by
Sajehar » Sat Apr 21, 2018 7:26 am
Hi Butterfly68
Are you sure she didn’t say £43 per night? That would sound more like it.
However, in my on/off backpacking days in the late 70’s/eighties, Madeira had a very dull and staid reputation. It catered for down at heel honeymooners more than happy to provide their own night life and, conversely, pensioners on a budget looking for cheap sunshine as a cure all for their arthritis and lumbago.
That, of course, could all have changed by now.
You could do worse than check out the Lonely Planet or Rough Guide books. These used to provide brill info on the best & cheapest places to stay, off the beaten track places of interest, etc.
But according to a couple of hardened backpackers (still) that I know these guides have gone downhill by going upmarket. But they can be picked up for a few bob on the internet so might be worth it. Just google Rough guide to ‘Wherever’ or Lonley planet Guide to ‘wherever.’ Be warned though that the P & P might be almost as much as the cost of a second hand book ordered via the internet.
Me and my then boyfriend toured Crete in 1990 with the Rough Guide to Crete as our bible. We paid £1 a night to stay in Pensions (I think that’s what they were called); a bit like B & B’s only without the breakfast.
Even accounting for inflation they were dirt cheap to stay in. They were very Spartan comprised of a floor tiled, white washed room with two single beds in them, a couple of bedside tables, a few hooks for backpacks, coats, etc, and nothing else bar a solitary light bulb. The outside toilet and shower were usually located in the very pretty back court yards.
However, they were spotlessly clean and who needs anything else when the weather’s glorious, you’re out all day long, and are surrounded by cafes for mega cheap brekkie, dinner and evening meal; even in the out of the way villages.
Mind you, I was a lot younger then so might feel differently today… NARH!
