House Sitting Travel Planning and How to Avoid Costly Mistakes and Stress

When house sitting, it’s easy to overlook the importance of thorough travel planning before committing to an assignment—but ensuring it’s both logistically and financially viable in advance can save you stress and money.

Belinda and I learned this the hard way during our recent hiking adventure in Albania. We were hiking the Peaks of the Balkans, a 10-day, 192-kilometre trek that circles the Balkans borderlands between Albania, Kosovo, and Montenegro. Belinda injured her Achilles tendon on the 6th day, and in the high-altitude remote village of Dobërdoll on the tri-border, we decided to abandon the hike and head back to the UK for some house sitting opportunities.

What started as an exciting opportunity to house sit in the UK ended up being an expensive and stressful experience just to get to the sit—all because we didn’t focus on proper travel planning before committing.

In this blog post, I’ll break down what happened and share valuable lessons to help you avoid making the same mistakes. We’ll also cover essential tips and tricks for planning house-sitting travel effectively, saving you time, money, and unnecessary stress.

Ready? Join me as we dive into the journey!

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The Anatomy of What Happened…

1. The Incident

While hiking in Albania, Belinda injured her Achilles tendon—a painful setback that made every step an ordeal and continuing to walk and camp nearly impossible. The injury hit us hard as we were midway through the stunning Peaks of the Balkans trek, with no easy exit routes in sight.

After some deliberation in the remote village of Dobërdoll, we decided to abandon the hike and return to the United Kingdom, where house sits are plentiful, and a comfortable base to recover seemed within reach.

Although we had Global Rescue coverage, we found a man with a very old battered jeep—likely a relic from the communist era—to take us to the town of Bajram Curri. Despite the town being just 70-odd kilometres away, the 4 hour journey was over a very rocky dirt track used by locals, with no border control between the countries!

We knew that once we got to Bajram Curri, it would be an easy local bus to Shkodër or Tirana, the main centres. This first leg was not actually the problem—read on!

2. Finding the House Sit

Luckily, the remote guest house in Dobërdol had satellite internet coverage, so we were able to log into our TrustedHousesitters account, find a number of sits that would be suitable, and begin the application process.

Amazingly, we managed to apply for, and secure interviews for, two back-to-back sits—all in one evening! The catch? The internet was spotty and only worked in one location. We had to stand near the closed reception area for the video interview—freezing cold, with Belinda wrapped in her Katabatic sleeping quilt to stay warm!

Our first success was a lovely house sit in York, which we gladly accepted as soon as it was offered—without giving a second thought to how we’d actually get there.

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3. Delayed Research

September in Europe is renowned for cheap flights, especially with Ryan Air. The busy holiday season has settled down, and most people are back at work, counting down to the next holiday period in December. In fact, our hiking trip to Albania was a last-minute decision, and we’d managed to book cheap flights for just £80 each.

In all the excitement of evacuating from the remote tri-border region of the Balkans, planning our entire travel to York wasn’t exactly at the forefront of our minds. It took a few days to settle after our adventurous escapades before we even started thinking about travel planning for our house sit. We had buffered in 10 days relaxing in Shkodër and Tirana, so we thought we had time up our sleeve.

In fact, we waited three days after accepting the house sit to research how to get from Tirana (Albania’s capital) to York. To our shock, the last-minute flights were three times more expensive than we’d expected and required connections through two different countries. It was a stark reminder of how important thorough travel planning is, especially before committing to a house sit.

4. Booking the Travel

Here’s where the dominoes started to fall:

We ended up booking flights from Tirana to London for £275 each (compared to the original flight to Tirana, which had cost just £80). Not only that, it was a 4 a.m. departure with a 45-minute connection in Vienna! The next cheapest flight was well over £500, so we reluctantly settled for the early start.

To make matters worse, we booked a taxi to the airport for €100 to accommodate the joy of the early departure—thankfully, we got there on time.

We managed to book train tickets from London to York for £45 each. Yay—a good price! Or so we thought…

However, travel day didn’t go as planned!

• Missed Connecting Flight: The insufficient 45-minute connection time in Vienna caused us to miss our next flight. This meant our flights were rescheduled—now with three legs instead of one! (The silver lining? Frequent flyer points and status credits—yay for that!)
• Delayed Arrival in London: We eventually arrived in London much later than expected, completely exhausted.
• Missed Train: Because of the delayed arrival, we missed our booked train to York, forcing us to purchase last-minute tickets for an additional £71.50 per person.

5. The Cost Breakdown

The unexpected costs added up quickly:

• Flight from Tirana to London: £275 per person (about $350 USD)
• Missed train from London to York: £45 lost (about $57 USD)
• Additional last-minute train fare: £71.50 per person (about $90 USD)

In total, we ended up spending an extra £266.50 each, or approximately $650 USD in total—far exceeding what we had originally budgeted for the trip. This unexpected expense stretched our budget significantly and was a stark reminder of the importance of thorough travel planning.

Lessons Learned

1. Research Costs Before Committing

Don’t assume you know the cost of travel based on past experience. If you need to be in a specific place on a specific date, research transport options and costs before committing. In our case, the airfare was £195 more per person than we had anticipated.

2. Plan for Delays

If your travel includes multiple connections, allow flexibility for delays. For example, a flexible train fare would have cost us £60 instead of the non-refundable £45 ticket we purchased. By missing the train, we lost the original fare and had to pay an additional £71.50 for a last-minute ticket.

3. Budget for the Unexpected

Unexpected costs can quickly add up, so always budget extra for contingencies. This will help you avoid the stress of unplanned expenses.

Our Recommendation: A Better Approach

Here’s the process we recommend to ensure you stay within your budget and avoid surprises:

1. Decide Your Destination: Identify where you need to go for the house sit.
2. Initial Transport Research: Check flights, trains, and other transport options to get an estimate of costs.
3. Search for a House Sit: Use platforms like TrustedHousesitters to find assignments.
4. Apply and Interview: Submit your application and complete the interview process.
5. Research Travel Again: Once you’re offered the sit, do a final check on transport costs and availability.
6. Book Transport: Include flexibility if you have connecting travel.
7. Accept the House Sit: Confirm the assignment only after booking your transport.
8. Travel Confidently: Arrive at your house sit knowing you’ve planned thoroughly and minimized unexpected costs.

Final Thoughts

House sitting can be a rewarding experience, but proper planning is key to keeping it enjoyable and affordable. Belinda and I learned this lesson the hard way, and while the experience wasn’t ideal, it’s taught us to approach future house sits with more diligence.

By following the steps above, you can avoid the pitfalls we encountered and make your house sitting adventure smooth and stress-free. Remember, good planning saves money, time, and headaches—and keeps your journey as enjoyable as the destination.

I suggest always book your travel to a sit before you accept the assignment, just in case you have made an incorrect assumption about the likely travel costs. Belinda and I sit mainly through Trusted Housesitters and their system requires an offer from the owner which you then need to accept or decline. This “window” then allows you to check and book transport prior to accepting. This is particularly important if you are travelling on a budget as it may affect whether you do a sit or not. In our case the transport cost increased by £390 which really hurt the budget! (BTW the house sit we were travelling to was fantastic and we formed a great friendship with the owners that will last a lifetime).