Free Accommodations in Exotic Locales

Would you like to spend the summer on an Alaskan island with only orcas, sea otters and caribou for company? Or how about two weeks in Turkey where tree branches whisper your nightly lullaby? If you're the right person for those caretaking positions, either lodging could be yours for free!

Gary Dunn's Caretaker Gazette has been serving the public for 27 years by connecting caretakers with owners who need their help. The website states that positions are offered, “...on estates, mansions, farms, ranches, resort homes, retreat centers, camps, hunting and fishing lodges, vacation homes, private islands, and any other kind of property imaginable...” in the United States, Mexico, Canada and other countries. Tasks might be caring for a few livestock on a ranch in Arizona, performing light carpentry on a farm in California, or taking a dog for a walk twice a day in Pennsylvania. Typically there's no salary offered unless the position is long-term, but, because these situations provide free accommodations, they are an ideal opportunity for the tightwad traveler to fully experience life at a desirable location for a price that can't be beat.

While the Caretaker Gazette offers a variety of job possibilities, the British-based Mind My House site exists solely to connect pet/house sitters with potential clients. Since pet sitters cost anywhere from $50-75 a day, it is thriftier for owners to engage a sitter who trades pet care for accommodations in the owners' home. The owners are assured that their house and pet are well-cared for while they're on vacation, and the sitter has the chance to live like a native for a week or a month in a desirable location. Mind My House currently has 129 listings in 27 countries with the UK and the US having the greatest number of opportunities.

I'm a firm believer in renting a home or apartment for your vacation, but a situation that allows you to stay-for-free while performing minimal chores is an an even better option!

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For more information about Gary Dunn and articles about the Caretaker Gazette, see his blog.

Attention Anglophiles

Want to experience the London Eye—the third tallest Ferris wheel in the world—without leaving the ground? Britain's national tourism agency's website will let you do that—and a whole lot more. There's no need to mind-the-gap here, because there is no gap. I cannot imagine a question that could not be answered by this site. The plethora of information will satisfy the most curious Anglophile.

Sleep in a Bath House, Chapel, Medieval Tower or Hospital

The Landmark Trust UK organization gives you a lot of options if you're craving a unique lodging experience. Founded as a building preservation charity by Sir John Smith and Lady Smith, the trust states that, “All landmarks are remarkable in some way for their architecture, history or setting.”

They aren't kidding. Beamsley Hospital in North Yorkshire, England, is Elizabethan architecture at its finest, but you can also experience modern architecture in the Anderton House built by Peter Aldington in 1969. If you rent a former inn called Collegehill House in Scotland, you can gaze over the garden wall at the Rosslyn Chapel which was featured in The Da Vinci Code book and film. If the inn isn't close enough, you can make reservations at the Rosslyn Castle itself. For solitude and communing with nature, try the three-mile long Lundy (Puffin Island) preserve in the Bristol Channel which is a pristine island with sweeping sea views and endless birding possibilities. There's a tiny village with a tavern and a shop or two, but most visitors are there for the natural beauty. You can only reach Lundy one way--by boat or by helicopter in the winter--but your twenty or so varied lodging choices, once you get there, range from a castle to camping.

My favorite choices, though, are the literary offerings. Imagine spending a few nights in the Piazza S. Felice in Florence, Italy, which was the home of Robert and Elizabeth Browning. In Rome, the flat in the Keats-Shelley house flanking the Spanish Steps would be sufficient inspiration to have me pulling out my manuscript. And is there a wordsmith who could resist the inspiration to be found at the bucolic Tivoli retreat in Italy believed to have been owned by the poet Horace?

While the UK Landmark Trust has, by far, the greatest number of properties offering 180 accommodations in the Channel Islands, England, Italy, Scotland and Wales, other organizations offer choices in other countries.

One Trip—or Three—for the Same Price?

Sacre Coeur

Brian, an employee of the Untours company which specializes in renting apartments to people who want to travel independently with a bit of support from a local expert, and I (as well as a couple other people) have been debating the advantages and disadvantages of a trip planned completely independently and one offered by Untours. You can read the thread here.

Brian's point is that novice travelers may be hesitant to plan their own trips because they fear the unexpected. The Untours company tries to ensure no unpleasantness occurs during the entire vacation experience. An Untours representative personally inspects the apartments on its list so there are no unwelcome surprises when tourists unlock the front door, and an English-speaking guide is on-site to handle—via telephone—any emergency that might arise from a lost passport, unforeseen medical problem, or an apartment key code snafu. I suppose Brian has a valid point if someone is extraordinarily nervous about traveling or is so busy he doesn't have time to do research on his own.

But Untour trips can only be had at a hefty price.

If you want to get the most for your travel dollars, planning your own trip is much more economical and rewarding. All you have to invest is a bit of time for research. And it is possible, I promise you, to have all those assurances Untours offers at a fraction of the Untours' price.

Let's look at a week in Paris during early September, 2010. Untours will pick you up at the airport, take you to your apartment, provide a printed guide written by their staff and a Paris street guide, an orientation lecture, and one group dinner at a restaurant. They will also supply each couple (Prices are listed per person but two people must share each apartment.) with forty metro tickets and two-day museum passes. They offer three small—as most apartments are in Paris—places in the 15th arrondisement and two apartment rentals in the Latin Quarter to choose from. The costs vary only slightly for each apartment, but let's say you choose the first apartment in the 15th arrondisement.  The total for this Untours trip is $3668.

Now, let's assume you make the same trip to Paris in early September, 2010, but do all the planning on your own.

There are several options for traveling from the airport to your apartment, some costing less than $20, but, let's do what Untours does and have a car service waiting for you, with a man holding a sign with your name on it, as you leave customs. The cost, for the round-trip, (This same company will return you to the airport at week's end for this one price.) is roughly $147. Let's assume you also picked up a $25 guidebook before leaving home so you could do some preliminary research. When you go to the metro the next day or to a tourist bureau, you will pick up a Paris street guide for free. You do not need an orientation lecture because you have already done considerable reading and Internet researching before you left home. Besides, you know you can ask any questions you might have at the tourist office. You will also buy two 2-day museum passes and four carnets (ten tickets in each carnet) of metro tickets for a total of $166. Being the cautious type, you've also bought traveler's insurance for both of you for $120 that will cover any cancellations in your lodging arrangements and pay for any medical costs you might have including being air-lifted back to the United States. You have also, after thoroughly checking the reviews left in the guest book and after many informative and reassuring e-mails from the owner, reserved a lovely one-bedroom apartment in the 10th arrondisement, a lovely and safe neighborhood with lots of cafes and shops and just steps away from a metro stop.  The apartment is also equipped with a telephone, computer, international-channels TV, a washer, dryer, and dishwasher.  All this for $662.

The total for the trip you plan yourselves will cost only $1120. Compare that to the Untours' price of $3668. Doing a bit of the legwork and research saves you a whopping $2548!

Tightwad Travel Tip – How Much Extra for the Suitcase?

Want to know the latest airline charges for checked luggage? The charge for two suitcases? Three or more? Wondering about the fee you'll pay if your bag is overweight? What about carry-on? Find the answers to all your questions at luggage limits.

Tightwad Travel Tip - Ferrying Around

Ever since I rode the Staten Island Ferry with its singer/guitar players and jewelry saleswomen in the restrooms, I've been intrigued by this mode of transportation. Rather than spend an hour and a half fighting traffic to get into Manhattan, my cousins and I simply boarded a ferry, enjoyed some music, bought some earrings, and got off twenty minutes later near Wall Street. I was convinced then that a ferry is often the best and most economical way to travel from Point A to Point B. Now, after many more ferry rides in several countries, I'm certain that my initial impression was correct.  I can't promise you entertainment or shopping possibilities on all ferries, but I can assure you that this mode of public transportation may solve some of your navigational problems.

Vagabonding – Slowly Traveling the World

“Vagabonding involves taking an extended time-out from your normal life—six weeks, four months, two years—to travel the world on your own terms.” That's what Rolf Potts advocates in his book about travel. He believes Americans are so consumed with achieving the American Dream, so caught up with mortgages and monthly payments and all the things advertisers lead them to believe they need, that they limit travel to “short, frenzied bursts.” Their travel, packaged as vacations, simply become another item to purchase each year and schedule for one or two weeks between May and September. In contrast, Potts would like us to become explorers and discover our world during long, leisurely trips where we see a lot—but experience even more.

Potts's excellent blog contains more travel information than you're likely to find at your local library. Vagablogging also features guest writers who are busily writing about the world they're idly exploring. Don't miss this treasure trove of information.

Two people who were influenced by Potts's philosophy are the Soul Travelers, a couple in their fifties and their daughter. They left Santa Cruz, California, planning to see the world in a leisurely two-year trip. That was four years ago. After exploring 23 countries and homeschooling their daughter, they have a lot of advice to share about everything from the benefits of early retirement to how to eat healthy meals while on the road every day of the year. Be sure to check out their delightful blog for travel tips and for articles about their latest travel adventures.

While the Soul Travelers are old hands at world travel, the folks writing “From Here to Uncertainty” are just beginning. Their blog, updated daily, chronicles the story of Brenna, Bob, and their two children in their fledgling first few months journeying around the world. As the title suggests, they have no idea what the outcome of their trip will be, but they plan to enjoy every second of the journey and remain open to the serendipity that often results from following your dream. I think Rolf Potts would approve!


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Rolf Potts's book, Vagabonding, is a compendium of travel philosophy and how-to-practicalities. It's available at all the usual places.

France on $70 a Day – Don't Believe What You're Told – Rental Car Follow-Up

For the second part of our trip to France, we needed a car to explore the Dordogne area. We arranged the rental with Kemwel, partners with Europcar, paying with a credit card before leaving home, and picked the car up in the Bordeaux Europcar office. The clerk's English at the Bordeaux office was somewhat difficult to understand, but she did make it quite clear that we were not being assessed extra fees right now. If there were additional fees, (such charges as a rail station surcharge, a daily road fee, an extra driver fee) they would be collected when we dropped the car off in Libourne.

When we returned the car to the Europcar office in Libourne, the clerk checked the car for damage, mileage, and gasoline, then told us everything was fine and we were free to go.

I asked about the extra charges that had been noted on the receipt at the Bordeaux office. The Libourne clerk insisted there was nothing to pay. Since David and I wanted to pay any extra charges with euros, rather than be billed a transaction fee by the credit card company, I asked the woman yet again if she were sure there were no additional fees. She insisted there were not.

David and I stopped in a cafe to wait for our train, but, as we sat there drinking our Cokes and going over the rental car experience, I still worried about the charges noted on our receipt. When we picked up the car, the Bordeaux clerk had said that any extra charges would be levied when we dropped off the car, but the Libourne clerk insisted we owed nothing. Were the fees noted in Bordeaux not applicable? Then why did that representative add them in the first place? Why had she kept our voucher from Kemwell which might have clarified what fees should or should not be paid?

The questions continued.  Could we rely on the Libourne clerk's word? What if the charges were mistakenly charged to the credit card? We would need some sort of proof that the Libourne representative had said we didn't owe anything. I decided to run back to the office and get the representative to make a note on our receipt that no extra charges would be billed to us.

Yet, despite David's and my best efforts to pay any additional charges and in spite of the Libourne clerk's reassurances, extra rental car charges appeared on my credit card statement just a few days after we returned home.

I have discussed the situation with Erica at the Kemwel customer service office in the United States, faxed the receipt with the Libourne clerk's notes stating that our credit card would not be charged along with a letter explaining our position, and called Kemwel three times (speaking to Shamus on October 13 and Lenora just last week) before finally finding out from Antonio today that there would be no change in the charges we were assessed.

Antonio suggested I look at the last line of the Kemwel voucher. Although our copy of the original voucher was retained by the clerk in Bordeaux, I had a copy in my computer file. Antonio insisted we should have known that we would be billed fees because of this line at the end of the fine print on the Kemwel voucher: “While you can use a debit card to pay for your reservation through Kemwel, cash deposits, Maestro, Switch and debit cards are rarely accepted locally, so please be sure to check with our agents at time of reservation if you require this facility.” Antonio says we were supposed to realize that the sentence meant we could not pay cash for any local fees we might be charged at the Libourne office.

I guess we were also supposed to realize that the sentence meant the Libourne clerk was mistaken when she insisted three times—and put in writing—that we owed nothing more that day, that nothing would be charged to the credit card, and that we were free to go.

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Do not rely on information given to you by European representatives of car rental companies. Read your documents carefully, especially the fine print, and clarify every detail—in writing if necessary—before you leave home.



Be sure to take two copies of your voucher, and any clarifying information, with you so you will still have a copy if the original is retained by the company representative when you pick up your car.

Tightwad Travel Tip – Drink Water

One of the items that needlessly increases the price of your restaurant bill is the drink you have with your meal. A soda adds $1.50-3, and a beer, a glass of wine, or a cocktail increases your bill by $4-12. A glass of water costs nothing and is healthier for you and your travel budget.

Tightwad Travel Tip – Lunch Saves on Food Costs

If you cannot prepare your own meals, the second best way to save money while traveling is by making lunch your main meal of the day. In every country in the world, you will find that many of the same offerings that appear on the restaurant's dinner menu are available on the lunch menu for a lot less money. The portions, usually too large at dinner anyway, may be slightly smaller, but you're unlikely to notice the difference. Also, if you eat a late lunch (Many restaurants, especially in the US, serve lunch until 4:30), you will only need a snack in the evening to satisfy you.