The Grown-Up's Guide to Running Away from Home, Second Edition: Making a New Life Abroad (21 page)

Ticket consolidators buy unsold seats from major airlines, then resell them to the public. You can find lists of consolidators in the Sunday travel section of large city papers: for example, the Sunday
New York Times
. Because some of these ads could be fly-by-night operations (pun intended!), be sure to verify their credibility before making your purchase. Deal with reputable, licensed IATA (International Airline Transport Association) members.

You can buy consolidator tickets through a travel agent. If the agent deals with consolidators on a regular basis, they’ll know who’s legitimate. In any case, buy from a consolidator in your locale if you can. That way you can check on them by picking up tickets in person.

Most consolidators charge a service fee (2 to 5 percent) for paying with a credit card because the bank charges merchants. Despite this, always pay by credit card. That way, if a problem occurs, you’ll have some recourse.

You can sometimes get frequent-flier miles for consolidator tickets, but not always. For round-trip tickets, you may be allowed only a maximum of ninety days for travel; if so, this route won’t work for longer-term travel, unless you plan to use half the ticket.

One final word of advice: occasionally, when flights are empty, an airline’s fares are lower than the consolidator ticket. Double-check with the airline, a travel agent, and the consolidator before purchasing your ticket to ensure getting the best deal.

You’ve probably heard about the good deals available for couriers, who escort packages on flights. They do this by giving their baggage allowance to a shipper; it’s less expensive than cargo rates, but because a courier is expected to give up the baggage allotment, this obviously won’t work for someone who’s going to need more than carry-on for a long adventure overseas. In addition, couriers are usually expected to use the return flight and can’t travel with someone else. Forget trying a courier flight unless you’re using it for a quick exploratory trip to investigate a destination.

Tour operators contract with airlines to fly charter flights, which are filled with specific groups. However, when the seats can’t be filled, regular people like you and me can hitch a ride with the high school marching band going to Vienna for concert season. Be aware that sometimes schedules and itineraries can change. If the band members all catch the flu, the flight might be canceled at the last moment.

Some airlines, American Airlines and Delta, for example, offer travel clubs with special discounts to members. Usually the deals are offered based on
last-minute travel to specific airports and have a set end date of just a few days later, but if you’re flexible on your departure date and want to use just the first half of the ticket, you might find a dirt-cheap deal.

You can often find special airfares via the Internet. American Airlines, for one, offers last-minute specials on international flights, which are posted or emailed directly to you when you sign up for their subscription list. There’s no charge for this service.

The problem with these types of offers is that they are posted the week during which you are required to travel. You’ll have to be extremely flexible about when you leave.

However, such deals may be less expensive than anything else you’ll find. If you’re ready to go at a moment’s notice and are free to hang around for a few weeks in case the right deal doesn’t appear at first, then you can try it. Otherwise it could prove to be a nerve-racking wait before you can start your adventure.

If you’re leaving the corporate world with a pile of unused miles, use those for your escape. Airline partnerships now extend the options for their use through code sharing. For example, Delta’s worldwide partners include Aero Mexico, Aer Lingus, TAP Air Portugal, Austrian Airlines, Finnair, Korean Air, Malev Hungarian Airlines, Sabena, Singapore Airlines, and Swissair. That’s a lot of choices for your adventure—and that’s just one airline.

If you’re planning to take an extraordinary amount of luggage with you—or your pet—check before you reserve your tickets to ensure that the airline will accommodate you. Some airlines will allow you to take a small cat or dog in the cabin with you, but they limit the number of pets per cabin on each flight. Reserve your pet at the same time as you reserve for yourself to ensure that no one else will get that allotted pet reservation. Fluffy would be very disappointed if promised a trip and then left at the airport or sent as cargo.

Incidentally, don’t plan to fly out the same day you close up the house or move belongings to storage. Too much can go wrong at the last minute, so leave yourself some slack. There’s no big rush, and allowing an extra day or two before leaving will enable you to arrive at your destination more relaxed.

In many countries, the internal bus and train systems are more comprehensive than in the United States. You may find it possible to travel where you want to go, when you want to, without investing in the expense of a vehicle. That said, a car does make it easier to explore the most interesting and out-of-the-way nooks and crannies of a country. Certainly, if you’re living overseas for any length of time, you’ll want a car for major shopping excursions or sightseeing trips where you want the flexibility not offered by public transportation.

Consider where you’ll be living. In the country, you’ll want a car. In a large city, most residents do nicely without one, but may rent a car for special outings.

Let’s look at some of the choices.

If your plans call for short-term visits of up to a month overseas and you need a car, your best choice is simply to rent. Make the arrangements before you leave the United States because the prices available to tourists from the States are usually better than what you can get from the same rental companies once you’re overseas.

Depending on your destination, you may find local companies overseas that will give you a good deal on a car rental. If you have a friend in the locale, they may be able to recommend a company. You can always try the phone book once you arrive at your destination, though I recommend having a car reserved with a major company, if only for the first few days. You’ll then have time to scout out the other options without the pressure of standing by the airport curb with luggage and no place to put it.

Brush up on your shifting technique, and you’ll save money on the rental. Most cars overseas are manual transmissions. Even if automatics are available, the manual transmission vehicles are less expensive to rent, and they use less gas, which costs a small fortune overseas.

If you insist on renting an automatic, reserve your car far in advance. Here are some U.S. car rental companies and their direct international car rental numbers:

Kemwell is known for offering good deals in Europe for long-term rentals. They offer a “buyback” deal that gets you a virtually new car, with terms starting at 17 days to a maximum of 165 days. Auto Europe also offers long-term rentals and leasing. Before leasing from any company, ask if the price includes insurance or other services, such as emergency roadside service.

Many auto rental companies also offer RVs, so if you have a mind to take your “home” with you while you travel, you might want to check out Avis, Hertz, and AutoEurope for their offerings.

If you’re overseas for a long period of time and need a car, renting one soon costs as much as or more than buying a decent used car.

When we first arrived in Europe we were planning to lease a car, but the five and a half months would have cost us about $3,235. Instead, we spent about $3,000 for a roomy Citroën with about 90,000 miles on it and extras such as power windows, radio, and an electronic key chain to lock and unlock the doors. It served us well for two years. By that time we knew we would stay much longer in Europe, so we replaced it with a newer vehicle; meanwhile, we had gotten our money’s worth.

If you need a car, rent just until you can find an inexpensive but serviceable set of wheels to buy, then sell before returning to the States. If you purchase your car from a dealer, ask if the dealership would be interested in
purchasing the car back from you after six months, a year, or whatever. In our case, the individual who sold us our car had a friend who had serviced the car for years and volunteered the fact that the friend would like us to see him first when we were ready to sell.

You can drive many places overseas with your U.S. license. If you’ll be relying on your U.S. license, make sure it will be valid for the entire time you’ll be out of the country.

In many countries you can drive with your U.S. license temporarily. In others, it’s recommended to have the international driver’s license, which translates your license into eleven languages and is recognized by hundreds of countries around the world. It’s only good for a year, though, so get it just before you leave.

American Automobile Association (AAA) offices are authorized to provide international driver’s permits. You don’t have to take a driving test. Just take your U.S. driver’s license and two passport photos (or AAA will take the photos for an additional fee). The cost of the license is $10 for members or nonmembers. The whole process takes only a few minutes.

I still remember being pulled over by the GNR in Portugal—no reason, just a security checkpoint—but I happened on the one policeman in the Algarve who didn’t speak English. I provided the car registration, U.S. license, and international driver’s license. They compared all of the above for face and name and apparently decided I wasn’t the drug runner or whoever they were looking for.

Incidentally, if you do decide to live overseas for a long time and become a resident, you’ll need a driver’s license for that country. But check out reciprocal arrangements for trading your U.S. state license for an overseas license. In France, for example, a South Carolina license can get you a French license without the hassles of driving lessons, which are otherwise required.

Before getting behind the wheel:

Train travel is common overseas, and therefore the schedules and systems are often better than what you may be accustomed to. You can buy individual tickets or a rail pass that enables you to use the train for a set number of days in a certain country or series of countries. The European train passes are less expensive when you buy them before you leave the States, so if you know you want to travel by rail, make plans before leaving. For information on Eurail
passes, call (800) 722-7151 or check online at
www.eurail.com
or
www.raileurope.com
. Travel agents can also arrange for the passes, or you can contact the tourist office of the country you plan to visit.