We're going on holiday in September to France and Belgium, it'll be the first time I've driven outside the British Isles and in a country with right hand traffic (apart from 10 minutes in a parking lot in the states which was also the first time I drove an LHD car and an automatic!).
What things do you guys think I should be aware of or do that may not be obvious? Although as I've not even looked at how to get the car there yet or booked accommodation I guess we may have to go somewhere else entirely!
Check your insurance covers the places that you are going to. They are not all the same. Sometimes Spain is included and sometimes not. One insurer included Morocco with Spain. Ditto for Eastern Europe. Get extra cover for breakdown and recovery. Try your usual insurer for the extras. But beware some have big excesses for cars over 10 years old.
Get medical cover. Get the EHIC card first - it's free. Don't go via the "intercept" sites that charge you. We have used various medical insurers. This year we used a company called "EHIC Plus". The EHIC card entitles you to free emergency medical attention in a state hospital. The insurance covers things that are not free. There are also high risk sports that are extra. check the small print. But you may fine cheaper. There's some sensible advice on the Martin Lewis "moneysavingexpert" website.
You need to take hi-vis jackets for anyone who would need to leave the car if you breakdown. Put them on before you leave the car. Ditto if stopped by the police. It's an offence to leave the car without wearing it.
Spare bulbs, incl headlamp.
Second warning triangle.
Worth getting a French environment sticker. Their areas are not just town centres. Some rural areas are included. Again there are "intercept sites" to avoid.
https://www.certificat-air.gouv.fr/en/
Each environment area is decided by the local authority. Only Paris, Grenoble and Lille today, but most major cities and some national parks will be added this year. For about £5, not worth the risk of a big fine. Order it now. French bureaucracy is slow.
Germany does the same. Get an umweltplakette. €6 from a German official source. I used berlin.de as recommended by the AA.
Driving...
Roundabouts are the hardest to learn. Needs a week or two to get the hang of going round the wrong way.
The Europeans have introduced roundabouts in the last 10 years. They don't understand them. The French drive around the outside edge, so don't expect a car adjacent to the kerb approaching you, turning off the roundabout. On most main roundabouts, the French have painted the road so that only one lane enters the roundabout. They can't handle two lanes, apparently. It confuses them. The Germans are learning but they tend to panic at roundabouts.
When you get tired, you will make mistakes. Make sure you agree with all the other passengers that they can back seat drive without the driver getting cross. Also applies to leaving a one-way street turning onto a two-way road. Easy to automatically go to the wrong side.
Satnav is usually OK, but putting the position of speed cameras on them is illegal in France and Switzerland.
Speed limits are 130km/hr on French motorways and 110km/hr if it's raining. Other countries are much the without the change when raining. Maybe 120 or 110 km/hr depending on the country. Germany has the same limit, but it's advisory unless there's an actual limit shown.
If there's a queue on the road, traffic moves to both edges to allow emergency vehicles down the middle. The hard shoulder is, apparently, for breakdowns,not emergency vehicles.
Look at French supermarket websites - Auchan, E Leclerc, Carrefour, Geant, etc. Some have a free app for locating their stores. Petrol is much cheaper there than on the motorway or in the country.
Not sure about headlamp adjustment. Saab only seem to mention it for the 9-5 after 2006. I just turn mine down a couple of turns.
That'll do for now... :)
Oh yes...
If you have any Tesco Clubcard vouchers, they are worth three times their face value if you use them to pay for the Channel Tunnel.
Places to visit in Belguim:
(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/22/a2/20/22a220a7ad895f57ee928ad83397f7d7--brussels-belgium.jpg)
Amazing modern engineering
(http://c7.alamy.com/comp/HKB43M/old-boat-elevator-in-belgium-HKB43M.jpg)
Amazing old engineering
(http://c8.alamy.com/comp/F4K89D/autoworld-car-museum-in-brussels-belgium-F4K89D.jpg)
Great museum. Aircraft museum next door.
http://www.mahymobiles.be/Mahymobiles/Home_UK.html - SAAB 99 on 'display'.
Overspill museum, well worth a stroll
(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/99/0c/bf/990cbf8a7a7c41250df987d2dfa062b6.jpg)
Grande square Brussels
And of course Waterloo
(https://idonotdespair.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/butte-de-lion-waterloo-belgium.jpg)
Far more to Belguim than the EU ;)
Spa Francochamps...
Our main intention was to get here on the 13th September, http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/438189/BOWER,%20CHARLES%20FRANCIS saying that I'm already boggled by the costs for getting there. It seems the headline prices are very cheap until you want some flexibility and then the prices are sky high. :-\
Looking at the costs I'm not sure it's actually worth it to go for just one week.
The Channel tunnel is a bit more flexible that it purports to be. If you book a crossing at a specified time, and you arrive early, they will offer you the earlier crossing, usually at no extra cost. You can also arrive up to two hours late without cost penalty, and they will fit you into the first available slot. Usually the next train if you aren't travelling at peak times.
If you are only going to Belgium for a single thing, consider shortening the visit to less than a week. There are several crossings offering "booze cruise" deals of five nights or less. https://www.eurotunnel.com/uk/tickets/types/short-stay/ If you do this, consider crossing on the first train after midnight and driving straight off the ferry to the Ibis hotel opposite Cite Europe shopping mall. It's less than 5 mins and the hotel has 24hr reception. So you would get the full 5 days abroad.
Also Dover-Dunkerque with Norfolk Line used to be a bit cheaper than the others. I haven't looked at it lately.
We have found that staying at Logis hotels gives a good compromise between cost and quality. Most are family hotels with good restaurants. https://www.logishotels.com Our current favourite is the Hotel St Louis at Bollezeele about 35 miles from Calais towards Belgium.
DON'T FORGET BREATHALYZER KIT!!!!!!! You must have them by law now in France at least. Get a twin pack in case the police stop you and ask you do use one; you could get stopped a little futher up the road and asked again and it's a hefty on the spot fine if you don't have one that's in date. If you buy now you'll be fine but if you intend going abroad again next you always check them before you go. My son got a random stop by police last year down near Orange. It was early evening and my son and his fiancee were in my VW camper looking for a site and so were a little erratic driving. Police were very polite and mentioned heavy fine if they didn't have one but my wife is super efficient and had put a new twin pack in - apparently the police said they'd caught out lots of Brits not having one.
Travel wise as Will says book early and Norfolk Line or DFDS can be good value. My son always does Dover to Dunkirk on flexi ticket and this September I'm pretty sure I heard him says it was around £150 return for the camper with 48 hrs either side of dates for travel. I know it was a lot cheaper than any other method and he really is savvy finding best prices.
Pretty sure you'll be fine; simply take your time leaving the ports and once on the lovely smooth roads you'll stop worrying. I hadn't driven abroad for years but we then went down to Perpignan having booked a cottage in the hills - cheap flight from Stansted and a hire car was cheaper than driving down. I think it was a diesel Vaux Corsa and after a few goes at trying to change gear with the door handle I was fine. Yep - as Will says just be on your guard at roundabouts - watch other LHD cars and simply follow.
But don't forget the breathalyzers and first aid kit. Look up on the AA website and you'll see what you need compulsory and suggested - I've got to get camper serviced etc as son said yesterday they are going down to Perpignan through Andorra and then down to Barcelona - poor camper; mileage is going up!!!!!
Quote from: sgould on 09 July 2017, 09:44:46 PM
If you are only going to Belgium for a single thing, consider shortening the visit to less than a week. There are several crossings offering "booze cruise" deals of five nights or less. https://www.eurotunnel.com/uk/tickets/types/short-stay/ If you do this, consider crossing on the first train after midnight and driving straight off the ferry to the Ibis hotel opposite Cite Europe shopping mall. It's less than 5 mins and the hotel has 24hr reception. So you would get the full 5 days abroad.
That is a very very helpful bit of advice, we're not going for just one thing but it was the main thing to make us look at it. I'll look into the costings again tonight!
Quote from: Norfolk Jim on 10 July 2017, 08:33:04 AMDON'T FORGET BREATHALYZER KIT!!!!!!! ... it's a hefty on the spot fine if you don't have one that's in date.
The French have actually never brought the fine into force, and it's now been suspended indefinitely (because no one in France complies). Though I still have one in the dashboard as a possible demonstration of good-eggery...
Wow - that's interesting as my son was stopped only last September!!!!! Looks like he could have told them where to go then.............
Just looked on AA website and little confusing says this -
'(20)All drivers should possess a breathalyser. However, as of the 25th January 2013 a driver can not be
penalised for not carrying one. The fine has been postponed indefinitely. The breathalyser has to be a
certified by the French authorities, showing an 'NF' number. The official text states that one unused
breathalyser should be produced. We recommend that two single-use breathalysers are carried, so if
one is used or damaged you will still have a replacement to produce.'
Oh yeh keeping original documents V5 in car - I always felt this was a bit bizarre in the case of car being broken into and that getting stolen. I always lock it in glove box or place somewhere safe.
Looks a worthwhile reason to go, Audax. You'll see lots of tiny war cemeteries - a dozen headstones or less - at crossroads in the countryside. Don't be put of by all the admin, once you've got the paperwork and other stuff sorted (hi-viz vests, warning triangle, etc, etc, etc) just enjoy the trip. If you get away from the trunk roads for meal stops you'll find the locals are really friendly. Same goes for accommodation - gites-de-france.com has proved excellent for B&B when we've been over. All sorts from a couple of rooms in a family farmhouse upwards.
(On one trip home with a cousin - we're two middle-aged males - we asked if we could see the room before booking. As we were going upstairs, the lady paused and asked "Un lit ou deux...?")
I echo Will's comment about back seat drivers - definitely tell your passengers to shout if they see you pull out of a junction or petrol station onto the wrong side of the road, it's odds-on that you'll forget once, a day or so into the journey. It's so easy to do.
Quote from: Geoff1951 on 10 July 2017, 03:07:31 PM
Looks a worthwhile reason to go, Audax. You'll see lots of tiny war cemeteries - a dozen headstones or less - at crossroads in the countryside. Don't be put of by all the admin, once you've got the paperwork and other stuff sorted (hi-viz vests, warning triangle, etc, etc, etc) just enjoy the trip.
I have been to Belgium and France before but just as a passenger so I have encountered the nicer parts, what we're now thinking though is maybe spend the week based in Kent as there's lots we want to do there and do the Belgium part as a day trip (or overnight) from there. It appears it might save a reasonable amount of the up front cost as we were hoping to have a cheaper holiday as we're trying to save money at the moment, I will re-run the costings on that basis tonight especially after sgould's excellent suggestion to make it a shorter trip!
Quote from: Geoff1951 on 10 July 2017, 03:07:31 PM
I echo Will's comment about back seat drivers - definitely tell your passengers to shout if they see you pull out of a junction or petrol station onto the wrong side of the road, it's odds-on that you'll forget once, a day or so into the journey. It's so easy to do.
I found out that's why there are arrows on the roads on Skye - Germans and Dutch pull out of a junction and onto the wrong side of the road!
Thanks to sgoulds suggestion of doing a shorter trip we have now booked a holiday in Kent and are looking at doing a day trip to Belgium while we are there. A long trip to the continent may be next year.
I've driven in Belgium and Florida in the past. Generally it's not too bad - it's when it's quiet it's easier to make a mistake as there's no-one else setting the example for you!
I've driven a fair amount in France, Switzerland, Austria - mainly in the alps - and Greece (hideous roads) but always in lefthand drive, manual hire cars. I was really very nervous the first time, dealing with both a left-handed car and driving on the 'wrong' side of the road but got used to it surprisingly quickly. I think being in the lefthand drive car makes the whole experience feel much more natural but the obvious left hand turns at junctions, coming off motorways or dual carriageways and roundabouts, demands a lot of your attention (As already mentioned.) especially when you're tired.
Hope you have a great trip and get the taste to do a longer one next year! I'd love to do a long continental road trip, I think the whole airport experience ruins both ends of a holiday (especially now we have a toddler in tow). And you get to experience the country you're traveling through far more than at 30,000 feet!
Well, that was a waste of time and a big disappointment.
Today was the centenary of my family members death near Ypres in the first world war and we had been planning to do a day trip to France and Belgium to visit the grave. So we got up bright and early to drove to the tunnel this morning, checked in with plenty of time made our way to the departure lanes with 20 minutes before our train was meant to leave. As it got closer to our departure time we started to get a bit confused as the boards said our train had left. We figured we'd done something wrong and were going on the next train and after 30 minutes we were advised that there was a delay due to "an incident in the tunnel". After waiting another hour and looking at the delays we asked to be let off the site as there was no way we would be able to complete the trip and get back again in any reasonable time as we'd only packed for a short day trip with the kids and they were advising of delays that would total 4.5 hours!
I'm actually really disappointed with Eurotunnel as they couldn't give us any advice and the staff just kept telling us that they had no idea what was going on, we only bought standard tickets which Eurotunnel say are non-refundable but I've asked them for a refund as we have no other plans to visit the continent and if we do then I really don't think I'd bother using Eurotunnel as the lack of any kind of customer care around what was going on was really not acceptable.
Sorry to see this, Audax. Appalling "customer care".
That is totally unacceptable! :( Even if the incident was not their fault. They used to divert people to the ferry if there was a tunnel closure,and vice-versa if there was a storm in the channel. Slipping badly.
We came over a week ago. We were delayed by an accident on the M25 and arrived 9 mins after our book in time. They wouldn't let us on the train that we had booked "because we were late", and even though our train was still boarding. We were booked on the next train. We got to the loading area and found our original train was running 10 mins late and so we should have had plenty of time to catch it. Then the train we were booked on was running even later and we arrived at our hotel over an hour late. Not as bad as you, but putting this together with the general wear and tear that has been left unfixed, I would guess that Eurotunnel are struggling financially and have fewer resources than they need. Hope we don't lose the shuttle. Our daughter-in-law has been on holiday with us and won't go on a boat!!
Well, don't think I'm ever going to bother with Eurotunnel again, 15 days since I raised a ticket with them and there is *still* no response from them. If this is what they consider to be customer service then screw 'em, if they don't respond in the next few days I'll be instructing the credit card company to do a charge back for me.
Having used the Eurotunnel once, I would choose the ferry every time. Much more of an occasion and you can enjoy a meal whilst travelling across the channel. I appreciate weather can be a problem, but there is less time waiting than the tunnel.
I would also recommend paying the extra £10 for Priority Boarding.
That's the bit that really annoyed me is they were pushing adverts of how with Eurotunnel they don't stop when the weather is bad, the ferries were all running that day hours after a storm but they weren't! I had a moan at them on twitter and their response is I should wait 15 working days (Mon-Fri) for a response, utterly dreadful company.
More than 15 days with no response... I'm now wondering why on earth would anyone use them? Is customer service always this bad?
*EDIT* They just replied to me on twitter, apparently it's now *19* days to get a response! If they don't reply this week I'm going to instruct the credit card company to get my money back.
Wow, they finally responded to me a month after I raised the issue with them, they are refunding my money for the trip but not the insurance (which I'm not 100% happy with but I'm happy enough given the time wasted so far). Next time I will almost certainly take a ferry!
Wise choice.
Recommend paying the extra £10 for Priority Boarding - you get on board first, so you get the best seats near the windows and no waiting for food. You also get off first, so no traffic.
A refund! :) Well done!
Well done Audax. I hope the next trip is plain sailing...
That's in an un-marked boat Geoff :)
I hear people get there quicker by swimming!