[ Here's a cool competition from the Generator: one of the awesome Luxury Hostels I've been featuring on the blog. ( If you missed out here is a recent review of Generator Copenhagen and Generator Hamburg ) ]

Get up and close with the genius of Gaudi-one of the many highlights of a trip to Barcelona

Generator Hostels, the European hostel chain, are preparing to launch their latest hostel location: Barcelona!

Launching in Feb 2013, the location will feature everything you’d expect from a great hostel – a clean and bright environment, a good kitchen and a party bar.

To celebrate the opening of the location, Generator are holding a photo competition on their Facebook Page. They’re looking for your very favourite travel snaps for the chance to win flights to Barcelona and accommodation for two in their brand new hostel!

Enter the competition here:

To give you a few more reasons to visit Barcelona, here are some highlights of the beautiful Spanish city:

Gaudi: From La Sagrada Familia to his lizards, Gaudi’s beautiful architecture makes Barcelona unique.

Las Ramblas: The Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca once said that La Rambla was “the only street in the world which I wish would never end.” Endless rows of florists, shops, cafes, restaurants and more make this street (or to be more accurate, collection of streets) the perfect place to while away an hour or two.

La Boqueria: One of the greatest food markets of the world and one of the great Barcelona experiences

La Boqueria: It’s hard to mention Barcelona without a reference to the vast amount of delicious food available in the country. Visit the largest market in Spain for everything from fruit and vegetables to salted cod and local cheeses.

Discover Barcelona for yourself – enter the competition here!

It’s come to the end of a very exciting year in travel at the BudgetTraveller

Between me and my team of trusted contributors, we’ve covered over 19 destinations this year on the BudgetTraveller and sister blog Europebudgetguide.com

Berlin, Paris, Costa Brava, Bologna/Rimini, Florence, Barcelona, Dordogne, Lisbon, Oslo, London, Granada, La Rochelle/Ile de Re, Antalya, Rotterdam, Krakow, Gdansk, Ystad/Malmo and Kolkata – wow some amazing memories there.

Next year I am already in planning mode and have a whole raft of exciting trip and project ideas in store.

However, as the readers of my blog, you are in the driving seat.

The blog is not just about my travel aspirations but more about discovering, sharing and inspiring your travels.

So please accept my invitation of completing the first ever annual BudgetTraveller survey.

Please click on the link here or just go to

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/QRMY8BN    [ Copy and paste in your browser ]

10 minutes max to fill out.

Please feel free to share this and forward to your friends-more responses, the better!

Deadline for completing the survey is Friday, 13th January 2012.

As a special thank you to all those taking the effort to filling out the survey, you have the option of being entered into a prize draw to win 1 of 4 New York City-Pick Guides!

Just leave your contact details at the end of the survey.

Winners of the New York City-Pick Guides will be announced on Monday 16th January, 2012.

Oxygen Books’  acclaimed city-pick series is a new kind of travel guide featuring some of the best-ever writing on favourite world cities from Berlin, Paris and London to Venice, Amsterdam and Dublin.

Their latest title, city-pick  New York, has over sixty dazzling writers on the most happening city in the world including Tom Wolfe, Scott Fitzgerald, Alistair Cooke and Jan Morris.

It’s already been called ‘excellent’ by The Guardian and ‘remarkable’ by the Sydney Morning Herald.

Big thank you to Malcolm Burgess for the kind donation of the guides for the survey.

To celebrate the launch of the BudgetTraveller I have not 1 but 4 fantastic prizes to giveaway to you today.

To be in with a chance of winning, I want you to send in a memorable budget tip from your recent travels.

This could be a great meal in a restaurant or  a great museum, a great walking trail or a memorable place you stayed that was budget friendly-anything!

If you can send in 50-100 words with a picture, that would be great.

Email address to send your entries is europebudgetguide AT gmail.com

The winning entries will also be published on the BudgetTraveller.

Deadline for entries is Friday 9^th September.

Send in your tips with your name and address please.

Winners will be notified by email on Monday 12^th September, 2011. Good luck!

PS : Big thank you to Kasia Dietz, BudgetPlaces.com, CrashPadder and umi Brighton for donating the prizes!!

So what are the prizes!?

We have 4 prizes.

1sr Prize

The first prize comes courtesy of the stylish funky, budget boutique hotel umi Brighton

umi Brighton is a beautiful 1850’s period building ideally situated on the sea front in the heart of Brighton’s vibrant city centre.

Winner will be treated to a 4 night stay (Sunday to Thursday only) in one of umiBrighton’s seafront double room.

2nd Prize

2nd prize in our competition is a 2 night stay for 2 people* in any BudgetPlaces.com destination.

With over 6500 hotels, hostels, bed and breakfast places to choose from in 700 cities there is no shortage of places to go on holiday if you win. ( *Budgetplaces.com T&C apply )

3^rd Prize

This is another great prize: £50 voucher (valid for 12 months redeemed via the website) from the glorious worldwide homestay specialists Crashpadder.

Crashpadder is perfect for travelers who are fed up of hotels and looking for a stay with more soul where you get to hangout and meet friendly locals.

4^th Prize

This is something a bit different and unique.

4^th prize is something stylish and for the ladies and all those Parisphiles out there.

Parisian blogger by night and by day Kasia Dietz is a designer of handbags-one-of-a-kind, reversible handbags, totes, clutches all made with love from the city of love-Paris.

Kasia is giving away one of her reversible bags: the Circles Bag from the Tribal Collection. The prize included the bag and the purse.

About the Sponsors

BudgetPlaces.com offers you the coolest budget places to stay in the best destinations. Check out their website for photos and videos of the centrally located hotels, hostels, b&b and apartments.
An average 120€ savings on a 3 night stay lets you live their slogan “Save on the hotel. Spend on the fun.”

Kasia Dietz handbags are one-of-a-kind, reversible bags and totes, made {with love} in Paris. Clutches and purses to match. Select collections are hand-painted, wearable art. Kasia Dietz handbags are the ideal bag for the fashion savvy eco-conscious traveler. Available internationally in France, Italy, Greece, USA, UK and online at www.kasiadietz.com

Kasia Dietz is a NYC designer and traveler who followed her heart to Paris. Check out her great blog www.loveinthecityoflights.com

umi Brighton offers a large range of rooms to suit an array of budgets and requirements, from small single rooms to large double-roomed family accommodation. All rooms have, free Wi-Fi, plasma TV, en-suite bathrooms and tea and coffee facilities, whilst our seafront rooms are air-conditioned. For more information visit their website

Crashpadder.com enables travellers to stay in local homes, but it is more than just a place to stay. It is a community of like-minded people with loads of different interest groups so everyone can find a match. With rooms starting at £15 a night in 1,847 cities, there’s no place like homes!