elvino – are you already booked? Im trying to do a last minute job -and just wondered how you’ve got on?
Yes we booked for last year and bounced it for a year as we can't get a refund, Eurotunnel gave us a voucher so it feels like a free holiday at this stage I booked it so long ago. 21st -29th of Aug of course rules could change again by then!
Good news last night!
Looking through this thread seems this might be useful, though the apps themselves are proving to not be a one stop shop, you can still travel and access bars etc as long as you can prove your vaccination status.
https://www.mtbbeds.com/covid-19-holiday-checklist-france
Hope that's helpful.
Cheers!
Great info @mtbbed - cheers
Do we need a covid test if transiting through GVA on the way to the French Alps?
Im in France at the moment getting rained on. Came in via Eurotunnel - french border guy just asked if we were jabbed but wasn't interested in any evidence. None of the places we've been so far have actually asked to see our covid passports - we have paper versions as well as the app as the verifier app doesn't accept Nhs barcodes. Mask wearing is 100% in any kind of indoor setting based on what we've seen.
Health pass is supposed to go live for bars, restaurants etc from Monday, at the moment you'd be asked if you went to the pool, museum or something like that.
May change as we still don't know exactly how we are supposed to enforce it. For us it is pretty easy as we ask everyone before they travel and when they arrive, for a busy bar or restaurant it means checking very pass before entry, in theory.
Brilliant, thanks @mtbbeds - great info.
just need to work out my logistics for a mid-sept trip to france!
https://www.mtbbeds.com/covid-19-holiday-checklist-france
Hope that’s helpful.
Yes, very helpful, a good summary.
...and a thanks everybody from me too - v helpful to have the checklists etc and also actual experience!
Well we took the plunge and went for it.
Hull-Rotterdam last night in the van. Lat flow for me and the wife at the terminal before boarding. Into the Netherlands with a quick wave of my Irish passport. Nice journey down through Belgium into France for three nights at Disney, then we’re heading to morzine for a week. That takes us to ten days in Europe allowing us to jump through Switzerland and enter Austria without quarantine.
Week in the Zillertal then head home via Germany and back into the Netherlands.
It’s been pretty stressful and our plans have changed significantly over the past fortnight. I’m used to planning long multi-stop trips, but this has been on another level, with a documentation wallet looking like something you’d see on Long Way Round.
But we’re here, it seems to be ok, the kids would’ve been happy with a night on the ferry to be honest. They’ve still not quite worked out where we are.
@mtbbeds I'd been sympathising with you for perservering with your sport in one of the dullest places to be an mtb'er, until I clicked on your link and realised I've read your name all wrong. 😀
Sick trails in Bedfordshire... Just a well kept secret.
Thanks for the summary hot_fiat and admire your organisation. Pre-covid we used Hull-Rotterdam most years since the kids were little (now late teens and still come with us if foreign mtb and food is on offer). Never thought we'd miss the pilgrimage to Hull so much.
Hopefully next year.... wistfully dreaming of East Yorkshire and the gateway to another world 🙂
Pre-covid we used Hull-Rotterdam most years
Daft question, is it normally this sort of cost or is this covid tax? (as a solo traveller Ferry hasn't really been on my radar previously)
Had a quick look see and it was 600+ return
Unfortunately yes, normally that price, especially in summer (have gone off-peak and was a chunk cheaper). It has definitely got dearer in the last five years. They also seem to have lumped in breakfast, but managed to avoid that a few times by booking through camping and caravanning club (no compulsory breakfast on their booking and a discount 5-10%).
However if you live north-ish it does look better value - only takes us 2 hours drive to Hull so no extra day off work, no grim drive down to south coast and fresh ready to do a big drive in the morning so we've done Rotterdam-Austria in a day (the ferry replaces an overnight stop-off in Europe). Amazingly never had a rough crossing.
Are you sure you can enter Austria at the moment. My understanding is that unless you have a family occasion (wedding, christening etc) or business reasons anyone from the U.K. is still banned as it is considered a virus variant country.
I’d be interested to confirm that an effective 10 day quarantine gets around this.
https://www.oesterreich.gv.at/en/themen/coronavirus_in_oesterreich/pre-travel-clearance.html
We’ve a letter from the Austrian tourist board saying that so long as we’ve spent 10 days elsewhere in Europe we’re good to go.
Just entered Disneyland. TAC pass works fine with British certs. Scanned straight away.
Yeah it’s 600+ on the ferry. Always. Even in February when we go skiing. They’ve calculated it as the cost of driving to dover and a crappy hotel in Reims.
Cheers, good to know.
Looking at doing a similar plan myself.
Awesome,
So we booked a VERY last second holdiay to Morzine ( @mtbbeds i would have gone with you but i've got family tagging along to ruin my riding), very excited just need to make sure the non-riding family can be catered for whilst im with them, but importantly when i go get to have fun on me own (unless anyone else wants to show me around - you know guiding for beer 😉 ).
Slightly stressful setting all that up, but now have tous app installed, decalration ready and hard copies of everything in hand. This was preceeded by a panic of having no pads in my brakes but being rescued by someone over an hours drive away!
So off to Morzine in the morning - wippee..
I’ve just got back from Nice with work (airline). Our non vaccinated crew are now mandated to stay in their hotel room for the whole stay.
Decided last night to go for it and get out to France in a couple of weeks time (as originally planned, but had previously given up on). Driving, Tunnel, stay in a friends house - pretty easy stuff.
Sorted tunnel booking (non-refundable due to using Tesco points), and then realised my wife's passport only had 3 months left on it and you need 6 to travel to France! Wait - one week passport renewal option will save us! But then turned out first available appointment is about a week after we are scheduled to leave - unless she takes a day trip to Belfast where appointments are available!
Arrrrrgghhh!!!!!
So PSA; if your passport has been filed away in the back of drawer for the last 18 months as you've had no need for it - get it out and check it's still got plenty of life left on it before you book anything!
Awesome,
So we booked a VERY last second holdiay to Morzine ( @mtbbeds i would have gone with you but i’ve got family tagging along to ruin my riding), very excited just need to make sure the non-riding family can be catered for whilst im with them, but importantly when i go get to have fun on me own (unless anyone else wants to show me around – you know guiding for beer 😉 ).
Slightly stressful setting all that up, but now have tous app installed, decalration ready and hard copies of everything in hand. This was preceeded by a panic of having no pads in my brakes but being rescued by someone over an hours drive away!
So off to Morzine in the morning – wippee..
Let me know how you get on, especially easy trails the family can join on or other activities they rated. Good luck!
Ok, so experience so far of the tunnel.. UK border let you through nice and easy, but if you're unlucky to be on the far left or right going to the French booths, they check Everything took us 30 mins to get through..
Middle lanes whizz through quickly!
Nothing to do with Covid travel but from August 2nd you don't need an insurance green card from your insurance company to travel in France (EU)
Hugely confusing as you didn't need one when in the EU, then needed one of January 1st 2021 and now from August 2nd you don't.
Just a quick update. The evil mouse is still the emporium of overpriced tat and aspirational queuing times that I’d recalled. Worst thing is that despite the French government removing a requirement to wear masks back in July. Disney, at least in France, require everyone over 6 years old (yes six!) to wear one at all times on their property.
Packing tonight and heading to Morzine tomorrow. Think it might be dawning on the wife why I brought the big electric bike. Muhahahah.
I've now got a red arm band just like for a a rock festival. The campsite's way of contolling who can use the pool, bar, restaurant.
Armbands for a certain section of society? IIRC, that didn’t end well last time…
I worry as they ask as to which vaccine you've had. Makes me question the AZ i got, and if thats going to be judged as not being as good or something like that.
France are accepting the Indian made AZ, as are quite a few other countries.
Currently sat on the Eurotunnel writing this. Passport control was fine no longer wait than normal. They did scan or jab records and ask to see my son's neg test certificate but all good and on the way to Morzine, yeah.
Also on the Eurotunnel now, going from France to UK.
Really straightforward both ways. On the way out French border control checked our vaccine proof (NHS printouts).
Nothing more than passports checked on the way back and the queue for passport control seemed normal.
just back from crete, no issues at all and felt safer there than over here tbh, especially as our city is currently topping the covid charts. tested ourselves constantly before leaving, an 'official' LFT 2 days before returning, and just had our 'day 2' PCR test clear too.
bit of a gamble as should we have contracted it out there a 10 day quarantine hotel awaited, and tbh we would have cancelled/deferred if we could have done so without losing our money, but as that wasnt an option we went for it.
waved straight through in greece, and all pretty painless back at leeds bradford too. i think the test info seems to be logged with your passport details so the only time anyone looked at them was in the check-in queues.
What's the best deal anyone has found on Antigen tests? Between departure, return and day 2 testing I need 11 of them so even £5 saved is significant. Best I've seen is Express Test for £35 from Heathrow which is local to me
So trail grading over here is a little more on the extreme. Took my family up pleny to to link up with lea gets, there were some serious toy /pram moments so split the group up. I took the daughter who is turning into a very capable rider down the Les gets green, which is really good fun if you spank it, but also linked up the long blues that come back into Morzine both sides. No idea why the Morzine "Family" trail is a blue, it's not, not by any standards! Have been told to get up the super Morzine/zore lifts later in week for some mellow blues there..
There is an out and back green that follows the river, that's ok, a nice pootle with the family in some nice surroundings. We also did the highwires, that was brilliant spent 3-4 hours doing that with kids. Ice rink is still closed which is a bummer. Had a play on luge as well, be prepared for longish cues, but good fun! Loads of cheese to eat in supermarkets, that's an activity itself.. 😋
Why are you testing on way out, have you got non vaxed people? Weve already found the lft place in morzine, not booked as we may go on somewhere else.
@Sui The Family trail on pleney used to be a green until a few years back (though it was sightly different at the bottom). Supermorzine sector has the easiest greens/blues, particularly those that finish up at the Serussaix chairlift. Everywhere, and particularly pleney, is riding a little rougher than usual cos of all the rain we've had this summer...looks like you've picked a good week though, so should be drying out nicely.
@tfelotthgir good to know, we nearly headed to les gets this morning, we’ll do SM instead.
I take it the return to Morzine itself is very firmly a bikes in the lift job with small groms in tow?
@tfelotthgir a green, wow I suppose for some families it could be, though not many!
Agree with rain, bloomin heck, proper swamp feat on a couple of the blues section's, people just sliding down on their butts..
Agree weather is looking glorious this week, gutted I leave on sat, could easily have 2 weeks here..
@Sui my 13yr old is not vaxed yet, So she needs a test on the way out, we all need them on the way back and again after 2 days in the UK so 11 in total. Thanks for the trail advice.
@ELVino where are you travelling. Youre daughter doesnt need a test to get into France if both parents are vaccinated. If you're going to spain you need either a PCR or a lamp test an antigen test(lat flow) isnt good enough. You only need antigen test to get back to the UK which you can gwt locally at a pharmacy or get a self test from coop for £25 each and PCR at day 2. Randox are probably the chespest with a small discountvfrom the ferry company they are about £45.
You only need antigen test to get back to the UK which you can gwt locally at a pharmacy or get a self test from coop for £25 each and PCR at day 2. Randox are probably the chespest with a small discountvfrom the ferry company they are about £45.
I gather that has to be prebooked/ordered before travelling (France). Is that right?
Also does the actual date of "Day 2" have to be defined or can it just be ordered and used whenever "Day 2" actually occurs?
Hmmmm, greated this morning with a message from the government saying i need to self isolate. This is despite coming home from france yesterday, fully vaccinated, and negative test. I'm assuming I just ignore it? Anyone else get this when they've got home after the policy changed?
@ewan does it say why? Eh is it because you've been in France or because of close contact?
