When you're away from home for more than 30 days on travel outside of the US, how do you handle your mail, and what arrangements do you make to pay bills, watch the house, etc.?
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My travel companion and housemate, Margo, and I manage to leave home for six months each winter. What we do to prepare for our six months of travel may be of interest to — and easily applied by — someone who is leaving home for 30 days or more.
When you're away from home for more than 30 days on travel outside of the US, how do you handle your mail, and what arrangements do you make to pay bills, watch the house, etc.?
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I had the same questions before my wife, Bonnie, and I took our first extended trip, a 4-month around-the-world cruise in 2012.
• The first issue is the United States Postal Service. Since the USPS will not hold your mail for more than 30 days [without additional authorization — Editor]*, you need to have your mail forwarded to someone else or to another address for the duration of the trip.
We asked our subscribers who recently had trouble renting vehicles outside of the US because they were above an age limit to each tell us which country it was, which rental company, what was said, what alternative was found and when it all occurred. Some of the responses were printed in last month's issue, and here are a few more.
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... On the rental forms, I was truthful about my age: 76. All three came back "Approved," or so I thought.
Upon arrival in Dublin, IRELAND, all went well at Avis until the agent spotted my age. She asked if I had brought my documentation. Since I had seen nothing in the approval paperwork about documentation, I, of course, had none. (I had rented Avis cars previously, at age 74, in Amsterdam.)
In past issues, we have printed letters from subscribers who took customized private tours (outside of the US) that were arranged by tour companies and guides that are local to the destinations.
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As part of a whirlwind trip to pick up additional countries on my Travelers' Century Club (travelerscenturyclub.org) list, my wife, Susan, and I scheduled a private day tour on the Isle of Man ... .
For £150 (near $193), Jane gave us a fantastic tour of the southern half of the island. Highlights included Castletown, Balladoole, the village of Cregneash and the Sound, the town of Peel, the village of St. John's and the Laxey Wheel. Jane's love for the island came across very clearly as she showed us many unique sights.
We asked our subscribers who recently had trouble renting vehicles outside of the US because they were above an age limit to each tell us which country it was, which rental company, what was said, what alternative was found and when it all occurred. Here are a few of the responses, and more will be printed in next month's issue.
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As an octogenarian (84) who continues to rent cars outside of the US, I've been refused many times in various countries, usually at the Internet-booking stage.
Pat Ove of Aurora, Colorado, wrote, "There must be many budget travelers reading ITN who are having exciting adventures discovering the world on $100 a day [not including overseas airfare]. ..."
... subscribers were asked to tell us how they did it and where and when they traveled, specifying modes of transport, types of accommodations used and how those were found plus any other budget-travel tricks.
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I saw my first globe when I was 6, and my passion for travel was born. I wanted to see every country on that beautiful blue orb. But because my last name is not Buffett, the lottery jackpot numbers never match the ones on my ticket and no rich relative has left me millions of dollars, I had to find a way to see the world on an English teacher's budget.
Subscribers were invited to write in about places, outside of the US, where they've had rewarding sightings of birds. (We cannot accept more submissions.)
In addition to the types of birds they saw, we asked travelers to each tell us where they were and the year/month/time their visit took place. ...
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When you travel, don't forget to watch birds in cities. You will encounter them in parks and other green areas. Becoming acquainted with the varieties will enrich your travels because you will recognize them again as you continue your explorations.
In April 2015, my husband, Calvin, and I enjoyed a cruise on the waterways of the NETHERLANDS and Belgium, taking the 7-night "Tulip Time" cruise with AmaWaterways ... .
Pat Ove of Aurora, Colorado, wrote, "There must be many budget travelers who are having exciting adventures discovering the world on $100 a day [not including overseas airfare]. I would love to read about their journeys."
Regarding traveling outside of the US on $100 a day (excluding international air), ITN subscribers were asked to tell us how they did it and where and when they traveled, specifying modes of transport, types of accommodations used and how those were found plus any other budget-travel tricks.
This is the third part of a 4-part series.
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My husband and I visited Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES, one of the most expensive cities in the world, in May 2015 and spent under $100 a day per person. Our daily budget included admission prices to museums and other attractions. (We use our memberships with AARP and AAA, or just the fact that we are senior citizens, to get discounts everywhere.)
Subscribers were invited to write in about places, outside of the US, where they've had rewarding sightings of birds. (We cannot accept more submissions.)
In addition to the types of birds they saw, we asked travelers to each tell us where they were and the year/month/time their visit took place. We also wanted to know how difficult it was to reach an area, what equipment would be recommended and what the weather was like.
We've printed responses about sites in the Americas and Africa. This month, in part 5 of the series, we're in Australia, and we'll wrap things up with other areas next month.
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There is amazing bird-watching at Lamington National Park, lying on the Lamington Plateau of the McPherson Range near the Queensland/New South Wales border in AUSTRALIA.
Pat Ove of Aurora, Colorado, wrote, "There must be many budget travelers reading ITN who are having exciting adventures discovering the world on $100 a day [not including overseas airfare]. I would love to read about their journeys."
Regarding traveling outside of the US on $100 a day (excluding international air), subscribers were asked to tell us how they did it and where and when they traveled, specifying modes of transport, types of accommodations used and how those were found plus any other budget-travel tricks.
We printed a few responses in last month's issue, more are below, and more are to come.
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Travel under $100 a day? It can be done. There are plenty of places I have traveled in the last five years where it cost me less than $100 a day, including Madrid, Córdoba, Porto, Rome and Brussels as well as throughout Poland and in Eastern Europe and a whole lot more.
* Correction : Pat Ove's home state was corrected to Colorado, from California.