FlipKey Archives - Mom's Guide To Travel

Dec 31 2014

A New Way To Plan For Travel With FlipKey Virtual Tours

The first and only time that I’ve been to Phoenix, AZ was 10 years ago. I was a fairly new mom, galavanting with my 15-month old son. My husband was there for a 3- month training program and since I’d never traveled there, I figured I’d strap the baby to my back and go out to explore.

What I remember most was that Phoenix was hot and dry. I also remember driving through breathtaking desert scenery as we passed through mountains and long open roads to other Arizona towns like Tucson.

FlipKey Phoenix — Gold Canyon Golf Course * photo courtesy of wikipedia

One of the first spas I’d ever been to is located in CareFree, Arizona, not far from Phoenix. A decade and a dozen or more spas later, my sights are set on returning to Phoenix to re-visit many of the attractions with both of my children in tow.

There are a few places I have in mind that I’d like to re-visit but there are some new attractions that I’d also like to see.

The FlipKey Virtual Tour tool is helping me to do a little pre-trip planning and research. Ideally, I’d do a 5-day visit to get it all in, making stops along the way.

A rough-draft of my itinerary looks like this:

Day 1:

Camelback Mountain

The Phoenix Zoo

Day 2:

The Desert Botanical Garden

Day 3:

Scottsdale

Day 4:

Tucson

Day 5:

Carefree

The Phoenix area is one of the best places that I’ve taken a scenic drive. It will be even more enjoyable with older kids, able to appreciate the scenery around them. I’m glad that I have FlipKey to not only look into an apartment stay but also help me to plan my trip along the way.

Nov 11 2014

Travel To Greece: The First 4 Travel Lessons That We Learned

It’s been 11 years since I’ve traveled to the Mediterranean. 2003 – that’s when my then-boyfriend-now-husband proposed to me in front of Aphrodite’s Rock on a small beach in Pafos, Cyprus. We vowed to return to the island in 5 years after our first child was born. Little did we know that it would be twice as long and that we’d travel to Greece instead.

Our journey from Baltimore to Greece lasted a little over 14 hours with a longer-than-necessary connection through London, a city I never grow bored with visiting.

LESSON 1: GIVE YOURSELF SOME WIGGLE ROOM – SCHEDULE YOUR TRANSPORTATION TO ARRIVE 30-45 MINUTES AFTER YOUR FLIGHT IS MEANT TO LAND

Once we arrive in Greece and collect our luggage (1.5 hours behind schedule), I begin to panic. The office where I’m to pick up my “welcome” package closes at 8pm. Also, my pre-arranged transportation through Viator has instructions to meet me at 6:30pm. 8:15 is staring me in the face. Within a few minutes I come to realize that the Greeks are my kind of people: not exactly punctual but flexible and welcoming.

The Welcome booth at the airport is just turning off its lights and I make it in time to pick up what I need. My driver is discreetly walking outside the baggage claim area with a small piece of paper that has my name written on it. I approach him only because he doesn’t have a big white cardboard sign like everyone else waiting for passengers.

We’re in business! Package in tow and driver by our side, we’re over our first hurdle in Athens. Off to the apartment we go.

LESSON 2: PRE-ARRANGE YOUR TRANSPORTATION IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES WHETHER IT’S A TAXI OR A TRAIN RIDE – KNOW HOW YOU’LL BE GETTING TO YOUR ACCOMMODATIONS

Luckily, we don’t have to deal with a line of hungry faces and beckoning voices, vying for our business. Athens airport is chill and calm. Whenever I visit Mexico, this is not the case and sometimes it can be overwhelming.

Our driver escorts us to a private car, a yellow Mercedes. There should be a law against painting a Benz yellow but the car is beautiful on the inside and the ride is fast. I can’t complain.

As we weave through the highway that leads us from the airport to the city, I look out at the shadows of the surrounding mountains. The sun is beginning to set. I can’t wait for the adventures that this new city will bring. “This is Sparta” runs through my mind.

Like a nerd I watch The Immortals and 300: Rise of an Empire on the airplane. Looking out, I daydream about Greek mythology, wondering about the gods and the battles that dotted the landscape.

Driving into the city it becomes clear that the Athenians stay up late, even on a Sunday night. Our Flipkey apartment is located near Syntagma Square, a central area in Athens. I planned it that way. It’s one of the reasons why I prefer renting apartments over hotels: more options for where I can sleep at night.

Our driver has no problem finding our block on Akadimias street. He lets us out and bids us farewell.

LESSON 3: GET CLEAR INSTRUCTIONS FOR APARTMENT DOORBELLS IN UNFAMILIAR LANGUAGES

When we walk up to the building, the names on the bells look more like company names rather than private residents. Confusion and doubt immediately cross my mind. Did I get something wrong? Are there two Akadimias streets? Holy crap! These letters are in Greek! My husband tries to recite the Greek alphabet to decipher. Wow, the owner didn’t give me the Greek spelling of their name! What am I reading?!

All of those thoughts cross my mind. And thus, the second mini adventure begins.

I knew I had planned out everything to a “T” with some wiggle room for flexibility. (My husband isn’t a fan of my rigid “snap snap, let’s get moving” travel itineraries.) I take extra care with the flights, special services, transportation arrangements, excursions, dining ideas, housing, communications, etc. However, even the best laid plans have hiccups. This is the nature of travel. It’s where the best stories are born and lessons are learned.

I search my phone for the apartment owner’s email, scanning the FlipKey description as well to see if there was any mention of the Greek spelling of the name. The owner and I had made arrangements to meet in the apartment but we both missed a small detail: which bell I should ring.

LESSON 4: TEST YOUR COMMUNICATIONS BEFORE YOU LEAVE HOME

No worries. I have her cell number and decide to give her a call on my global phone. Of course my phone isn’t working! I learn that my payment to top off my sim card never went through. Grrreat, now I have a completely useless phone in my hands.

Here we are, in front of our accommodations, in a new and unfamiliar city, on a Sunday night with no one walking down this particular street and no way for me to call our contact. It feels like the tide is turning against me. I take a deep breath and calm my nerves as my husband wanders around a corner. Then I do what any logical person would do: I ring ALL of the doorbells in the apartment building!

I had a plan.

Luckily, one of the bells I ring is correct and the owner’s husband comes downstairs to let us in. He’d been waiting in the apartment for me. I make a mental note for my list of apartment rental tips – I wish I had these “Tips For Renting An Apartment in Greece” before I arrived.

After the initial introduction, he gives us a grand tour of the apartment, leaves us with his contact information and goes home. We rest our minds and bodies for an hour and then head out into the night.

Thank goodness for late-night cities like Athens. We find several places to eat, settling on a spot called Meat, Meat, Meat. Tasty chicken souvlaki, glasses of beer and water along with a side of dense cigarette smoke officially welcome us to the city. Ahhh, the adventure begins. This is Athens!

Have any travel lessons to Greece or any other foreign country that you’d like to share? I’d love to hear about them in the comments.

Nov 10 2014

Living Like A Local: Tips For Renting An Apartment In Greece

FlipKey hosted my stay in Greece. I was not compensated for the following content. All opinions expressed are my own.

I had seven days in Greece and I wanted us to live like Athenians – as much as we could in that short span of time. Instead of staying in a hotel, I decided we should rent an apartment.

I had a good experience renting an apartment in London last Fall so I thought why not give it a try in Greece. My London rental was low-key, spacious, inexpensive, private, allowed me to cook and wash my clothes, and had its own unique style. Whenever I tell people that I prefer renting apartments in Europe over booking hotels, they ask….

Is renting an apartment overseas better than staying in a hotel?

Short answer: It depends on your travel style and what you’re looking for. I personally feel more immersed in a place when I rent an apartment. Something as simple as bumping into neighbors on the elevator or in the lobby makes me feel more like a resident than a visitor.

If you want to live like a local, then renting an apartment is the way to go. If it’s not important to you, then staying at a hotel will work for you.

If you enjoy small challenges like figuring out how to work foreign appliances, then rent an apartment. If you’d rather keep it simple when it comes to your accommodations, then book a hotel.

How to choose an apartment rental

renting an apartment in Greece — Our bedroom in the apartment

Choosing a local apartment takes some research and patience. I don’t like rushing the process. Be mindful that there are dozens of apartment rental websites. Sometimes you’ll find that an owner will list a single property on several of them, which can suck if a property gets double booked.

If you give yourself enough time, you won’t face the unfortunate circumstance of being left out in the cold.

Look for rental sites that provide some sort of guarantee or a calendar that shows when a rental was last updated. FlipKey’s calendar system shows when an apartment is available. However, I’ve found that some owners aren’t as diligent as they should be with updating their calendar. I wish there were a way to boot them out of the database or block their listing when they don’t update weekly. In the meantime, here are…

10 tips to consider when renting an apartment in Greece

For my trip to Athens, Greece, I took several things into consideration as I was choosing an apartment:

Read the reviews and the apartment description carefully. This is where patience comes in to play. I read each and every review, no matter how many are listed. I compare those reviews to the apartment’s description. Sometimes renters mention something really helpful about the apartment that’s not written in the description. For instance, one of the apartments I looked at mentioned that the property was in a really quiet and picturesque neighborhood. Well, a reviewer concurred with that part of the description but added that the place was really far out from the city. The apartment was no longer an interest for me.
Decide on your daily budget. If you can find an apartment that’s cheaper than a hotel room that fits within your daily budget, then I say go for the apartment. You’ll get more for your money in terms of space and can save even more by using any kitchen facilities.
Scrutinize pictures closely. Pictures can be deceiving. Bathrooms, bedrooms and kitchens are the most important rooms. If a rental is lacking clear visuals of these areas and just fills up their portfolio with shots of the living room, balcony, exterior, or surrounding attractions, it’s a sign that the owner may be trying to hide something. Believe me, if the kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom are amazing, the owner will want to show it off.
Read the owner’s responses. I like to see how the owner responds to reviews. If they are unprofessional or unapologetic where it’s clear that they should be, I count that as a strike. If the owner responds to every renters’ message I count that as a plus. A responsive owner online will make a responsive owner off-line. FlipKey’s messaging system made it easy for me to ask questions of the owner before I made my final decision.
Consider the location of the apartment. Is the apartment in the center of the city, easily accessible by foot and near restaurants? We chose an apartment that was within three minutes walking distance from Syntagma Square, a busy and popular central area in Athens. Restaurants, stores, transportation, and banks were also convenient to our apartment. FlipKey’s map function showed a general idea of where the apartment was located which helped me to make some final decisions.
Have a Plan B. Have a backup plan in the unfortunate circumstance that something goes wrong with the rental. It doesn’t happen often but you could possibly find yourself in a situation where you might have to move. The owner could have horribly mis-advertised the apartment or they could turn out to be difficult. An apartment rental gone wrong earlier in the year had all the elements of why you need a plan B. Unfortunately we didn’t have one and we had to stay where we were.
Have all the owners contact information. Get the owner’s phone number and make sure to give them yours. Let the owner know how they can get in contact with you while you’re traveling. We were running late on our way to Greece but the owner had the means to get in contact with us.
Plan in advance. Give yourself plenty of lead time when you’re in the research phase for back-and-forth emails. Some of the owners that I contacted were very relaxed in their communications. It would take two or three days for people to get back to me. Don’t chase an owner. If they’re slow to respond online chances are that they’ll be slow to respond off-line.
Get doorbell details. The owner we were dealing with in Athens chose to meet us in the apartment. However, she failed to inform us which bell to ring and every name was in Greek letters. In an act of desperation I rang a few of the bells. Luckily one of my choices was correct. After ten minutes, the owner came downstairs to the lobby and met us. A better option would have been to make arrangements to meet us in the lobby of the apartment building.
Take pictures. Once you arrive at the apartment, take pics of your surroundings and keep a record of all emails and correspondences. This tip is more a post-rental bit of advice but still worth mentioning here. You always want to have some sort of documentation in case any problems arise after your rental or you need proof of anything.

Renting apartments for vacation stays is growing in popularity and demand. If you follow these 10 guidelines I think you’ll have a pleasant apartment rental experience in Greece or wherever you choose to live like a local.

Dec 11 2013

London Apartment Rentals Through The Ever-Growing FlipKey

Grey, cold, dreary – that’s all I know of England. Of the five times that I’ve been to the country, I’ve only ever visited in either November or February. Why? It’s just happened to work out that way. However, for some reason, rainy weather doesn’t bother me when I’m renting an apartment, my accommodation of choice while I’m visiting London. This time around, I rented a place on my own and with confidence through FlipKey.

London Apartment Rentals Flip Key — Spacious living room made the stay feel more like home.

I didn’t expect November to be a terribly popular time to get accommodations in London but as I procrastinated longer and longer to book one and watched my once-plentiful options on the FlipKey site dwindle, I realized I miscalculated. London apartment rentals are a growing trend and have become more popular with the increase in online portals.

The very first time I rented an apartment in London was right after college with a group of girlfriends. Three of us had birthdays in February so we took a spur of the moment trip to London. We rented an apartment from a co-worker who worked in our London office and the whole transaction was seamless because we knew him. At the time, there was no FlipKey or any other online market for apartment rentals.

I don’t know what people did in the past when they wanted to avoid renting hotel rooms. I guess it was through personal connections like ours or maybe even private realtors. The point being, you needed some assurance or insurance that you weren’t going to get scammed.

And that’s why I’m liking FlipKey. Besides the fact that they’re a subsidiary of TripAdvisor, a site that I trust, they:

Have a rating system for renters to use to grade “landlords” – from experience to email responsiveness.
Have a sizeable inventory with 240,000 listings in 12,000 locations around the world.
Offer a guarantee, in case things go wrong.
Allow me to save my searches to look through the next time I return to the site.
Look at past renters’ photos.

This trip around was all about going off the beaten path a bit so besides taking day trips out of the city, or staying the night in a castle, I wanted to stay near the Stockwell – Brixton area.

My apartment was a 2 bedroom 2 bathroom flat that was the perfect size for my family of four (had I brought them). Your experience with who you rent from will undoubtedly be different from mine but I got the luck of the draw and had the sweetest “landlord”, Matt, who was patient and responsive while I was still here in the states and available once I got to London.

The apartment was immaculate, spotless inside and out. Both bedrooms had luxury hotel-grade queen beds that put a smile on my weary, travel-worn face. The master bedroom had an en-suite, a desk, ample closet space for my clothes, and led out to a small patio. The second bedroom also led out to the patio and had its own storage furniture for clothing and a desk. Its bathroom sat just outside. The bathrooms were small but they worked and that’s all that was important because I wasn’t planning on spending a lot of time in them.

The living room was an ideal size for a family as well with a couch, two love seats, a flat screen TV, and WIFI. If need be, someone else could have slept on the couch.

I’d say the best part of the apartment was the kitchen area. I was able to store food in the fridge, cook breakfast in the morning, microwave a snack, and make some tea. These amenities are key if you’re traveling with your family and trying to save a few dollars on food. But wait! The cherry on top was the washing machine. Most of the apartments I saw on the FlipKey London page had a washing machine, gold for a traveler not looking to pack up dirty clothes.

Tip: FlipKey is becoming increasingly popular (4 million monthly unique visitors) and London is one of its top markets. By de facto, if you see an apartment on the site that you like and fits within your budget, grab it fast! Chances are it will be gone the next day. There are no reservations and you usually have to pay for your apartment upfront.

My opinion: London apartment rentals are cost-effective for families. You get more for your money than a hotel room and it allows you to immerse yourself further in the culture of a city.

FlipKey provided me with a stipend to test out their service and rent an apartment during my stay. All opinions expressed within are my own.

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