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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?
It says "Welcome to the UK. You are now required to quarantine for 10 days and take 2 further coronavirus tests. Otherwise you may be fined.<other stuff about contacting me>"
I'm assuming they can't fine me if they've sent it incorrectly, hence planning to ignore. I've double checked my locator form etc and I don't seem to have made an error. My wife has got the same text message this morning. If they contact me I guess I'll say wtf to them?
EDIT: can't be close contact, app isn't on my phone / haven't actually had close contact with anyone in about a year!
@ewan I had that yesterday too after returning from France on Sunday. Then someone turned up on my doorstep to check I was self isolating, I told them that I didn't have to and they said 'oh you've come from France, the form hasn't caught up with the change in regulations yet'. They were happy and friendly, poked around on their phone for a bit and told me it was fine and I didn't have to isolate and went on their way. My wife filled in the same form in the same way and didn't get the text or the visit!
Later that day I got another text from UK_Gov apologising for the error and telling me I didn't have to isolate.
what with the:
high costs to the individuals (profits going somewhere tho...)
inaccuracy of self administered tests
the reported low percentage of "Day 2" PCRs being tested in a suitable timeframe and pathetically low percentage of positives being sequenced as a 'new variant' check
ongoing confusion and questionable competence of the T&T teams...
how long till Boris/Sunak decide its all TFD i wonder.
@ewan I had that yesterday too after returning from France on Sunday. Then someone turned up on my doorstep to check I was self isolating, I told them that I didn’t have to and they said ‘oh you’ve come from France, the form hasn’t caught up with the change in regulations yet’. They were happy and friendly, poked around on their phone for a bit and told me it was fine and I didn’t have to isolate and went on their way. My wife filled in the same form in the same way and didn’t get the text or the visit!
@flatpack ah ok, that sounds like the same thing... will see if someone knocks on the door! We're not actually planning on going anywhere until the weekend anyway!
EDIT: can’t be close contact, app isn’t on my phone / haven’t actually had close contact with anyone in about a year!
Did you fly in from france?
If you end up sat next to/near to someone on the plane that tests positive you'll get a similar email/text/phone call telling you to isolate - its all done from the travel locator form - no apps involved.
Nope - eurotunnel sat in our camper van after spending a week in a wet not massively busy campsite. Maybe that's it though.... they wanted a seat number / flight for the euro tunnel (which doesn't have such things - generally you don't even know what exact train you'll be going on) so i just wrote 'eurotunnel'. Perhaps the computer has decided we sat next to everyone on eurotunnel! Tho you'd think the text message would say that rather than saying 'welcome to the uk'.
Off to France next week and the covid test company decided priority delivery meant 12 days after ordering so our test to return pack will arrive just before we get home. So can I get a test for return done in France? In Morzine if that helps. Thanks
Day 2 pcrs are now down to £20 a head, which makes a decent discount on total cost for a family. Ignore the ferry and airline discounts, just go direct
Where from?
Just my experience but steer clear of Randox for PCRs, we used them as they were cheap but then saw the Dispatches show on them regarding cross contamination.
3 of our Day 2 PCRs came back negative then one sons turned up 7 hours later positive.
He's fit as fiddle, negative lateral flows before and since plus a further PCRs us all a day later that were all negative.
Now fielding 10 calls a day from track and trace as they seem to have multiple account IDs for us all and seemingly can't cross reference anything.
£20 quid is pretty decent, anyone know what the Pharmacy in Morzine is charging for the pre arrival / Departure tests?
@Stainypants - French government site seems pretty clear that anyone over 12 & under 18 that isn't vaccinated needs a prearrival test. Would be delighted to be proved wrong here.
So can I get a test for return done in France? In Morzine if that helps. Thanks
From where I am sitting (Paris) I can probably throw a stone and hit at least three places to get a return test. I'd imagine most towns of any size are the same - basically every pharmacy, of which France has zillions.
I think €29 is the official price; we paid €25.
https://www.find-travel-test-provider.service.gov.uk/test-type/blockquote >
Didnt Which? find that none of those low price offers actually exist unless you're one of the first three people to drive through in Norwich a week on Wednesday?
I’ve just tried about three of those £20 day 2 test links and none of them came back with valid prices.
We bought the pre travel and return (lateral flow) tests from c19testing.co.uk at £29 each. Son (he's 13) had to have one for entry to France. Haven't booked the the day 2 yet. Will wait for nearer the time.
Pharmacy in Morzine (high Street) seems to have a queue all day for covid tests.
@leonthepro we used C19 for our lateral flows, very easy submission and fast results/certificate, 4 hours pre departure and 1 hour on return
Does anyone know if you are legally obliged to take a day 2 test? I know you have to buy one, but use it? Reading the stories of how badly the system works.
@mrmo legally yes but given when track and trace called after my sons positive test they had no idea it was a day 2 test , no knowledge we’d been to Greece and none of the info we’d submitted with the tests (DOB/Address/Flight and Seat No/Passport number) I’d be surprised if 10 days hadn’t passed by the time they caught up with you.
Speaking to the track and trace guy today they only receive positives so likely the first people to contact you will be the test provider asking where it was rather than T and T
@benhouldsworth , thanks, and thanks for the comment re c19, I have bought a couple of their tests for the return, puts my mind a little more at rest. Lets hope tomorrow goes ok as I start the drive down to Switzerland.
Had a random thought on the way back from London today....
"why are we going to the Peaks now that France is open again"
From what i can gather as both myself and wife are double vaccinated, we're OK on way out.
We need a test for the boy within 24 hours of leaving (he's 13) which seems to be £80 from Madjeski in Reading.... then he/we will need a test on way back which is local pharmacy for 29 Euro (just run them and had a broken conversation with them). Within 3 days of coming back to UK...
Anything we're missing here just before we press some buttons.
For those coming to France , the tests in local pharmacie are very busy . Especially in small towns ; not all chemist do them .
Anything we’re missing here just before we press some buttons.
Have you factored-in possibility that one of those tests comes back positive (lost holiday / extended holiday... )
Have you factored-in possibility that one of those tests comes back positive (lost holiday / extended holiday… )
Aye.... that'd be an inconvenience for sure 😀
We had the same discussions at the beginning of the week, would usually be in the Alps but are off up to Scotland instead. The campsites haven't been paid for and could have been cancelled at no cost.
We felt that the commitment we made when booked should outweigh us disappearing to France, in addition is still the uncertainty that the rules have been forever changing with little notice.
Our daughter who would usually spend the summer abroad biking and competing has decided to do the same and has borrowed her dads van and is touring Wales.
One of our younger work colleagues, had 1st jab, had a weeks holiday in Spain a couple of weeks back and was due to fly to Madera the week later. He was pinged a few days after arriving home and has had to isolate so missed the second holiday, he started with the symptoms a few days later and tested positive.
I'm not sure its worth the hassle and stress at this moment in time.
So my thoughts of a week in Croatia have become a long weekend in the Lake District.
Maybe next year
So my thoughts of a week in Croatia have become a long weekend in the Lake District.
You did well to get three days accommodation in the lakes for the price of a week in Croatia.
Unless you have a modest, but very comfortable boat on the west coast of course.
Tunnel to France just now super efficient and fast.
I’m not sure its worth the hassle and stress at this moment in time.
That is a very good summary of the conversation that took place in our house a few weeks ago.
Never seen the tunnel so quiet. Now in a hotel in Troyes for the night.
Other Brits are starting to appear here. Queue for the village pharmacy test site is pretty noticeable. No queue at the one in Saint Jupe though.
TAC pass works everywhere we’ve tried it which is great - even at little restaurants on the mountains.
Need to lat flow the kids tomorrow prior to setting off through CH to AT on Saturday. We’ve four non-nhs self-tests in the van that should be good for AT entry, will double check tonight.
Elvino, your post about testing all the kids got me paranoid, so with 9 hours before I travel mucho internet's I've realised I've got another £200 quid bill,
9 year old needs a day 2
11 year old needs pre departure and day 2.
Morzine pharmacy is 40 euro for pre departure
UK day 2's I struggled to find any decent ones that didn't lead you to think it was 20 quid before then charging a lot more, in the end it's boots at £75 a pop (x4)
I swear every single company that is making money out of covid is on my banned list... 😡
39.5 degrees at 5.30 this afternoon when we went to swim in the river. Too hot to think man!
Good news, does this help you?
Hmmm. News reporting that the recent bump in cases was due to Returnees from Spain. I’m not sure that’s proven, but it looks as though it could be on the red list at the end of August.