Travel Insurance

With less than 7 weeks to go before we leave, I need to get cracking to make sure everything is in place at least 2 weeks before we leave. Putting things off until the last minute results in stress, which is not a good way to begin a holiday.

The next thing on my ‘to do’ list is Travel Insurance. Be sure to read the fine print in the insurance document, as not all policies are the same. Things like exclusions and restricted coverage may be the reason why a particular product is cheaper up front than another. You need to decide what level of risk you want to assume before you settle on a particular travel insurance product. 

I contacted the company who hold my insurances for my car, house and contents. COTA is a member based organisation, underwritten by Alliance and they specialise in over 50’s insurance needs. I’ve had occasion to make a claim with them in the past and found the process easy and stress free. Because of my age (I will be 70 once we set out), my share of the policy will be slightly higher than my sister’s.

After receiving a quote from COTA, I checked on a couple of other insurance providers. (Crown Currency Exchange is another who offers discounts.)  It’s a little like trying to compare apples to oranges because they all offer different things, for varying amounts so it can be confusing. We decided to go with COTA, which will cover us for what appears to be every eventuality, accepted the quote and paid the premium.

So that’s another item ticked off, and paid for.

Places to see

We decided some time ago that we would like to visit Pompeii, Sorrento, Capri and the Blue Grotto, seeing part of the Amalfi Coast along the way. Because we will be running a bit short on time by this stage, we opted to book an organised tour – not something I do as a rule. After some searching I found that Viator seemed the best for this part of our trip, so we booked with them.

They only pick up from some Rome Hotels; we are staying in a private apartment so we will have to make our own way to the departure point. The tour is paid for upfront, and the conditions are generous. For instance, if we miss the tour, our voucher will enable us to take another, space permitting. However, if we miss the tour we’ll miss out altogether as we’ve timed this for our last week in Italy.

Assured that we now have a bed for each of our nights in Italy, it’s time to consider one of the most important purchases when travelling – travel insurance.

Airbnb

Accommodation in Italy is easy to find with either Airbnb or booking.com. Airbnb require payment upfront, and there are extra charges for cleaning. Cancellation rules vary between property owners, and some are very strict. Booking.com offer payment up front or on arrival and also excellent cancellation options – from nothing to pay if cancelled up to a set number of days before the planned arrival, to some charges if cancelled later. Both sites appear to be contactable if there was a problem on arrival or during a stay.

We only needed to find accommodation in Venice (4 nights), Florence (19 nights) and Rome (3 nights, plus 1 night). Between those last nights in Rome, we need to work in a tour of the south, which will require a bit of juggling so that we will not be ‘homeless’ for a night. I checked dates for this tour, but left booking it until another day.

Originally we planned on staying one night in Rome when we arrive in Italy, but because we arrive at Fiumicino early in the afternoon, we decided to take the train to Venice. It will get us there late at night but worth it for the extra day in Venice itself. I used Airbnb for the Florence and Rome stays, and booking.com for the Venice and last night in Rome stays. Our 4 nights in Venice and our last night in Rome will be paid for when we arrive; our long stays in Florence and Rome were paid up-front.

Researching the cities we will be staying in, in Italy, I see that most major cities now have a ‘city tax’, based on the number of nights (up to a maximum of 7 nights) per person in each city. Each city tax is different and I’ve now factored this into our budget. Only one more step for our stay in Italy; our tour of the south. More about that another time.

Trip Rider Travel App

A friend told me about a travel App, called Trip Rider. It’s free from the app store but I selected the paid version because I hate adverts! My sister and I both downloaded it to our iPads and we’ve begun adding our travel information to it. It’s a smart travel notebook for organising, managing, sharing and keeping travel details all in one place.

I like to learn a few words in the language of the countries I visit; it’s only polite to be able to say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’, as well as to ask for and understand basic directions. There are plenty of language learning sites but I like Duolingo; there are no adverts and no hidden charges – it’s completely free and very easy to use.

Energy saving Tips

I received a message from a reader of this blog, who wants to know if it's not tiring to visit so many countries on my own. I've never found it tiring at all, quite the opposite, I feel invigorated.

I did find it tiring once, when I visited New Zealand. I was there for a family wedding, and had limited time, so I booked for a tour, thinking this would be easier. I loathed it and it turned me off organised tours. It was tiring because we rushed from place to place, without the time to really look at places and things. This might suit some people, but not me.

Since that experience, I have planned and booked my own trips. I don't believe that one can truely appreciate another country rushing from place to place; you need time to stop and look, to talk to the locals, to really 'see' what life is like in that place.

I usually pick somewhere fairly central to what I want to see and do, and book for a long stay. Of course, there are times when one can only spend a night or two, but as long as I have a plan that allows for 'quality' rather than 'quantity' it works for me. The internet allows you to explore from your armchair before you go so that you have a better idea when planning.

For my upcoming trip to the UK, we will be staying for one or two nights only in most places. This is because we have a 'family' trail to follow, visiting those places our family came from when they emigrated to Australia the early 1900s. I have been there before and know exactly where I will be taking my sister, and what we will see.

In Italy, we will be staying in Venice for 4 nights; in Florence for 3 weeks; in Rome for 3 nights, followed by our one and only 'organised tour' (for my sister) of the south, then a final night in Rome before we fly home. During our 'long stay' in Florence, we will spend every second day (a full day) exploring the galleries and streets of the old city, or taking the bus to different places in Tuscany. I don't want to drive in Italy - that would be tiring - and I prefer the bus to the train because it travels slower and we can see more of the places we travel through. Of course, there are some places one cannot get to without a car, but there are people who take small groups in cars to those places. We'll consider that when we are there. Every other day will be spent 'at home', with maybe a visit to a nearby market, but mainly to rest and recover, and to write up our journals, organise our photos, send email home etc.

Good luck with your travels Great Journeys; I'll look for your blog and will read it with interest.

Itinerary Draft

During the term break, my sister and I worked on our itinerary. We began with our arrival in the UK and wrote a ‘brief’ so that we could co-ordinate every booking that needed to be made.

Budget offered the best deal for a car, so that was our first step. The only difficulty I had was deciding from which terminal we would collect the car when we arrived. The Budget site was not helpful in this regard. I guess that it would be too much to ask that the airline or the airport would have this information so far ahead. I checked online for a map of Heathrow and decided that it wouldn’t matter too much, that they are all fairly close together, so I just chose one (eliminating Terminal 4, which is further away) and nominated a time that should allow us to get through customs and to the pick-up point in plenty of time without rushing.

We could have chosen to pay later, but it was more economical to pay in advance. There was a slight extra charge for the privilege of returning the car to a different airport (Gatwick) but worth it. There will be extras to pay for when we get there – such as a GPS, WiFi, fuel in advance for return of the car, etc – but the basic charge is done and dusted. I also went online to check the price of fuel in the UK so I could factor this into our budget.

The next step was booking a hotel for our first night’s stay. We arrived at Heathrow mid-afternoon, and although I have never experienced jet lag (I can sleep anywhere, anytime), my sister might be another story. We chose Oxford because it’s on our way west, and it’s not too far away from the airport. I tried a few different sites but found that booking.com was the best for the short stays we plan for places in the UK. Signing up at booking.com gave us access to special deals and so we planned where we would travel to each day and booked a hotel in those vicinities. Most of them gave us the option to pay now, or later. We chose to pay some now, and some later (with a guaranteed rate in British Pounds), to spread the risk of the Australian Dollar falling or rising against the British Pound. Some include breakfast, others do not but they do offer it on the day, so I built this into our budget too.

For our last few nights bar one in the UK, we wanted to be close enough to London to take a train there to see the sights. Before booking that hotel, I checked the maps of trains the cost of train tickets and the timetable to London, and factored that into our budget as well.

Our last night in the UK needed to be close to Gatwick and booking.com listed a hotel that is connected to the terminal we need by a covered walkway. Perfect.

A detailed Itinerary was my last step for the UK section of our trip. This lists each step of our stay there, from times, distances to travel, and places paid in advance, and those that will need to be paid for when we arrive. At the same time, I added details to our budget.

Next step, Italy.