As a local, live on the road

AMSTERDAM – I did not expect to wash the dishes to be a highlight of my vacation in Europe. But for three mornings in a row in Amsterdam, I woke up early and rushed to the kitchen. The bow of our boat-house, I could bask in the sun through large windows, clean the day before and watch the tour boats sailed our channel. The tourists smiled and waved, and I blissfully do the same.

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"Ha, they think I am a native. Suckers!" I think.

And for those few days, I was. This was the kind of experience I wanted for my recent trip to Europe. I had been several times before and I wanted to experience life there beyond the tourist sites. I wanted authenticity to go to markets, prepare food, relax on a terrace and soak everything.

And the hotels were off and stays in the homes were in. with a little research and planning, my boyfriend and I rented an apartment in Paris Bastille trendy and artsy houseboat in Amsterdam, Jordaan premium. You do not know the language of book or communicate with your contacts (usually the owners or managers who oversee a property or two), but as with all trips, it helps.

Know what you want: Reflection on the experience you want to guide you as you go through what could be hundreds or more lists. Do you want space to store your belongings and sleep, or do you spend time in the flat part of your holiday? If so, you'll want to look for one with a living room, kitchen decent size, maybe a patio or balcony. We knew we wanted a barge with a bridge in Amsterdam since the life of the canal is a part of that culture. But we decided not to pay more for apartments with balconies in Paris.

Know where to look: Start the search online well in advance. There are hundreds of registration sites, many of them focusing on specific cities or countries. So hunt around for specific options to your destination. We used the http://www.apartments-unlimited.com/ Amsterdam, only a list of service to our barge, and also examined http://amsterdam.citymundo.com/. But for Paris, we have used VRBO, which is held for rental and private rentals are dozens of countries. The site is owned by HomeAway Vacation giant, which has many sites of other ads on its main page http://www.homeaway.com/.

We decided to go to sites controlled, which lists set up by people who own these properties as second homes or investment is approved and maintained, rather than a site like Craigslist.org, where anyone can set up something. But often lead to sites controlled booking fees or additional costs added to your initial payment (sometimes half or more of total costs).

Book early if you travel during the peak season such as spring and early summer. I would recommend our houseboat in Amsterdam to friends travel there later this summer, but it is already booked for most of the season. And rightly so.

Research before you book: Since you are probably not familiar with the city, passing through guides and websites to include some activities and places to see there. Map and see how it will be easy for apartments or houses available. Do you have a value that can go back for a quick shower or to make memories? (Stay in hotels that are centrally located in many cities, can make this easier than the apartments.)

Weigh the costs: stays flat can cost more than the hotels. Do not think it's a way to save money, unless you spread the cost among several people. Our three nights on a barge came to nearly $ 640 (€ 450) and three nights in the apartment in Paris ran $ 510 (360 euros). It's more than we spent the night on hotels, generally. But we enjoyed the experience and considered that in. Also, because we had apartments that we could buy groceries and produce in local markets and to save money for eating out. And often, your apartment will have access to the Internet, which can be expensive in hotels. So that's a bonus too.

Ask questions: You'll most likely be able to contact the owners or managers directly from the lists. Ask what public transport stops are close by. How would they describe the neighborhood? Also, if you do not see the comments online, ask why. There was no criticism to our apartment in Paris, which made us nervous. But I sent the manager who told me that the place was newly hired. (And now, the apartment has at least one review.)

Do not be afraid to ask for exceptions to rules. Many places require a minimum number of nights stated on their site lists. In both of our stays, four was the minimum, but we were allowed to stay for three nights each time. These types of properties are often managed by individuals who may be more flexible than corporations.

Check-in: Because there is no hotel staff awaits you, the manager or owner will set a meeting time with you beforehand. But delays or simply get lost along the way can make you late, so make sure you have their number of practice.

But the call can be tricky. If your cell phone works in another country, you're lucky. Ours did not, so we bought a prepaid phone in France. But we have learned, even in Europe, the phones can not work from country to country without having to buy a new SIM card (which can be $ 30 or more). We opted for pay phones when we arrived in the Netherlands to call our host. But pay phones – if you can find them – do not always take coins. It was a frustrating half hour before someone finally told us to buy a phone card. Look for them in train stations, airports, street kiosks or convenience stores.

Look around you: Do not rush out to sites that may have led you to the city. Spend time in the new district, walking the streets and get a feel for it. Notice signs Calendar concerts, attractions and events. See what the locals do or where they hang out. Talk to your new neighbors and contacts to your apartment. In both of our holidays, our contacts set up lists of favorite attractions and local restaurants, we would not have found otherwise.

For the market: Look for local markets in cities large and small, run a few times a week selling everything from local produce to antiques. Browsing with the locals and eat local food. Sunday farmers market in our neighborhood of Paris was a clear trip, just behind my dishwasher. We waited in line for samples of fruit with the locals and got a street artist to play Edith Piaf on a crank organ. And if we had stayed in a hotel, we would never have finished with one kilogram (2.2 pounds) of strawberries, as a crafty salesman pretending not to understand when I asked for half a kg in French. Only now I realize that's exactly what we wanted.

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Submited at Friday, June 17th, 2011 at 4:00 am on Tips by sofia
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