There’s a saying that says “’it’s a small world” – well, it is, and it’s getting smaller thanks to the ever falling costs of flights and cruises.  If you’re feeling the urge to explore your country, or even some foreign countries, why not take the leap and buy a vacation home so that you can enjoy spending some time in your dream vacation destination.  There are a lot of benefits to owning a vacation home.
 
Considering this particular option, some people indeed opted to travel within interesting areas within their country. The next situation to be noted though is the regularity of the visit of the said visitors in the said area of the country. Does the family already consider the area a second home? If yes, maybe this is the time to consider the option of buying a vacation home within that specific city or province in the county.

Why Buy a Vacation Home, Not Rent?

One reason to buy a vacation home is that it gives you the chance to return to that holiday destination whenever you want.  Rather than worrying about finding a hotel with a vacancy then finding the money to make the reservation, you can just fly over, or drive over, safe in the knowledge that you have a second home waiting for you when you get there.  A vacation home is also useful because you can loan it out to friends and relatives.  If a few of you have vacation homes in different places you could even swap them to enjoy different holiday destinations each year.

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Can you figure out those hotel meal plans?  American Plan, Modified American Plan, European Plan, Half board….  What does it all mean?  

If you're looking up hotels in a book or online, you may see that they have meal plans or dining plans listed.  There are different "plans" for providing a room and meals and services to their guests.  These plans, and other amenities, are often listed as a string of letters after the description of the hotel.

I don't know about you, but I find all this alphabet soup at the end of hotel listing a bit confusing….  All the more so because those hotel meal plans don't make sense when we look back on our travels.  

"American Plan", sometimes abbreviated as AP, means that the quoted rate includes all three meals a day.  Why this became known as American Plan is a bit of a mystery to me, because as an American, I can tell you most hotels don't include breakfast in their hotel rates, let alone another meal or two!  

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Hostels are probably the very cheapest place you can stay during your travels.  You may think… whoa, dormitory style bunk beds, backpacks, bathrooms down the hall… and starving students, but that's not necessarily true anymore.  

It is true that the average age for guests is 18-26, and you'll run into some places that do enforce an age limit, but people of all ages and budgets stay in them these days.  

Their buildings are often in good locations in towns.  They're easily accessible by public transportation, though there are some in rural areas too.  Some provide private rooms for couples or families as well as the dormitory style rooms.  Still you have to decide if this kind of traveling is for you.  

They are not hotels… they are budget accommodations, and they are basic.  If you choose with care though, you may find that they are a destination into themselves.

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1.    Start well in advance of your vacation time, and allow plenty of time to arrange the swap.  Once you have found a house you like and arranged in principle to swap, you still need to make sure you are both comfortable with the home exchange details.  This may take several e-mails to decide who feeds the dog or waters the house plants. 

2.    You have to decide in advance if your exchange partners can use your ski gear or snorkel equipment.  Can they drive one or both of your cars and how far?  Check all of your insurance policies.  And seriously, if you're leaving the dog in their care… is that OK with them?

3.    You may feel like a burglar when you first enter someone's home, and they're not there.  To make this as comfortable as possible, both of you should agree to leave the names of your neighbors or family to contact and instructions for appliances.  It's a good idea to leave a letter stating that they are welcome guests in your house even though you aren't there… and they should do the same for you.  Leave important contact numbers and emergency phone numbers.

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Let's say your budget really only allows for you to stay in cheap hotels.  Does that mean you should stay home until you can afford more luxurious digs?  NO….  At least we don't think so.  

We prefer to look at these options as inexpensive… not cheap.  Makes it sound a whole lot better doesn't it?  If you want to be a frugal traveler, no matter what your budget, these little places can be a great option.

If you plan to be out and about seeing that new country you're visiting, you're not going to be spending all that much time in your room.  You just need a nice clean bed to sleep in.  Well, you need a little more than that.

So how do you find budget accommodations?  You can search the internet, but while inexpensive hotels may be on the internet, it could be hard to find their listing.  They are more apt to be independent and show up far, far down on a search page.  We've found that it's easy to find these little gems when we travel by stopping and checking them out when we need a room.

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About the only things that hotel rating systems have in common are the stars.  If you are looking for a big name, five star hotel, you'll more than likely get what you're looking for.  Where it starts to get confusing is when you get into the one to four star category.

There are French rating systems, British rating systems, Italians ratings, not to mention Michelin guides and others.  A two or three star hotel in one country isn't the same as a two or three star hotel in another.  

The systems for evaluating the hotels differ from country to country.  So, for instance, French hotels with two stars may be adequate, while you shouldn't settle for anything less than 3 stars in Italy.

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Bed and Breakfast, "B+B"...  You'll find them called by that name almost everywhere in the world, especially if you're looking on the internet.  But if you're driving or walking around in a non-English speaking country, what should you look for?  The trick with these is to find out what they are called in different languages.  

You can go into a tourist office almost anywhere and ask for a B+B, and they will know what you're talking about…. but what if you're in a car searching for a room?

If you're driving down the autobahn in Germany you should be looking for a sign that says "Zimmer" or "Zimmer Frei".  OK… maybe you'll be going too fast on the autobahn to see anything, but this is the term you should be looking for in Germany, ...and Austria and Switzerland as well.  And don't be fooled by geography.  In some parts of northern Italy, where there is a heavy Tyrollean influence, you may also be looking for zimmers.

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Some hotel fees are hidden, some are right upfront.  Sometimes you can avoid hotel fees if you know about them.  It just takes a little forethought and imagination.

1.    Make sure you bring your cell-phone charger, and use it, so you aren't forced to use their phone.  You don't want to pay those phone fees just because you forgot to charge your phone!  If your phone doesn't work in the country you're visiting, but you have a computer, consider using Skype or another free internet phone service.

2.    Check to see if the hotel you're booking has fees to use wi-fi.  Big hotels tend to charge for this, but smaller ones don't.  We usually like those smaller hotels anyway.  If you're a business traveler, you probably need that wi-fi, but you might be able to get it without the hotel fee in the lobby or their business center.  

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When you're planning your trip you need to decide…  Will you reserve a hotel or not?  Whether you make reservations ahead of time or not depends on your temperament and your style of travel.  

You need to decide if you want the freedom of spirit and sense of adventure and spontaneity that going without reservations will give you, or do you want the peace of mind of knowing there is a room waiting for you.

You may be the type of traveler who doesn't like to commit to a firm itinerary.  You want maximum spontaneity.  Some travelers like to reserve a room for the first night or two at least.  That way when you arrive, groggy with jet lag, you don't have to worry about finding a hotel.  Once you've recovered and gotten into the swing of things, you can hop on a train or rent a car and find rooms as you go.

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Home exchange vacations could be a wonderful to enjoy a vacation on a shoestring budget. But it’s not for everyone.  You need to consider home exchange details for any vacation house swap to be successful.  

You want to be trusting, but you also need to protect yourself.  The first thing you need to consider is which exchange club to use.  You need to see what they specialize in, because most do specialize.  Do you need a club that caters to families, or seniors, or people with pets?

Home Exchange clubs are based in countries all over the world; they may list houses mostly in their own country, but many have international listings as well.  If you have a specific country in mind to visit, try to get an idea of how many listings they have in your country of choice before you plunk down your money.  Try to look for an exchange club that allows many pictures on their site, or even videos.  You want to know what you're getting into.

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