One way to travel within your budget is to consider a home exchange.
Have you heard about it? Home exchanges have been around for decades, but they’ve really gotten easier to arrange with the internet. They’ve become popular with families, seniors and boomers.
You basically arrange to trade your house for someone else’s house from another city, state, or country during your vacation.
You get to spend a week or two in… say London… while that London family gets a beach vacation in, oh, San Diego.
With hotel rates in popular areas so high, swapping houses can be a great way to save money, plus you will have a kitchen, multiple bedrooms, and you’ll probably get to know the neighbors and see some things that you wouldn’t have seen from a hotel room. (more…)
Many people try to see Venice in a day. Time and money are often short when you’re traveling, so you want to get to as many places as you can. You really shouldn’t see Venice just in daylight…. a day and a night maybe. Or two nights and a day.
Venice really is a small town. You can walk right across it from the train depot to St. Mark’s Square in less than an hour… but that would be if you were just walking and not looking, and what you really want to do is stroll and SEE Venice…. La Serenissima herself is the main attraction.
The first time we went to Venice, we arrived by train at night and stayed near the train station. As soon as we settled in, we hit the street and started walking. (more…)
You must experience Venice. Don’t listen to anyone who tells you it isn’t worth visiting, that it’s a tourist trap, that it smells.
Venice is romantic whether you go with a lover or a friend. It’s one of those cities that is charming and small and begs to be explored.
There are no streets, at least for cars. The only way to get around Venice is by foot or a boat of some sort. Doesn’t that take you back in time and bring out the romantic in you?
Don’t settle for stories from your travel friends or pictures in a book, go and experience Venice for yourself. (more…)