Imagine a city break without the expensive hotel, the chance to experience your destination like a local, and as a bonus, your place back home being well looked after.

Home Exchange (or house swapping) is not a new concept, but until now has been considered the poor cousin of a hotel break. With price a concern for many people right now, home exchange makes perfect sense.

If you've never swapped homes before, you'll have a lot of questions; will my place be safe? How do I prepare my home for a swap? Who hands over the keys? How do I know who I will be exchanging with?

Home exchange experts, such as SwapMyCityPad, help the house swapping process so you can change your holiday habits, see a city like a local and save money too by combining with a cheap flight!

1. First, let's review the money saving sense in home-swapping. Hotels typically take the largest chunk of a vacation budget; and while it's a luxury to have your bed made every day, do you really need those tiny bottles of shampoo and expensive mini-bars to make you feel like you're on vacation? Why not save that hotel money and instead swap your pad for a similar one in your city of choice? For example: combine the exchange with flights to New York for an authentic Manhattan break.

2. The process of swapping starts with each home-owner listing their property on a home-exchange website. Some sites use a three-tiered membership scheme. Bronze members can list their property for free and can search for their next house swap. In order to communicate directly with another member, they will need to upgrade to silver membership which allows full online communication. Gold members have the added benefit of joining a high-caliber network which includes lawyers, doctors and other professionals, as well as searching for properties in a particular network.

3. Be sure to show off the best aspects of your home with lots of photos and detailed descriptions. It's also a good idea to provide insider knowledge of your home area such as restaurants, local shopping, and tips on how best to explore the city. It's this local knowledge that can make a short weekend break run smoothly, for example if flights to Orlando are particularly cheap during certain months, be sure to mention this!

4. Home swap sites provide plenty of information to help you learn more about who you are exchanging with. If you're a first time swapper, you might want to swap with another newbie so that you can help each other through it. Alternatively, you might want to exchange with a more seasoned swapper. Some sites operate a feedback system (much like eBay) so you can read how other people experienced the property and how the swap went overall.

5. Having found a home that looks suitable for your break, the home-exchange site acts as a mediator, helping each party arrange the specifics. To protect privacy, members' names and contact details are only made visible at the point of exchange.

6. Preparing your house for the swap is actually a great excuse to tidy up and sort out any old junk! Lock away any valuables, make some room in your wardrobes, clear the fridge of any food past its sell by date and leave a spare set of towels and linen and maybe a bottle of wine. The golden rule is to prepare the house as you would like to find it.

7. Owners are encouraged to create a house manual so that your guests know how best to look after the property; all the obvious stuff should be included, such as how to work the washing machine, find the spare light bulbs and locate the water heater!

8. Have a friend, relative or neighbor act as an on-the-ground agent to meet your guests and hand over the keys.

9. Home exchanges can also include borrowing each other's cars - a brilliant opportunity to save on car rental and airport transfers.

10. So why not give a home exchange a try? With sites like SwapMyCityPad, the process is smooth and efficient, so all you have to worry about is your next destination!

A true travel author, Laura loves nothing more than taking exciting journeys across the globe waiting for the next inspiration...

Journey commonly termed as the change of location of people through means of transport. In general it is done for recreation; fun may be at times for business or for commuting. There are many other reasons such as migration, war etc. Traveling may be local, regional, national or international. If you plan a trip you need to consider a lot of things before you decide on it.

Tour is all about discovering new and exciting places, spending your time leisurely. It's about knowing the culture, value tradition of different places then yours. A different experience is encountered in terms of knowing a different language, knowing people of different city or country, talking to them, eating different varieties of food getting altogether getting a taste of different world.

Exploring the world is itself an exiting adventure that one cannot avoid it. As soon as you see holidays arrive you tend to make plans to Traveling, planning for a vacation itself gives you the feeling of relaxation. If you plan a vacation with your family, it gives you some time to spend with them as with your busy and hectic schedule in you daily life forbids that. The tour plan makes you come closer to your family as when you spend together some quality time the communication gap is resolved and you can share a lot which you were unable to do for so long.

If you planning a vacation specially trying to go abroad that is international make sure you get through all the process and have all the requirement documents with you so that while enjoying your vacation you are not interrupted, you need to be extra careful if you are traveling with some aged or old people and also with small kids.

Before making your plans you should do well research on the place you are planning to visit. By doing so, it will make you ready for any situation that comes by your way during your vacation and also you may able to have an instant solutions for the problems you might face in that new place.

To make your journey more adventurous and exciting make sure you should have a complete knowledge of the place you have planned to spend your vacation including in these knowledge should be the spots you should visit, the places where you will get food and specially if you are allergic to foreign food you should have a list of the places which provides your country food. The list is endless but you need to take care of every small thing while making a tour plan. With the help of travel blog reviews you can get updated information on travel.

You can get the links of many websites from travel blog reviews. These blog reviews will provide you with the link of travel based websites.

By Air

Bangkok is Thailand's major gateway. Most visitors arrive through Bangkok's Don Muang International Airport which is connected by daily flights to Europe, North America, Asia and Australasia aboard the world's major airlines.

Further international flights, mostly from

Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Hong

Kong, land on a less regular basis at the southern airports of Phuket and Hat Yai and Chiang Mai in northern Thailand.

Charter flights from Europe and the Orient sometimes land in Bangkok, Phuket, Chiang Mai, Hat Yai and at U-Taphao for Pattaya.

By Rail

Regular rail services link Singapore and Bangkok. Intermediary stops include Kuala
Lumpur, Butterworth and major southern Thai towns.

By Road

Overland entrance to Thailand is restricted to three road crossings on the Thai-Malaysian border in Songkhla, Yala and Narathiwat.

By Sea

There are no regular steamship connections with Thailand. Cargo ships calling at Bangkok's Klong Toey port sometimes have passenger cabin facilities. Cruise ships, such as Cunard's Queen Elizabeth 11, Royal Viking, or Pearl of Scandinavia periodically visit Pattaya.

Louisville, Kentucky has long been known around the world as the place where the Kentucky Derby takes place. This world famous event attracts celebrities and other important people to it each year during the month of May. Louisville, Kentucky, however, has a lot of other great things to see and do according to a Louisville air conditioning service company. This article will take some of those recommendations from locals like that Louisville air conditioning repair business and give you some great travel tips for spending a weekend in Louisville.

Depending on when you choose to visit Louisville, the top recommendation for a hotel would be to stay at 21C Museum Hotel which is a smaller boutique hotel that is located in the center of downtown Louisville. It was written up in travel & leisure magazine as one of the best hotels to combine art and hospitality. There are several other hotel options as they need to accommodate the more than half a million visitors that descend upon this town for the Kentucky Derby in the Spring but this one is a special one.

Obviously, one of the biggest events to do and see while in Louisville would be the Kentucky Derby that is held the first weekend in May. As it has been called the most exciting two minutes in sports all happens at Churchill Downs. If you can't make it for that famous event, be sure to go to Churchill Downs to have lunch and to see the beautiful grounds where the race takes place. Another age-old tradition in this town is to take a ride on the Belle of Louisville which is the oldest operating steamboat in the nation. This state and this town are also famous for making bourbon. In fact, one third of all bourbon made is made right here in Louisville and they even have a special Kentucky bourbon Trail to visit.

One of the other fun places to visit is the Slugger museum which is where the old Louisville Slugger bats are made. Attached to this place they have made a great museum that was just redone over the past year to make it more interactive and interesting for the younger visitors. Every visitor receives their own mini version of the Louisville Slugger which is a great souvenir. Close to this museum and located in downtown is the newer Louisville Bats baseball stadium where their own minor league baseball team plays. It is one of the nicest minor league stadiums in the country and is a great thing to do during the baseball season.

In addition to the above things to do, there are fabulous restaurants in Louisville and at last count there were over 2500 of them. Many feature a touch of southern charm attached to them but the variety is great. The next time you want to go on a weekend getaway, think about going to Louisville, Kentucky and seeing some of their great sights and traditions. It is a beautiful river town that should not be missed.

Connor Sullivan recently contacted a Louisville air conditioning repair specialist to fix a problem at his office. He made an appointment for a Louisville air conditioning service specialist to install a new air conditioner in his building.

Domestic air, rail and road transport in Thailand is surprisingly inexpensive.

By Air

Thai Airways International, Thailand's national airline, flies to eight destinations in the North, seven destinations in the Northeast, and six in the South. Bangkok Airways flies from Bangkok directly to Ko Samui, Ranong, Cha-am (Hua Hin) and Sukhothai. It also flies one-stop to Chiang Mai and Phuket, and from Samui to U-Tapao (Pattaya). There are also services linking Samui and Singapore. Orient Thai Airline connects major Thai cities such as Chiang MaiSurat Thani-Hat Yai, Chiang Mai-Hat Yai, Chiang Mai-U-Tapao, Chiang Mai-Udon Thani-Ubon Ratchathani, Chiang Mai- Khon Kaen-Ubon Ratchathani.

Reservations can be made through any authorized Thai Inter Travel Agent. Thai Airways International's Lan Luang Office is on 6 Lan Luang Road, Tel: 280-0110,280-0060. The airline also organises 'Royal Orchid Holidays' tours to every destination it flies to.

By Rail

An efficient rail system links major northern and northeastern towns with the capital. A southern route permits the visitor to travel by train into Malaysia and Singapore. Domestic express trains comprise first, second and third class carriages. Slower trains may have only third-class seats.

The State Railway of Thailand organizes oneday, two-day economy tours to various destinations on Saturdays, Sundays and official holidays. Other tours include trips to Surat Thani (for Ko Samui), Chumphon and Chiang Mai. Railway schedules can be obtained from Bangkok Railway Station, Tel: 223-7010, 2237020.

By Road

A modern highway system reaches into all corners of the kingdom. Domestic bus services offer fast means of travel. Airconditioned tour coaches offer more comfort.

Bangkok's Northern/Northeastern Bus Terminal is on Kam Phaeng Phet 2 Road, Tel: 9363674, 9363667-8.

Bangkok's Southern Bus Terminal is on Pinklao-Nakhon Chaisri Road, Tel : 4351190, 4351200 (air-conditioned) and 4345558 (regular).

Bangkok's Eastern Bus terminal is on Sukhumvit Road, Tel: 3929227, 3919829 (airconditioned) and 3912504, 3922521 (regular).