solo abroad, advice

[Tigger on tour]

Hi all, new to this site but joined as it looks like a very helpful and friendly place. In 3 weeks i will be undertaking a solo journey through france, north spain then portugal and picked up lots of great advice from a thread in march 2021 re insurance, security, cameras/mirrors, gas and toll tags in france but just checking is there anything else i need to consider like dealing with tolls in spain and portugal or any other potential lone traveller advice? My MH is 7.4m low profile, thanks in anticipation

 

[Nanniemate]

Use common sense where you park, if you don't like the look of a place move on sleep in pj's so you can drive off if necessary and don't leave loads of stuff outside if 'wildcamping' but most importantly ENJOY YOURSELF

 

[DBK]

Hi all, new to this site but joined as it looks like a very helpful and friendly place. In 3 weeks i will be undertaking a solo journey through france, north spain then portugal and picked up lots of great advice from a thread in march 2021 re insurance, security, cameras/mirrors, gas and toll tags in france but just checking is there anything else i need to consider like dealing with tolls in spain and portugal or any other potential lone traveller advice? My MH is 7.4m low profile, thanks in anticipation

If you are on your own I would get a tag. It will make things much easier at toll booths.

There are routes available avoiding most tolls but I find the toll roads very convenient at times. It can be slow going in some parts of France for example if you decide to take a scenic route.

For the minimal cost a tag is strongly recommended. Have a search on here for discussion on which is best for you. Some new ones have recently appeared since I got ours.

 

[Speve]

consider like dealing with tolls in spain and portugal or any other potential lone traveller advice? My MH is 7.4m low profile, thanks in anticipation

Re tolls I would advice getting an Emovis toll tag that way you can drive through without having to struggle with toll booths etc you are then billed directly from your bank account monthly

 

[Jimbohorlicks]

Lots of good roads through France to Northern Spain and then to Portugal without having to use a Toll.. Just avoid them and enjoy the scenery.

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[Reallyretired]

Worth getting a tag if you are RHD as the gubbins you pay at will be on the wrong side. Try to avoid tolls unless you are in a great hurry, especially in France as the toll charges can be as much as your fuel costs. It costs more in fuel on the toll roads too, as most unaerodynamic motorhomes are thirstier at higher speeds, and the fuel costs on motorways are higher than the supermarkets that we usually use.

 

[RandallC]

TBH unless you're in a rush, why pay for toll roads?

Through France lots of scenic routes that actually run parallel to the toll roads, ok not quite as quick but more places to eat and drink and stop to look and enjoy.

As previously said as a single just be sensible as you would in the UK.

Whatever you decide, Enjoy, hope you have a really great time.

 

[Oldrat]

Great advice here- let me add:

Secret a spare van key somewhere.

Keep copies of your important docs on a USB/SD card.

 

[Reallyretired]

A good way is to scan or photograph important documents and then email them to yourself. That way they are on your phone, pc, tablet, laptop etc or indeed in extremis are available at an Internet cafe ( if they still exist) or on a new phone if you need to buy one

 

[Speve]

Secret a spare van key somewhere

Not really good advice

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[Richard n Ann]

We had a spare habitation key made with no plastic bit on it, then I stuck it underneath with grease, totally invisible now with muck stuck to it, we did need it once when I left the original key at home
I wouldn't do it with the ignition key though.

 

[Nanniemate]

Not really good advice

Don't loose your keys

 

[Oldrat]

Not really good advice

Why isn’t it?

It doesn’t have to be the chipped key, just something to get you in.

A flat plastic key can be very easily hidden.

 

[Tigger on tour]

Thanks for all the advice, checked the emovis site and they do a tag for spain/portugal as well as france, that said i will re look at the no tolls route as an option based on comments. Not thought of electronic back up docs so that was v helpfull. Re keys, i read some advice under articles i believe on this site, i do have key replacement insurance so that's a back up i guess. Other option is not to be a Billy no mates and find a friend lol.

 

[Speve]

Why isn’t it?

It doesn’t have to be the chipped key, just something to get you in.

A flat plastic key can be very easily hidden.

I say this as a retired Crime Reduction Officer in a previous life and certainly would advise against it?
I don’t think your insurance would be happy and probably not pay out if they discovered you had a key secreted on the van?

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[Oldrat]

I say this as a retired Crime Reduction Officer in a previous life and certainly would advise against it?
I don’t think your insurance would be happy and probably not pay out if they discovered you had a key secreted on the van?

With 47 years in crime prevention, I’ll agree to disagree.

If it’s discovered it’s not secret enough.

 

[Just smiffy]

If your in no rush then why bother with tolls, if you have a sat-nav set it on no tolls and you’ll see some beautiful places that you would pass around on toll roads, your also likely to find nicer places to park up for the night…

Learn the basic greetings where you are, for instance in France your first word should always be bonjour… it goes a long why they will know your English and will then talk to you in English as they will want to practice their English… same goes for Spain and Portugal but they will respect the hello in their language…

Just sit at a roadside/beach bar/cafe and smile, your soon get chatting to the locals

Just take pictures of your documents, if you have an iPhone then they’re saved in the cloud so even if you lose your phone they are recoverable..

Best thing for gas is gaslow or gasit your always find an lpg garage

Download all the apps : park4night searchforsites Campercontact and your always have somewhere to park for the night and to service…

But above all take your time and have fun…

 

[nicholsong]

If your in no rush then why bother with tolls, if you have a sat-nav set it on no tolls and you’ll see some beautiful places that you would pass around on toll roads, your also likely to find nicer places to park up for the night…

Learn the basic greetings where you are, for instance in France your first word should always be bonjour… it goes a long why they will know your English and will then talk to you in English as they will want to practice their English… same goes for Spain and Portugal but they will respect the hello in their language…

Just sit at a roadside/beach bar/cafe and smile, your soon get chatting to the locals

Just take pictures of your documents, if you have an iPhone then they’re saved in the cloud so even if you lose your phone they are recoverable..

Best thing for gas is gaslow or gasit your always find an lpg garage

Download all the apps : park4night searchforsites Campercontact and your always have somewhere to park for the night and to service…

But above all take your time and have fun…

All good advice there from Just smiffy

 

[Orion]

Thanks for all the advice, checked the emovis site and they do a tag for spain/portugal as well as france ….

Have a look at the Mango tags. They have a combined one for France, Spain, Portugal and Italy for which you are charged the minimal management fee for each region only when you use it, rather than monthly/per annum. They also have an offer on at the moment which includes F.O.C initial subscription, card delivery to the U.K. and 3 months management fee for travel in France.

 

[15edward]

How did you pay? Good offer but can’t pay with my cards

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[Orion]

How did you pay? Good offer but can’t pay with my cards

Mango?

Put some euros on my Revolut card/account and entered the IBAN details on my application. They took a €1 debit and I received the tag about a week later.

 

[h1ghway1]

I have a Mango and paid using my Caxton FX account.. I'm on the tunnel 4th October heading to Holland, Germany and then Spain/Portugal ...if all goes well

 

[Grimsbygranny]

Just ordered a mango for my first trip to France and Spain...

 

[Stealaway]

Just ordered a mango for my first trip to France and Spain...

What's the advantages of a mango card?
Do I need one?

 

[Orion]

What's the advantages of a mango card?
Do I need one?

See post #19 for details.

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[Brains]

Great advice here- let me add:

Secret a spare van key somewhere.

Keep copies of your important docs on a USB/SD card.

Hidden keys need to be well hidden.
The key should not be the ignition, but a key to a door or locker only.
Then have other keys hidden inside

I had a key made up especially, which is just the blade and a small bit on top so that you can turn it.
It only opens one lock,
The van has 15 external locks, 14 work on one key, the blade works on the other, but it could be 14 attempts to find the correct one. As soon as it's opened the alarm will go off and you have a few seconds to get to the hiding place where the other keys are and switch off the alarm.

As a professional car thief can have any van door opened inside 30 seconds, the hidden key is really only for me if I get locked out.

 

[Stealaway]

See post #19 for details.

Thanks for that but what do get extra over a standard credit card for the fees

 

[Orion]

Thanks for that but what do get extra over a standard credit card for the fees

Crossed lines. It’s not a credit card, it’s a toll tag for use on certain motorways/peage. Very good deal on a combined one for use in France/Spain/Portugal/Italy.

 

[Stealaway]

Crossed lines. It’s not a credit card, it’s a toll tag for use on certain motorways/peage. Very good deal on a combined one for use in France/Spain/Portugal/Italy.

Oh sorry.
I didn't think I had heard about them before. Probably because we never use pay motorways

 

[Kups]

Mango?

Put some euros on my Revolut card/account and entered the IBAN details on my application. They took a €1 debit and I received the tag about a week later.

Thanks for the advice. None of my credit cards worked neither did my Santander 123 current account.
It only took me a short time to set up a Revolut card and get the Mango Tag. Looks a very useful card to have when outside the UK. Good reviews too. I also use Wise https://wise.com/ for campsite payments.

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