How do you select an effective Villa Rental Agent? As you would selecting any
skilled, specialized consultant and using your own instincts for identifying a
talented, committed and professional firm. Another important yardstick is the depth
and breadth of the relevant knowledge they have and are willing to share, as well as
the transparency of their presentation.

An effective Villa Rental Agent will endeavor to eliminate as many potential surprises
and sources of anxiety by providing as much information as possible. A professional
agency will have a consistent, established way of working that is intelligible to the
client.

Here are some suggestions for questions to ask Villa Rental Agents when evaluating
who you want to work with:

1. Do you source the properties you are representing? If not, who does?

Many agents are sub-agents of other companies, perhaps not American-owned.
Some agents source their own properties and work directly with the homeowner.
Why is this relevant? You want to have reliable information, and an appropriate fee
structure built into the price of your villa rental. Agents are an essential protective
layer for guests, providing value-added services. Owners are often unable to really
understand your needs and communicate in an effective way. Too many agents may
affect the quality and quantity of the information you are getting, and the price.

2. How well do you know the area I am travelling to?

Some agents have never been to your chosen destination. Again, this is fine, but it is
in your interests to know this. Why? Because no matter how stunning and well-
staffed a villa, you are visiting another country and will sooner or later want to get
out and explore. You ought to be able to get information about where you will be
and what is nearby, easily. If a specific agent is not knowledgeable enough for you,
ask to speak with someone else in the firm who has visited the area and who can
answer your questions.

3. When was the last time you personally visited this property?

Conditions on the ground change all the time, no matter the country, and will affect
the quality of the information your Agent is providing. Details related to the
property, local services and nearby attractions may change. Roadways,
transportation and signage will almost assuredly change. A good standard a
comprehensive Property Re-Check at least once a year. With such a policy, the
Agent demonstrates their intent to maintain an accurate and up-to-date file of all
the details, from linens and mattresses, to pool conditions, electronics and nearby
markets.

4. What exactly will I find at the house? Dish Soap? Clothes dryer? Air
conditioning? Window screens?

Do not assume anything. A home in a different country is certain to be different
than your home. And it could be different in ways that you could not anticipate.
Most Italian home-owners do not install window screens because they ruin the view
while many Americans may have only ever seen their view through a window screen.
The property owner is likely unaware of the way you live, so your Agent must be
able to evaluate the relevance and importance of life-style differences for you. Can
they?

5. When I am at the house, what extra costs will I incur?

Can your agent give you a realistic idea of what extra charges you will incur? Utilities
are generally charged extra because often American guests will consume a
substantial quantity of electricity, heat and the like. What can your Agent tell you
about these charges? What can they tell you about the staff who will be working in
the Villa? Can they explain precisely when they come, what services they provide
and whether or not this is an Extra? Does the staff speak English? Your Agent is
adding value if they can inform you in advance, with confidence, on the myriad
details related to your maximizing your enjoyment of the house.

6. What can you tell me about travelling with children? An older parent?
Someone with physical limitations?

The more experienced a traveler your Agent is, the more valuable a resource they
will be. Within an agency, there are likely to be people who have traveled in different
capacities, so ask around to get information from those who have had experience
relevant to yours. It is understandable you may not even know what questions to
ask. A good Agent will know what to ask to ensure your Villa Rental is a success all
around. Some of the most important questions have to do with your traveling party
and your experiences traveling together. It is a good sign if your Agent wants to
really understand the interests and personality of your group.

7. Are there any local holidays that might influence my ability to enjoy my
chosen destination in terms of traffic, attractions being closed or special
celebrations that are unique to the area?

Part of an Agent’s value is their being able to give you local information about your
destination – from an American’s perspective. A common cultural frame of reference
adds a great deal to the quality of the services the Agent is providing. Italians take
their holidays seriously – often travelling to different regions, and closing up shop
so they can celebrate. This may influence when you can pick up or drop off a rental
car, or stock your Villa at a market. Be sure you know if such holidays will affect
your plans and how.

8. What is there to do in the area? Can you provide local dining
recommendations?

There may be a famous and highly rated restaurant, but if it requires a three-hour
drive from your Villa, it may not be a useful recommendation. Does your Agent
know where and when the local markets are? Opening and closing times of shops,
supermarkets, gas stations and tourist offices may be very different from what we
experience here in the U.S. A useful Agent will be able to help you anticipate how to
make the most of your precious vacation days.

9. What are the roads like? Are there alternative forms of transportation? What if
we want to go off in smaller groups or all together in a large group?

If you are organizing a large group for a family reunion, wedding anniversary
celebration or birthday milestone can your Agent help you understand how your
various guests will come and go? Will they be able to function independently or will
your holiday end up being devoted to a starring role as Tour Guide? The roadways
in Italy are often dirt and often winding. This is relevant for children who might have
upset tummies, and for driving home late at night after enjoying the local wine. The
ubiquitous ‘white roads’ may also limit the size of vehicle that can pass and make a
scooter rental impractical. Can your Agent advise you in such matters?

10. What other services are you providing?

Understand what value you are getting. Do they have their own English-speaking
personnel on the ground to assist you? Can they arrange special excursions to off-
the-beaten-path destinations? Can they get you an interesting guide? Help you if
your luggage is lost by the airline? Also – what information are you getting before
you leave and how reliable is it? A good agent will include a comprehensive resource
packet with detailed and updated directions, full-scale map, phone card, and other
helpful advice and assistance relevant to your destination.

Bonus Suggestion: Trust your instincts.

If the Agent is generous with their time, and is willing to share their experience,
insight and information, that is a very good sign. If they listen to you and you feel a
rapport, chances are the experience will be a success all around.

Final Reminder: No place on earth is like America.

The most memorable and enriching holidays come from being open-minded and
interested in the place you are choosing to visit. We encourage you to delve deep
into the local culture in a way meaningful to you. Renting a home is an essential first
step towards enjoying another way of life in another community. Be open to the
experience in all its variations, it may change your life.

Mara Soloman is the owner of Home Base Abroad, a full service Italian villa and
farmhouse rental agency. Their diverse property portfolio, Italy travel expertise and
client commitment are the heart of their business. Learn more about homebaseabroad.com Italy villa rentals at homebaseabroad.com homebaseabroad.com.

It’s been quite an amazing 18 months for me at Aardvark. Before joining in June 2004 I had visited Africa just a handful of times; twice to South Africa on family holidays and once to Botswana and Zimbabwe in 1999. Four further trips over the last year and a half have re-ignited my passion for my favourite part of the world and helped me create some interesting and original trips for clients. Kenya was a fantastic experience; a country for so long labelled a mass-market safari destination proved that it had interesting, small and personal camps and lodges in remote areas with great wildlife well away from the crowds. The trip to Botswana brought back many happy memories of my previous visit and once again showed itself to be the number one place to view diverse and abundant wildlife in a unique environment. Earlier this year I was in Zambia which introduced me to some of the best guiding I have experienced, and a return to the grass roots of safari; simple camps, great locations and personal hosting.

So, what could Tanzania conjure up? Well, I had three weeks to try and see as much of the country as possible. I decided to combine the southern game reserves of Selous and Ruaha with the more traditional game areas of the north, Serengeti, Tarangire, and Ngorongoro, and make them a personal Tanzanian ‘Big Five’. Add to that the island of Zanzibar and fleeting visits to smaller game areas like Lake Manyara and I had the makings of an epic trip. I wondered by the end of it whether each of the places I visited would just melt into a general memory morass of safari camps and national parks, but as it turned out this trip truly inspired me.

The Selous Game Reserve in the south of Tanzania, was my first port of call. I didn’t know what to expect. In my mind’s eye I had images of volcanic peaks, craters and vast grassy plains, but knew these came from pictures and films I had seen of northern Tanzania. The south of the country for me was an unknown quantity. What I discovered in Selous was a wildlife heaven. This vast game reserve, Africa’s largest wildlife protected area is home to abundant game; elephants, lion, leopard, buffalo, giraffe and more, plus countless bird species. My visit centred on the northern section of the reserve, where the Rufiji River cuts through the land. With fewer than a 1,000 visitors a year and just a handful of quality lodges and camps, the Selous won my heart. I toured for three days and in that time saw just three other vehicles. Good accommodation, good guides, good game and few vistors; the Selous has the perfect ingredients for a great safari.

I then headed west to Ruaha National Park. Unlike the low-lying Selous, Ruaha is on average 1,000 metres above sea level and therefore has a different climate and ecosystem. At the tail end of the Rift Valley the park is dotted with granitic outcrops and countless baobab trees. Again, just a few good quality camps service a protected area of 13,000 square kms. Greater kudu, lesser kudu, and lions with an unusual taste for giraffe – and no wonder, since there were so many of them. What I didn’t see were any other safari vehicles. Where was this ‘crowded’ Tanzania that everyone had told me about? Admittedly, I was travelling in November, a quiet time of year, but in fact these two vast wildlife refuges never really get busy. So much for expectations. Southern Tanzania had blown them out of the water. Heading north I wondered whether the second half of my trip would be disappointing.

From Ruaha I flew north to Tarangire National Park, a relatively small area of land bounded on all sides by Masai farm land. This jewel of northern Tanzania is home to many different environments; riverine woodland, marshes teeming with birdlife and open grassland ideal for walking safaris. However protected areas like Tarangire are under constant threat from the pressures of pastoralist farmers, a constant issue in this part of the world that reminded me of the time I had spent in Kenya’s Masai Mara. The Masai have their traditional way of life; the tourists come and go in their Land Cruisers. On the surface it works and sympathetic management allows the Masai to farm as they always have done, but the constant demand for land means that many of the wildlife corridors no longer exist and the ‘Tarangire Migration’ is now mainly concentrated within the park’s boundaries. Although the wildlife doesn’t roam as freely as it once could the upside is that visitors can often see large concentrations of wildlife and the sight of over 300 elephant grazing on the Silale Marsh was truly spectacular.

As I headed north west towards the Ngorongoro highlands, the famed crater and the open plains of the Serengeti, the Land Cruiser count began to rise as we drove into the hub of Tanzania’s safari world. However the trick with northern Tanzania is to veer away from those areas where larger lodges have sprung up and head out on a more traditional, tented safari. Granted you can’t do this in the Ngoronogoro Crater, but this awesome spectacle with its surrounding volcanic peaks momentarily makes you forget you are in one of Africa’s busiest safari destinations. At the start of a trip this amazing natural feature with its breathtaking views and concentrations of game could not fail to impress. To then enjoy the contrasting wide open spaces of the Serengeti from a simple bush camp would make a fantastic safari.

Although the main migration had been scattered by sporadic November rains, I was once again in the hands of some expert guides. As with those that I had experienced in Zambia, you could happily sit in vehicle with for half a day knowing you were not going to get bored or frustrated even though millions of wildebeest were not sweeping past the bonnet of the vehicle. The semi-permanent camps run by safari operators like Nomad, CCAfrica and Asilia are sited in remote areas, but are close enough to the game to move with the migration as it shifts around the Serengeti. For me it was the first time I felt as if I was on a really traditional safari, in a simple, but comfortable camp, in a remote location with a good guide and great food. Everything felt genuine and as if it was laid on just for me. To be honest this was something I never thought I would hear myself say. I have always enjoyed the comfortable lodges with their flushing toilets, running water and overhead fans. Without wanting to sound too dramatic I felt as if I had come of age in the world of safari; appreciation of the wildlife and the environment I was immersed in was now more important than cooling off in a plunge pool with a view.

Tanzania did something special for me. It reminded me of how beautiful Africa can be and sparked a passion for real safaris. Botswana has incredible wildlife diversity. Zambia’s guides are supreme. However, the combination of wildlife, scenery and culture I experienced in Tanzania would be hard to beat. It felt to me like the crossroads between southern and east Africa offering the best of both worlds; the remote parks of the south with the familiar and well documented open plains of the north. I could confidently say that a well planned trip in Tanzania will give you one Africa’s best safari experiences.

One of the first things families consider when they start planning their holiday is the budget. While everyone wants to do it all and have a great time, unfortunately there are only so many dollars that can go into the trip. The key to getting everything you want for your trip is making those dollars go further. A cheap holiday can often be accomplished by doing a little research from the comfort of your own home.

Thanks to the internet, we can now compare airfare, car rentals, hotel rates and even attraction ticket prices online in just a few clicks on the home computer. This also has made the companies offering travel get into competition to have the lowest price, and with a little research you’ll find a lot of bargain savings. So if you want to plan your golf holidays in Spain in the winters then start planning now.

When you first look for a website to browse for your vacation reservation, make sure to go to a reputable site. Not everyone who sends you an e-mail and has a webpage really is a business with good practices. The better-known reputable sites are ones such as Expedia.com, Traveocity.com, and Orbitz.com. These have all been in business for some time and have a proven track record.

You will want to go site to site and compare the price for the travel reservations you are looking to purchase. You can choose if you just need one service, such as airline tickets or hotel rooms, or if you need a combination of these items. If you are going to need more than one service, you may want to bundle them together in your search. Often there will be additional savings for booking multiple items.

When you are purchasing airfare, be careful before you buy. There are a few things to make sure you know before you hand out your credit card number. First, check for any restrictions on the ticket. Some are non-refundable, and while they are more affordable, if you are worried about possible changes in your schedule, it may be better to pay for a more expensive ticket. Also, the first price you may see on a ticket may seem too low to be true. Make sure it has all the appropriate taxes and fees included before you get too excited. If they have not been added in, they may lump an additional $50 – $100 on the price, per ticket.

Once you have made your selection, make sure to print out all the documentation that shows your purchase has been made. This may be useful down the road if there are any problems with your purchase.

If you are not a fan of online shopping and you are worried about all of your reservations being put into the system correctly, once you have booked, double check. A few days after your purchase pull out the papers you printed as a record of your order. They should have confirmation numbers. You can call the hotel or car rental location, give them that confirmation number and make sure they have everything correct.

Clinton Maxwell’s long articles can be encountered on many web publications associated with Spain. You can have a look at his contributions on alicante-spain.com/spain-tips/golf_holidays.html airport and Golf Holidays in Spain over at alicante-spain.com alicante-spain.com .

So, finally you have found the time for your deserving break. You have already planned what to do on the big trip. Everything seems to be prepared. But what happens when you forget your favorite digicam and you only discovered it when you’re already nearing the point of your destination?

Why does it happen that every time you go out of town, you always forget an item or accessory that you only remember after you left the house? If you are lucky, you usually forget small things like a toothbrush, where you can buy one in the nearest store.

But what happens if you forget, for example, your digicam? Or how about your raincoat in a rainy season? How about the travel supplies you usually forget? If you’re lucky, it’s a simple accessory like a toothbrush, which any hotel will have in their gift shop. But what if you forgot a more important product, for example, a rain coat? Or a backpack you’ll be using for a hiking trip?

What are all the travel accessories you need?

When going on trips, whether it is big or small, check out if you have a complete set of your travel accessories. What accessories should I bring? Among the most obvious are:

- Suitcases

- Travel clothing

- Toiletries

-Travel appliances (electric razor, travel alarm, hairdryer)

These, however, are just the basic accessories. You will see that the more you travel, the more you need things other than suitcases, toiletries, and travel clothing and appliances. For example, did you think that you should have brought a small nice neck pillow in a long train ride or flight? Or, what if you get bruised from a hiking trip, do you have a first-aid kit close at hand?

Here are some accessories that you might want to bring when you take your next trip:

- Binoculars

- Music player

- Mini-flashlight

- Camera

- Clothing steamer

- Mini-umbrella

- Luggage rack

- Door alarm

- First-aid kit

It would not be surprising that you might have additional options to this list, or you might have a list entirely different from the list above. And when you check out stores and Internet sites that sell travel accessories, you would learn that there are many products out there that you thought you never needed but turned out to be the contrary!

Author: John Edwards

Wondering what to put on your backback for having a wonderful and comfortable travel?

Click below for a checklist and