Extended Stay Travel Tips
Preparing for Extended Stay Travel
by Ian Paul Marshall, your Extended Stay Travel Specialist
Going away for while? Whenever you leave for an extended stay adventure, be it for business of pleasure, it’s good to be prepared.
In a perfect world it’s best to plan months ahead. But this is rarely the case. Especially when you’re going on extended stay to a city for business.
Extended Stay Travel Resource Guide
Safety, Budget and Responsible Travel
When planning your route, consider climate, jetlag and accessibility. Read about hot spots, war zones and closed borders on the US State Department Consular Information website.
Never assume that two neighboring countries have good relations. Learn where your dollar goes farthest and weigh it against your tolerance for the inconveniences of the region. Educate yourself about tourism boycotts, and make a personal decision on which countries to visit.
Guide Books
Spend a few days in the travel section of your local mega-bookstore. Study guidebooks carefully, looking for one that agrees with your style of travel. Check the copyright date of the book you choose. Is it the most recent edition? A guide that is two years out of date may still be accurate for Western Europe or Australia, but two years is an eternity in rapidly changing areas with unstable currency. Check the publisher’s website before making a purchase. A newer edition may be in the works.
Travel Options
Read up on the travel options in the region. Employ a good travel agent to check on airfares. Some countries have reliable transportation, with buses, trains, and planes that adhere to rigid schedules. Other areas have nebulous schedules, with instructions such as “go to the corner, buses leave when full.”
Research and more research
The Internet is a massive library of information on your destination. Block out time to wade through sites, reading about culture, books, accommodation, and local transport. Consider the date the information was posted, and the credibility of the source. Don’t get discouraged if you turn up nothing. Keep digging. Not everything is listed in search engines.
Health
Consult with a physician for prescriptions and vaccinations. Some vaccinations require multiple visits to a travel clinic, so leave plenty of time. Also visit your dentist. Women should get a gynecological exam. Inform your doctors that you are taking an extended trip, and take contact info, including e-mail and fax numbers, for all of them. Get a World Health Organization International Certificate of Vaccination from your doctor — some countries require evidence of a Yellow Fever vaccine.
Insurance
Health insurance sometimes covers individuals outside of their home country, and sometimes does not. Regardless, insurance companies toll-free 800 numbers may not work where you’re going, so call your insurer and get an alternative phone number. Consider getting medical evacuation, cancellation and baggage insurance. It may be cheaper to get a comprehensive travel policy that covers health, medical evacuation, and life than to stick with your existing policy.
Passports, Visas and Other Documents
Apply for or renew your passport, if it is going to expire within a year. Many countries won’t allow you in if your passport is not valid for six months past your date of entry. Carry several extra passport photos with you — you’ll need them for visas en route.
Many countries require visas for entry. Read the specific requirements and application procedures on the Embassy’s home page, accessed from embassy.org. Start early, but not so early that the visa expires before you leave the U.S. Some visas can be acquired at port of entry. It may be easiest to use a visa service.
Money
Don’t take multiple credit cards — they’re hard to keep track of. There are still some places that accept only Visa, not Mastercard. Many regions are dependent solely on cash, others accept credit and ATM cards. You should have several ways to access your money, but try to stick to a budget to minimize financial strain.
- Take U.S. dollars and travelers’ checks of various denominations. Always keep an emergency supply of cash. Carry new bills if possible.
- Take a high-limit Visa card, American Express card (if you have one), ATM card, and some blank checks.
- Get a four-digit PIN for ATM and Visa cards (some ATM’s only accept four digits).
- Use your ATM card to get cash when you can, or cash a check with American Express (cardmembers only). Both are free or nearly free.
- In a pinch, use your Visa card to get a cash advance from a bank or ATM. Minimize fees by paying off immediately using online banking, or pay a positive balance on your Visa account before leaving home.
Organize Your Papers
Organize all your medical info, insurance contacts, passport, I.D. cards, address book, credit card numbers and stolen card phone numbers, travelers’ check numbers with emergency phone numbers, itinerary information, and contact information. Scan them in and e-mail it to yourself, carry paper copies, and leave copies with trusted friends. Have the good sense to consider the security of your e-mail account and always sign out of public computers after use. Learn how to clear the cache and quit the browser.
Mail and Communications
Using the Internet, read up on the safety of mail in the regions you’re visiting. Send and receive mail only in countries with reliable service. Use Poste Restante, your hotel, or American Express offices (cardmembers only) to receive mail, and ask for help when sending parcels. Many countries have complex forms that must accompany packages.
Luggage
Choose your gear carefully, and find real world samples of heavy gear you intend to mail order. Your luggage is your most important purchase. Weigh your bag empty before purchasing it.
Packing
Pack light (you can always purchase things as you go). Allow yourself a few small luxuries when gearing up. But remember, chocolate melts and books are heavy. Carry your case full, along with a water bottle, guidebook, and your heaviest clothes before choosing your luxuries. Make a checklist of gear, and assemble a first aid kit.
Cameras and Digital Equipment
Cameras and videocameras come with specific dilemmas. 35mm film is available in most of the world. Special formats are not. Digital cameras require storage disks, or downloading onto parent computers. Most cybercafes will not allow travelers to install their own software for downloading.
PDA’s and laptop computers present portability issues. Laptops are usually able to withstand multiple voltages, but PDA’s need converters to adapt to higher electrical voltages outside of the Americas. Both require a selection of adapter plugs and phone jacks. Make sure your PDA can run on disposable batteries to avoid carrying a converter.
Additionally, most Internet service providers that claim to be global are exaggerating. Laptops are heavy, and cybercafes are plentiful. Leave the laptop at home if you will be on the move a lot. PDA’s are useful as address books and notepads, but they must synch with parent computers for more complex functions like downloading. Again, this requires software installation in cybercafes; usually a no-no.
If you must carry expensive electronics, plan to carry insurance. Reimbursement claims often require proof in the form of a local police report.
Security
Get a money belt. Try wearing it for a few days before committing to it. If you don’t feel comfortable with your money and passport bulging out at your waistline, or fear losing your valuables in a squat toilet, sew zippered pockets inside your travel clothes. Try repositioning your money belt so that it sits below your waist. Beltoutlet.com has a wide selection of affordable money belts, bra stashes and other good traveling gear.
Taking care of your home
Back home, your affairs will need to be self-sustaining, or operable by remote control. If you have property, sell or rent it. Renting means being an absentee landlord, so set up a means to solve problems. Hire a property manager or friend, and leave them with a list of emergency contacts and instructions. Confirm your property insurance covers renting, and clean out your refrigerator in consideration of your tenants. Force plants onto a friend who needs cheering up. If you have a car, sell it or store it. Pre-pay your insurance on your car, home, and possessions.
Mail Forwarding
Whether you sell, rent, or leave your lease, remember to cut off your utilities and phone. Stop magazine subscriptions and file a forwarding address to a friend’s house.
Storage
Store your stuff. Prices vary depending on location, so get a few estimates before committing to a storage company. Movers charge a hefty fee, so get several estimates on that too, and have your stuff well packed in boxes before they arrive to save money.
If you are storing a computer, back up the hard drive on a separate CD or disk before putting it in metaphorical mothballs. Upload your browser’s bookmarks or favorites to server space if you know how, so that you can access them from any public computer.
Taxes and Other Important Things
You’ll need to develop superhuman organizing skills, or get assistance from professionals. Make a will, give a friend power of attorney, and plan for tax season. Add up your deductions and get estimates to your accountant before you go, and then arrange for official documents to be forwarded. File for an extension if you need to.
Banking
Your money, if you have enough to worry about, needs special consideration. Remember that you won’t be around when CD’s roll over, and you may miss deadlines for adding to your IRA. Plan ahead, and give yourself some leeway, so that a change in your schedule won’t damage your long-term financial planning. If you have a lot of money in stocks or in a retirement fund, hire a manager, and make sure you’ll have access to your funds via the Internet.
Sign up for online banking and try it out before you leave. It isn’t always possible to reach a computer when you need one, so schedule automatic payments if you can. A free payment service such as Paypal paypal.com might prove useful.
Stay in touch by getting a free browser-based e-mail account, such as Hotmail or Yahoo. You can configure it to check home accounts, as long as they are POP-based. AOL users can access their e-mail from AOL’s own browser-based service aol.com.
Other Services
For friends who don’t have e-mail, there are businesses such as J2 – j2.com – and EFax – efax.com – that specialize in free dedicated fax numbers that send faxes to your e-mail. Yahoo – yahoo.com – will give you a free voicemail account that forwards voice messages to your Yahoo e-mail account. You may never need to call home again.
Planning an extended trip is like planning a wedding. If you can negotiate the planning process, the problems you encounter in the “marriage,” the actual trip, should be a piece of cake. If you have sold your home, stored your stuff, and convinced your friends to be responsible for your life, missing buses and using strange toilets won’t be traumatic — because they’ll be your only problems in the world.
Adapted from: Gonomad.com