic site. This place blew us away! Every detail of this 18th century town was paid attention to, from the tavern menu to the individual bricks of the reconstructed buildings. The costumed actors playing real people from 1744 truly threw themselves into their parts!  We had a wonderful time, and thought it was completely worth the out-of-the-way drive.

Lock at St. Peter's Canal, Cape Breton

From Louisbourg we drove to the small village of St. Peter’s on a leg of the Bras d’Or Lake and the canal. We enjoyed watching the yachts pass through the St. Peter’s Canal, another National Historic Site, in the Battery Provincial Park.

Then we shot down to Halifax for our last three nights. We stayed at the downtown Prince George Hotel. We gave ourselves a walking tour of the historic downtown, including a stroll through the Halifax Public Gardens and a climb up Halifax Citadel. We also enjoyed the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. One of our highlights from Halifax was the Busker festival, where the entire harbor walk was crawling with charismatic street performers every night of our stay.

We especially enjoyed Nova Scotia’s dramatic coastline and interesting historic sites, and we look forward to visiting Canada’s Atlantic provinces again soon.  We’ll see if we can uncover any more Darn Good Digs up there.

We knew we were onto a great idea, but we were a little surprised when The New York Times pretty much lifted the entire concept of our website, darngooddigs.com, for its featured article in this Sunday’s Travel section.  The article, “100 Hotels Under $150″, is a list of hotels recommended by NYT readers in Europe’s major cities.  Stuart Emmrich, the author, writes that “we used [our] database [of readers’ comments] to research and then select 100 hotels that we feel represent some of the best bargains for travelers headed to one of 14 European cities in the next few months.”

That pretty much captures what Darn Good Digs is all about, where travelers nominate their all-time favorite places to stay for under $150, and we research all the recommendations to pick the best of the  best for our site.  Coincidence?  We’re not so sure!  We emailed Mr. Emmrich to see if he had anything to say, but it turns out he was not aware of our site.  He did offer to take a look, though, and we certainly would appreciate that.  In the meantime, we’ll take a look at Mr. Emmrich’s list and see if he’s found any Darn Good Digs.

When our son turned one, we headed to Nova Scotia for two weeks.  We got a cheap, short flight from Newark.  We rented a car in Halifax, and we hit the road.  Here was our itinerary:

• 1st + 2nd nights: Lunenburg at the Lunenburg Arms
• 3rd + 4th nights: Annapolis Royal at the Hillsdale House
• 5th + 6th nights: Canning at the Farmhouse Inn B & B
• 7th and 8th nights: Mabou at the Mabou River Inn
• 9th night: Cheticamp at Merry’s Motel
• 10th + 11th nights: Dingwall at The Inlet B & B
• 12th night: Louisbourg at the Cranberry Cove Inn
• 13th night: St. Peter’s at the Canal House
• 14th, 15th + 16th nights: Halifax at the Prince George Hotel

We started our trip in World Heritage-recognized Lunenburg, 90 kilometers from Halifax.  It’s an old fishing town with a historic 18^th and 19^th century main street and homes.  Benjamin loved the Fisheries of the Atlantic Museum, as much any one year could love a museum.  We stayed at a small hotel downtown called the Lunenburg Arms for two nights.  It was a bit of a splurge for us, compared to the other places we booked, and we didn’t love the vibe. 

Fisheries of the Atlantic Museum in Lunenburg

We then drove to Kejimkujik National Park for a day of swimming and eating ice cream.

For the night we stayed in Annapolis Royal, walked around the Fort Anne National Historic Site, got eaten alive by mosquitoes at the Historic Gardens, and visited the very cool Tidal Power Project.  Perhaps tidal power will be the wave of the future!  We stayed at the lovely Hillsdale House.  Then we headed to the Farmhouse Inn B & B in Canning, ten minutes outside Wolfville, where we were greeted with cookies and lemonade on the excellent porch.

Fort Anne National Historic Site in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia

Around Wolfville we visited the Grand Pre National Historic Site, a fascinating memorial to Acadians who were expelled by the British in the 18^th century.

One of the most surprising and rewarding parts of our trip was our afternoon in Blomidon Provincial Park.  We were in awe of the Bay of Fundy’s incredible low tide and Martian-red cliff walls and wet sand.  We felt like we could have walked for miles on the beach out to sea!  The wind howled around us, and by then the sky was blue – it was surreal. 

Blomidon Provincial Park in Nova Scotia

From Wolfville we drove to Mabou on Cape Breton Island’s north shore, stopping for lunch in Antigonish – one of our two longest drives of the trip.  We had two nights at the pleasant Mabou River Inn.  We hiked for several miles in the Mabou Highlands, with Benjamin on my back, and pretty much had those beautiful trails all to ourselves. 

Mabou Highlands Hiking Trails on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia

 We’ll fill in the rest of the details from our two week Nova Scotia trip in a post next week.

We’re always on the look out for original beach getaways that fit our budget.  We often seek laid-back spots where we can chill on the sand, read our books on a hammock, or take quiet walks along the water.  We’ll take the colorful cottage with open-air showers or the hillside mansion with ocean view balconies.  Maybe we’ll be holed up on an out-of-the-way island?  Not bad.  Or perhaps it’ll be an attractive town where we can walk to lunch on the way to the beach.  Our fellow travelers are friendly, our hosts are welcoming, and there are good vibes all around. 

We took some time to sort through our growing list of darn good digs to see what beach-side digs and island getaways have rooms starting under US$101, sometimes way under!  The locales range from Brazil to Spain, but the Caribbean definitely dominates our list.  We’re just getting started building a guide to the best independently owned hotels, b&b’s, and hostels for budget-minded travelers, so if you have any places you think we should add, by all means, let us know by nominating your favorite digs!

Pousada Santa Clara

Pousada Santa Clara is on off-the-beaten path Boipeba Island in Bahia, Brazil .  With first-class food, deserted beaches, massage spa by the ocean, private hammocks and fabulous owners, this secret spot shot to the top our own personal must-visit list!  Doubles start at US$65.  Alison McGowan at Hidden Pousadas gave us this insider tip.

Pension Altair is sparkly new, modern, and sleek! Its owner, Ricardo, is super-friendly and was very sweet and welcoming to us and our three year old boy. We enjoyed our daily chats with him and appreciated his great tips on things to do and places to eat in San Sebastian. The Pension is just a short walk to Gros beach.  Rooms start at 32 Euros.

Jake's Resort

The cottages at Jake’s Resort on Jamaica’s sleepy southwest coast are supremely funky, and most overlook the beautiful rocky shoreline. We dug the outdoor restaurant which serves delicious Jamaican dishes, as well as the mellow bar adjoining the pool. Somehow Jake’s manages to be ultra-cool and family friendly at the same time.  Doubles start at $95. 

La Finca Caribe is on a hill in the middle of Vieques, a small island just six miles off the east coast of Puerto Rico, and the views of the forest down to the Caribbean Sea are fantastic. La Finca provides loads of pillows, hammocks, and cushy seating areas where travelers mingle, and share stories and margaritas. Doubles start at US$65.  A friend of ours, and killer math teacher, clued us into this spot.  Thanks Matt!

Hostal Miguel

Hostal Miguel is a sweet and simple guesthouse located on a pedestrian street in the heart of Nerja’s old town.  Plenty of shops, bars, and restaurants are right out the door, and the beach is just a few minutes walk away on Spain’s Costa del Sol.  Singles start at 28 Euros.  Lisa Lubin, our Emmy-award winning, world-traveler blogger friend nominated this one!

Casa de Amistad, also on Vieques, is a true island oasis at a great price. If you want to feel so comfortable that you can get coffee in your pajamas, then this is the place for you! With their house just next door, your hosts, Owen and David, are at your call, yet completely unobtrusive. They have stocked their guesthouse with everything you might need for the perfect beach vacation, including snorkeling equipment, beach chairs, and coolers for a picnic lunch.  Doubles start at US$75.  Peg from Gloucester made this savvy recommendation.

Carringtons Inn

Carringtons Inn overflows with warm hospitality and island charm. This former winter home of a wealthy family is perfectly perched on a hill overlooking the town of Christiansted on St. Croix’s northeastern coast.  Breakfast is lovingly prepared by innkeepers, Claudia and Roger.  Doubles start at US$100.  Thanks to Jennifer from Chicago for this recommendation.

The apartments are where it’s at at Mary Lee’s by the Sea, on Puerto Rico’s quiet southwest coast. They are huge and decorated to the nines in a funky Floridian style. We had great fun exploring the bay and mangrove islands in a kayak that we launched right from Mary Lee’s dock, just a stone’s throw away from our porch.  Doubles start at $100.

This list is just a beginning of the kind of insider tips you can find at darngooddigs.com.  We now have 64 reviews of extraordinary places to stay, all nominated by fellow travelers or personally visited by us!  Come join us if you want to receive our quarterly newsletter to stay up-to-date on all the new digs we add.

In these days or Priceline auctions and Expedia mega-discounts, with Sheraton hotels offering free rooms, and Garden Hiltons calling themselves “bed and breakfasts,” it can sometimes seem unnecessary to seek out budget-friendly small hotels, b&b’s, or hostels.  But we at Darn Good Digs think that no matter how hard a large corporate hotel tries to be personal, intimate, and inviting, it just can’t match the great vibes at Darn Good Digs.  Darn Good Digs are our carefully selected list of the best independently owned accommodations for budget-minded travelers.  We get our recommendations from our rapidly growing community of savvy travelers, and from our own travels around the world.  If you are an independent traveler who seeks originality, comfort, and great vibes when you hit the road, then you’ve come to the right place.  Join us in our search for Darn Good Digs, and let us in on your own secrets of amazing places to stay.