Finding the perfect home base in the hub city is the next step in planning your Cruise by Land. This step should be customized to your individual requirements, but whether you are traveling solo or with a group, the basics are still the same.
Remember, you’re not just looking for a hotel room for a night or two. You want to rent an apartment or condo in an area where people live, not just visit. Look for locations in residential clusters that are within walking distance of intra-city transportation, such as metros, subways, and buses. If your hub is a larger city with more than one train station, such as Paris or Madrid, you’ll want to find a home base within a short commute to all the stations, since your excursions will typically originate at different stations.
As for the place itself, I always look at the main living area first. We like to gather in the morning with our coffee and plan out what we want to do, and then again in the evening to talk about our day. So I look for a comfortable sitting/living area. It usually consists of at least one couch and enough chairs to accommodate our group.
Then I look for extras that are important to us. In the summer, it is air conditioning, and in the winter, cozy furniture and maybe a fireplace. In Europe, a lot of places now have individual heat pumps in each of the bedrooms. We like this a lot, as not everyone prefers the same temperature.
The kitchen is the next thing I look at when trying to find our perfect home base. We do not like to eat out for every meal. Of course, we love to experience all the local foods we can, but we also enjoy preparing some of our own meals. This is a fun and relaxing family thing for us. It also helps control costs a bit.
And then there is parking. If we plan on renting a car, then this is important. But for most of the trips we take, we do not rent a car. We like to stay in a central location where the metros and trains are easy to get to.
I should have mentioned this first, but I always look for the internet. It is a deal breaker if there is no internet, as we are addicted to staying connected to the world.
So, how do you find a place that matches your requirements in a foreign country? And how do you ensure you aren’t being scammed? You certainly do not want to show up someplace after a long, arduous transatlantic flight, only to find the address doesn’t exist and you don’t have a place to sleep. And how much does all this cost?
Stay tuned for more details about all this, and how to reserve and pay for your home base. I have done this many times now and never been disappointed. Mind you, we are still nervous every time we arrive at a new location, but with proper planning and follow-up, it has always worked out for us.
And it can for you, too!
— Kathy, Master Planner