We mention the Trip Advisor survey in the side bar, but we thought you may be interested in seeing some of their key findings from a recent survey of over 3,000 travellers.

• Power vacations — We’ve heard of speed dating, now there’s speed relaxing. Eighty-three percent of travellers surveyed unwind in less than two days of vacation and 94 percent in less than four days.
• “Germaphobia”? — Americans seem to be twice as “germaphobic” as travellers from other parts of the world, and 22 percent of all travellers won’t leave home without one of the following: linens, pillow, disinfectant/cleaning supplies or shower shoes. Fifty-eight percent of those surveyed travel with their own shampoo.
• Natural disasters — According to 85 percent of survey respondents, hurricanes, tsunamis and earthquakes are now a factor when choosing travel destinations. Sixty-five percent said natural disasters were not a consideration prior to the devastating disasters of the past year.
• Star struck — Celebrities do indeed influence travel planning. Sixty- five percent of travellers surveyed have been to a destination known to have celebrity guests. The number jumps to 70 percent for Americans.
• Leave your inhibitions at home — Forty-three percent of women, but only 28 percent of men, said they dress more daringly on vacation than they ever would at home.
• Real men go to spas — Visiting a luxury spa was the third most likely vacation activity in the next year, following sightseeing and shopping. What was most surprising is that men are almost as likely as women to pursue pampering.
• Rolling the dice? — Adventure activities topped gambling in popularity
• thirty-six percent of travellers are likely to participate in adventure activities, including heli-skiing, white water rafting and bungee jumping on their next vacation versus 33 percent who are likely to gamble.

TripAdvisor.com is leading global travel information and advice destination, with more than 2.9 million unbiased reviews and opinions and covering 200,000+ hotels and attractions. With more than 18 million unique monthly visitors worldwide (source see

I was looking forward to my first visit to Scandinavia. I had always wanted to visit Sweden but had been put off by the impression that it is really expensive and the desire to have better weather than at home when taking a break. Gothenburg is located on the south western coast of Sweden, at the mouth of the Gota River. As the plane descended toward Gothenburg City airport I had my first glimpse of Sweden. There was no sign of snow, but plenty of conifers and great views over the coastline. As I didn’t feel like rushing off the plane, I underwent a rather rapid acclimatisation as the end of the queue for passport control stretched outside in the icy blast. I donned the polo neck, hat and gloves before venturing out to find the bus into the city, There were a few people hanging around but no sign of a bus. I asked a young Swedish couple and they told the bus would not be there for over an hour. They asked if I wanted to share a taxi into the city with them. They were returning home from Carlisle, their place of study, for the holidays. Another young guy approached us, enquiring if he could share the taxi too, and he was a Swedish student from Edinburgh. The bus would have cost �4 but it was �6 for the shared taxi. I was glad to reach the city more quickly while it was still light.

My hotel, the Eggers, was just across from the railway station. It was originally built in 1859 as the railway hotel, yet although it was so central it was amazingly quiet. It was renovated in the 1990s, with the aim of maintaining its original charm. As soon as I stepped into the lobby I was in awe of the marble floor, the pair of Doric Greek Revival pillars and the chandeliers. My hotel room was understated elegance. It even had a small, tasteful chandelier. It was very comfortable, with appropriate antique furniture but also had a broadband internet connection!

I’d heard so much about Liseberg Park that I decided to visit on my first evening. Walking around the park made me feel more festive but in a typically understated Swedish way. It was really quite breath taking. All the 3 million promised fairy lights were white and most of them draped around every branch of the trees, which made them look surreal. It was tasteful commercialism. The park was full of families, the kids excitedly queuing up for a ride in the reindeer drawn sleigh and toddlers practising their ski moves on the gentle nursery slope. There were braziers dotted around the park, in case you felt in need of quick heat or had some nuts to roast. The log cabin craft stalls sold all sorts of food, drink, gifts and homeware. It was very cold and windy, making me glad that I’d packed my thermal underwear.

I had heard the hotel had a haunted room, so next morning, I asked if I could see it. The manager very kindly showed me the room and told me the story. This was where the original owners of the hotel, the Eggers, had stayed. A couple of years ago when a chambermaid entered the room she saw an elderly lady sitting in one of the chairs in the lounge area. The chambermaid apologised to the lady saying that she had not realised that the room was occupied. The head housekeeper was consulted and confirmed that the room was vacant. On another occasion, a Swedish journalist staying in the room was advised by the barman to take a glass for the ghost when she retired to the room with a bottle one evening. She duly poured out a glassful for the ghost and when she awoke next morning the glass was empty!

I was keen to go down to the coast at Salthomen, a half hour tram ride from the city centre. I had a 48 hour Gothenburg Pass (costs around �24 for 48 hours) which covered all public transport, including ferries to the nearby islands and free entry to most museums and attractions. As Tuesday dawned (at around 9am) bright and sunny, I decided I should get going. Instead of being organised and first checking the times of the ferries to the nearby islands, I walked around and did some minor rock scrambling and took some photos. There were lots of boats tied up and wooden jetties to walk along. When I finally made it to the ferry terminal, I discovered that the ferry service had a 2 hour lunch break. There was a ferry just about to leave for the nearby island of Branno, but I either had to stay on the ferry and come straight back to Salthomen, or stay on the island for 2 hours and 20 minutes. I wasn’t willing to chance so long on the island as it was very cold, and I wasn’t sure what cafes or restaurants would have been open on a weekday in low season. I was cursing myself, as at any other time of the day I could have spent an hour on the island.

On arrival back at the city centre I decided to try a Swedish buffet lunch at the Scandic Europa Hotel. It was a wonderful spread, soup, salads, cold meats, breads, three hot main courses and a choice of desserts, for 98 Kroner (around �8). I have to say that I did not find Sweden to be any more expensive than the UK. I believe that alcohol is more expensive than in the UK, but as I never drink alcohol that didn’t affect me.

Then it was off the quayside to see the new Opera House and the sunset from the top of the Goteborgsutkiken (nicknamed the Lipstick). I also wanted to visit the Viking Barken, now used as a hotel-restaurant, and have a look at the cabins/rooms on board. There were 2 and 4 berth bunk bed cabins with shared bathroom facilities, or larger ensuite cabins. However, the lipstick viewpoint/cafe is only open during the summer. Anyway, I was keen to visit the City Museum, which closed at 5pm. The museum houses most of the wreck of a Viking longboat. There is a modern recreation of the boat hanging above, which gives you a more accurate idea of the dimensions. One of my favourite films as a child was a romantic adventure film about Vikings, starring Kirk Douglas. There were some Electrolux cylinder cleaners on display, and seeing things that you recall as household items as a child in a museum was rather disconcerting! There was a room featuring a Jubilee exhibition in Gothenburg during the Twenties. One of the reasons for the exhibition was to show Sweden’s industrial might. It also looked as though there was plenty of entertainment, and there was even a cr�che where you could leave the kids for the day.

The plan for that evening was to visit the Design Museum, as it was late closing there. It seemed to be sensible to do outdoor activities during daylight, and the museums in the evening. I returned to the hotel for a cup of tea (very thoughtfully provided in flasks in the foyer for guests). I already had a cold when I left Scotland and after being out in the cold I could not face going out again. I lay down on the bed at 5.15pm and then next thing I knew it was 7.30. The Design Museum was open until 9pm, but I had a bath, went back to bed and slept until 8am on Thursday morning. Although initially pretty annoyed with myself, I felt so much better the next morning, I consoled myself by rationalising that it was better to lose an evening than to chance feeling awful all the next day.

After breakfast I walked to the Fish Market. It’s called the “fish church”, as the building in which it’s housed resembles a church. It was much smaller than I anticipated. Then it was up to the Tradgards forenignen park to visit the palm house and the butterfly house. I had visions sitting reading with these tropical butterflies fluttering by. It was not to be, as it was closed for renovation. I wasn’t sure which museum to visit that afternoon, but was recommended to go the Universeum, the science discovery centre. it was very imaginatively designed, with a recreated rainforest on several levels and a recreated Swedish landscape from mountain top to the seashore and below. There were also several floors of hands on activities. You could drive a Volvo lorry, design a model and get into nuclear physics (if so inclined). I couldn’t even manage to get 2 racing car models going with binary code! There are plenty of young enthusiastic multilingual guides at hand to explain things.

I did enjoy just walking around the city centre along the canal sides and through the narrow streets and the grand avenues. Gothenburg is a grand city in an architectural sense, very spacious. I’ve heard it called the Swedish Amsterdam. I think that this is a slight on Gothenburg, as in my opinion it is much more attractive and less commercialised than Amsterdam. As a lone female, I felt relatively safe walking around in the evening. There was very little litter around, no beggars or hustlers and a fairly obvious but discreet police presence. As soon as you approached a pedestrian crossing, the cars would stop. All the locals that I spoke to replied in good or excellent English and were very polite and helpful. I would call it an extremely civilised city, low key, sophisticated in an unpretentious manner, far from soulless and regimented yet orderly and relaxing.

Gothenburg can offer something for almost every taste and budget. Families are well catered for, most hotels have family rooms, there is the Liseberg amusement park and the Universeum (targeted at age 5 – 19). Kids under 17 can eat free at selected restaurants with the Gothenburg pass. The culture vultures have a plethora of museums and galleries to visit. The foodies can enjoy several Michelin starred restaurants and great choice of seafood. Nature lovers have the botanical gardens and the nearby coast and islands. Shopaholics have the largest covered shopping mall in Scandinavia. One of my sons tells me that there is a cool club scene there.

Gothenburg really does have it all. With the accessibility afforded by Ryanair flights (under 2 hours from Glasgow Prestwick) it is a great short break destination that does not, contrary to popular belief, break the bank. Many locals said to me that I should visit in the summer as it is lovely then. I enjoyed being there in the winter. It was dead quiet in the museums and the evening floodlighting was beautiful. There’s lots to do inside so your visit is not particularly affected by the weather. I was fortunate in my visit that it was dry all 4 days, although only sunny for one. Although the public transport is excellent, I did mainly walk around my ports of call in the city centre. It was too cold to stand waiting for buses and trams and I felt one sees more when walking around.

Karen Bryan is an independent travel consultant and writer, specialising in less well known destinations in Europe. Her websites are: www.europealacarte.co.uk

Trip duration: 63 days

Trip miles to date: 6,920

Miles since last update: 1,288

The week has passed quickly as I’ve enjoyed being back on the road after the extended lay up in Santiago. Having picked up the bike on the 18th (and being relieved of a very large amount of money from my friends at the BMW garage) I immediately left Santiago and rejoined the PanAmericana (route 5) north bound.

Just to get some miles under the wheels felt good enough, but the expense of the BMW dealership had returned a lot of comfort and peace of mind. The fact that they washed off the grime of the previous 5,000 miles also added to my sense of well-being. I still have reservations about the bike, I certainly don’t believe that nothing else will go wrong, but at least I’m confident that I can deal with it when it happens.

After travelling through the lush landscapes of the wine regions, the terrain quickly changed again as I approached the legendary Atacama Desert – no less beautiful, but certainly more dramatic. The greens turned to rusty browns and the temperature began to rise. First night stop was in La Serena, a pretty resort town about 300 miles from Santiago.

Before long I came across the much photographed Atacama monument. Essentially a hand cast in cement sticking skyward from the desert just south of Antofagasta. During the obligatory photo stop I incurred this weeks disaster (!). Whilst standing next to the bike for a self-timer photo, I watched the strong wind blow the tripod and camera over, straight down onto the lens of the camera – duly destroying the camera.

Extended travel by motorbike is tough on all equipment, things wear out very quickly but I felt this loss deeper than others as I had really enjoyed taking photos. I knew I would shortly be in Bolivia, where chances of getting a replacement would be slim until La Paz (the capital). So I changed plans and headed to Antofagasta for the night and managed to pick up a similar (albeit inferior) Olympus camera, which t least meant that the USB cable and software would already be installed on the small travelling laptop I’ve been using to create the web updates.

The Atacama is an extraordinary environment. It is officially the driest place on the planet with average annual rainfall of 0cms. As the sky is extremely clear and free from interference many countries and organisations choose to locate space observatories in the area – and I happened to pass close to the European Southern Observatory on route to Antofagasta.

The next day I left the main route 5 (The PanAmericana) but not until I had registered crossing the Tropic of Capricorn at 23d 70m S.

I then traversed the Atacama towards the Salar de Atacama – essentially a large dried up salt-bed. It’s a strange feeling leaving the relative security of the Route 5. I would now be on my own for the next 250 miles at the mercy of any mechanical mishaps. What I could control was NOT to crash (!) and to carefully manage my fuel consumption. I had filled the auxiliary 10 litre tank which would extend my range to comfortably make San Pedro de Atacama on the other side of the Salar.

As it happened, there was a steady trickle of trucks coming the other way, carrying salt from the state-controlled mine in the southern edge of the Salar. The photos cannot adequately show the terrain I was crossing and the sense of adventure and the feeling of remoteness and isolation.

This is EXACTLY what I envisaged when I planned this trip.

Before I reached San Pedro, I stopped off at the Flamingo sanctuary on the western side of the Salar and got my first chance to see them in the wild. The surroundings, the calm and tranquil environment and seeing these birds in their natural habitat made a big impact on me and I look forward to seeing more as I travel through the southern regions of Bolivia.

As if sent by a higher authority to reinstate my faith in Germans, whilst at the sanctuary I met with the Kirchhof family. Formally of Dresden, but now resident in Quito, Ecuador and taking a holiday around northern Chile. After a quick soda we exchanged details and they invited me to call them when / if I get to Quito.

San Pedro itself is a sleepy town catering primarily to tour groups and the backpacker industry. It consists of dusty streets lined with adobe buildings containing either restaurants or tour agencies offering excursions to the surrounding attractions. It was nice to stay a day and relax and get some latest information on the state of affairs in Bolivia and location of gas stops etc. A couple of agencies run 3 and 4 day tours into Bolivia, just 80 miles across at this point so I’m hoping they had reasonably up to date information.

Bolivia has endured a period of civil unrest in the past few weeks as confidence in the President and the level of exploitation from foreign owned energy companies has been called into question. Roads have been barricaded and there was a general strike that lasted 2 weeks.

A Venezuelan couple I met in Santiago had been instructed by the Bolivian border control to only visit La Paz – this about three weeks ago. Therefore it is entirely possible I will be turned away at the border and told to enter further north.

But in reality, I may never be in this position, with this opportunity again so I have to take the chance and enter tomorrow. Having talked to locals, and reviewing all the usual website updates (including the Foreign & Commonwealth website) I believe that the climate has cleared a little so I’m hopeful I will be able to enter.

If you want to know more about Greg’s travels, visit his website at: http://www.unbeatentrack.com/