Europe in general...

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Pluggit1

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Bit of advice needed pls..

We ve been to france over the last couple of years - just trips of 2 weeks. We are at the semi-retiring stage now, me 58 and the missus 54. We re pretty healthy, few aches and pains that dont go away now and both Diabetes2 but nothing to stop us enjoying life. We are planning a 3 month..ish trip to Spain/Portugal over the winter months here but the wife has thrown a spanner in it due to her concerns. I think she is being a little over-cautious but I dont ridicule her about it as she has a valid point. She doesnt drive and worries about being stranded trying to negotiate the situation not being able to communicate well due to language and not being able to get the vehicle to a place of safety and a place where the problem can be solved. We re talking worse case scenario of something like a heart-attack at the side of a road 40miles from the nearest town. On that happy note.. we WOULD have Eurocover Insurance for the van and full medical cover.

Ive been around the world and can think on my feet and sort these situations out but,joking aside, I have got this at the back of my mind.

Any body been in or around this situation - not the heart-attack, god forbid - but having to handle a more out-of-the-ordinary situation as a less-worldly person such as my wife.

Cheers
 
As the previous poster has mentioned, in an ideal world it is useful to have two drivers. Certainly I'm more comfortable and confident that Mrs mikebeaches takes a regular turn at the wheel.

But there are plenty of couples travel long term in Europe with only one driver.

A good UK-based breakdown policy would be useful, in addition to vehicle insurance and medical cover.

Obviously in a serious situation things can be tricky, but on the whole Europeans are a friendly lot and will try to help.

If you stick mostly to the popular holiday areas of Spain and Portugal (Mediterranean Costas and Algarve in Portugal) there will be plenty that speak English.

And finally, there's always genuine emergency advice and assistance available on here! :) (y)
 
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Yup. Its a big disadvantage. Im looking at it from two angles: Do we NEED to drive back or can we sort the problem medically and sit it out just as in the UK. We have the time, we can sit there months if need be. I have been told by my insurance company that if I was completely incapacitated a letter would be sought from the GP stating my unfitness to drive and we would be repatriated van and all so thats comforting(Comfort Insurance, forgive the pun..).

I think we are just going to get off and enjoy it and stop worrying about things that probably wont ever happen. life to short.
 
Thanks for that. I agree. I will make a point of not being too remote and give her a crisis- management sheet she can refer to.

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I think for the countries you are talking about the risk of being in real trouble would be small provided you have your insurance sorted out. It's unlikely (sadly) that your health generally is going to improve as you age I would go for it while you can.
 
When we started touring for longer periods my wife was also a little nervous about anything happening to me - like the OP I'm happy to take life as it comes and sort it out as I go along. But over the years she has come to the conclusion that there is really nothing radically different from the UK and she now feels she could cope if a situation arose.

She is on the insurance for the van but hasn't driven it for a while, a situation I must address on our next trip - I'm not getting any younger!

On our first crossing to Morocco she was as nervous as anything but within a couple of hours she admitted that there was nothing really to worry too much about.

My advice is to acknowledge her fears but don't put any pressure on and carry on as you are - I'm confident she'll be okay, especially if you can make an effort to seek out fellow Brits. Mine doesn't half enjoy a chinwag when the occasion arises!
 
I did three months around Europe last year, sole driver as OH doesn't drive.
I did think about it before going but decided to just deal with whatever arose.
I think you just have to go and hope as the chances are fairly remote if your both fairly healthy.
You only live once
 
We are certainly happier that Mrs G can drive the van though she prefers to do the navigating.
She has had to take over once due to me getting migraine.
As long as you are properly insured go for it though
 
I don't drive our van (can't I haven't got the right licence!) and wouldn't want to anyway as I'm quite a nervous driver, even in a car. When we broke down the breakdown people were very helpful and spoke English so not a problem.

If something happened to Joe I know that I can call them and speak to someone who will sort everything out.

The biggest problem for us was that we were away for a 4 month trip and this happened after 6 weeks so they wouldn't repatriate us. In future I'd make sure I'd change our return ticket so we could come home and let our local garage sort out any problems.

Denise

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Some years ago we became friendly with an older couple who had lived all over the world before settling in France some 7 years previously. Mme spoke very little French and was paranoid that her husband would die or become seriously ill here in France effectively leaving her stranded. Much against his will hubby agreed to sell up and return to England. Within a year he suffered a heart attack, dead before he hit the pavement. (Suggest that you don't allow your wife to read this unless you want to hear "I told you so".)

Your time on Earth is finite and you will be a long time dead. But I cannot advise you on how to change your wife (or do I mean exchange?). I have some sympathy for your wife's fears but it is your life too. Do not put yourself in a position of forever spouting the words "if only".

My wife does not speak French, will not drive our MH but we spend 3
winter months in Portugal and 2 holidays of 5 weeks elsewhere in France or Belgium. Always look on the bright side.

And disaster can happen on a 2 week holiday too.

p.s. in case you decide to go against your wife's views remember that there are approx 3.5 billion women on Earth so finding a replacement might be possible.

p.p.s. there are hospitals in most countries in mainland Europe though none are run by the British NHS afaik anyway
 
We’ve been travelling to the counties you are planning on a regular basis for the last seven years my wife doesn’t drive, although we have not encountered a problem she would not be to worried as you can get by with a minimum of the local lingo, and our insurance allows for a driver to get her back to UK if required.
You will meet loads of helpful folk on your travels who would give a hand if st7ck I’m sure. Get over there and enjoy it and don’t over think it life’s to short.
 
Look my wife is older than me,we are both 70.I am a biker she rides pillion.
She has had cancer, I have a ticker misfire, TT marshal,lifetime biker,live in Portugal,basic grasp of language.
Just do it,what is to be,most Bomberios in Portugal. Speak English,don’t worry,just enjoy yourself.
 
I'm the only driver and we regularly overwinter in Morocco or Spain. I'm not worried as my wife seems to know more about driving, especially when I'm doing something wrong and has detailed knowledge of all the European and UK laws, bylaws, road signs, good and bad driving habits and yet admits she has never read a highway code. She also has a shed load of medical knowledge and is an expert at diagnosing what is wrong with people, regardless of what the so called experts say and yet has never even attended a basic first aid course. Am I worried, am I f***. If ever I get into trouble , she will sort it out, for sure.
 
Lots of sound advice from people who have experienced extended trips but consider this, you are unlikely to ever again be fitter, stronger than you are now. If you keep putting your dreams on the shelf, a time may come when you are no longer able to make longer journeys.
This year we spent the best 5 months touring Spain, Portugal and France. It was wonderful to take our time and explore as we wished but next year I will be 80 and insurance becomes a problem. Perhaps the aches and pains we all get may get too restricting to drive long distances.
People are people wherever you are, there are kindly and ignorant people in all countries. To date we have not (sadly) mastered any languages but have never ever been stumped by this. After shouting a bit (to make them understand) we have found the few none English speaking people understand the same gestures we use at home. Apart from which, if I am buying something.... I want to buy and they want to sell.
 
In any problematic situation understanding is key and for that you need some basic language skills. In most hospitals and Cabinet Médical someone will speak a degree of English but don't count on it. Being able to converse will help a lot and make you feel a lot more comfortable with any situation you may encounter.

We always carry out medical insurance cards as it's the first thing that's asked for in any European hospital or doctors, that and an emergency medivac card per person (we use Rega) cheap as chips and they'll cover almost anything (prior to that we had a £3k "taxi" off the mountain for one of the children).

My learning is that you can't be over insured for this sort of thing.
 
I would suggest that you get your breakdown & medical insurance from the same company, as a package. We use CMHC’s Red Pennant. One number to call for any emergency, helpful staff at the other end of phone who handle things for you and keep you updated on what’s happening and check back to make sure things are sorted. We do seem to have used them on most of our trips, not for anything really serious (exhaust pulled off, fuel leak and most recently a forced and unlockable diesel filler cap) and the response has been such that in any really serious situation I would feel confident in their help.
 
Last year I had a (very minor) stroke while we were in Portugal - my wife had to drive back, which she got stressed about but managed brilliantly. (And got the fuel consumption down!). She doesn’t normally drive, but does occasionally. (The doctors in Portugal were happy with me driving, but DVLA regulations say you can’t drive for at least a month after a stroke.)
When you say your wife doesn’t drive, is it that she can’t, or that she doesn’t normally? If the latter, and she is on your insurance as a driver, the insurance company may insist she drives back if you’re unfit to do so. We know of some couples who take the wife off the insurance specifically so as to avoid this.
 
It’s Western Europe, not the third world!
If you tried to anticipate or worry about every eventuality you’d never go anywhere?
Bridges are to be crossed when you come to them, just go enjoy ?

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Just wondering - if another member of the Funster family was in a position whereby they needed to get their van driven back to the UK from abroad and they put out a S.O.S. in this forum for someone to fly over and drive their van back (added to insurance and all expenses paid) would anyone on here feel inclined to volunteer?
 
Last year in Norway we had a few medical problems. At one point my husband couldn’t see and I couldn’t walk! :oops: We had hospital visits on both occasions.

I twisted my ankle badly when getting out of the way of a herd of cows and he got an extremely bad eye infection and had dressings on them for a couple of days. I drove to a remote wilding spot and we just stayed there for a few days licking our wounds.

As Brewerydave said, it’s Western Europe... don’t worry too much :)
 
The Dudess said:
Just wondering - if another member of the Funster family was in a position whereby they needed to get their van driven back to the UK from abroad and they put out a S.O.S. in this forum for someone to fly over and drive their van back (added to insurance and all expenses paid) would anyone on here feel inclined to volunteer?
Click to expand...
Well I would. And I suspect many others too.
 
One of the biggest things we encounter with couples who travel is the sharing of duties.

We spend a lot of time away with different groups of friends or couples.

Apart from one very confident Single lady who does everything for herself and will help anyone, most of the females in our couples / groups are always drawing the line at what they are willing or prepared to do.

I have sat and listened to on of our Friends wife complaining how useless her husband is at doing anything. He gets the blame for getting everything wrong (according to her) because he does almost everything.

Whilst Mrs. TM refuses to drive this motorhome, she did drive two of the other three. The deal was when I bought it was that I drove it and never demanded she did.

Deal was done. I never complain.

But, she mucks in with everything else. Including emptying the cassette toilet.

Have you ever sat on a campsite and watched. As a driver comes along, reverses the caravan into a tight sport, whilst the passenger(s) sit tight in the car.

Driver gets out, unhooks, sets up, does the whole outfitting whilst the others watch.

So, if you are going to travel in a box, long term and you are not already accustomed to roles. Do this.

Agree who is going to do what tasks. Write a task list if you need to .

Most of us will not need to do this. But I suggest a few should.

Enjoy. Life can be very short.
 
If your wife doesn’t like driving and doesn’t usually drive don’t put her on your insurance policy as your insurance eil repatriate your van and you and wife if you can’t drive but not if she is on the policy

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TeeMyob Totally agree. We now know exactly what each of our duties are and carry them out without having to say anything to each other - it's like we're on automatic pilot now. In the early days we had a few spats because neither knew what the other was planning to do and we either tried to duplicate the task or did things in the wrong order. We didn't make a list or have an agreement, it just sort of evolved.
 
When we started touring for longer periods my wife was also a little nervous about anything happening to me - like the OP I'm happy to take life as it comes and sort it out as I go along. But over the years she has come to the conclusion that there is really nothing radically different from the UK and she now feels she could cope if a situation arose.

She is on the insurance for the van but hasn't driven it for a while, a situation I must address on our next trip - I'm not getting any younger!

On our first crossing to Morocco she was as nervous as anything but within a couple of hours she admitted that there was nothing really to worry too much about.

My advice is to acknowledge her fears but don't put any pressure on and carry on as you are - I'm confident she'll be okay, especially if you can make an effort to seek out fellow Brits. Mine doesn't half enjoy a chinwag when the occasion arises!
 
The Dudess said:
Just wondering - if another member of the Funster family was in a position whereby they needed to get their van driven back to the UK from abroad and they put out a S.O.S. in this forum for someone to fly over and drive their van back (added to insurance and all expenses paid) would anyone on here feel inclined to volunteer?
Click to expand...

This was covered a couple of years ago and there was a move to try and set up a system. However it was fraught with problems and petered out.

The final thought was, as you suggest, put out a call for help on the forum and anyone willing to help to contact by PM.

I would be more than happy to help if I could.
 

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