Planning a long trip

[tcufrog]

Last night my dh surprised me by telling me that he wanted for us to go on vacation to England this summer for 4-6 weeks. We had previously discussed going for 1-1.5 weeks so this was a surprise to me. We first considered it when some friends offered free use of their vacation cottage in England. We wouldn't stay there the whole time but we thought it would help reduce costs because we could travel lighter (the cottage has a washing machine so we could do a mid trip laundry load) and eat "at home" midway through the trip.

Now that I'm possibly planning a much longer trip I have a lot more to think about logistically. Our tentative plan is to fly into London and rent an apartment for a week there. We'd then spend 1-2 weeks in apartment or cottage rentals in different places around the country that are ideally located for day trips. We'd also spend some time in our friends' cottage. It's in the Lake District when is an area we wanted to visit anyways.

I've never planned such a long trip so I'd appreciate y'alls expertise. Here's some questions I have so far:

1. What do you do on such a long trip for cell phones and data? My dh co-owns his own business so he needs to be able to keep in touch. If the trip was much shorter I would just go without my cell but this trip is too long for me to do that.

2. Are there any options for long term car rentals? Originally we were going to just go from place to place by train but now we're considering renting a car so that we can take food, laundry detergent, etc. from rental to rental.

3. How do deal with bills while you're gone? I do have bills that can be paid online but some unfortunately require me to write a check and mail it. I'm not too keen to let some of those service providers know that I'll be gone.

4. How do I get my insurance company to authorize more than a month's supply of a medicine? I'll be carrying practically an entire pharmacy with us including a controlled substance (Ritalin). Is there anything special I need to do in this case?

5. Any advice for choosing a rental place?

6. What should we do for medical insurance during the trip?

7. What have I not thought about?

 

[Mizzoufan]

Wow, what an amazing trip you will be going on!!!

As for paying the bills do you have relatives that you can make out the checks before you leave and can just mail them in for you or make out the c heck and you sign them.

 

[clutter]

Following. Hoping to do the same in the States in a year or so!

 

[wgeo]

Good list of questions - my husband may end up oversees for 5-6 weeks in a year so this is good to think about.

As for the cell phone I assume there are international plans that you could add to your plan, but no idea on if they work or how expensive they are.

For medicine, depending on what they are sometimes you can pick them up from a pharmacy in the UK if you show your prescription. Also possible that you could have your doctor order it like normal but have it mailed to your friends place since that would be a safe place to get it.

Is medical insurance covered under a trip insurance plan? Also some major plans have coverage even oversees.

For paying bills there are services online that you can order an actual check be mailed to such and such person. So as long as you know the bill amount due date you could still get them a check without relying on anyone else.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

I'd prepay as many bills as possible, and as previously mentioned, see if you can have a friend or relative mail checks you can't prepay or pay online.

I agree you'll want a car. We found one immensely useful once we got out of London, and especially in Scotland.

 

[NYCgrrl]

Last night my dh surprised me by telling me that he wanted for us to go on vacation to England this summer for 4-6 weeks. We had previously discussed going for 1-1.5 weeks so this was a surprise to me. We first considered it when some friends offered free use of their vacation cottage in England. We wouldn't stay there the whole time but we thought it would help reduce costs because we could travel lighter (the cottage has a washing machine so we could do a mid trip laundry load) and eat "at home" midway through the trip.

Now that I'm possibly planning a much longer trip I have a lot more to think about logistically. Our tentative plan is to fly into London and rent an apartment for a week there. We'd then spend 1-2 weeks in apartment or cottage rentals in different places around the country that are ideally located for day trips. We'd also spend some time in our friends' cottage. It's in the Lake District when is an area we wanted to visit anyways.

I've never planned such a long trip so I'd appreciate y'alls expertise. Here's some questions I have so far:

1. What do you do on such a long trip for cell phones and data? My dh co-owns his own business so he needs to be able to keep in touch. If the trip was much shorter I would just go without my cell but this trip is too long for me to do that.

2. Are there any options for long term car rentals? Originally we were going to just go from place to place by train but now we're considering renting a car so that we can take food, laundry detergent, etc. from rental to rental.

3. How do deal with bills while you're gone? I do have bills that can be paid online but some unfortunately require me to write a check and mail it. I'm not too keen to let some of those service providers know that I'll be gone.

4. How do I get my insurance company to authorize more than a month's supply of a medicine? I'll be carrying practically an entire pharmacy with us including a controlled substance (Ritalin). Is there anything special I need to do in this case?

5. Any advice for choosing a rental place?

6. What should we do for medical insurance during the trip?

7. What have I not thought about?

Kudos for an anticipated long and leisurely trip which is one of the bestest ways to visit a place when possible!

1. Buy a SIM card in the UK or check with your US cell carrier to evaluate their international plans. I normally stay in holtels or friends' home overseas so can't speak more on this topic.

2. I don't drive and have gotten along fine in Europe dragging more purchases from city to city (sometimes resorting to FEDEX type carriers) utilising trains and planes.

3. I've only one bill that requires me to pay by check. I set up a one time automatic payment via my bank to handle it.

4.D/K. Give a call to your med ins. company and the airline you'll be traveling on.

5. Check the online short term rental sites. There are many some which have been in business since the '70's.

6. Speak with your medical insurance co for advice and read policies carefully to ensure your needs are covered. you can also communicate with your home ins. broker.

7. Suspend newspaper and postal deliveries; install add on lighting system that turns lights on and off at different times. Inform a close and trusted neighbor of your plans, leave contact info with them in case of an emergency. Ask them to keep an eye on your abode.

Have fun out there.

 

[kuhltiffany]

Have an awesome time! We did 6 weeks in the UK 5 years ago, what a great vacation. We did a week in
London, then went down to the Isle of Wight for a week, then to Norwich for a week, then up to Cumbria/Lake District. Flew to Scotland to a week, then Ireland for a week.

We had originally planned on renting a car for most of it, but found that driving is pretty awful there. No highways like we have, it's often slow, single lane roads that wind through every town so that it takes forever to get anywhere. We quickly learned to take the train or even fly (RyanAir).

I paid bills online or just prepaid an extra month to cover when we were gone.

 

[low-key]

tell him you want six 1 week vacations this year

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Have an awesome time! We did 6 weeks in the UK 5 years ago, what a great vacation. We did a week in
London, then went down to the Isle of Wight for a week, then to Norwich for a week, then up to Cumbria/Lake District. Flew to Scotland to a week, then Ireland for a week.

We had originally planned on renting a car for most of it, but found that driving is pretty awful there. No highways like we have, it's often slow, single lane roads that wind through every town so that it takes forever to get anywhere. We quickly learned to take the train or even fly (RyanAir).

I paid bills online or just prepaid an extra month to cover when we were gone.

There are highways connecting all the major cities. The motorways are 3 lanes in each direction. We did also experience a lot of 2-lane (1 lane each way) roads in the less populated areas. But, we also found driving or tour buses were the only practical way to see most of these places in a reasonable amount of time.

 

[tcufrog]

If this was just my dh and I we might do this trip differently. I’ve backpacked around Europe before on the train with a backpack and duffel bag before so I can handle that.

While in Boston we took the subway from our hotel to the rental car agency using the subway with our kids and luggage in tow. Even though the subway was almost empty that Saturday morning it was nightmare juggling that and our easily distracted kids.

With a car we don’t have to do that and if we have leftover food and laundry supplies we can transport it in our car to the next apartment or cottage. We hope to at the bare minimum eat breakfast at “home” to save money.

 

[AquamarineSteph]

Last night my dh surprised me by telling me that he wanted for us to go on vacation to England this summer for 4-6 weeks. We had previously discussed going for 1-1.5 weeks so this was a surprise to me. We first considered it when some friends offered free use of their vacation cottage in England. We wouldn't stay there the whole time but we thought it would help reduce costs because we could travel lighter (the cottage has a washing machine so we could do a mid trip laundry load) and eat "at home" midway through the trip.

Now that I'm possibly planning a much longer trip I have a lot more to think about logistically. Our tentative plan is to fly into London and rent an apartment for a week there. We'd then spend 1-2 weeks in apartment or cottage rentals in different places around the country that are ideally located for day trips. We'd also spend some time in our friends' cottage. It's in the Lake District when is an area we wanted to visit anyways.

I've never planned such a long trip so I'd appreciate y'alls expertise. Here's some questions I have so far:

1. What do you do on such a long trip for cell phones and data? My dh co-owns his own business so he needs to be able to keep in touch. If the trip was much shorter I would just go without my cell but this trip is too long for me to do that.

2. Are there any options for long term car rentals? Originally we were going to just go from place to place by train but now we're considering renting a car so that we can take food, laundry detergent, etc. from rental to rental.

3. How do deal with bills while you're gone? I do have bills that can be paid online but some unfortunately require me to write a check and mail it. I'm not too keen to let some of those service providers know that I'll be gone.

4. How do I get my insurance company to authorize more than a month's supply of a medicine? I'll be carrying practically an entire pharmacy with us including a controlled substance (Ritalin). Is there anything special I need to do in this case?

5. Any advice for choosing a rental place?

6. What should we do for medical insurance during the trip?

7. What have I not thought about?

First of all, thank your lucky stars. I don't know where you are located, but most Americans cannot afford to take 4-6 weeks of holiday. So you are clearly in the upper echelons of lifestyles in the US. (I can't say where that rates vs. other countries.)

1 - If DH owns his own business, using the cell phone is a deductible business expense. Huzzah! You've just saved several thousand dollars.

2 - Any car rental company worth its salt will work with you. See number one and tell them it is business related and deduct it when you return.

3 - Hire someone to pick up your mail. You can either set up automatic bill pay before you leave or have your mail pick up person handle your bills and repay them when you return. (Again, deductible business expenses.)

4 - Health insurance depends on your individual policy. You will need to contact your insurance company prior to your departure and explain your situation. They may (or may not) authorize more than a month's supply of a controlled substance such as Ritalin. They may - may - allow a refill which you can have shipped to you, but there's little chance that a controlled substance can easily be refilled overseas. Whatever you do here - call NOW. Explain what's going on.

5 - If you can deduct a place for business purposes, your cost matters less. A lot of this one depends on exactly where you want to be.

6 - Call your current health insurer. This depends on both your country of origin and if, in the US, your state and insurance provider. Some companies will provide some level of care overseas, but only if you pay up front. Call NOW and find out what your current coverage will provide overseas.

7 - Make sure that your passports cover the amount of time you want to go overseas (best practice is to have six months left on your passport) and make sure that the country you are visiting does not require a work visa for certain things.

Have a great holiday!!!!

 

[Pacolovestacos]

I'm currently on a 7 week trip to Asia. My cell phone service is through Google fi so I get data abroad at no additional cost. All my bills are electronic so can't help you with that one.

 

[starry_solo]

For question #4:
4. How do I get my insurance company to authorize more than a month's supply of a medicine? I'll be carrying practically an entire pharmacy with us including a controlled substance (Ritalin). Is there anything special I need to do in this case?

I suggest you also find out whether you can bring this substance into the UK.