Travel Insurance

We have found a few little gems recently whilst sorting out last minute bits for our trip. After the nightmare we’ve experienced with STA Travel and their very unwillingness to help us with our insurance claim we decided to go a little more budget on the travel insurance side of things. This time round we have a joint policy that we can amend and update as we travel. There are small administration fees for these changes but Backpacker Travel Insuarance offer a comprehensive cover within their Premier Cover policy, and we have paid over 50% less than what we did with STA and bumped up our Sports grade to level 2 within this price. Okay so nothing has gone wrong so far, but after our previous experience we asked ourselves a series of questions ensuring we knew what we wanted from our travel insurance. So far Backpackers is ticking all our boxes!

We figured most people in China must climb the cliff!

Airbnb!

Something else that has got us a little excited is the wonder of Airbnb! We have booked through Airbnb for our travels in LA and Seattle meaning we have been able to source so far 3 different types of accommodation for our stay in the USA. This was pretty important for Venice Beach as Helen’s yoga course is daily and we didn’t want to be faced with big travel times and steep accommodation costs (a dorm room is cheaper but we’re in the area for 11 days so we don’t want to be sharing ourselves that much!!). We’re staying very close to the beach and even have our own bathroom as well as a host who is a superfoods expert!

Airbnb means we can stay with the locals, in a local area and avoid the high costs even hostels have in these busy places. We also want to live like a local does! It’s a little like couch-surfing but you pay to stay in someone’s spare room. Payment is through Airbnb and the person whose room we could be renting wont get paid until we check in. We’re looking forward to this alternative experience and for finding out about things going on away from the tourist trap. We think we’ll book through when accommodation is pricey in the western countries and we fancy a nosy at someone’s home! ha ha!