The five phases
A trip is five different jobs, in order.
The screen in front of you changes as the dates move, so it is about the thing you actually have to do this week. Move through them.
Today's run of show while you are on the ground.
The money
Nobody keeps the tally in their notes app.
Settling up
Nine debts between six people become five transfers.
Before · what everyone remembers
- Priya owes Ama · villa share
- Priya owes Devon · airport van
- Tobi owes Ama · villa share
- Tobi owes Marcus · Friday dinner
- Marcus owes Ama · villa share
- Marcus owes Devon · boat day
- Simone owes Devon · villa share
- Simone owes Priya · market run
- Devon owes Ama · chef night
Nine debts between six people, and nobody agrees on the order.
People send those transfers to each other however they already pay each other, and mark them done. Far From Home never holds or moves money.
One link brings the crew in. What they need stays theirs, what they want goes to a vote, and the head count is a number rather than an argument.
How a place earns its spot
Sourced, checked, linked, placed.
Places are added one at a time, as they clear that bar, rather than pulled in bulk. That is slower, and it is the point.
- Step 01
Sourced
A person puts a place forward, with a reason for it, not a scrape of a listings site.
- Step 02
Checked
The claim is checked against public sources. What cannot be supported comes back out.
- Step 03
Linked
It needs a real venue with a real address and coordinates we can point at. No address, no entry.
- Step 04
Placed
Only then can it be placed on a day, at a time, next to the things around it.
Everything else that is built
Fifteen seconds, no illustrations.
Money
- Split evenly, by exact amounts, by shares, or by percentage.
- Anyone in the crew logs what they fronted, not just the organiser.
- One bill can have more than one person who paid it.
- Guests without accounts hold a balance like everyone else.
- Receipts stay private to the expense they belong to.
- Pay in another currency and the rate used is recorded with the amount.
- Settled expenses cannot be quietly re-split behind anyone's back.
- An adjustment after a settlement raises a banner for every member, not just whoever made it.
- Nothing is deleted. An expense is voided, and the void is on the record.
- Reminders go by what someone actually owes, not by a status somebody typed.
- Hand off to Venmo, Cash App or PayPal to pay each other. Far From Home never holds the money.
The crew
- One invite link, individual accounts behind it.
- Dietary, accessibility and budget needs stay private to the traveller.
- A shared wishlist anyone can add to.
- Voting in rounds; closing a round scores it and tells everyone what won.
The itinerary
- Written by a planner, day by day, with times and contacts.
- Editable by the crew after it lands, so a late change is not an email.
- Exported as a PDF with a destination cover that you download and keep.
- Snapshots and version history, so you can see what changed and when.
On the ground
- Chef nights, guides and private vehicles requested in the app.
- A confirmed service posts to the ledger, so the cost is split like any other bill.
- A Today view during the trip, and Prep and Recap either side of it.
Finding things
- Destinations with their real seasons: when to go and when not to.
- Events and their editions, so the dates come from the event rather than a guess.
- Nightlife, restaurants and excursions, scoped to the city your trip is in.
What it costs
Run it yourselves for free, or have it built for you.
The crew board, the wishlist, the splitting and the settle-up are free for any group. You pay when you want the trip designed: the days built, the vendors contacted, the itinerary delivered as a document.