I am writing this page to explain what preparations we made for traveling throughout Europe for the Summer in our own RV. See the RV Preparation page for details about items unique to the RV.
Banking
Because of our extensive summer travels over the last ten years, Jack already arranged for most of our bills to be paid by credit card and then the credit card is automatically paid via a monthly checking account withdrawal. For the few bills that are not tied to our credit card, Jack arranged for automatic checking account withdrawal payments.
Traveling in Europe posed some additional banking problems. First up was finding the best credit card for international travel. Credit cards get "wholesale" currency exchange rates, so in most cases, it is best to pay by credit card when possible, but some cards charge a hefty fee separate from the current exchange. We found the Chase Visa Sapphire card to be the best when we were investigating. We did get a card with a chip, but it is different than the ones used in Europe because ours still use a signature, but the ones in Europe use a pin (more like a debit card). Only BankAmericard has these available, but they charge a 3% fee everytime it is used internationally. Chase tells us that the chip embedded in their card tells the European reader that no pin is required, but we have read about folks still having problems with automated machines, so we will let you know how that turns out.
Next was to find out how to get cash in Euros. Everything I read said bank ATMs are the best way to go so we double checked with our local bank to insure this would work, what fees are involved, and what is the maximum withdrawal per day.
It is critical to let all of these folks know in advance the dates that you will be out of the country so they do not shut down the card thinking there may be fraud if international charges suddenly appear. It is also important to have a back-up cards in case a card gets "eaten" or stolen.
Medical
Our medicare supplemental insurance does cover us for sixty days out of the country. There are no other financial viable options that we could find, so we will be super careful those last 30 days we are away.
Communications
We knew that we could not live without phone and internet. Communications is rapidly changing, but what we found at this point in time (2014) is that LeFrenchMobile offers a sim card for our Iphone that provides European-wide roaming for 0.25 euro per call and a roaming data bundle of 500 MB good for 30 days for 65 euros (current exchange rate about $1.40 per euro). Depending on how much time we will be spending in Italy on this trip, we may trade for a cheaper Italian sim card when we get there.
Driving License
We chose to get the international driving license from the local AAA. Apparently, it is not required as much as in the past, but for the $15 cost, it was the old safe rather than sorry.
Campgrounds
Lots of confusing information about European campgrounds. The Pioneers had few problems finding and using the campgrounds. Especially in France and Germany, many towns have their own parking areas where you can spend the night and some also provide services for a few dollars such as fresh water or dumps for the gray and black tanks. Some of these public spaces have electric, but require long cords and offer very low amperage. There are also many private campgrounds with full facilities with prices during the high summer season that are similar to what we have seen here in the States.
I ordered one campground guide for most of Europe, except France, Spain and Portugal so we can find private campgrounds with full services. The public parking areas are well signed along the roads, or so I've read. I am hoping to find directories of the public spaces called Aires in France, Stellplatz in Germany and Sostas in Italy, as I could not find any online.
I purchased a Camping Card International (CCI) from Federation Internationale de l'Autobobile via the Canadian Automobile Club (CAA) that acts as a security bond when you check into a campground and they will often take that rather than holding a passport, which I much prefer. Apparently some campgrounds also offer discounts to card holders, but I do not yet know whether those will be available during the summer high season.
I also purchased membership is France Passion - now don't get too excited here, it isn't THAT kind of passion. This is a camping organization that works with farmers, vineyards and craftspeople that have a few spots for RV parking for free, but no facilities such as electricity or dumps. They will often have produce, wine or crafts available, but I am assured that purchases are not required. Of course, fresh produce from the farm and local wines will definitely be on my shopping list.
Laundry
I have read that laundry is a perpetual problem. Washers, and especially dryers are hard to find and when they are available they are small and extremely expensive - between $10 and $15 per load. We made sure that most of our clothes are made of material that is quick drying rather than heavy t-shirts and jeans. We also loaded multiple sets of bed linens in case we have to go long periods without laundry facilities.
Travel Guides
Travel guide books are not inexpensive, especially if visiting 5, 6 or 7 countries. So, I purchased guidebooks for France, Germany and Italy and hit the library for the other countries to sketch out a must-see list. The Pioneers also say that every town has a visitor center, so we plan on making those our first stops to get details. I miss not having the equivalent of the AAA guidebooks we use so often when traveling here in the States.
GPS
We use a Garmin and have found it invaluable in our travels. Not only does it make getting through urban areas much, much, much easier, it allows us to search for categories of destinations such as grocery stores, restaurants, etc. So, we elected to purchase the maps for Europe. I also purchased Michelin road atlases for the areas we expect to be traveling in this year as a backup and also I find real paper maps make it easier to plan a general route as well as provide an understanding of the overall geography.
No comments:
Post a Comment