Jon joined me after my presentation at Travel Bloggers Unite in Assisi and we ventured onward to Venice, Florence and Rome. In the latter 2 cities, we stayed with HouseTrip in two very different but comfortable rentals. You can see the Florence apartment here.

HouseTrip provides accommodations for short stays by connecting travelers with homeowners or property managers. With properties available around the world, they have nearly 100,000 options to choose from.

And in case you have any doubt about the types of properties they have to offer, check out our apartment in Rome:

Above is the living room. Massive. And comfy. Though it was totally wired and had a TV, likely with satellite, we never took our eyes off the view (see above for the view from the bedroom!).

This is the dining room. It can easily accommodate a dinner party of 6 and comes equipped with wine glasses as well as all the tableware you’d need to entertain.

This property sleeps 8 (way more space than we needed but it was fantastic to have so much large living space. The property has a master bedroom and 3 other bedrooms, 2 full baths, a huge living room, dining room, kitchen and laundry.

If you’re interested in booking this property, check out the Colosseum Imperiali on HouseTrip.

In addition to this property, HouseTrip has many other Apartments in Rome and elsewhere in Italy.

Probably the biggest benefit to an apartment stay is that families of 3 or more or even 3 or more friends traveling together, can get a far better deal on an apartment than if they were to book a suite at a hotel or more than one hotel room. Factor in the ability to cook your own meals and prepare snacks in an apartment rental and you can save a bundle on a vacation.

Best advice for booking?
* The earlier you book, the wider range of choices you’ll have.
* Check out all the amenities listed and make sure it’s a good fit for you needs. Items to keep an eye for include WiFi, laundry, TV/cable, full kitchenware, etc.
* Detailed maps are included for each property so you can ensure it’s in a location that’s convenient for your needs.
* Communicate with the property manager to determine exactly where and when you will meet to receive the keys. If you’re arriving in a city for the first time and you won’t have a cell phone, this can be confusing.

Now that I’m clued in to apartment rentals, I’ve met a number of people who have been doing this for a long time and they all love it. The number one reason is the ability to save money, but there’s definitely something about feeling at home rather than that sterile feeling that can sometimes come from staying at a hotel.

Travel Well,

Beth

Related links:
Florence ~ Photo of the Day
Venice ~ Photo of the Day
Assisi ~ Photo of the Day
Life’s Short – Dessert in Italy

With my trip to Italy on the horizon, I asked them for help in booking some nights during my stay. That’s where this beautiful apartment in Venice comes in

I chose this place based on its proximity to San Marco Square and (sadly) for the fact that it had wireless (important for me as I expected to be also working on this post-conference trip around Italy). Having made the reservation somewhat last minute, I was happy to find any available apartment, little did I know this was going to be SO beautiful.

Upon arrival in Venice, I was met by the property manager who showed me around the apartment and pointed out the local super markets and popular sites. Leaving me with a detailed map of Venice and a set of keys, the place was all mine

As you can see (photo above), it is quite spacious with a large living room and kitchen combo. This apartment also has a master bedroom with double bed and another bedroom with with a single bed (i.e. plenty of room to sleep 3). In addition to a large bathroom, it also has a rooftop deck! I lucked out with the weather and was able to spend an afternoon relaxing and reading in the sun while taking a break from walking around the city. The view was mainly rooftops, but it was lovely to be above the street level.

The kitchen was equipped with everything one would need for an apartment stay (coffee maker, wine bottle opener, fridge, microwave…) and it was delightful not to have to eat out for every meal. There are a number of grocery stories nearby so cheese and crackers made for a great snack and I had cereal and fruit each morning before heading out for a day of walking.

The booking process through Roomorama is relatively easy. You simply input your destination of choice and dates and start browsing for properties. You can narrow down your search based on property type (bedroom, apartment or house) and then the sort of amenities you’re looking for (WiFi, TV, pool, washing machine, etc.).

The only thing I found a bit difficult was that in some cases while searching, I had absolutely no response from property managers/owners with regards to availability. This led to a bit of nail biting as I awaited word.

Best advice?
* Book early so you have a wide range of options to choose from and you won’t have to fret if you don’t receive a response immediately about availability.
* Research locations well. While I totally lucked out with the Venice property, I can see how I might want to be more careful in the future by using Google Maps to figure out where exactly the property is located.
* Communicate with the property manager to determine exactly where and when you will meet to receive the keys. If you’re arriving in a city for the first time and you won’t have a cell phone, this can be confusing.

With so many accommodations to choose from, Roomorama is a totally doable option for women traveling solo (it’s very safe, ladies!), couples or families. Given the fact that you don’t have to spend money on every meal out, it can be a great value as well. While this property for 3 nights (including Roomorama booking fee) was just over $700 U.S. (a bit more than I might normally pay), it is right on par with hotels in the same neighborhood. And while you may have your towels changed every day in a hotel, nothing beats being able to meander around in an apartment, cooking up your own meals and hanging out on the roof with a homemade iced espresso!

Thank you, Roomorama!

Travel Well,

Beth

Related links:
Venice ~ Photo of the Day
Assisi, Italy ~ Photo of the Day
Life’s Short – Dessert in Italy

That’s when I learned that we might be in danger at our condo on the Poipu waterfront and that we’d have to evacuate no later than about 2 am.

I’ve just returned from Hawaii Island (aka, the Big Island). I was with a group of travel writers and photographers and our first few days were spent in and around Hilo. This small city, located on the east coast of the island, is considered the wettest city in the state. Ironically, however, we had beautiful weather while many other parts of the state were getting hammered by intense rainfall (the previous week recorded 46 inches as reported by AccuWeather), hail 3-inches in diameter (likely record-breaking) and even a water spout that came ashore on Oahu as a tornado. (The photo above of a water spout – which forms off-shore – is from 2011.)

This time around, I was a lucky duck. No evacuating. No dodging hail the size of a child’s fist. No sitting inside a condo while nasty weather takes over my vacation.

But I know there were a large number of tourists in the last few weeks who weren’t so lucky. They were stuck indoors and in some cases their flights were delayed or canceled due to the heavy rains.

I travel enough that bad weather, missed connections or other problems don’t bother me so much. I’m used to it and know that when you do travel as much as I do, things are bound to happen. But when your vacation time is limited and you may not enjoy another 2 weeks off from work for another year, what do you do when that precious vacation time turns to lemons? How do you make lemonade?

1) If you encounter dramatic weather that’s devastating even for the locals… get over the fact that your vacation wasn’t what you had planned and, instead, look for ways to help – volunteer at shelters or donate food and clothes to help out victims. What an amazing way to get to know the locals, don’t you think?

2) Flee to drier and sunnier parts of the region. While my group was having lunch on the Kohala Coast, there were a couple of gals sitting next to us at a table. They were from Oahu and tired of the rain. So, they hopped on a flight, fled to Hawaii Island and traveled to the sunniest part of the entire state – well known for its consistent sunshine. There’s no reason your vacation can’t also take a detour to ensure a better experience.

3) Ask your hotel for a discount on a future trip. Consider returning during a time that has consistently better weather. This gets you back to your destination and gives you something to look forward to!

4) Make the best of the situation. I emailed my neighbors to check in on them while they were spending 2 months on Kauai during the heaviest of rains. Their response was, “The March weather has been wet. But it has not dampened our spirit! My big adventure last week was skydiving.”

How awesome is that?! The point is that there are lots of things to discover at a destination even when the weather isn’t perfect (something we know about here in Seattle).

5) Make it an opportunity. They say everything happens for a reason, right? It’s hard to see it at the time, but when you’ve missed a connection, your flight’s been cancelled or your car rental agency has run out of cars, consider who you’re going to meet and what you might see and experience because of that missed opportunity. You might run into a long lost friend at the airport, or get upgraded to a convertible by another rental car company. Whatever it is, there IS some gem waiting there for you – you just have to be open to it.

Travel Well,

Beth

Related links:

Photo credit:
Water spout – madmarv
Lemonade – ozgecan
Smiley face – Ged Carroll

The panel of speakers includes: Johnny Jet, founder of JohnnyJet.com; Amy Swift (panel moderator) of Smarty; Jeff Greif of TravelSquire, Lee Abbomonte (the youngest American to visit every country); Stacy Dreyfus of Orchid Worldwide; James Densmore (Go To Travel Guy); and Ashley Colburn.

While the event itself is sold out, it will be livestreamed. You can get info on how to stream it through this link.

I really wish that I could be there myself but alas will have to rely on the livestream In any case, we’re happy to be media sponsors for the event!

Hope you can make it!

Travel Well,

Beth

When we determined that this was not a good fit, she went on to, I believe, try to get me to commiserate on how bad things had gotten for tour companies in the last year or two. She had recently decided to partner with a larger travel firm in order to minimize her risk. “One bad tour can ruin you,” Jane said. Apparently a cancelled tour to Egypt due to the recent uprisings had taken a toll on her company. There was another incident in Africa that she mentioned – something about a tour bus getting into trouble with locals. She implied that having this larger travel firm back her up was the only thing that saved the situation in Africa.

I didn’t tell her that we had just had our best month ever (January, 2012) with a record number of people registering for tours. Or that February was shaping up to surpass January.

Despite the all-good-news from WanderTours and Wanderlust and Lipstick, that conversation has hung over me for the last 2 weeks. Uncharacteristically, my mind has been racing with concerns about insurgencies, closed airports and accidents.

If you know anything about me, this mind-racing with what-if-situations is not me at all. I’ve traveled for 25 years without incident (OK, there was that one time in Cambodia in 1992). I’ve always believed that if you’re prepared for a journey and listen to your gut instincts, most situations are manageable. This philosophy (my husband calls it the no-fear gene) has served me well as an individual traveler and as a tour operator.

Hearing this woman’s concerns and noticing the effect it has had on me, made me realize that this is the way that many people approach life (not just travel). Mention to someone that I ride a motorcycle and the first thing they talk about is a disaster story about their friend on a bike. Bring up my travels to a particular place (India, Mexico, you name it) and someone will share a tragic story about that destination.

I’m sure these people would argue differently, but I think their comments have less to do with a concern about my safety than it has to do with their own fears about riding a motorcycle or traveling to said country. Why do they bring it up? Well, there’s more energy and interest in the bad news – good news is boring! Just spend 10 minutes watching a TV newscast or commercials – you’ll see we’re bombarded with negative messaging.

(As I think about this, I realize there are few destinations that elicit purely positive responses. Hawaii comes to mind. But even there people will remind you it’s expensive. Hmmm, where else? Think, Beth, think…)

In the Buddhist tradition, it’s believed that fear is based on your attachment to an outcome. Those thoughts that say, ”What if this doesn’t go the way I planned?” Well, guess what? Things rarely go the way we planned. But the beauty is in accepting what does happen and then making the best of that situation.

I don’t doubt that one bad experience (as in Egypt) can be devastating to a small company. And it’s likely that the partnership that Jane made with the larger travel firm was the best business decision she could have made.

But I also think we create our own realities (past, present and future) and that to live with a mind filled with fear, serves only to create more anxiety and ultimately attracts situations that perpetuate that fear.

No, you can’t control when and where an uprising will happen, but you can make lemonade out of it (Jane’s partnership might have been that lemonade). But spreading that fear, just causes others to get pulled in to your drama.

I’m very fortunate to live in a city where we have a high concentration of adventure travel companies. I regularly get together with other tour operators and brainstorm on how to make our businesses better. Though it’s an unspoken rule, we focus on the positive. We share information, contacts, experiences, and provide feedback. While we don’t sugarcoat the state of our businesses, we never tumble into the negative future of what-ifs.

These are the people I aspire to surround myself with. Those who see the world of possibilities rather than looking for the fine print and the what-if’s. Without a doubt you have to make sure all the i’s are dotted and the t’s crossed. Have a backup plan. But being fearful about what might go wrong is a surefire way to stifle your travel, your life and your work.

Travel Well,

Beth

Photo credit:
Woman by spaceodissey
Reclining Buddha by joestump