First Overseas Vacation- tips?

[Laura in CA]

I second (third) Rick Steves – his website has free videos (all of his TV shows, in fact, plus talks he and his sidekicks have given) on sights, packing, etc. Loads of information. And the Rick Steves travel forums are very helpful. Many first-time travelers post there with basic questions.

In London (we've been 7 times in the last 3 years lol) we always try to do a London Walk. They are always fantastic, informative, and entertaining. A great value at, I think, £10. One of our recent walks was in the Rotherhithe neighborhood (I think it was the Brunel walk; we went by the Mayflower pub – if you pop your head in you'll see a poster showing the original Pilgrims on the ship and who was left after the first year) and one of the people on the walk was a native Londoner who was intending to do all the walks (over a period of years) to learn more about her city. The walks are nice b/c you just show up, so you can decide at the last minute based on the weather, your energy level, your location, etc. You can also slip quietly away if 2 hours of sights and information is too long when you're jet-lagged  🙂

@saw – please compliment your son on his website! I am definitely interested in seeing where the Liberty Bell was cast (not least b/c I've done some tower-bell ringing in England!); unfortunately there may be plans to turn it into a boutique hotel (!). I didn't notice Benjamin Franklin's house on his list ... And St Dunstan-in-the-West has some information posted about people from the church who settled in the American colonies; Lord Baltimore is buried there. Might be worth checking out!

 And we have been in London several times around Christmastime and were intrigued by the Christmas carol services at All Hallows by the Tower (what an evocative name!) but haven't been yet (too much else going on!). I will have to go sometime.

Soror, you will have a wonderful time! I also recommend packing light. We look for light, unbreakable souvenirs and gifts. Some of the most popular have been CDs of music from churches (like St Bride's in London; Oxford churches; etc.) for people who like that sort of thing; key chains w/iconic local things such as Eiffel tower or Paddington bear (they were easier to find and cheaper than Christmas-tree ornaments, which is what I wanted to find); small children's books; posters or prints from museums; handmade soaps (from Dartmoor), etc. Oh, and from England – tea, of course. Because people all have different tastes in tea, I've gotten a nice selection (from Waitrose or Sainsbury's; places like Kew Gardens have their own brands, too, sometimes available in the grocery stores as well) and I made a "tea-of-the-month club" where I gave people a few tea bags of a certain kind every month – Twinings Earl Grey, Taylors/Kew Gardens organic Rose Lemonade, Clipper Snore & Peace 😊, teapigs super fruit, etc. Oh, funky pencils or magnets from the British Library or British Museum are affordable and fun. I will be in Paris in May and not sure what I'll bring back ...

 

Edited March 19, 2019 by Laura in CA

[PeppermintPattie]

I have a policy of not eating at gas stations 🙂, but the ones in London that we went to actually had grocery stores inside with good food for picnicking. So don't  rule out gas stations!

[Harriet Vane]

Take a day at the Tower of London. The Beefeater tours are worth every penny.

Bring lightweight, hiking quality rain gear. We found that having something superlight (easy to carry in a purse) but waterproof makes a huuuuuuuuge difference in our enjoyment of a wet day.

[madteaparty]

Have not read the thread, sorry if a repeat. My two favorite things we did in London when we took kids and their grandparents were the Churchill War rooms, and the highlights tour of British museum. I wish I had done that one without DD in the ergo but you do what you can. Anyway I’ve been to so so many museums, that one was special for some reason. All the, ahem, “explored” stuff maybe? 😂 Empire and all that. 

Rome, sigh. I love it but last time I went this past summer I had reached maximum tourist mob tolerance “look kids, that’s the colosseum. Looks similar on the inside. Let’s go get gelato”. The one semi-smart thing I did was book a night tour of the Vatican versus a day tour. Still somewhat mobbed but bearable. And the windows were open and it was just pretty all round. 

Edited March 19, 2019 by madteaparty

[mom2att]

On 3/17/2019 at 3:33 PM, soror said:

 

Does anyone know about the London Pass and Oyster Travel Card? We're trying to figure out if that is worthwhile. 

 

 

Dd and I took a European trip last summer, and London was our first stop. We bought an Oyster card right away, using it to tube from Heathrow. It was so easy to use/reload. We also bought the London Pass, which highlights all of the major touristy stuff. We were there for the first time and hadn't seen any of the touristy stuff so it worked great for us. It included some of the things we knew we wanted to see (Tower of London, Churchill War Rooms, St. Pauls), plus stuff we probably wouldn't have done but were glad we did (Tower Bridge). It does not include the British Museum, but make time for that anyway. 

We were only there for approximately 2 days, and there was so much we didn't get to see/do. But what we were able to do made me definitely want to go back!

One more thing--we also took a red eye, arriving around noon. Since it was a beautiful day and we weren't feeling too tired, we just dropped our stuff at the hotel and took off exploring London. We were able to check some things off our list by doing that, and though we were tired by the end of the day, it meant a good night's sleep and a quick adjustment to the 5 hour time difference--no jet lag issues. If you nap when you get there, it will be harder to adjust.

Have fun--best trip of my life!

[Laura Corin]

Just now, mom2att said:

Dd and I took a European trip last summer, and London was our first stop. We bought an Oyster card right away, using it to tube from Heathrow. It was so easy to use/reload. We also bought the London Pass, which highlights all of the major touristy stuff. We were there for the first time and hadn't seen any of the touristy stuff so it worked great for us. It included some of the things we knew we wanted to see (Tower of London, Churchill War Rooms, St. Pauls), plus stuff we probably wouldn't have done but were glad we did (Tower Bridge). It does not include the British Museum, but make time for that anyway.

The British Museum is free of charge anyway - donations requested.

[mom2att]

Regarding phone plans--T-Mobile is great. Calls cost, but everything else is free, including data and texting. We used this all over to text home and for maps/directions. For calls home, including video calls, we used Viber. Works great on wifi, so we would just call from the hotel. We ended up with only one $2.00 charge for a call during our 17-day trip, and that was for an emergency hotel booking. Everything else we could take care of with texting and wifi calls.

 

[madteaparty]

24 minutes ago, Laura Corin said:

The British Museum is free of charge anyway - donations requested.

True, though there was a nominal charge and a booking required for the highlights tour that I mentioned above. This was very good to have because there’s too much to see otherwise and I needed orienting (5 yr old DD would have reavhed expiration if I went wandering all day). 

[J-rap]

Many foreign countries now use Uber.  They're nice because then you don't need to have cash or even credit cards on you, or hassle with price.  (But some countries -- and England might be one of them -- don't allow them.)  You'd want to download the Uber app and set it up ahead of time.

We've spent a lot of time in other countries over the years, and generally don't even use our phones like we do in the U.S.  We just turn them "to Airplane Mode," but that still allows us to link onto a wifi network in a lot of places (hotels, museums, restaurants, often city-wifi, etc.).  So no extra charges at all.  As long as we're in a wifi area, we can still do most things we need to do, and even call home via an app like WhatsApp (again, free of charge).  But, if you're thinking that with young kids at home you'd like to be accessible 24 hours/day, there's the $10/day type plan that people have mentioned, but you also might be able to get a one-month plan (which, even if your trip is just for 10 days might still be cheaper then $10/daily).

We always travel with two credit cards plus our ATM cards.  (Don't keep them all in the same place.)

I always travel with a cross body bag that fully zips, and keep in hanging in front of me.

I haven't traveled with a big backpack in years, but I did in my 20's!  It seemed really handy back then.  Now I love our lightweight roller suitcases.  It's true that you have to carry them up stairs sometimes (like in subways), but I still prefer them over carrying a backpack.  (Although when in my 20's, I really did like them a lot!)

We often stay in places with kitchens, because food is the big expense that can add up, and that makes us feel more comfortable about eating out at that one really nice restaurant, or stopping at a cute cafe for coffee and desserts during the day -- since we know most meals we prepare ourselves at our accommodations.  I'd recommend you bring one of those tiny lightweight bags that fold up into a small 3-inch ball but expand into a bag that carries groceries.  Many countries in Europe now require you to bring your own grocery bag, or else you pay to get one of theirs.

We used to "wing it" a lot more when traveling, but I've found that nowadays I like to have things planned out a little better.  So for example, I often research ahead of time where to pick up a taxi at the airport after I land, or which exit of a giant train station I should take in order to walk in the direction of our hotel.  Those are all things you can certainly figure out when you get there, of course, but then it takes a little more time.

If you're planning to train or bus anywhere, I'd recommend this place if you want to get tickets ahead of time:

https://loco2.com/en-us

They are great, very responsive, helpful, and will answer any very specific questions you have.

If you have other specific questions, I may be able to answer them.  Let me know.

It sounds like a lot of fun!  I'm not a travel agent but have planned many, many trips over the years.  🙂

 

 

[mommyoffive]

18 hours ago, soror said:

LOL, a cousin that has been to Rome also said we needed to get a gelato every time we could. We plan to eat out once or so every country. I do have a small crossbody bag. I'm looking for shoes, I'd like one pair more stylish for things like church and visiting nicer places but also good for walking and another pair for days when we're hiking out of cities that are more waterproof. I have some shoes now obviously, but I don't know that any will be exactly right for the traveling, either too nice and not comfy enough for walking or not waterproof. I've been checking out Rick Steve's info since it was posted here, hopefully I can get some of his books from the library.

Thanks for the heads up on Ocado and the grocery stores, that is a huge help. It looks like their will be grocery stores at least somewhat close to our apartment but I will certainly consider food delivery it might work out for the best. Dh noticed a ton of Aldi's when looking at maps of Ireland so that is one less thing to worry about there (although we likely won't have kitchen access in places we're staying there since we are hopping around to different places.

Thank you for the heads up, that is cool, we'll pop in if we have time.

I did look some at the British Museum, it sounds really cool, it's on our back-up list. This is our current Rome list we have- (some of these are rather small but so close to other things we thought it would be silly to not at least checkout. We've been going through and looking at admittance times/days and cost, we're hoping to bet some of the crowds with the 2 biggies by hitting them in off times. I think just about everyone we would call would be on a landline. 

Roman Forum

Palatine Hill

Arch of Constantine

Colosseum

Pantheon

Piazza Novana

Trevi Fountain

Spanish Steps St. Peter's Sistene Chapel

Thanks for the heads-up about candy at the airport, that didn't occur to me, we have to bring home some for sure. Thanks for the info about the taxis too.

I hope you have a wonderful time on your tour! You'll have to update when you are done. When is your trip? I told dh I want our next trip to be to Asia, probably China (since I work with Chinese kids via VIPKID and would love to visit some students but that might be better to do on my own someday) but there are so many Asian countries I'd like to visit. We're hoping/planning to take the kids on a family vaca overseas in a few years, we'll see if we can pull this off. We started with a trip through Groupon, not a tour group but it was all planned hotels and flights BUT once we went to finalize our plans then they added on 36%, so that's when we just decided to plan it all on our own. So, at least we get to pick exactly where we want to go and for us it is at least $2k in savings, here's hoping we pull it off, it is very nervewracking doing it all on our own but after that fell through we thought the h*ll with it, we'll just do it on our own and there happened to be good prices on London tickets at the time.

Thanks for the info, I hadn't thought of photocopying my passport but have now read this elsewhere as well!! 

 

 

 

So interesting to learn that Groupon did that.  I have always wanted to buy one of those packages and have all the work done for me.   Good job saving money.   

I have been to London and Rome.  Rome is my favorite.   I would go back in a heartbeat just to walk around.  We have taken the kids a few times and they love it there too.   I am not a Gelato fan.  I was hoping it was great, but I didn't like it. 

You have gotten tons of great tips.   My best tip is just to pack light.  The less you are lugging around the easier it is to move.   We travel as light as possible.  Either small school backpacks that are half filled.  My youngest and myself shared when we did that.   Or 2-3 of us share a rolling suitcase.  

My kids love the Roma light jackets that you will see everywhere.  We usually pay 7 euro for them and they look awesome years later.   They get a ton of use out of them.  

Edited March 19, 2019 by mommyoffive

[TCB]

I really recommend taking one of the hop on/hop off buses like the Big Red Bus or one like that in London if you can fit it in towards the beginning of your stay. I lived in London for many years, but when I went back with my dds we took one of those bus tours and it was fantastic, especially if you aren't there for a long time. You get a really good overview of the city and the guide on the bus really has a lot of knowledge about the history etc so you learn a lot. We then bought our tickets for the Tower for a discount but you wouldn't need to do that if you buy the London pass. I think you could also buy the London pass from them too, at a discount so you may want to check  prices. We also did the short Thames river cruise that was included in the ticket. I think you can also go down to Greenwich on the boat, which is a really cool place to look around, but would take a fair bit of time.

The tube passes can be good value but I always find that I tend to use them for only a few journeys and then I like to walk as much as I can so I can see everything. If you are seeing several places that are quite far apart on the same day then it can be really useful to have a pass. Honestly London Bridge is just a nice bridge, I used to work right next to it, so I wouldn't go out of my way to see it, but you may well see it on your way somewhere. There are so many great things to see in London. There are tons of nice parks and squares to have picnics in if the weather is ok. Look out for Tesco and Sainsbury's mini supermarket stores, I think they call them metro stores. They have loads of sandwiches and other picnic foods that are quite good and fairly inexpensive, especially if you get their lunch deals which include a sandwich, chips and a drink. My favorite is to get food from Marks and Spenser's ( M&S) thoughas they have some really nice things, although not as cheap as some of the others. They have small shops around London too. A quick, fairly good lunch place  is  Pret a Manger. There are lots of those around and sell coffee and tea etc, as well as food.

If you only have time for one church I would recommend Westminster Abby rather than St Pauls - there is so much to see at Westminster and  it is an older building and you can also see the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben ( if it isn't still being worked on) while you are there. I absolutely love London. It is a fantastic city to visit. Hope you have a great time.

[shawthorne44]

You can easily do Europe with a backpack.   Not even a big backpack, a school backpack.   Just take a small quantity of laundry soap.   For a trip like yours, I'd take woolite and just hand-wash small quantities in the sink.  

Get several of the travel-size liquid containers for the laundry soap/hair shampoo/etc.   Toss them as you finish with them or when you are ready to come home.  

For purses, etc.   try to go for non-standard.   For example, they can spot the money belt and have your pants undone and the money removed before you can stop them.   One trick I liked when it was jacket weather was a fanny pack under the jacket with the stuff tucked at my back and the bottom of my jacket tied tightly.   The pack blended with the billowing of the bottom of the jacket.   Another one I liked was a leather thing that hung from my neck.  The leather cord looked like it might have been for an amulet or something.   If you see kids running amok start swinging your arms around.    If it hits them, oh well.  The kids running amok are pick-pockets.   Do not say a word!   The crowd will be on your side, unless they know you are a tourist.  

 

[Soror]

Guys, thanks for all the great info. Today's been BUSY but I'm hoping to pore through all the info and think of new questions to ask.THANKS so much!!! You guys are the best.

[Bootsie]

Although Ireland does not require an international drivers' license, a rental car company might.  Or, even if the rental car company does not require an international drivers license, it can make the process of renting a car much faster if you have an international license.

Check with your phone carrier to see what will be the best thing for you to do.  You need to think through whether your major concerns will be staying in touch with each other in Europe, having a phone to make a call if you have an emergency like car trouble, that you want to call home, or that you want people from home to be able to call you.  Depending on how you think you will use a phone, some options work better than others.  If you have TMobile, you will probably have international coverage for texts and data--calls will have a per minute charge.  It may be cheaper to pay a fee for an international plan with your current provider (and have a phone and number you know) than use an international phone or SIM card.

Last year, Uber was not legal in Rome--I don't know if that is still the case. 

[shawthorne44]

 

For clothing in Europe, once I discovered a longish loose skirt with a bike shorts underneath I was converted.   The bike shorts keep your thighs happy while you are walking a ton, and you have the comfort of shorts.  But, you have the universal acceptability of a skirt.   You can go from light hiking to a decent restaurant without changing clothes.   Shorts aren't as much of a Thing as they are in the U.S.    

 

[Laura in CA]

On 3/17/2019 at 12:39 PM, SusanC said:

 

In Rome, the grocery chain we saw the most near our place was "Pam", but groceries weren't hard to find. I brought a compact, reusable shopping bag with me, although they would give/sell grocery bags if needed. Grocery bags would make an easy souvenir...

 

On 3/17/2019 at 1:27 PM, TheReader said:

as for souvenirs, we went to a grocery store and got coffee, local cookies, stuff like that. Fridge magnets for MIL and for us. And I bought shoes ❤️ And we bought the boys Italian copies of books/board games. But the grocery store stuff is good; like, I brought a friend who loves to bake some spice that was used in a bread we had there. We brought everyone else coffee. Brought our kids Italian cookies. That sort of thing. 

 

Definitely check out grocery stores. It's fun to see how people in other countries shop (mustard in metal tubes? 🤔; leeks very common; different types and colors of cheeses!), plus there's a good variety of items that make good souvenirs/gifts, and DON'T cost an arm and a leg as at tourist sights. I dearly wanted Christmas tree ornaments, too, but even in Oxford at Christmastime all I could find were either super expensive (like £12+ ($16) each), or just generic Christmas-y. I found that reusable (jute) shopping bags were very popular gifts and I love seeing these bags being used around town 🙂. AND the most expensive one cost ~$5 at Waitrose. In the pic below (yay, I did a photo! I didn't mean it to be so large, though ...) all the bags are from Waitrose except the lifeboat one (from a lifeboat station in Cornwall) and the bored-looking rabbit (from a bookstore in Romania), which my kids think is HILARIOUS. 

ETA: I use these bags all the time (I use different ones for each activity, such as music, the library, or the gym) and they are a lovely reminder of our trips each time. And the smaller ones are just as handy and easier to bring back.

And 2 years ago I did find wonderful, affordable Christmas-tree ornaments at Marks & Spencer, of British icons such as red phone booths and red pillar (mail)boxes – but none were to be found last Christmas ... 

Edited March 23, 2019 by Laura in CA

[tdbates78]

Since most of the other posts covered a wide variety of tips (and I agree with them all, having been to all of the locations you are going to), I'm going to give you a piece of advice that caused a huge assortment of problems on our first trip to London way back when. BE CAREFUL WITH YOUR NAP WHEN YOU ARRIVE! Yes, in my opinion that deserves all caps! We arrived in London (our first trip abroad) on Easter Sunday. Most things were closed (obviously) so after a few hours of walking around decided to head back to our hotel for a little nap. 4 hours later....seriously. Due to jet lag our nap was over 4 hours long. That long nap screwed us up for the next three days. We could never properly adjust to the time change because of it. That long nap meant that we were up til like 4 am because we weren't tired and utterly exhausted for a good portion of the day. Then we would be wide awake til 3 or 4 and it started all over the next day. It was awful.

So long story short, if you are going to nap on your arrival day set an alarm for an hour or so and stick with it. My personal advice, after two dozen plus trips abroad, is to avoid the nap altogether. Most flights to Europe are red eye so just try to get some sleep on the plane (easier said than done, I know. Melatonin is my BFF on long haul flights) Get out and enjoy the fresh air. Do some light sightseeing and keep yourself busy. Grab an early dinner and allow yourself to go to bed early that first night, even as early as 6 or 7 pm, if necessary. You'll feel much better the next day. And try not to think about the time change. Switch immediately to the local time. I think the big reason why my younger children handle jet lag better than us adults is because they don't try to mentally figure out what time it "should" be at home and just go with the flow. 

Edited March 24, 2019 by tdbates78

[mumto2]

I am not 100% sure this is totally accurate but since coffee and tea keeps appearing as souvenirs.  

We flew to the US from London on Norwegian a couple of weeks ago......new regulation meant we were being questioned at check in differently than my normal (fairly frequent U.K. to US traveler)..... the only question I can remember was “Are you carrying tea?”   Of course I was (I always bring tea over) in my hand luggage because we don’t check bags.  Apparently the limit is 350g now.  My box was less and it was 200 bags, I believe.

[Donna]

If you are driving, check the credit card you are using for the rental car to see if it covers the insurance on the car which will save almost twice the car rental cost.

Let your credit card know you are traveling so the company does not block charges.

If you have meal restrictions, check the airline you are flying to request meals that will work for you. Often the "special meals" (vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, etc...) are nicer than the regular meals the airline provides.

Someone mentioned an international driver's license? I've driven in quite a few countries and have never needed anything other than my state-issued drivers license. You will not need a special driver's license to drive in Ireland. If you can drive manual, it's way less expensive to rent than automatic. I recommend the smallest car you can comfortably fit your family in...Irish roads are very narrow with little wiggle room.

We always use our phones but get SIM cards for the country we are traveling in. For about 20 euro, you can get unlimited data (perfect if you will be using Google maps to get around) for a month and a limited number of phone minutes and texts for the country you are in. We use What's App or Messenger to communicate with family and friends back home. Way less expensive than using the international travel feature on our home phone plan. (Just check with your phone company to be sure your phone is unlocked...all V*rizon phones are unlocked.)

 

 

Edited March 24, 2019 by Donna

[Laura Corin]

@Donna good idea about car size. I live near a tourist town in Scotland and once had to move my car so that a hapless overseas tourist could manage to park his oversized rental car. It's quite common to see people struggling with the narrow medieval streets.

[Soror]

5 hours ago, Ordinary Shoes said:

We just got back from our first trip to Europe (we went to Italy). We only took backpacks and it worked out fine. I felt bad for all of the people lugging their roller bags up and down the steps, over bridges and cobblestones. Not checking a bag saved us a lot of money and made things so much easier at the airport. 

I used the Osprey Fairview https://www.amazon.com/Osprey-Fairview-Womens-Travel-Backpack/dp/B073QQR4C1 and my husband used the Osprey Farpoint https://www.amazon.com/Osprey-Packs-Farpoint-Travel-Backpack/dp/B019UTHQEY. 

I took this laundry detergent with me https://www.amazon.com/WashEZE-Unscented-Friendly-Detergent-Efficient/dp/B00U9SFSZK/ref=pd_lpo_vtph_121_tr_t_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=J8X8WN69514Z6QYJAAXM. I also brought a clothesline that fit in a little drawstring bag. 

I took a Baggallini Everywhere bag with me. https://www.amazon.com/Baggallini-Everywhere-Lightweight-Crossbody-Water-Resistant/dp/B015ET6PRI/ref=asc_df_B015ET6PRI/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312029713620&hvpos=1o4&hvnetw=g&hvrand=11214049150082293280&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9030048&hvtargid=pla-370752098806&psc=1 It has now become my standard weekend bag because it's so versatile. 

1

Well, thank you so much for the confirmation that we can do this w/ backpacks.  

3 hours ago, Donna said:

If you are driving, check the credit card you are using for the rental car to see if it covers the insurance on the car which will save almost twice the car rental cost.

Let your credit card know you are traveling so the company does not block charges.

If you have meal restrictions, check the airline you are flying to request meals that will work for you. Often the "special meals" (vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, etc...) are nicer than the regular meals the airline provides.

Someone mentioned an international driver's license? I've driven in quite a few countries and have never needed anything other than my state-issued drivers license. You will not need a special driver's license to drive in Ireland. If you can drive manual, it's way less expensive to rent than automatic. I recommend the smallest car you can comfortably fit your family in...Irish roads are very narrow with little wiggle room.

We always use our phones but get SIM cards for the country we are traveling in. For about 20 euro, you can get unlimited data (perfect if you will be using Google maps to get around) for a month and a limited number of phone minutes and texts for the country you are in. We use What's App or Messenger to communicate with family and friends back home. Way less expensive than using the international travel feature on our home phone plan. (Just check with your phone company to be sure your phone is unlocked...all V*rizon phones are unlocked.)

4

We actually did check with our credit card but after more research decided against using the CC insurance due to the holds and charges placed on cards and the fact that if you use their insurance you can drop and go without waiting (especially since statistics are that 90% of cars return with damage). We are planning on driving the smallest stick shift we can find b/c dh  has street viewed the roads and woah they are small! 

 

2 hours ago, Ordinary Shoes said:

I bought a couple of cheap cotton dresses with pockets from Amazon. I wore them with capri leggings everywhere. It wasn't my best look but I was very comfortable. The cotton was easy to wash and super comfortable. It also packed very small. 

I looked at many different pairs of shoes and ended up wearing my Sketcher tennis shoes with a Dr. Scholl's insoles. 

2

I'm still trying to figure out clothing and shoes. I do have a longer black skirt and one dress that is below my knees that would work for religious places, although I'll have to pack a little sweater or throw. 

[Donna]

1 minute ago, soror said:

We actually did check with our credit card but after more research decided against using the CC insurance due to the holds and charges placed on cards and the fact that if you use their insurance you can drop and go without waiting (especially since statistics are that 90% of cars return with damage). We are planning on driving the smallest stick shift we can find b/c dh  has street viewed the roads and woah they are small! 

Yeah, if you think you've seen small roads, nothing compares to Ireland roads where you have a stone wall on each side and barely enough room for two cars to fit...and then a tour bus comes the opposite direction. If you drive out to Dingle, the road on the pass has a cliff going up on one side and down to the ocean on the other with room for one car at a time...scary.

I travel to Ireland 1-2X/ year (for the past 8 years) and until the last 2-3 years CC insurance would not cover Ireland due to the frequency of damage but as soon as they did, I began using it. No issues at all. Make sure to check the car well when you get it. I usually video a walk around the car when I get it to avoid being taken by previous damage but have not had an issue. I did have to use the CC insurance once last year for a tire puncture and it took a little over a month to get reimbursed but I did in the end. It only took a couple minutes for the paperwork when dropping the "damaged" car at Dublin airport (and would have been even quicker at Shannon- my very favorite airport) but well worth the savings. The rental company was very good about quickly answering emails to get me the information the CC company needed to take care of the reimbursement.

[Soror]

1 minute ago, Donna said:

Yeah, if you think you've seen small roads, nothing compares to Ireland roads where you have a stone wall on each side and barely enough room for two cars to fit...and then a tour bus comes the opposite direction. If you drive out to Dingle, the road on the pass has a cliff going up on one side and down to the ocean on the other with room for one car at a time...scary.

I travel to Ireland 1-2X/ year (for the past 8 years) and until the last 2-3 years CC insurance would not cover Ireland due to the frequency of damage but as soon as they did, I began using it. No issues at all. Make sure to check the car well when you get it. I usually video a walk around the car when I get it to avoid being taken by previous damage but have not had an issue. I did have to use the CC insurance once last year for a tire puncture and it took a little over a month to get reimbursed but I did in the end. It only took a couple minutes for the paperwork when dropping the "damaged" car at Dublin airport (and would have been even quicker at Shannon- my very favorite airport) but well worth the savings. The rental company was very good about quickly answering emails to get me the information the CC company needed to take care of the reimbursement.

OH, I can only imagine how fun it is to pass a tour bus on those roads!!! Dh was marveling at all the stone walls. That is an excellent idea to take pics and videos beforehand, thanks for the tip!!! I know our CC company covers Ireland b/c dh called to confirm but from what he had read it seemed well worth it to us to use the rental car insurance but we'll take your comment into account and keep researching. We are flying into Dublin and out of Shannon- glad to hear the good report!

[Laura Corin]

We take out third party insurance on rental cars. Much cheaper than using the rental company's. Martin Lewis in the attached article is a reliable adviser on finance

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.express.co.uk/life-style/life/829520/Martin-Lewis-car-hire-insurance/amp

[Lanny]

OP I have not read the other replies, so it is quite possible someone else has mentioned this, but if not...

I strongly suggest that you register with the ACS (American Citizen Services) units of the U.S. Embassies in each of the countries you will be visiting. You can probably do that on their web sites or directly on State.Gov

Do that before your trip begins

Enjoy your trip!

[shawthorne44]

15 hours ago, Laura Corin said:

@Donna good idea about car size. I live near a tourist town in Scotland and once had to move my car so that a hapless overseas tourist could manage to park his oversized rental car. It's quite common to see people struggling with the narrow medieval streets.

And the rental car companies assume that Americans WANT to big cars so they give them to them without asking.   
Yes, my car at home is known as a boat.   But, in Europe I'm happy with as small as I can get with in Automatic.  Which usually means a Mercedes A.   

Oh, yes, the nap.   Avoid the nap.   I once arrived on the weekend in Germany.   A friend had invited me to a musical performance in the courtyard of the castle.  I thought I'd take a quick nap, which turned into an 8 hour sleep and I missed the performance.  It was hard to adjust.  
 

[mommyoffive]

Yes I agree, do not nap.  Wrong move.  We never do.  We take a red eye over the kids get 6 plus hours of sleep on the plane.  Dh and I usually don't drift off.  Maybe I could in business class lie flat seats or something.  By the time we get to Europe, get out of the airport, get to the hotel or airbnb it is late afternoon early evening.  We grab some food for supper and have something to eat when we wake up and then we crash early.   By the time we wake up in the morning we are adjusted and don't ever suffer from jet lag. 

Oh and you can do it with backpacks.  One 3 week trip to Europe we all took regular size school size backpacks.   We only packed them half full.  I shared with the youngest.   It was totally fine and I had lots of things I didn't ever wear.   Pack light. 

[livetoread]

Be prepared to be underwhelmed at things you are supposed to be impressed by, and moved more by the little things. I have been to the Vatican twice in recent years, and both times found it overly crowded and meh. The Sistine Chapel is pretty cool, but it is full of people and every few minutes the guards yell at people to be quiet, which kind of ruins the atmosphere. Some of my favorite Rome memories are just walking around after dark and exploring. I really enjoyed walking up Palantine Hill and sitting there watching the sunset over the beautiful city. If you go to the Pantheon, make sure you duck into Chiesa di Sant’Ignazia di Loyola, a church close by that has stunning illusions in the paintings. 

 

[Donna]

14 hours ago, soror said:

OH, I can only imagine how fun it is to pass a tour bus on those roads!!! Dh was marveling at all the stone walls. That is an excellent idea to take pics and videos beforehand, thanks for the tip!!! I know our CC company covers Ireland b/c dh called to confirm but from what he had read it seemed well worth it to us to use the rental car insurance but we'll take your comment into account and keep researching. We are flying into Dublin and out of Shannon- glad to hear the good report!

If you get a chance to catch Riverdance at The Gaiety Theater in Dublin while you're over, dd will be the fiddler. That's where she and I will be all summer, June through mid-September. 😊

[Corraleno]

20 hours ago, Ordinary Shoes said:

We just got back from our first trip to Europe (we went to Italy). We only took backpacks and it worked out fine. I felt bad for all of the people lugging their roller bags up and down the steps, over bridges and cobblestones. Not checking a bag saved us a lot of money and made things so much easier at the airport. 

I used the Osprey Fairview https://www.amazon.com/Osprey-Fairview-Womens-Travel-Backpack/dp/B073QQR4C1 and my husband used the Osprey Farpoint https://www.amazon.com/Osprey-Packs-Farpoint-Travel-Backpack/dp/B019UTHQEY. 

I took this laundry detergent with me https://www.amazon.com/WashEZE-Unscented-Friendly-Detergent-Efficient/dp/B00U9SFSZK/ref=pd_lpo_vtph_121_tr_t_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=J8X8WN69514Z6QYJAAXM. I also brought a clothesline that fit in a little drawstring bag. 

I took a Baggallini Everywhere bag with me. https://www.amazon.com/Baggallini-Everywhere-Lightweight-Crossbody-Water-Resistant/dp/B015ET6PRI/ref=asc_df_B015ET6PRI/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312029713620&hvpos=1o4&hvnetw=g&hvrand=11214049150082293280&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9030048&hvtargid=pla-370752098806&psc=1 It has now become my standard weekend bag because it's so versatile. 

I wanted to second these Osprey backpacks. I have the Fairview in the beautiful "rainforest" color and DS has the 46L Porter, which is a bit larger than the 40L Farpoint linked above. They are super versatile, light weight, and hold an incredible amount thanks to the compression straps plus the fact that you get several extra inches compared to a roll-on, since you're not giving up space for wheels. Add some packing cubes and you'll be amazed at how much you can fit in them. The shoulder straps tuck neatly away in the back, and the side and top handles are sturdy and comfortable so you can also carry it as lightweight suitcase and you can check it if need be. DS's Osprey Porter is several years old, it's been all over the US and Europe plus Costa Rica and Cuba, and it literally looks like new. They are awesome bags and worth every penny!

[Laura in CA]

On 3/24/2019 at 11:54 AM, mumto2 said:

I am not 100% sure this is totally accurate but since coffee and tea keeps appearing as souvenirs.  

We flew to the US from London on Norwegian a couple of weeks ago......new regulation meant we were being questioned at check in differently than my normal (fairly frequent U.K. to US traveler)..... the only question I can remember was “Are you carrying tea?”   Of course I was (I always bring tea over) in my hand luggage because we don’t check bags.  Apparently the limit is 350g now.  My box was less and it was 200 bags, I believe.

 

Thank you for the heads-up. We flew back from Mexico last summer and I had bought a few bars of chocolate, which I didn't declare. A VERY grumpy customs guy at PHX yelled at me and said chocolate needed to be declared and I should be "honest" next time. 😱

Edited March 25, 2019 by Laura in CA

[Laura in CA]

and yes, get a small car. There was a thread in the Rick Steves forums in which someone was talking about rental car width in MILLIMETERS. LOL we don't do that in the States. In the UK and on the Continent we always get the smallest car we can, and usually stick shift (cheaper, and more exciting!). Sooo much easier to park, and to navigate narrow streets with cars parked half on the sidewalk/half in the street (!). And the streets are narrow to start with. And there are lots of cyclists. 

Oh, here's the thread – including this quote: "It was bigger than I wanted, at 2009 mm wide including mirrors". 

Edited March 25, 2019 by Laura in CA

[Soror]

7 hours ago, Donna said:

If you get a chance to catch Riverdance at The Gaiety Theater in Dublin while you're over, dd will be the fiddler. That's where she and I will be all summer, June through mid-September. 😊

 

Aww, that is awesome! Kudos to her, you must be so proud! We'll just be sleeping in Dublin so I don't think we'll have the chance.

These are questions from dh, if you don't mind- 

 

Did you buy personal accident insurance?  The CC insurance covers only the rental car itself and will not cover any damage caused to another vehicle or person. 

What rental agency did you use?  I'm partial to Sixt as I've heard good things about them, and their airport hours are in our time frame (very late, our plane arrives at 11:00pm).

When you had to file a claim, how rough was it?  Chase says that the rental agency can demand immediate payment, at which point I have to pay up the value of the car itself and then the CC company will reimburse me.  The car we are looking at renting is a Ford Ka, which should fit on our card that has a limit of $13,000. I feel a bit uncomfortable with this, but if I use the CC insurance instead of the 0 deductible CDW, tire and windshield coverage, and theft coverage that the rental offers the price drops from $280ish to $160ish.  It feels like a pretty safe gamble but I won't deny I'm scared.

Do you feel Google Maps would be just as good as the GPS they rent?  I've read that the GPS warns you of traffic cameras.  While I don't plan on wilfully breaking laws, I can't deny that I am likely going to fumble here and there since I'll be driving on the wrong side of the road, sitting in the wrong side of the car, and shifting with the wrong hand.

 

5 hours ago, Ordinary Shoes said:

How are you getting between the European cities; train or plane? If you're flying, be sure you find out the rules for carry ons. European airlines, especially the low cost ones, have different and stricter rules than we have here in the US. 

3

3

We are going by plane and dh has a spreadsheet with the carry-on sizes for all our flights

7 hours ago, Corraleno said:

I wanted to second these Osprey backpacks. I have the Fairview in the beautiful "rainforest" color and DS has the 46L Porter, which is a bit larger than the 40L Farpoint linked above. They are super versatile, light weight, and hold an incredible amount thanks to the compression straps plus the fact that you get several extra inches compared to a roll-on, since you're not giving up space for wheels. Add some packing cubes and you'll be amazed at how much you can fit in them. The shoulder straps tuck neatly away in the back, and the side and top handles are sturdy and comfortable so you can also carry it as lightweight suitcase and you can check it if need be. DS's Osprey Porter is several years old, it's been all over the US and Europe plus Costa Rica and Cuba, and it literally looks like new. They are awesome bags and worth every penny!

3

Thanks for the rec. I know from scouting that Osprey is supposed to be amazing, we're torn on making due with what we have as mommyoffive talked about or splurging. Or maybe get one new bag and use one we have.

48 minutes ago, Laura in CA said:

and yes, get a small car. There was a thread in the Rick Steves forums in which someone was talking about rental car width in MILLIMETERS. LOL we don't do that in the States. In the UK and on the Continent we always get the smallest car we can, and usually stick shift (cheaper, and more exciting!). Sooo much easier to park, and to navigate narrow streets with cars parked half on the sidewalk/half in the street (!). And the streets are narrow to start with. And there are lots of cyclists. 

Oh, here's the thread – including this quote: "It was bigger than I wanted, at 2009 mm wide including mirrors". 

2

LOL! MM! Dh is planning to get the smallest car they have available, we don't want any extra stress, we are packing light and it will be just be us.

Edited March 25, 2019 by soror

[Donna]

1 hour ago, soror said:

Did you buy personal accident insurance?  The CC insurance covers only the rental car itself and will not cover any damage caused to another vehicle or person. 

What rental agency did you use?  I'm partial to Sixt as I've heard good things about them, and their airport hours are in our time frame (very late, our plane arrives at 11:00pm).

When you had to file a claim, how rough was it?  Chase says that the rental agency can demand immediate payment, at which point I have to pay up the value of the car itself and then the CC company will reimburse me.  The car we are looking at renting is a Ford Ka, which should fit on our card that has a limit of $13,000. I feel a bit uncomfortable with this, but if I use the CC insurance instead of the 0 deductible CDW, tire and windshield coverage, and theft coverage that the rental offers the price drops from $280ish to $160ish.  It feels like a pretty safe gamble but I won't deny I'm scared.

Do you feel Google Maps would be just as good as the GPS they rent?  I've read that the GPS warns you of traffic cameras.  While I don't plan on wilfully breaking laws, I can't deny that I am likely going to fumble here and there since I'll be driving on the wrong side of the road, sitting in the wrong side of the car, and shifting with the wrong hand.

 

 

I use whatever rental agency is the least expensive when I book-usually look through Exp*dia for a deal. I think the time I had the punctured tire it was Hertz.  The last time we went in February it was Budget. I have never purchased personal accident insurance. When I had to file a claim, it was frustrating because of the company Chase uses to take care of the claims kept asking for the same paperwork over and over again...this was just for a 100-something euro claim for a new tire for the car. I finally got frustrated and called to tell them I sent them everything and even highlighted what they were asking for before they finally reimbursed me. It was a bit of a hassle but well worth the savings on the two week car rental. 

I always use Google maps on my phone with an Irish SIM card in the phone for unlimited internet (I use the company called 3 which has stores in various towns but have also purchased SIM cards at a local Tesco). I would never pay to rent the GPS. Are there that many traffic cameras in Ireland? Mostly driving teeny little roads and going much slower than I would at home because I am driving on the wrong side of the road, sitting on the wrong side of the car, and shifting with the wrong hand. (Oh, and check to be sure you know how to back up the car before you go far...was riding while a friend was driving and we could not figure out that we needed to pull up on the ring around the shifter to get the car in reverse...that was an adventure. LOL)

[livetoread]

15 hours ago, Laura in CA said:

 

Thank you for the heads-up. We flew back from Mexico last summer and I had bought a few bars of chocolate, which I didn't declare. A VERY grumpy customs guy at PHX yelled at me and said chocolate needed to be declared and I should be "honest" next time. 😱

I brought in a can of Mexican Campbell’s soup. An unopened can! The last time I flew in from Mexico, I carefully declared my unopened bag of chips and the guy condescendingly told me not to worry about that, so I didn’t declare the soup. My husband, the attorney rule-follower, asked me if we should, and I confidently assured him we didn’t need to. This led to the customs guy holding up the can of soup and loudly asking if this was food, and if so, why didn’t I declare it? My husband eventually forgave me 😄. I declare any food now, gum included, and shrug off the amused customs people, especially when dh is along.

[mumto2]

We normally travel both ways with a backpack of giftable snacks.  Digestives, chocolates, etc.......If we have a bad trip we have something to eat, if things go well treats for friends.  They used to laugh at my cookie declarations but make them, easier than the alternative.   Btw,  I think my tea mattered in terms of being allowed to board as in security.

Renting cars in Ireland.......We had a really bad experience where fortunately I had taken a photo of ds beside our rental at the departure airport. Seriously who takes a photo normally of their kid by the rental car normally?  That saved us from a huge bill months later.  Now we take photos before and after when renting in Ireland.  

[Laura in CA]

6 hours ago, mumto2 said:

 

Renting cars in Ireland.......We had a really bad experience where fortunately I had taken a photo of ds beside our rental at the departure airport. Seriously who takes a photo normally of their kid by the rental car normally?  That saved us from a huge bill months later.  Now we take photos before and after when renting in Ireland.  

 

Haha, I've taken photos of our car at the airport! And we've had some bad experiences returning cars. At Heathrow last September we got gouged something like  £500 for a microscopic scratch. A photo wouldn't have helped there, unless we'd taken close-ups of all the bumpers, I guess. Luckily this was a work trip so my husband's company paid most of it. And returning a car at Edinburgh train station last July, we left it there around 11:30am since we had a 12:00 train back to London. They said they'd process it right away. Well, it wasn't checked in until 18:00 so we were charged an extra day. 🤯😡 Some places really take advantage of tourists who are in a hurry to catch a plane or train ... 

[mumto2]

1 hour ago, Laura in CA said:

 

Haha, I've taken photos of our car at the airport! And we've had some bad experiences returning cars. At Heathrow last September we got gouged something like  £500 for a microscopic scratch. A photo wouldn't have helped there, unless we'd taken close-ups of all the bumpers, I guess. Luckily this was a work trip so my husband's company paid most of it. And returning a car at Edinburgh train station last July, we left it there around 11:30am since we had a 12:00 train back to London. They said they'd process it right away. Well, it wasn't checked in until 18:00 so we were charged an extra day. 🤯😡 Some places really take advantage of tourists who are in a hurry to catch a plane or train ... 

🤣 It really helps when you can prove your rental was gold and not blue over 6 months later!  Admittedly my belief the car was not blue was the only reason we searched all devices for any photo of that car.  Ds standing with the door open by the rental company sign with which airport being really obvious and very lucky......I believe our bill was for £2000.

 

[Donna]

One other tip I just thought of...if you are picking up your car in Dublin at the airport but spending a night in Dublin city centre, I would suggest going into city centre from the airport on the bus (I think it is 6 euro per person) rather than driving in Dublin city. The roads are often one way, full of traffic, and confusing (a difficult first driving experience on the wrong side of the road) and parking is costly. We generally spend whatever days we have in Dublin then take the bus back to the airport to pick up the car to drive to the next place.

[KungFuPanda]

Going to England, I wouldn't nap.  I'd try to sleep on the red-eye, then drop stuff off in the apartment and get OUT.  If you hold off and sleep at local bedtime on day one you'll adjust faster. It seems like an arrival nap would sabotage your schedule.

[importswim]

On 3/17/2019 at 3:35 PM, soror said:

Very good point about medical care for the kids, that is something we'll have to make sure is settled, we do have back-up care!!!! I bet that was a bit scary. We were planning 2 CC's just in case, we planned on getting some Euros and pounds for London but no clue how much we need. WE're going to pay for most stuff ahead of time but some things, like a taxi that won't work.  Dd3 did ask for some Brittish candy! 

You should be able to get pounds and euros at an atm at the respective airports after you land. We've found ATMs are the best places to get actual cash.

I second (third?fifth?) the recommendation for no nap. I'm from England and every time we go back to see my parents (very often) we SO want to nap as soon as we get there but try to hold off as long as we can. If you nap right away it will throw off your body rhythm and you will sleep too long and it will be hard to wake up (then you'll be wide awake at 2am). Go for as long as you can without taking one and get an earlier than normal night. You'll be so glad you did!