Driving to France

[MissCalamity]

Hi,
Our friends moved out to the Limoges region of France a few years ago and they've repeatedly invited us over and we are looking to go at some point once things are back to some kind of normal!

We were looking at potentially driving as a bit of an adventure more fool me probably

I'm looking for advice more for getting across to France, as Dover - Calais seems to far east and it would be better possibly getting a ferry from Portsmouth but to which French port?

Or is it worth the cheaper eurotunnel to go that way, even though it looks like there's a heck of a lot more driving that way!

Any help would be great! Merci 😁

Who reckons we might all be able to go this summer then? Unlikely any of us in none of the priority groups will have had both vaccines by then by the sounds of it. We booked first two weeks of August last October when the idea of not being able to go away this summer seemed impossible! We were in Brittany last summer. Given how much further on the world
is with vaccines it feels a bit ludicrous that last summer we were able to travel, albeit with two weeks quarantining at home afterwards and this summer potentially not!

I wasn't expecting to be able to go abroad but I'm still hoping that we can at least go to Scotland. 🤞🏻

Who reckons we might all be able to go this summer then?

I have no wish to be a doom monger and would love to think that things will have a semblance of normality by the summer...but...the numbers of infections/deaths in France have not come down to anywhere near the levels that Macron was hoping for when he imposed a lockdown at the end of October.

We still have a 6pm curfew throughout the whole of France.

All bars, cafes and restaurants have been closed since October and show no signs of re-opening. Where I live, many of the restaurants were surviving by offering take-away options, but the 6pm curfew has put a bit of a spanner in the works - it's not always convenient to pick stuff up at 4pm.

Vaccines are being rolled out, but nowhere near the speed that the UK has achieved.

A lot needs to change before we see some positive changes.

@SparkysMagicPiano thanks for the on-the-ground info. I wonder if France would allow vaccinated Brits to visit? Assuming there's some internationally/ bilaterally recognised way of proving it set up in time of course. And assuming they'd leave under 18s out of the equation. Reports in UK press saying that easyJet is seeing a 600pc increase in bookings this week which I thought was quite strange but then if you know you'll get your money back or can rebook if you can't travel, perhaps it makes sense.

We are booked for August, rescheduled from last summer so watching with interest. I do wonder if other countries will let us in with proof of vaccination which we should do in good time (minus the kids). Am totally prepared to postpone for another year tho 😩

@smogsville
Indeed Easyjet have an easy change policy - no prob about changing to next year as long as you do so a fortnight before. And if the plane doesn’t go you get your money back.

We happily drive a long way in France and Eurotunnel is great for flexibility over ferries, not to mention quickness and less faff. (I loathe being 'arranged' on car ferry decks and having to get a bunch of small kids out in 30 seconds!)

There are websites you can use to check the tolls for the routes you're planning - definitely avoid Paris as the tolls are much higher. There's a very well worn route down to the SW by Brits already set out upthread. I can't imagine anyone has ever actively thought they'd come to know Evreux quite as well as many of us do.

If you think you may do this more than once, getting an automatic toll gadget for your car is brilliant. You do pay a fee when you use it, but not when you don't - the initial outlay might not be worth it if you're not going at a busy time, but if you, you can often jump big queues.

www.emovis-tag.co.uk/

Alternatively, you could go on a ferry via the Channel Islands. Fast day time ferries will get you to Jersey or Guernsey in about five hours, and the onwards journey to St Malo is an hour. The cost is about the same as a non-stop ferry but if you want to spend less time on the ferry and maybe add some beach to your holiday it can be fun. Obviously both islands currently have border policies making that impossible (as does France of course) but by the summer they should be relaxed for tourists.

France isn't looking highly likely this summer though. I'm holding off booking anything at all right now.

I've never found Eurotunnel cheaper than the ferry but we always book last minute. I would go Dover- Calais unless you go overnight when it makes sense to pay more.