The Netherlands
Hi All
We are travelling via Harwich to the Hook of Holland for the very first time as newbie caravaners and was wondering are we allowed to take our provisions such as bacon, sausages, black pudding, beans,etc in fact the whole 9 yards plus some? Or is this not permitted?
Having never taken the van abroad thought it best to find out what the experienced ones among us tend to do when travelling to Holland
Thanks for any comments and info
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There are very few restrictions to EU countries although some countries like Norway have much stricter controls, especially on alcohol, but I don't know how well policed they are. Perhaps KjellNN doesn't take coals to Newcastle
You can always check on the DEFRA website. We tend only to take what we need for the journey and a few things we know we can't get like proper tea. France has some wonderful supermarkets. If you are staying in Holland we like the Albert Heijn stores.David
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I have in the past and I expect it still applies to meat and dairy produce.
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We met some British people in France once who had run out of British bacon. They had their daughter drive 500 miles from home to bring them fresh supplies and they proudly showed us a small fridge packed tight with the stuff. It was Danish.
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I fill my freezer section with home cooked meals [ bolognaise sauce, casseroles etc] so some nights I don't have to cook. We also take our favourite brand of tea as you can't get that and bacon as they don't cut it the same in France where we mainly go. We also take a couple of meals with veg for the first few days as I don't want to have to go shopping after a day travelling.
Apart from that it is great fun shopping in the local shops, trying local goods and trying to make yourself understood if they don't speak English, which isn't a problem you are likely to come up against in the Netherlands as they speak English better than we do.
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Got ask why the heck would one wish to travel to another country and not put something back. By all means take probably your favourite staples like tea, but really is about it.The crossing more than likely paid for in England, maybe purchase a tank of fuel whilst over there ( it is cheaper ) or is it not good for my vehicle ?. Having friends in and travelled to Holland many times, shopping and food stuffs is as good and better than here in the UK. BTW most do also speak English if you don't wish to try Dutch..
Happy caravanning.
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Agree, we take anything we know to be difficult to get where we are going, enough to get us started, the contents of the fridge at home, and enough frozen stuff to fill our little freezer to keep everything as cold as possible on the ferry.
Tea is one of the most important things as it is either difficult to get or/and very expensive.
Bacon we are not so bothered about, but we have found that bacon abroad is pretty much only what we call streaky bacon. The Danes must send all their decent bacon to UK as you cannot get the same cuts in Denmark.
If we were going to Norway, we would stock up with as much stuff as possible as food is much more expensive there. There are so many Norwegians now shopping in Sweden that the import restrictions are now being pretty rigorously enforced, especially in the case of alcohol and fresh meat.
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To the OP, I can't see you having any problem whatsoever whilst moving around freely within the EU (at the moment).
Regarding taking stuff with us, it is only essential things like coffee, tea and some tinned food where we have a preference. But have found we are never far from a good source of local foodstuffs plus we like to try out the local delicacies, but my wife being a not so strict vegetarian finds it a bit of a battle at times when eating out.
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We travel the same route each year and always stock for the first few days. There are no restrictions to what is in your van and no one so far as even asked to look inside let alone check our foodstuffs! There will be Aldi or Lidl nearby where ever you are, and the most elusive home brand we ever had to search for was Branston Pickle, but we found that in Lidl! On a different note, book a cabin for the 7 hours crossing - it was £120 each way last year, but this way your not rushing for seats, peace and quiet, no guarding seats while OH walks away for the duty free, plus you get a double bed, TV services, radio, shower, fridge complimentary snacks and brewing facilities which means you can relax and grab a kip after an early start. Well worth it!
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Most of the Netherlands do not take Visa or Mastercard credit cards the tend to us the Maestro card .Even Parking meters only take Maestrocards
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Hi All
Well there's an eye opener! so in truth then take all what we need and especially the old bacon!
Now question number 2 from us newbee's
When we hitch up and head to ferry do you A: Turn on your fridge and leave this on and connected during the ferry crossing? Or B: leave fridge off until you disembark in Europe and then turn on fridge?
Just seems odd to leave it on when ferry crossing as car turned off anyway so fridge must be drawing current from leisure battery if I'm right?or perhaps not?
Whats the consensus on that one then?
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If the caravan switch is turned to battery it should then not draw any power from the car whilst hooked up as the relay on the car should not allow the car battery to power the fridge when the car is not running. The fridge should not draw power from the battery to cool in any situation.
No gas allowed to be run on ferry and so fridge wont be running. We never run ours whilst towing anyway
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Hubby is a belt and braces man so he uncouples the electrics but you really don't need to. Last October we went to Spain on a 32 hours crossing but we didn't get the ferry until two days after leaving home. I froze five litre plastic milk bottles of water at home and put them in the veg compartment of the caravan fridge which was on until we got the ferry. The rest of the fridge was packed as normal. The day after we arrived in Spain I went to empty the bottles of water and there was still too much ice in them to empty them.
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Taxidad must have gone overnight as an outside berth cabin for the day crossing is only about £30. Still worth it, for peace and quiet and having a shower.
We worried that I wouldn't be able to get the same range of GF food in supermarkets but have no problem so don't take any now. Tea and Coffee are main items taken. Tea only if going to France or Spain.
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Hi
This Maestro card business is it current i.e can you only use this form of payment plus of course Euros? or can you use MasterCard or Barclay-card credit cards?
We have manged to book a crossing for as little as £136.00 return including cabins both ways which we thought was great value! Now need to sort out this "Red Pennant" business and we will be happy!
Mind you that does beg the question is it cheaper to have separate health insurance or include it as part of Red Pennant cover plus?
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Health Insurance - Depends on a few things. How long you are going for, how healthy you are to start with, whether or not you already have some with, maybe, a bank account, how long that piece of string really is. Those sort of things!😁
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Yes, I suggest getting a credit card like Halifax Clarity as there is no charge to use it abroad.
You can also use it to withdraw cash at the ATM, no fee but they do charge some interest, but the interest rate is low and less than the charge to use a debit card.
Set up a DD to repay in full every month.
We do not bother taking euros, just get them from an ATM at our first stop. Do not use the machine on the boat.
Unless you already have other or free health cover, it is likely just as cheap to take the full Red Pennant cover.
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The use of credit cards in Europe is not completely universal. France no problems at all. Germany and the Netherlands seems to have their own system of debit cards which don't seem to match with out UK system. Always best to have a back up-plan, ie cash!!! Never found Dutch supermarkets very credit card/debit card friendly. As others have suggested have a look at Halifax's Clarity Card which we have used for a number of years to get money out of ATM's no charges except a small amount of interest if you leave paying it off until the statement arrives.
People seem to jump through hoops trying to get cheaper insurance for travelling in Europe. Unfortunately we have a series of health conditions which although fairly common seem to send premiums through the roof, even with so called building society "free insurance" As a result I am a fan of Red Pennant not only as I find it the same price as alternatives but it is a joined up policy for both personal and breakdown. Those lucky enough not to have medical conditions ( or more usually undiagnosed conditions) will find cheaper insurance.
David
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Thanks David
Some good advice about credit cards, as for medical conditions join the club! recently had aorta valve replacement so when you say about insurance premiums always being loaded we are well used to that one! but as they say better to be safe than sorry!
The more I find out about this the more worrying it becomes about changing money up! even found out can't deal with banks unless you are a Dutch citizen! who on earth made the laws in this country although I did read on some forum that they themselves are fed up of being backward when it comes to banking so who knows it may even start to change
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Gateway, Please don't worry. You put a British bank card into an ATM and euros come out. Depending on the bank card you use you may or may not have to pay a small commission, but there is no problem getting cash that way in the Netherlands. It's just easy there as we found it in Laos and Macao. Card in, cash out. Relax.
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Sorry, don't understand why you would need to change money whilst abroad.
Get any Euros you want before you travel. Search the interweb for the best exchange rate. Last couple of trips Asda has been good. Dutch bank ATM's accept our cards and as soon as you insert it the language generally changes to English.
My last trip to Netherlands and Germany I took 150 euros in cash and came back with 80 euros everything else was piled on my Halifax Clarity, which I paid of ......In Full
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I think the bit about dealing with Dutch banks is I suspect only to do with opening accounts etc. As ET says any ATM will dispense cash with a UK credit or debit card providing it shows the card symbols on the machine. It has been a few years since I have been to Holland and the only problem we found was the issue of not accepting UK cards in supermarkets. This may well have changed. We generally don't bother buying Euros before we go because we always have a stash from the previous trip but during the trip we top up as we go along and as needed. Cards are usually fine in major brand fuel stations.
The advantage of Red Pennant and medical conditions is that unless you are actually under or waiting for treatment and medication is stable they tend not to go into too much detail. A far simpler process that most insurance companies.
David
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Yes, no need to worry gateway, but it is good to be aware.
We do long trips abroad, so avoiding bank charges becomes important as the spending is higher.
No matter which country you visit, paying for purchases and getting cash can cost a lot more if you use the "wrong" cards. There is a lot of good advice on this sort of thing on the Money Saving Expert forum and website.....worth a read.
One very important thing to remember is always deal only in the local currency, NEVER let an ATM or a shop convert your purchase or cash to £££s, leave that to your own bank.
The ease of paying with a credit card varies across Europe, In Sweden they hardly use cash while in several other countries cash is in much greater use.
The countries where we have found it advisable to carry a greater amount of cash, maybe 100 euros, are Holland, Germany, Austria, Italy and, surprisingly, Switzerland. No need to carry more than that.
In a supermarket, check the signs on the doors to see which cards they take, and if there is doubt, keep your spending within the cash you have. The Albert Heijn we used near Amsterdam did not take any of our cards. Same with fuel stations, and avoid unmanned ones.
Check with camp sites on arrival, and some tourist attractions do not take CCs.
Bank ATMs are numerous, so if you use your cash you just replace it.
Enjoy you trip!
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