New guidance re overseas travel
I have just read the latest guidance regarding overseas travel. Unfortunately while giving the “official guidance” for leaving the UK many members travel onward from the European port of entry e.g. travelling from France into Germany or heading towards Spain. There are no border facilities for document inspection between EU countries. Does the production of documents in, say, Dover or Folkestone to the French cover travellers for the whole of the EU?
Comments
-
In these unusual times I guess various temporary measures have been put in place locally where deemed necessary. Currently EU nations are individually determining their own entry arrangements and specific requirements for eligibility, testing, quarantine etc.
0 -
As far as I know if you can prove an essential reason for entering France, and have obtained a negative PCR test before leaving UK, have done a week’s paid quarantine in a hotel in France, and then obtained another negative test at the end of the week , then you can travel overland to other EU countries without further checks.
But things might change, border controls in Europe might be implemented, and my current understanding might be wrong, You need advice which is more accurate than I can give you.
0 -
"COVID-19 entry restrictions for Spain
Entry restrictions and requirements continue to apply for travel to Spain and only those who are legally resident or who are travelling for essential reasons will be allowed to enter. Entry for tourism purposes is not currently permitted."so you may get across the border into Spain, but you wont get very far with a UK number plate before you are stopped by the Policía Nacional or Cuerpo Nacional de Policía, and i suspect most other countries have the same restrictions and a way of enforcing them, even residents in Spain have difficulty traveling between regions.
0 -
Just because there are no border checks as such I am sure a UK registered car will attract more than normal attention from the local police. As far as I can see the only exceptions by the FCDO are the Republic of Ireland and Portugal. I suspect the authorities in the various countries you have to cross in order to reach, say Portugal would not see going on holiday as essential travel? No one has a crystal ball but I think its going to be another month or two before things start to get back to any semblance of normality so all the while the dates for free travel across Europe are being pushed back and back. Hopefully the vaccinations will do their work but you only have to have a uptick in infections and the restrictions could be back in place. Obviously if you have the ability to react, almost at a minutes notice, you are going to be in a better position than those that want the certainty of booking ferries and sites now.
David
0 -
I agree with everything that is being said - but almost all of the advice in the press refers to flights, direct from the UK to the destination country. The club should be more proactive in reporting the interstate obstacles for overland travel as various countries ease their restrictions. After all the Mediterranean countries are desperate for the Brit’s holiday pounds so changes are imminent.
2 -
This is a small extract from the club's email received today. It tells you many countries have various entry requirements and there's a recommendation to check with the FCDO. The situation is very fluid and I think it’s unrealistic to expect the club to list, and constantly update, the rules imposed by every European country.
"Travel to most European countries still remains restricted based on the latest advice from the UK Government and Scottish Government and many countries themselves still have a variety of entry requirements, quarantine rules or local lockdowns in place."0 -
Not a chance that the Club could keep up-to-date in any meaningful way. I’ve got a trip planned next week and it’s been hard work keeping on top of the latest fast changing requirements. Typically there tends to be no single definitive information point for any destination country. Quite a bit of the information is contradictory. Arrangements are being put in place at a pace resulting in software for accessing information and/or booking tests not being tested properly and in some cases dysfunctional. The easyJet website destination published this morning is a good example. No doubt it will all settle down, but not for a while yet and definitely not until the full implications of the Indian mutation is understood.
1 -
It's not helped by Government advice seeming to change as new things come to light. They seem to be advising that people don't travel to Amber countries except in very limited circumstances. There is always 2022?
David
0 -
We now hear that France and Spain are lifting some restrictions. There was nowhere safer than the empty campsites in France and Spain last summer. Young David I don’t want to spend my last few years on this earth fully vaccinated but locked into Yorkshire - even if it’s Gods own county!
2 -
Me neither, I did try to register on to the NHS App, not the covid track and trace, where supposedly you can get confirmation that you have had double whacks of the serum etc, but got an email back this morning telling me my registration had failed but please try again
Staycation for us this year and all booked up for this, next stop in 2 weeks Cornwall adult only site 17 pitches, happy with that 
0 -
The situation is changing fast. Lockdowns and restrictions are easing in many places. The beauty of crossing the Channel to France is that ferries need not be booked more than a few days in advance, and many campsites need not be booked at all. Instant decision making !
Things are more difficult for those with fixed work holidays, but those without commitments at home may well be able to travel later this year - provided they are able and willing to set off at short notice and without planning many months ahead. But that’s a mindset which doesn’t come easily to some!
1 -
Rufs
I managed to sign up for the NHS App the other day although I find it annoying that you have to log in every time with seemingly no option to remember log in details. I suppose because of the confidentiality it requires more checks etc. I noticed that it does seem to duplicate systems that are already in place at our surgery and it will be interesting to see if they all migrate to the one platform. I had a notification the other day that details of both vaccinations are now available to view on my phone. Whether this will be enough for other countries we will have yet to see. There is talk about an EU vaccine passport being worked on but no details yet or whether us Brits can use it?
David
0 -
I'm another one who has just successfully registered with the NHS app. I can log in with the fingerprint recognition on my phone just as i can with many apps including on line banking.
0 -
+1 for use of finger print recognition set up. App works ok for me.
0 -
Yeh, i think i made some simple errors, e.g. could not remember my NHS number so went down the route of taking photo of my passport and then doing a video recording reciting 4 numbers for this i was wearing my specs and my passport photo i am not, but redone the tests so will see what happens, in no rush ,
0 -
There was a bit on the TV this morning about the "growth" in people who have fixed holiday periods booking two destinations one in the UK and one abroad as was said by some of those so doing, "so we loose a small deposit on the one we cancel at short notice"
No thought that the one they cancel would have catered for their guest numbers
0 -
Even though my Wife and I have both had both vaccinations we are still adopting a precautionary principle and not travelling out of the UK in 2021.We shall review the situation over the Winter but we would like to take our MH back to France and Spain in 2022.We are not "Chicken Little" types normally but Safety First is our current watchword.
Toby, we are Yorkies too and spent 2020 in Yorkshire as well.Wales was very much OK when we went there last week,so you can still go"abroad" to where they speak a different language if you really want to escape from Yorkshire.The southern Welsh are very friendly and have much in common with Yorkshire people.😊
0 -
Exactly...no point sitting at home whilst your LV gets dusty on the drive or in storage, fretting as to what travel restrictions will be in force during the next hour, plenty of places in the UK where it is still possible to avoid the masses and enjoy yourself
2 -
As long as it's a smart phone, you can download a QR code reader app . I did that with my old phone.
0
