Ok, where do we stand now France wise.

[chaser]

Can anyone tell us just where we stand in going to France, covid and Brexit wise in real terms from January, can we go now, if not when will it be allowed, ? What will we have to do other than we already have, is the tunnel running, if not when is it due to start again.
All sorts of questions like that, what are others planning?
We are looking at going in march, any thoughts on that.
Just basic answers of what you think, no links to government sites and such that we have in plenty.

 

[TDub49]

Can anyone tell us just where we stand in going to France, covid and Brexit wise in real terms from January, can we go now, if not when will it be allowed, ? What will we have to do other than we already have, is the tunnel running, if not when is it due to start again.
All sorts of questions like that, what are others planning?
We are looking at going in march, any thoughts on that.
Just basic answers of what you think, no links to government sites and such that we have in plenty.

My understanding is that you can't go now - at least not until 2nd December and then it will depend on what comes next precaution wise. That's the UK govt position - no non essential travel abroad at the moment except to countries in the "travel corridor" and France certainly isn't.

In the new year, who knows. All kinds of things (may) kick in. We have a return ferry booked for after Easter (had to come home via Le Shuttle last year owing to quarantine kicking in and us having to leave France tout de suite so we rescheduled the return ferry) and are planning to go out in the new year once we know what the rules will be and where the virus is going. One factor will be "The Vaccine" and what plans the Govt has for rolling that out.

All in all, clear as mud really .

 

[mikebeaches]

My understanding is that you can't go now - at least not until 2nd December and then it will depend on what comes next precaution wise. That's the UK govt position - no non essential travel abroad at the moment except to countries in the "travel corridor" and France certainly isn't.

In the new year, who knows. All kinds of things (may) kick in. We have a return ferry booked for after Easter (had to come home via Le Shuttle last year owing to quarantine kicking in and us having to leave France tout de suite so we rescheduled the return ferry) and are planning to go out in the new year once we know what the rules will be and where the virus is going. One factor will be "The Vaccine" and what plans the Govt has for rolling that out.

All in all, clear as mud really .

Exactly what he said!

Not allowed at the moment - £200 fixed penalties being issued at the tunnel for attempted non essential travel during lockdown.

And who knows what the future holds, but I'd be surprised if it wasn't possible to go sometime next year?

 

[Garfields]

Why are you bothering asking the questions?
Don't know what changes could happen next week let alone January
Nothing wrong with planning to go if things are open but be prepared for them not to be

 

[Pausim]

Still about 22 miles from Kent.

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[chaser]

Why are you bothering asking the questions?
Don't know what changes could happen next week let alone January
Nothing wrong with planning to go if things are open but be prepared for them not to be

Just a discussion mate, of what folks think will happen, we have plenty threads of various rules and regulations, but what is the gut feeling.
A lot went last year, including us for a week even though others wouldn't touch it, is it going to be the same again?

 

[Mr porky]

We are waiting with baited breath to get abroad ASAP, however as I understand it Spain are not allowing movement between regions and in France it’s the same. It’s a wait and see if they open up a little when we do in early December.

 

[Eggs]

The pessimist in me says we won't be going far before the end of March, I base this on the government extending the furlough until then.

 

[spitfire]

Can anyone tell us just where we stand in going to France, covid and Brexit wise in real terms from January, can we go now, if not when will it be allowed, ? What will we have to do other than we already have, is the tunnel running, if not when is it due to start again.
All sorts of questions like that, what are others planning?
We are looking at going in march, any thoughts on that.
Just basic answers of what you think, no links to government sites and such that we have in plenty.

Can just tell you what we have been told so far . The attestation for travel will continue after 1 December so moving around and the 1hr 1km exercise will continue as well as specific reasons for travelling . Cafes , bars and restaurants to stay closed till January 15th .
Macron making a broadcast Tuesday 20.00 French time . But not expecting anything too exciting !

 

[WillH]

Think it's going to be a while, my son lives in Paris and says its wait and see. I'm certainly not going to see him for Christmas and he's told me not to book anything for Easter.

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[Garfields]

Just a discussion mate, of what folks think will happen, we have plenty threads of various rules and regulations, but what is the gut feeling.
A lot went last year, including us for a week even though others wouldn't touch it, is it going to be the same again?

Sorry thought you were after more than gut feelings

We have a ferry booking for Autumn but nothing prior at the moment

 

[DBK]

We can only speculate as there are too many unknowns. I've got a booking to Roscoff in late March but it's more of a place holder and I will not be surprised if I have to change it. Perhaps I will be able to bring it forward?

If there is a sniff of a vaccine I won't risk missing my slot by going away and will countries impose entry restrictions if you haven't been vaccinated?

Who knows? I'll just be happy to get through to next year fit and healthy.

 

[Fulham Dave]

We too are watching things closely.

We are HOPING that France, Spain and /or Portugal will lift travel restrictions between Christmas and New Year. If they do, then after spending Christmas day with my daughter in Kent we will head for the tunnel on 26th and a swift journey to Costa Del Sol or the Algarve by New Years eve.

We are not holding our breath, but live in hopeful anticipation that a mixture of a festive relaxation of the rules and the commencement of vaccination process here and in Europe will see this happen

 

[Clarky]

We can’t wait to get back to France but we all have to be patient and wait.
If a vaccine is distributed widely in the next couple of months, particularly to us older vulnerable folk, and if (and it’s a very big if) people are sensible over the next few weeks, I hope to be heading south sometime in March.
We just have to wait and see how things develop. As Prof. JVT said in a recent briefing “We are on the glide path but there might be the odd cross wind”
Looking forward to a smooth landing.

Richard.

 

[John Barrett]

We can’t wait to get back to France but we all have to be patient and wait.
If a vaccine is distributed widely in the next couple of months, particularly to us older vulnerable folk, and if (and it’s a very big if) people are sensible over the next few weeks, I hope to be heading south sometime in March.
We just have to wait and see how things develop. As Prof. JVT said in a recent briefing “We are on the glide path but there might be the odd cross wind”
Looking forward to a smooth landing.

Richard.

I hope my undercarriage will stand the weight...

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[Emmit]

We've moved our Winter booking with BF to Summer 2021 but, because of their intransigence in not giving us a Voucher, (They insisted that we rebook, admittedly without penalty) that only sorted out half of the fares already paid.

We then booked another journey for next Autumn. It wasn't for WHEN we wanted to travel but with BF only having a schedule until the end of October we were in a cleft stick.

I can see the early Summer trip being postponed and then it will be a case of moving everything forward. The problem with that is that BF ordinarily don't announce their Winter schedule until the preceding July. That of course is after our rearranged Summer trip.

For Information. We were booked on the 'Economy' Fare, the one where you have to pay everything up front and then pay to rearrange should the journey be moved. Although BF have removed the Admin Charge for the time being, they wouldn't allow us to rearrange the ongoing arrangements to a higher tier of fare. Even though we were using our money to do so. I could have understood their stance if I had only paid for part of the fare but we had paid everything up front.
It seemed that somewhere down the line, they will get their 1lb of flesh if and when we have to rearrange once more.

Also, whilst we had paid in full for a journey there and back to Spain, they, (BF) treated our bookings made as two separate transactions. Thus, when it came to rearranging the tickets, we had to pay extra for the Summer journey which could have been taken from our Winter trip fare without losing money.
Penny and the Bun springs to mind.

If it wasn't for the fact that I/We live in Cornwall I wouldn't use BF but with having a Club Voyage membership it ties us to the Company.

 

[gus-lopez]

however as I understand it Spain are not allowing movement between regions and in France it’s the same

It isn't as simple as that.
Any region that does not have border restrictions can travel to any other region that does not have border restrictions as long as they have a justifiable reason to travel & accomodation there. When doing this you can travel through regions with closed borders without problems.
This is why most coastal regions have closed borders because if they left them open the Madrileños would come pouring in to there 2nd & 3 rd homes increasing the infection risk.
Holiday makers arriving by sea or land can travel across to booked accommodation without any problems.

We are HOPING that France, Spain and /or Portugal will lift travel restrictions between Christmas and New Year.

There aren't any here for travel with booked accommodation. Through France you need the attestations.
Nothing is shut here & you can travel across to booked accommodation. Once you arrive though, if it is the same as now, which it won't be as this is only in force to stop the locals from travelling everywhere on 6th,7th,8th December, you would then be subjet to the local regulations which means not leaving the local areas. Except when you want to return home when it then becomes legal & OK. All nonsense isn't it ?

*** Addotionally if travelling in to Andalucia the regional government offer tourists arriving full covid health cover ****

 

[chaser]

We can’t wait to get back to France but we all have to be patient and wait.
If a vaccine is distributed widely in the next couple of months, particularly to us older vulnerable folk, and if (and it’s a very big if) people are sensible over the next few weeks, I hope to be heading south sometime in March.
We just have to wait and see how things develop. As Prof. JVT said in a recent briefing “We are on the glide path but there might be the odd cross wind”
Looking forward to a smooth landing.

Richard.

Us too, last year was going to be our last big tour, would more than likely stuck to small excursions to fill up with wine now, but seeing as we didn't go and as long as the old legs stand it hopefully we shall do the last big one next year, and feeling that we will have to try it whatever happens as the years are running out, and we might be stuck here for ever.

 

[DBK]

We've moved our Winter booking with BF to Summer 2021 but, because of their intransigence in not giving us a Voucher, (They insisted that we rebook, admittedly without penalty) that only sorted out half of the fares already paid.

We then booked another journey for next Autumn. It wasn't for WHEN we wanted to travel but with BF only having a schedule until the end of October we were in a cleft stick.

I can see the early Summer trip being postponed and then it will be a case of moving everything forward. The problem with that is that BF ordinarily don't announce their Winter schedule until the preceding July. That of course is after our rearranged Summer trip.

For Information. We were booked on the 'Economy' Fare, the one where you have to pay everything up front and then pay to rearrange should the journey be moved. Although BF have removed the Admin Charge for the time being, they wouldn't allow us to rearrange the ongoing arrangements to a higher tier of fare. Even though we were using our money to do so. I could have understood their stance if I had only paid for part of the fare but we had paid everything up front.
It seemed that somewhere down the line, they will get their 1lb of flesh if and when we have to rearrange once more.

Also, whilst we had paid in full for a journey there and back to Spain, they, (BF) treated our bookings made as two separate transactions. Thus, when it came to rearranging the tickets, we had to pay extra for the Summer journey which could have been taken from our Winter trip fare without losing money.
Penny and the Bun springs to mind.

If it wasn't for the fact that I/We live in Cornwall I wouldn't use BF but with having a Club Voyage membership it ties us to the Company.

I booked at the higher rate purely for the flexibility to move the booking at no cost. I can't rember the amount but I don't think it was that much more expensive. Plymouth/Roscoff isn't the cheapest of crossings but it is convenient for us an no doubt others down here.

 

[chaser]

Exactly what he said!

Not allowed at the moment - £200 fixed penalties being issued at the tunnel for attempted non essential travel during lockdown.

And who knows what the future holds, but I'd be surprised if it wasn't possible to go sometime next year?

I have read about these fines at the tunnel, but were these people told they couldn't go when they booked the trip? Or are they just pulling in hoping to pay and go.

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[gpat]

We are booked Plymouth to Santander at the end of April. I am now thinking it wont happen.

 

[gpat]

We are booked Plymouth to Santander at the end of April. I am now thinking it wont happen.

Already

 

[Emmit]

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I booked at the higher rate purely for the flexibility to move the booking at no cost. I can't rember the amount but I don't think it was that much more expensive. Plymouth/Roscoff isn't the cheapest of crossings but it is convenient for us an no doubt others down here.

Totally understand your comment. I'm NOT complaining about the fact that the Economy fare doesn't allow amendment without charge but;
In this case, we had booked a Return Fare. A 'There and Back' to Spain. BF had in their coffers over £700 of our money.
We wished? (had no choice) to cancel the trip and rearrange. BF wouldn't allow us to use our money to rearrange to a higher tier ie Standard or Flexi. I could have understood their stance if I'd only paid a deposit but that wasn't the case. I had paid them the whole amount. I really am struggling to understand why. I have to wonder, if I had booked a flexi fare initially, would I have been allowed to rearrange to an Economy fare? to extract better value. We will never know.

 

[mikebeaches]

I have read about these fines at the tunnel, but were these people told they couldn't go when they booked the trip? Or are they just pulling in hoping to pay and go.

As I understand, some had tried to board ferries at Dover and were turned away by the police. They then tried the tunnel and were nabbed and fined.

So no pre-booking at the tunnel.

And in any case, as the tunnel remains open for commerce and essential travel, I shouldn't have thought it is for them to determine who can book and who can't.

As it happens, I've got 2 tickets for this coming Friday to fly Ryanair to Tenerife. Booked before the lockdown was announced, but now illegal to travel on holiday. Plane still flying, so NO refund.

In the grand scheme of things, not too worried - it was a speculative purchase @ £9.95 each - total loss £19.90.

Be interesting to know who does take the flight...

 

[chaser]

As I understand, some had tried to board ferries at Dover and were turned away by the police. They then tried the tunnel and were nabbed and fined.

So no pre-booking at the tunnel.

And in any case, as the tunnel remains open for commerce and essential travel, I shouldn't have thought it is for them to determine who can book and who can't.

As it happens, I've got 2 tickets for this coming Friday to fly Ryanair to Tenerife. Booked before the lockdown was announced, but now illegal to travel on holiday. Plane still flying, so NO refund.

In the grand scheme of things, not too worried - it was a speculative purchase @ £9.95 each - total loss £19.90.

Be interesting to know who does take the flight...

Is it illegal though? Somewhere else on here it says tourists can still go as long as they stay in one area.

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[chaser]

I have just gone through the booking for tunnel tomorrow, and it is very vague about whether you can go or not , more about traveling in France when you get there but they would have been more than happy to take my money.

 

[mikebeaches]

Currently - during the lockdown in England - my understanding is that it is illegal to stay overnight anywhere other than your main place of residence (unless on business or another acceptable reason such as caring).

The restriction obviously includes going on holiday!

 

[John Barrett]

It isn't as simple as that.
Any region that does not have border restrictions can travel to any other region that does not have border restrictions as long as they have a justifiable reason to travel & accomodation there. When doing this you can travel through regions with closed borders without problems.
This is why most coastal regions have closed borders because if they left them open the Madrileños would come pouring in to there 2nd & 3 rd homes increasing the infection risk.
Holiday makers arriving by sea or land can travel across to booked accommodation without any problems.


There aren't any here for travel with booked accommodation. Through France you need the attestations.
Nothing is shut here & you can travel across to booked accommodation. Once you arrive though, if it is the same as now, which it won't be as this is only in force to stop the locals from travelling everywhere on 6th,7th,8th December, you would then be subjet to the local regulations which means not leaving the local areas. Except when you want to return home when it then becomes legal & OK. All nonsense isn't it ?

*** Addotionally if travelling in to Andalucia the regional government offer tourists arriving full covid health cover ****

I was chatting recently to my cousin Linda who lives on Camposol 'B'. She was complaining about the Madrid second homers bringing Covid onto their virtually untouched estate. She said the Police put up road blocks but the buggers found a back way in!
We are not alone...
John

 

[mikebeaches]

I have just gone through the booking for tunnel tomorrow, and it is very vague about whether you can go or not , more about traveling in France when you get there but they would have been more than happy to take my money.

Of course, why wouldn't they?

 

[Sheddy]

Flights into Alicante today are apparently very busy, mad rush to get back to Spain before the new 72 hr Covid PCR test required for all arrivals including all children from the 23rd.
Tests in th UK are about £100-150 and must be taken within 72 hrs of arrival time in Spain.
The Spanish government is being lobbied hard by the hotel & hospitality industry to change to another easier and cheaper test, if they don't all flights will probably be virtually empty for the foreseeable future.
Cheers
Ed

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