After you have picked your country, found the perfect hub city for you, and located a couple of neighborhoods that look like they will meet your needs, it is time to start looking for the best prices you can get, and then booking your next Cruise by Land.
There are several companies that list vacation rentals and allow you to browse many, many different choices. AirBnB seems to be one of the dominant companies right now along with Expedia/Vrbo. Years ago, we began using HomeAway, largely because it was based in our hometown of Austin, Texas. HomeAway was acquired by Vrbo, which in turn is now owned by Expedia. Both Airbnb and Vrbo are reputable companies with easy-to-use websites/apps and decent customer support.
We have had a couple of bad experiences with booking aggregators like Booking.com. Your results may vary, but we prefer to book the lodging, flights, and rail transportation separately to better control the timing and preserve communication paths with the individual providers. There is nothing worse than showing up in a foreign country and not being able to get in touch with a human because there’s an intervening fourth-party agent of some sort.
Both Airbnb and Vrbo allow you to communicate directly with the homeowners through email and text. Homeowners can be individuals or, more often, management companies that employ professional staff to clean and maintain the apartment/condo. In either case, you should have a person to meet and work with during your stay.
Be aware, there is currently some pushback on short-term rentals from local residents in high-traffic tourist hotspots. You can help avoid any hassle and support local residents who have valid concerns by booking accommodations away from the cruise ship terminals and tourist centers, and for longer periods (see below), like a month rather than one week. Also, if you’re traveling to party instead of explore, these are not the best options for you, and frankly, Cruise by Land is not the right place to be looking for advice.
Browsing through the choices for accommodations to look at all the beautiful photos is almost as much fun as going there. Once you find a place that looks perfect, exploring it and the neighborhood online is an adventure in itself. Usually, the rental company will not provide the exact address of the place until you have booked it. But you’ll be given the general area, which enables you to explore online. We like to use Google Earth and its Street View feature to virtually fly through the streets and explore the shops, restaurants, parks, and sights within walking distance. Doing that will also allow you to find out whether it’s practical to walk to train stations for your excursions, and the locations of nearby Metro, subway, and/or bus stops.
A lot of vacation rentals charge by the week. This is good if you want to stay only a week, but if you plan to stay longer using the Hub and Spoke model, then look at places that rent by the month. It’s often the case that the price for a monthly rental is only slightly higher than for two weeks. Even if the rental company doesn’t advertise this, ask for the monthly rate. You will be surprised at how much of a discount you can get the longer you stay.
We usually try to plan a trip as far in advance as possible. Three months, even six months prior to arrival is desirable. Which means there’s a lot that can happen to cause you to change your plans before stepping onto the airplane. A flexible cancellation policy for the home rental is highly desirable. We are typically able to book rentals with a deposit that is half or less of the full rental price and with a cancellation term as short as thirty days before arrival. If you do have to cancel or rebook for any reason at any time up to the cancellation date, you should be able to get a full refund. Most vacation rental companies will give you a 24-hour hold on the home so you can book your flights.
The different airline companies have different rates depending on which day of the week you want to fly. These rates change almost on a daily basis, so it’s good to get a head start on the planning and watch the prices over the course of a week or two before buying your tickets.
We aren’t going to lie to you: a transatlantic flight from central or eastern US is brutal. It will normally take off in the evening from one of the international terminals, like Dallas, Atlanta, Chicago, or JFK, and then fly eastward all night long. Flights from California or anywhere in the western US will take even longer.
The night is short when you fly eastward to Europe because you’re flying toward the sunrise at ~35,000 feet at around 600 mph (950 kmh). You won’t get much sleep on the plane. The food is bad, and alcohol won’t help. So be sure not to plan anything the day after you land — maybe not even for the first couple of days at your destination. Instead, try to rest and adjust to the time change.
So you see, given the stress and physical exhaustion of an overseas flight, the idea of staying only a week or two might not be worth the effort. We tried that when we first started traveling and found there just wasn’t enough quality time at our destinations to warrant the hassle of the flight. Especially if we tried to visit several different places and move from one place to another along with our suitcases. That is where the idea for Cruise by Land originated.
Stay longer, live in one place, and use the excellent rail system to visit other locales and explore the sights.
Cruise by Land!
— Kathy, Master Planner