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Randox allow you to book multiple day 2 tests in a single transaction, I went for swab at home and put in one of their drop boxes, thankfully I have one nearby. Anyway you just need the codes to get back. £43 wit FLYRYANAIR code
After following all this discussion on which provider to use for day 2 testing I was a bit taken aback yesterday to discover that being a Welsh resident it is all irrelevant and we have a choice of precisely 1 option. At £68. At least it takes the hassle and uncertainty out of it I guess!
Another Welsh resident here. I saw the response to the MP’s comment that Wales should have the same choice, which was “we’re clear we advise against foreign travel, and we want the results straight into the NHS, so why would we make it easier?” Fair enough, tbh.
That said, we’re due to go to Belgium next week. Anyone done that this summer, travelling via Eurotunnel? Fully-vaccinated group, albeit including three pensioners, plus a dog, so plenty to deal with 🙈
Not Belgium, but I have just got back from Switzerland, eurotunnel into France easy, just have a print out of your vaccine status. Euro tunnel into the U.K.!!!! Border farce is a farce, slow and queues. It should be noted I travelled on an Irish passport and I seemed to get through passport control quicker than those around me?
@mrmo, was your proof of negative COVID tests checked on your return journey?
@gozarch, as per Eurotunnel I attached a copy of the cert and the travel declaration for the return, nothing is requested on the way out. I assume that border farce have access to Eurotunnels paperwork?
But no one asked to see anything on the way back. The only request was from French customs at Folkstone on the way out.
Just realised England allow me to put my under 17 year olds on my passenger locator form, this seems to exempt him from day 2 testing. Still needs the pre arrival antigen test though but they are cheap enough.
Just realised England allow me to put my under 17 year olds on my passenger locator form, this seems to exempt him from day 2 testing. Still needs the pre arrival antigen test though but they are cheap enough.
It doesn't exempt him from testing, but when you put him on your form you are not asked to supply a day 2 test booking ref for him.
I can see how you could conclude that if no booking test ref is needed for him then no test is needed either, but I don't think that's correct.
They’re not sequencing the test (by and large) looking for new strains
I've seen this a lot on here in the last few weeks, has put sequencing taken a huge nosedive? As I recall UK were at around 9% (of lab tests, not LFTs obviously) March with an accepted minimum of 5% of positives.
A lot of other countries weren't publishing sequencing (but were maybe doing it) which whilst very much our problem isn't really in our control.
Just back from Ibiza and can confirm all was relatively straight forward.
We booked testing through Chronomics who were very efficient, didn’t need a video of the LFT and their website was super easy to use.
Checking of tests and certification on the Spanish side was very thorough, less so on the British side.
It was slightly strange being asked at the hotel which vaccine we’d had, and most wore masks inside, but bar that it was pretty normal out there.
Home, unpacked, curry, beer, YAY!
Three weeks, 2491 miles & 58hrs of driving, 7 countries, 8 border crossings, 3 ferries, 4 tests, 5 apps, two vignettes, three theme parks and somehow 60Gb of data!
Simultaneously the best and most stressful holiday we’ve done. France, Austria and the Netherlands were outstanding. Morzine has taken on another identity for me as a truly superb young family destination. Austria just pips it to the win as their mountain-top play parks are fabulous. Disney was annoyingly good, but Efteling is still truly amazeballs.
The logistics were difficult, but it was so worth it given the crap we’ve had to endure in the last 18 months.
Dutch border officers were pretty bemused by us last night and had all sorts of queries - we’d definitely not have been let in back on the 4th if it wasn’t for my Irish Passport. Thanks Mum!
Van now needs a service before I head off to Spain with it in ten day’s time. That trip, in comparison, will be child’s play.
I see the Gov COVID test provider list is still full of bullshit. £20 but only if you live in Peterborough / are a paramedic / Tory MP with unknown number of children…
It doesn’t exempt him from testing, but when you put him on your form you are not asked to supply a day 2 test booking ref for him.
I can see how you could conclude that if no booking test ref is needed for him then no test is needed either, but I don’t think that’s correct.
Happy to test him and his sister as we have already booked and paid for them. Just interested to properly understand the regs.
They didn't bother checking out vaccine paperwork coming back to the UK at the tunnel. He claimed it was electronic.
Bull.
Was checked by the French on the way out.
We had that at Hull on Friday morning. No PLF check, just regular passport scan.
Randox have failed to send our test kits out for tomorrow, so while I was brushing my teeth just now, I marked the transaction as in dispute with Barclaycard. Not paying for something I’m not receiving.
Glad you loved Austria.
If you ever want to go back, I have a place there near Leogang/Saalbach/Hinterglemm.
Big car park for the van and STW rates!
Did the kids enjoy Speyer hot_fiat? Either of the technik museums is a great place for breaking journeys. Everything open? Seem to remember the submarine and Antonov got a little "cosy" so wondered if they would be shut.
Deeply jealous as you've been doing all the stuff we used to do - kids are now 17 and 19 so maybe getting a bit old for the mtn top playparks :-). Might manage third attempt at bounced Alps trip with them next year....
Another question for travelers returned from Greece - any tips on where to get the LG test needed to return to Blighty?
Efcharisto poli
hi @mick_r yeah they did. We've been breaking our journeys there for about 8 years or so & stay at the brewery because: BEER! SCHNITZEL!
Most things were open in the technik museum, with the exception of the smaller aircraft and loco cabs. The 747/slides had a traffic light system for the stairs. The sub, antinov and lifeboat were 1in-1out. Understandable really. Didn't go to sinsheim this time, though we did wave at the tupolev and concorde as we drove past.
That looks great @colp . The zillertal is beautiful, but it lacks the serious biking infrastructure of other areas. We'll keep it in mind.
We've booked up for skiing next year, but are little concerned about Austria's current vaccine rules: they won't accept boosters and see vaccine certs as having no validity beyond 9 months.
How have we never been to Speyer brewery before! Where do you park? (presumably you've got a vehicle full of bikes).
Now kids are old we've managed some single hit journeys from / to the ferry - Rotterdam to Austria (Damuls) where we knew the accommodation so they just left us a key. And last time Meiringen to Rotterdam was stress free apart from the 4am start 🙂
Where do you go for Austria mtb?
The Domhof (the brewery’s pub & hotel) has its own car park. Having suffered leaving bikes on a rack outside German hotels before, I remove them and store them in the hotel’s bike store.
We ride around Mayrhofen. The high trails are great for kids, but getting annoying for me now. The 2m rule is pants, frankly.
We ride around Mayrhofen. The high trails are great for kids, but getting annoying for me now. The 2m rule is pants, frankly.
Austria is pretty crap for mtb.... Great terrain, crappy rules.
Austria does pee me off where places advertise as mtb areas but the reality is somewhat different. Kitzbuhel and Bregenzerwald seemed OK but that was with local guides.
Anyone got Otztal experience?
Another question for travelers returned from Greece – any tips on where to get the LG test needed to return to Blighty?
Efcharisto poli
not sure what you mean by LG test? i assume you mean the LFT needed to be conducted at a pharmacy/medical centre within 3 days of return?
in which case depends which resort youre staying in, most pharmacies/medical centres do them now for about 20E each.
παραχαλω
I used this to return from Switzerland
We’ve booked up for skiing next year, but are little concerned about Austria’s current vaccine rules: they won’t accept boosters and see vaccine certs as having no validity beyond 9 months.
Yeah. Ok for the coming season but god knows after that.
Regarding the 2m rule for MTB, it’s absolutely ridiculous. We mainly ride the official stuff in Leogang/Saalbach/Hinterglemm but in our area next door they kind of turn a blind eye to the 2m rule. The Austrian tourism minister came out with a catchphrase “you like it - bike it” but in reality I’ve heard of people in Austria getting massive fines for riding in forests
Does anyone know.... travelling to France end of September.
We need to upload our Covid vaccination certificates onto the French app - Tous AntiCovid. Our current UK certificate of vaccination expires 3 September so will need updating tomorrow. We can use that one to upload to the French app but it will expire again whilst we are away. Is it easy to to update the French app? Don't know if that makes sense
It's easy to update the French app, you just scan the QR code of your vaccine cert or indeed test result and it's added to your wallet.
Really, it's pisses all over anything we have in the UK, but I guess their leader wasn't elected by a load of whiners who get pissy if you try to ask them to do, well anything.
It’s easy to update the French app, you just scan the QR code of your vaccine cert or indeed test result and it’s added to your wallet.
Thanks P-Jay. So it will be worth me putting my current QR Code now and then updating once the valid date changes. It's good to know there is no problem doing that.
I did this yesterday., Just downloaded new certificates from the NHS app and reloaded them into the French App. I did have to restart my phone to get the TousCovid app to activate successfully though. Certs now valid until 1st Oct, so a week after our return.
Les Gets done. Everything cool and everything smooth to paraphrase Huey.
Except UK Border Force on the way back in who were slow. They took forever and asked stupid questions. Turn up with 4 MTBs on the back and 4 road bikes on on the top. The French immigration guy starts admiring the bikes. The Brit asks “so what have you been doing in France?”
So tempting to say surfing.
Thankfully my younger son saved me by telling him about downhilling and alpine climbs.
not sure what you mean by LG test? i assume you mean the LFT needed to be conducted at a pharmacy/medical centre within 3 days of return?
Yes, sorry - no idea why I typed LG!!
As you say, pharmacies will do them for a reasonable fee. Thanks.
After a few days at home and work I’m now preparing for our motorbike trip to Spain. We leave on Thursday night: drive with the trailer and three bikes to Bristol, load another bike, short sleep then off to Portsmouth to catch the 8:15 ferry to Caen. Head to Bordeaux for a night, then a full day down to Pitres.
On Friday I opened up Ride! magazine to be greeted with an item in their legal letters page claiming that if we take the bikes on a trailer then we would definitely need carnets or face having them seized by french customs. Cue much running around and deliberations within the group. I’ve now been in touch with three carnet agents and two chambers of commerce, all of whom agree that the article is total cobblers. One company, who specialise in CPD carnets for vehicles outright declared it as “bo11ox”. This is stress I could well have done without.
I wouldn't worry too much; if you're overnighting in Bristol the locals will sort out your bike problems. 😀
In other news, has anyone been to Cyprus yet?
Flight prices for next summer...... 😮
The Brit asks “so what have you been doing in France?”
So tempting to say surfing.
For the last week and a half no one on the Atlantic coast of France has been surfing. Set to continue until the end of the week when we leave 😬 (biked la Rhune three times now).
Not seen any British cars here in the SW, otherwise all's pretty normal bar high levels of mask use, a lot of knuckle bumping and the TAC app.
Last day before returning to Uk tomorrow morning. Weather in far south west of Ireland has been stupendous for the last fortnight just back from a day at the beach. Had to show nhs covid pass briefly at passport control and then at a few restaurants but other than that no issues
As I asked lots of questions before I went so I guess I owe this thread some feedback!
So the trip was to France (Ile de Re) via Eurotunnel.
Going out (Eurotunnel);
- Quick and easy.
- French border control wanted to see proof of vaccination. Showed hard copies of NHS cert. No mention of French "Statement of Honour" thing at this point or any other.
In France;
- You're not getting one toe in any restaurant etc. without the French app, but we all know that and the app worked perfectly every time.
- Masks inside without exception. It did make me wonder why we have such a high proportion of fat-chav "I'm exempt" people in England, didn't notice a single one in France. France did seem to have the same issue with people over a certain age feeling that noses didn't need to be covered though.
- Masks outside in town centres etc. High levels of rule observance when it was crowded, less so when it wasn't, which seemed entirely sensible.
- Usually on Ile de Re there are loads of UK cars. Probably saw 4 in two weeks this time. I guess once quarantine was dropped a few weeks ago there wasn't any accommodation available (unsurprisingly).
- My son was desperate to try surf school - as above can confirm the total lack of waves in the last two weeks!
Coming back;
- Pre-return lateral flow was done in the town pharmacy. Had booked an appt via the doctolib app but when we got there it would have been more hassle to try and explain we had an appt than to just get on with it. Process was a bit complex - scan a totally unlabeled QR code on outside wall to bring up a form - fill in slightly complex form on phone (ie. wouldn't take UK postcode) - queue up inside to pay (25 euros each) - then outside to a hut for the actual test - first time I'd not self-administered the swab - ouch, though she used the double nostril technique rather than going near my tonsils - email came through with results 35 min later. Document was a 10 Mb pdf - no idea how they managed to make it so large, had to re-save it using Abcrobat (120 Kb!) to get it under the Eurotunnel 4 Mb document size limit.
- PLF and Eurotunnel documents easy to fill out, Eurotunnel has to be done on a computer not a phone as noted above.
- Oncee uploaded to Eurotunnel someone has to manually review your test cert. You only need to get your docs approved in the terminal if they are not showing up as checked on the system by the time you arrive. Ours were done in under 24 hr.
- Queues to get through UK border control were very slow moving. Some queues were not moving for ages so presumable some idiots were pulling up without having all their documentation sorted. When we actually got to the booth it was pretty quick and they only asked to see passports. I assume they matched our names to all the documents we had uploaded, but wasn't about to be a nob and start questioning them.
- Once through border control we had a much longer wait to board than I've ever encountered before. Probably about an hour an a half. I guess they were just waiting for enough people to get through border control to fill the train, but it wasn't clear. Boarding was initiated by some larger vehicles being allowed to breeze through as soon as they pulled up - including a Pivot team truck, being driven by Bernard Kerr I think.
- Day 2 return PCR's from Randox arrived very quickly before we left the UK. Will have the fun of doing them tonight.
Written out that all sounds like a bit of a whinge fest, but I'm only obviously writing about the niggly bits. Overall it was a tiny bit of inconvenience* for a flipping brilliant two weeks away.
*My wife having to fly to Belfast two days before we left to get her passport renewed as it was the only passport office in the UK with appointments available, possibly falls under more than a "tiny bit of inconvenience", but that was our/her/Brexshits fault rather than Covid.
Only one thing from me to add to the above, no need for the French app the uk one generates a vaccination barcode which can be scanned fine by french restaurants etc. You can have the french app if you wish but no need to do so.
I got back from the Alps last week, 3 weeks in the camper, no hassles related to covid - wish I'd stayed longer.
– Day 2 return PCR’s from Randox arrived very quickly before we left the UK. Will have the fun of doing them tonight.
Can I just check something. If we are travelling at the end of September and will be away for about a month, can we order our Day 2 PCR tests now so that they arrive before we travel and can sit here at home in the UK awaiting our return?
We did. Boots ones.
In other news, has anyone been to Cyprus yet?
I have a friend in Cyprus if you have something to ask?
Flight prices for next summer
Yep. Someone inside the industry told us to wait for last minute deals next year, do not book early. They reckon it’s so expensive the hotels won’t fill and there will be offers.
Can I just check something. If we are travelling at the end of September and will be away for about a month, can we order our Day 2 PCR tests now so that they arrive before we travel and can sit here at home in the UK awaiting our return?
I don’t see why not. I think I would wait a bit personally though, we’ve seen the rules change time and time again so you might not even need them by then! Also I would have thought that prices are only going to go down now that summer hol season has passed.
Euro tunnel into the U.K.!!!! Border farce is a farce, slow and queues. It should be noted I travelled on an Irish passport and I seemed to get through passport control quicker than those around me?
Strange, I uploaded my (vaccine, locator form) docs direct onto the euro tunnel website and went straight through
I don’t see why not. I think I would wait a bit personally though, we’ve seen the rules change time and time again so you might not even need them by then! Also I would have thought that prices are only going to go down now that summer hol season has passed.
Thanks igm and timmys. I take the point about timing and potential rule changes.
I take the point about timing and potential rule changes.
So far (twice now) I've left the booking of any day 2 tests until about 3 or 4 days before I return, just in case the govt change the rules at the last minute. It hasnt been a problem doing it this way rather than booking a long way in advance.
Strange, I uploaded my (vaccine, locator form) docs direct onto the euro tunnel website and went straight through
Yeah, it's piss easy, and we sailed through once we got to the actual booth. Unfortunately that's not much help when you are in a queue of 30 cars to get to the booth and seemingly the vast majority of people are incapable of following simple instructions so plenty of cars were taking 10 minutes.
So I've a confession to make.
I jumped on an offer an booked a cheap last minute to Menorca during the October half term. We have to either cancel or pay the balance by Saturday. Its with Jet2 who have a pretty comprehensive policy and record of re-booking/refunds.
It'll be fine... right?
Our decision on Finale in a couple of weeks has been made for us as Abigale broke her leg at the weekend, at Bolehills, as has the trip to Scotland
Heard from two sources that there may well be a 'firebreak' around the time of the October half term. What that will mean, who knows, but cases are now a lot lower in Europe compared to the UK.
Perhaps a reintroduction of the farcical 10 day quarantine and testing/homecoming tax?
It’ll be fine… right?
in terms of what will happen in menorca - if its anything like how majorca has been over the last couple of months (i've spent a month out there over the summer), then yes, you'll have a nice time. Its not been too busy , its been a great summer.
Obviously what cant be predicted is what will happen over the next 2 months with regards to changes to the rules and regs. My gut feeling is that the rules will stay the same or be relaxed more, but nobody knows.
I suspect your two biggest risks are as follows:-
1. You or One of your family catches covid in the lead up to the trip and therefore cant travel, so work out what you will do in this situation.
2 . You do need a bit of a backup plan for if any of you catch covid while out there and then cant fly back until you are clear .
Ok thanks.
These...
1. You or One of your family catches covid in the lead up to the trip and therefore cant travel, so work out what you will do in this situation.
2 . You do need a bit of a backup plan for if any of you catch covid while out there and then cant fly back until you are clear .
...are covered by the insurance.
From what I can make out the worse case scenario is that either UK.gov prevents flights out, or Spain.gov refuses Brits in. On that note, Jet2 say and have a record of allowing holidays to be moved our refunded.
My confidence is high TBH, but perhaps naively I didn't expect the cases to be as high as they might be here, hence the worry. I note in Spain they are falling.
We're supposed to be going to Mallorca in the middle of October (Scottish tattie holidays).
I'd say it's 50/50 whether or not we go. Flights will be lost, but accommodation is refundable. Would really like some sun, and the kitchen is being refitted whilst were supposed to be away, but I'm not confident.
Our decision on Finale in a couple of weeks has been made for us as Abigale broke her leg at the weekend, at Bolehills, as has the trip to Scotland
😬 That's rubbish - I hope she heals quickly.
2 . You do need a bit of a backup plan for if any of you catch covid while out there and then cant fly back until you are clear .
…are covered by the insurance.
Obviously policies differ but mine only covers hospital stays, so if I have to sort my self, not covered.
Bigger problem and not policy related is how you find that place to stay (given a +ve test) and how you deal with not being able to return to work for potentially quite a long time given you're unlikely to be able to provide a negative test for over a month after testing positive.
…are covered by the insurance.
From what I can make out the worse case scenario is that either UK.gov prevents flights out, or Spain.gov refuses Brits in. On that note, Jet2 say and have a record of allowing holidays to be moved our refunded.
My confidence is high TBH, but perhaps naively I didn’t expect the cases to be as high as they might be here, hence the worry. I note in Spain they are falling.
all sorted then, you cant control the case rates, or the govt (either spain or uk) changing the rules, so no point worrying about anything between now and then , if you get to go then great.....I think theres more than a reasonable chance you will go, but my opinion is worthless.
Spain and Portugal are both well over 70% double jabbed, if that makes a difference. 5th wave is on the turn, according to pressure on hospitals, daily new cases. However most kids won't go back to school til tomorrow or Monday so we shall see.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-58532433
So it looks like it was worth hanging on before booking our 2 day pcr tests. We return from Basque on the 25th Sept so should now be quite legally allowed to use private PCR tests at less than £68
Next question is therefore who to use. Being very rural we would need postal tests with postal returns if possible. Any recommendations from those who have already done this?
Expert Mdical seem to be the cheapest at £28. It was here when I returned and you post it off at a priority post box. It took a while to get the results, but that is pretty much immaterial, as it’s a box ticking exercise anyway.
Expert Mdical seem to be the cheapest at £28.
I thought I had read recently that they were no longer an approved test provider.
Yeah I’d read something, but worked fine for me and they are still offering the same price package.
There’s a announcement today which could mean you need less tests if vaccinated. I would not buy anything until you’ve heard that although I suspect the outcome isn’t going to prevail until October.
Ah crap. We'd booked for Portugal on the 1st of Oct but I managed to catch Covid last week. I can't find any proper info but I'm assuming that when I take a lat flow before leaving (and in resort) and a PCR when I come back they'll show positive? We're booked with Jet2 so it's not like I can even ring them and ask for advice as they don't answer their phones.... Any advice folks? Is our holiday broken?
I am not telling you to do this, just telling you why i am very wary of flying in general and also feel that the testing scheme is a scam.
If you take a lateral flow test kit, but don't use the swab, and simply add the testing fluid to the correct area you will get a negative result. So if you do the test badly whilst positive you get negative results. Further there are kit providers that will trust you to self administer the test with no witnesses.
Any advice folks? Is our holiday broken?
You've still got 2.5 weeks, you should be OK and assuming you have their £36 insurance it'll cover you if you are positive for Covid before the flight. That doesn't help the fact you might not be able to go on hols though.
Also, and I appreciate the horse has bolted on this one - phone and book your holiday don't book it on the website. When you do that you get a personalised Sales Rep phone number and email address and despite the fact they will be-asking if you want any extras (they are Sales reps after all) every time you phone, they will be more helpful than the generic phone number because they got/get a direct commission from you.
If you take a lateral flow test kit, but don’t use the swab, and simply add the testing fluid to the correct area you will get a negative result. So if you do the test badly whilst positive you get negative results. Further there are kit providers that will trust you to self administer the test with no witnesses.
Please consider your morals of spreading a potentially deadly virus before you consider that.
Please consider your morals of spreading a potentially deadly virus before you consider that.
I am not arguing that, as said it is why i am very wary of flying, people will abuse the system. The current system is little more than a money making scheme and not about public health. The government have decided to get everyone infected and to hell with the consequences.
We’re booked with Jet2 so it’s not like I can even ring them and ask for advice as they don’t answer their phones…
3hrs on Saturday to change a flight in response to the schedule shifting 🙁
OTOH they won't speak to you about the covid testing etc beyond saying "here's the govt advice website"
I managed to catch Covid last week
You’ve still got 2.5 weeks, you should be OK
Touch and go but you might be clear, unlikely you'll test negative inside of a month from a positive though. That said this should (along with the don't test for a month advice) be in the info following your positive test result (assume you've corroborated with a pcr not just an lft)
It's about 50:50 that you'll be positive again on a PCR 21 days after a positive. After that time you're highly unlikely to be contaigeous unless still showing symptons.
And - the rules could be different on October 1, keep an eye on todays announcement.
Our thoughts on The Sun's political leaning and opinion pieces aside, they have been fairly good at predicting reproducing the "official" government leaks before anyone else throughout the pandemic.
Their current line on foreign travel is:
International travel
No 10 is keen to simplify travel restrictions and ditch the requirement for costly PCR tests, and the PM may shed more light on his plans.Boris is looking at proposals to replace the traffic light system which has confused sun seekers with multiple categories.
In future there could just be two lists - one with countries people can travel to and anther for those they can't.
Mr Javid has also vowed to get rid of the need for PCR tests which can add hundreds of pounds onto the cost of a family holiday.
But Ms Coffey said ministers will have to take time to ensure that's safe, as the gold-standard swabs are used to track variants.
Reply from NHS T&T Service below when I asked about recent Covid diagnosis and testing for holidays:
Upon arrival of England, all international arrivals are required to take PCR tests on day 2 of arrival even if they have had Covid-19 previously. This is to ensure potential Covid-19 variants of concern (VOCs) are identified promptly, minimizing the spread of infection with these potential variants to the population.
The International Contact Tracing, run by Public Health England have protocols to follow when a positive case is identified from a day 2 PCR test, the decisions are made on a case by case basis. Any information regarding previous positive tests would be taken into consideration at the time of their decision
Covid-19 Recovery - Pre departure testing
If you have had Covid-19 in the last 90 days we would recommend that you select a lateral flow device (LFD) for pre-departure testing, as LFDs are significantly less likely to give persistent positives for someone who has tested positive within the previous 90 days. Further information on the types of tests that meet the criteria for pre-departure testing are listed on gov.uk – for LFDs, these must meet the minimum standards of 80% sensitivity and 97% specificity.
If you have recently recovered from COVID but are no longer infectious, you should use a lateral flow device (LFD) test. LFD tests have a lower sensitivity than PCR or LAMP tests, so they are less likely to return a positive result from a historic infection. The LFD test must meet the minimum performance standards as set out above.
Back from France via Brittany Ferries. Some slightly fiddly paperwork, to the extent we printed everything to save phone scrolling confusion, but other than that and the pharmacist who went about his work with considerable vigour, shouting something like "celui-ci est pour la france bâtard d'anglais" whilst shoving a cotton bud thing via my nose into the lower reaches of my brain, all was really pretty smooth.
Getting on and off the v quiet ferry and through police etc was quicker than in usual busy times new forms regardless. Kind of don't want to say that as now everyone will want to go and we'll be back with busy.
PCR 2-day booked before leaving with Randox (thru Coop website initially). Not the cheapest at 50 something quid. Did tests yesterday, dropped off at a pharmacy a half hour drive away, got results (-ve) this lunchtime. The end.
Main thing I was worried about was getting covid and having to isolate over there. Would not have been a minor inconvenience.
Well, my last day of Covid Jail was yesterday and 2 magical things have happened today.
The first was that my NHS app which had made all my vaccine records disappear while I had the lurgy has now sorted itself out and is showing my vaccine records, test results etc.
The second is that I took my third LFT of the week and it came up clear, no faint red line anymore. This makes me think that there's a good chance that my travel LFTs will be clear for Portugal too so there's a good probability of getting on the plane at both ends.
Huzzah!
Been to Portugal and france this summer
Both very easy...
Used the Klarity app Lateral flow test last week. You just record video of yourself doing the test on the app and then send picture of test result...frankly could have been anyones..fit to fly letter sent 10 minutes later. avoids going to any local pharmacy etc..
[strong][/strong] wrote:
Back from France via Brittany Ferries
Good to hear your report as we sail with them tomorrow.
Looks like big changes being announced today, with lateral flow replacing PCR and the list being go/no go to replace the traffic lights.
Well, they mange to make it easier but not very clear:
a) There is only a red list, everywhere else you can go to
b) If vaccinated, you don't need an in-bound to UK test anymore
c) Do you need an outbound test? Who knows, but maybe it depends on the destination.
d) Do you need a day 2 test from October 4th? I think so, but not clear, yet from October 30th you do and this can be a Lateral Flow test.
I think.
c) Do you need an outbound test? Who knows, but maybe it depends on the destination.
Depends on destinaton and your age/vaccination status. The country you are visiting sets these rules.
d) Do you need a day 2 test from October 4th? I think so, but not clear, yet from October 30th you do and this can be a Lateral Flow test.
From 4th Oct you don't need to take a pre departure test 3 days before you fly back to UK, but you still need to do a pcr test on day 2 after you get back.
After end of Oct you don't need a pcr test on day 2,but need to do a lft on day 2 instead.
After end of Oct you don’t need a pcr test on day 2,but need to do a lft on day 2 instead.
Yes is all becoming a bit clearer now. I’d love to know the the date - I don’t think Schapps provided one - as half term returnees will want the the cheaper option. I believe he said “…near the end of October…”
Who are people using for day 2 PCR test, I found one £67 on the goverment list, is that about the going rate?