In 2010, globetrotting travel writers Lara Dunston and Terence Carter, in partnership with
HomeAway Holiday-Rentals, will trade hotel rooms for holiday homes as they embark on a contemporary grand tour of the globe. They’ll be travelling slowly, living like locals, doing and learning things, and giving something back at each destination they visit. Their mission is to explore more enriching and authentic ways of travelling, and make travel more meaningful and more memorable.
Previously in: Austin, Texas, USA
Currently in: Mexico City, Mexico
Next: To be announced!
© 2009–2010 Terence Carter & Lara Dunston. All rights reserved.
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A serendipitous start to the journey
While Lara and Terence had been dreaming up a grand tour of this kind for a couple of years, HomeAway, the world’s leader in holiday rentals, had been considering a similar a project. Convenient? Wonderfully. Serendipitous? Deliciously so! In Horace Walpole’s 1754 fairly tale The Three Princes of Serendip, the heroes “were always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things they were not in quest of.” Lara and Terence are on a mission to explore more authentic and enriching ways to travel, and have a number of goals, however, they're also hoping their journey will be full of such serendipitous moments. So does HomeAway, which simply wants the couple to travel and write vividly about their experiences. So what is HomeAway and what is the company hoping for from the project?About HomeAway Holiday-Rentals
Based in London and founded in 1996, HomeAway Holiday-Rentals connects travellers with home owners and managers, providing access to a huge variety of great value, unique accommodation worldwide. Their worldwide sites (see below) have the largest selection of homes available online, with over 450,000 properties travellers can browse for free and book with confidence. Finding and booking a holiday home rental is as easy, quick and secure as booking a hotel.Holiday Rentals versus hotels
HomeAway believes that spending a holiday in a 'home' rather than a hotel is a far more rewarding and enriching way to travel, offering a more authentic experience of a destination. A huge number of British travellers already favour holiday homes over hotels, enjoying the space, privacy, flexibility and authenticity they provide. According to a report by industry analyst Mintel, around one in five people currently holiday in this way and self-catering holidays are rising every year. In 2009, self-catering vacations were forecast to represent over 60% of all overseas holidays and Mintel expects this market to continue to outstrip general holiday growth and exceed 34.3 million breaks by 2011. Thanks to the millions of people who own holiday homes worldwide, the choice of rentals is huge, with over 425,000 properties available on the HomeAway sites alone. With this choice, HomeAway rivals the largest hotel chains in the world - the InterContinental Hotel Group, for instance, recently ranked as the world's largest, with 619,851 rooms - so whatever type of holiday travellers are looking for, and whatever type of accommodation, there’s a holiday home to suit.Why Grantourismo?
HomeAway is collaborating with Lara and Terence on the Grantourismo project to show how holiday homes can provide the perfect solution to today’s travellers’ desires, and a far better alternative to hotel rooms and resorts. Travellers today are no longer just after a holiday of sun, sea and sand, but rather a journey where they can learn about the local culture, food, arts, language and people of the places they're travelling to. Travellers are turning their backs on the globalisation of travel and heading off in search of more authentic local experiences. They want to learn to live like locals and take memories of meaningful experiences home with them. Some also want to give something back to the places they visit through volunteer experiences.What the journey entails
HomeAway Holiday-Rentals is arranging for Lara and Terence to stay in a wide variety of their holiday rental properties around the world, and to use the homes as a base for a wide array of enriching experiences. Lara and Terence will blog and write about their experiences living in the properties and exploring the destinations to show travellers why a holiday rental is the natural choice for a more experiential style of travel. HomeAway opted to hire a travel writer-photographer team, and give them complete editorial control, because they want opinionated, engaging, quality content, and critics who will tell it like it is.HomeAway sites worldwide
In addition to HomeAway Holiday-Rentals and OwnersDirect.co.uk in the UK, other HomeAway sites worldwide include:About Viator
Viator.com is the traveler's one-stop-shop for researching, planning and booking destination activities in more than 450 destinations worldwide. They offer thousands (and that’s no exaggeration) of adventure activities, city tours, off-the-beaten-path experiences, educational tours, theater and show tickets, city passes, day trips... you name it, they probably offer it, all hand-selected by the Viator team, and all available at your fingertips on the award-winning Viator.com website. With a little help from Viator, travelers can easily wear the hat of a true local as they ride a bike through the streets of Amsterdam, shop the markets in Marrakech, or surf the big waves of Hawaii. Their goal is to be a responsible and trusted advocate to travelers around the world. If every traveller who books with Viator is able to create an unforgettable experience that helps them better understand and appreciate their destination while having a great time, then they figure they've done our job. Find out more by reading the Viator Travel Blog or follow Viator on Twitter.About Context
Context organizes stimulating scholar-led walking tours, gastronomic dinners with food experts, bar-hopping wine appreciation courses with qualified sommeliers, engaging site-visits, and other compelling travel experiences in the major cultural capitals of Europe and the USA. With group sizes limited to six people and docents drawn from local universities, research institutions, and museums, Context’s ‘seminar-style’ walks are designed to help the erudite traveller appreciate and defend a city without overrunning it.About AFAR Media
AFAR is a multi-platform brand for experiential travelers who have the desire and the means to immerse themselves in other cultures, to engage with local people, and to enrich their own lives. AFAR Media will take its audience to the real experience of travel. Their mission is to inspire and guide those who travel the world seeking to connect with its people, experience their culture, and understand their perspectives. The company will pursue this mission by seeking to capture the true essence of experiential travel: connection between the traveler, a place, and its people.About Rail Europe
Rail Europe is the UK’s leading specialist in tickets and passes for rail travel around Europe. They've been helping travellers heading for the continent for around a hundred years as the UK arm of the French National Railways (SNCF). So whether you simply want to get from the UK to the continent by rail, or you’re planning a European-wide rail adventure, they will be able to provide the right ticket or pass option for you. The newly relaunched website - www.raileurope.co.uk - makes it easy to find information on what to expect on European trains, at the stations and once you reach your destination as well as top tips to make booking your tickets and the actual journey easier. With thousands of destinations on offer, and journey times rivalling air travel to many of them, the train is definitely the way to go. Visit www.raileurope.co.uk or follow RailEuropeUK on Facebook (www.facebook.com/RailEuropeUK) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/RailEuropeUK).Our Explorer
OurExplorer.com is the world's largest private tour guide resource with over 2,000 private tour guides covering 405 destinations across the world. OurExplorer.com helps you have an authentic travel experience through the eyes of a local. All guides listed on the website have client testimonials and ratings as well as a licence/certificate so you can feel comfortable booking them for a tour. Get a real local insight and have a unique travel experience with an OurExplorer.com tour guide.