Covid Walk -in Test Centre Calais ?

[spikehcm681]

We're driving back from Portugal to the UK next week and have just seen that we'll need a Covid Test to get back into the UK.

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For a journey of about 1500 miles it's difficult to be exact about when we'll get to Calais and so a walk-in centre would be ideal.

Alternatively, a centre that you can book an appointment online or one where you can speak to someone in English.

Can anyone recommend one that they've used recently? Some idea of how long it takes to get the results would be handy too.

I imagine that this information might be useful to quite a few funsters over the coming weeks? So the more recommendations the merrier.

Thanks - in anticipation of any help.

Spike

 

[Bolti]

Chemists offering walk in testing can be found here

Centres et lieux de dépistage en RT-PCR et tests antigéniques de la Covid-19

Accédez à l’offre des centres de dépistage de la Covid-19 sur l'ensemble de la France et faites-vous tester par RT-PCR, test antigénique ou test salivaire. Laboratoires, pharmacies, chirurgiens-dentistes, infirmiers, masseurs-kinésithérapeutes, médecins.

www.sante.fr

 

[Larby]

Back in September we had to do ours. Most Pharmacies are equipped for the French citizens, had ours done at Pont de L'Arche near Rouen. Very helpful and perfect English. Booked on Tuesday for 1st slot on Thursday.
Got a certificate within 5 minutes ! €25.01

 

[spikehcm681]

Chemists offering walk in testing can be found here

Centres et lieux de dépistage en RT-PCR et tests antigéniques de la Covid-19

Accédez à l’offre des centres de dépistage de la Covid-19 sur l'ensemble de la France et faites-vous tester par RT-PCR, test antigénique ou test salivaire. Laboratoires, pharmacies, chirurgiens-dentistes, infirmiers, masseurs-kinésithérapeutes, médecins.

www.sante.fr

Many thanks Bolti and Larby.
I've bookmarked the Sante.fr website for plan B.
As we had planned to stop (as usual) at Pont de L'arche (nice Municipal Campsite and adjacent Aire) we'll try to book an appointment at the Pharmacie Lemonnier. It looks as if I'll be able to email them. God bless Google translate!

Thanks again Both
Cheers
Spike

 

[Pilote87]

As we had planned to stop (as usual) at Pont de L'arche (nice Municipal Campsite and adjacent Aire) we'll try to book an appointment at the Pharmacie Lemonnier. It looks as if I'll be able to email them. God bless Google translate!

Thanks again Both
Cheers
Spike

Sorry, but if you mean the camp site with the motorhome parking and borne outside the gates, then I am pretty sure it will be closed until next season. It was closed when we stopped there for lunch on a trip back in October.

John

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[marpool]

we used the pharmacy of the grand place, 45 place du general de gaulle at Montreuil sur mer. Nice aire to park up at and only a 5 minute walk to the main square for the test. Only about an hour from Calais.

 

[Larby]

Sorry, but if you mean the camp site with the motorhome parking and borne outside the gates, then I am pretty sure it will be closed until next season. It was closed when we stopped there for lunch on a trip back in October.

John

The Municipal site may be closed but are you saying the 10 Motorhome spaces are closed off ?

 

[Pilote87]

Larby - No, not at all. The parking spaces are, or at least were, still available.

J

 

[Larby]

Larby - No, not at all. The parking spaces are, or at least were, still available.

J

So the aire is still available. The water was not working in September. So will be free to park as it was €5 payable at Site office.

 

[spikehcm681]

Sorry, but if you mean the camp site with the motorhome parking and borne outside the gates, then I am pretty sure it will be closed until next season. It was closed when we stopped there for lunch on a trip back in October.

John

Thanks Pilote87 - we'll be using the Aire. We have used the campsite in March before - but it was closed the last time we were in Pont de L'Arche.

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[spikehcm681]

we used the pharmacy of the grand place, 45 place du general de gaulle at Montreuil sur mer. Nice aire to park up at and only a 5 minute walk to the main square for the test. Only about an hour from Calais.

Thanks Marpool.

I'm waiting for a reply to the email I sent this morning to the Pharmacie Limonnier, in Pont de L'Arche.

If I don't here anything back I'll try your suggestion.

Was it walk-in testing - or did you have to make an appointment?

Cheers

Spike

 

[marpool]

We did make an appointment by ringing them, but I am sure you could walk in and get one fairly quickly. Nice town and aire, well worth a visit for a last or first stop in France

 

[spikehcm681]

Back in September we had to do ours. Most Pharmacies are equipped for the French citizens, had ours done at Pont de L'Arche near Rouen. Very helpful and perfect English. Booked on Tuesday for 1st slot on Thursday.
Got a certificate within 5 minutes ! €25.01

We're back in the UK.

I can endorse Larby's suggestion - we used the Pharmacie Pont de L'Arche (also known as Pharmacie Lemonnier - the surname of the husband and wife owners). Excellent friendly service - we emailed them (contact details on their website) for an appointment. They speak English and the whole atmosphere in the Pharmacie was very friendly and understanding.

Our experience of the whole process of getting back to the UK was "challenging" - as we don't have a Smartphone (but we are going to get one!)

To get back into the UK we had to :-

1. Take a Covid test within 48 hrs of departure
2. Fill in an online passenger locator form - no more than 48 hrs before departure
3. Book Covid Day 2 tests before you enter the UK/Leave France.
4. Fill in the reference numbers of the Day 2 tests on the passenger locator form.

This was in the context of already having a Ferry Booking and needing to get Covid Booster/Flu jabs asap on our return - and doing all this from the Algarve.

If we had set off a week earlier we would have encountered a foot of snow in Northern Spain (still in evidence when we did travel). And the French tightened their borders the day after we got back home.

The UK rules changed in the middle of this process so we had to cancel the Covid Booster jabs we'd booked for the day of our return because you have to self isolate until you get a negative result.

The major unknown was how long but t would take to drive the 1400 miles from Portugal to Calais. We allowed 5 days but actually did it in 4. DFDS were excellent, as usual, and put us on the Ferry as soon as we had cleared all the bureaucratic hurdles.

UK online Covid Passes expire after 30 days and we were lucky to get a friend to print of off copies.

You can open an account with the Gov UK website in order the edit the passenger locator form. But the website had "issues" and crashed several times - meaning that we had to re-enter all the information a few times. Because we travelled a day earlier than planned we had to edit the form AFTER our arrival. This was to make the details agree with the details you have to fill in on the form which accompanies the Covid Day 2 test). I.E. you have to fill in all the information again.

In summary - it's impossible to travel if you don't have internet access. It's very difficult to travel if you can't display information on a Smartphone. You need internet access while you are travelling.

But "challenging as it was - this won't put us off going back to Portugal in March - if the Covid situation allows.

Anyone recommend a basic, reliable Smartphone and a good (European) Data internet access provider?