Wintering Herbs Indoors

I have a variety of Mediterranean herbs which I am wintering indoors. I've been keeping them dry, providing the necessary light: all is well. However, I'll be gone for ten days at Christmas. The light is on a timer, but what about the water? Should I soak them before I go? I've tried that before without success.

I have never tried the method myself, but you could stuff one end of an absorbent string into the soil of the pot through the bottom drain hole and the other end into a container of water. This string will slowly wick water into the pot and thus stop it from drying out. you could experiment with it before you go to see what size pot of water you should use, how many pots you need for all your plants and how close the pot has to be to the the plant(s) it is connected to.
Another method I have heard about is to put put all the plants into the bathtub, water them, let them drain, then cover the tub with plastic. They should be kept in the dark and should be OK for up to 2 weeks. However they will probably be etiolated, but hopefully - alive!
Nothing beats a friendly neighbour who comes in and waters your charges every 2-3 days!