Travelling into Europe for the first time via car

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Soldato
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Hi all,

I'll be attending this year's Formula 1 GP at Spa in Belgium and am wondering what things I'll need to make sure I do / have before going (with regards to things like travel / car insurance etc. + anything else I may have to get sorted.

We'll be doing the car / ferry thing so it will be my first time driving abroad and on the "wrong" side of the road .... are there any things I should be aware of like tolls etc.

The things I have got sorted are tickets for the GP, passports, ferry and accommodation.

Which other essential things should I be looking into ?

Any advice warmly welcome!
 
Moses said:
High visibility jackets/warning triangle thing/etc.

And you should post this in motors.
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Didn't think the post was explicitly to do with cars ? But fair enough, if a don deems it appropriate...
 
Probably best in motors mate.

But...
Hi-vis for all passengers
Spare bulbs
copies of documents
beam converters for your headlights
A warning triangle
european recovery

Despite what everyone says, drivers on the continent tend to be 'better' than the ones here as they have lane diciplin i.e only move over to a left hand lane to overtake then move back in etc.

The roads will be rather empty compared to here and yes expect to pay tolls. I paid around 40 euros in tolls on my Le mans trip.


Im sure others will fill you in.
 
MeEsH BaKkA said:
Probably best in motors mate.

But...
Hi-vis for all passengers
Spare bulbs
copies of documents
beam converters for your headlights
A warning triangle
european recovery

Despite what everyone says, drivers on the continent tend to be 'better' than the ones here as they have lane diciplin i.e only move over to a left hand lane to overtake then move back in etc.

The roads will be rather empty compared to here and yes expect to pay tolls. I paid around 40 euros in tolls on my Le mans trip.


Im sure others will fill you in.
Click to expand...

On the European recovery - any companies worth looking into for that?
 
I did Spa a couple of years ago. Driving was no problem really, just watch out for priorite a droit (give way to the right) in the towns because people will pull out in front of you. The diamond shaped signs, black border with an orange centre show you where it doesn't apply IIRC.

Watch for potholes, even on the motorways. The roads on the whole are OK, but there were some big holes on the motorways which you don't really see in the UK. Just followed the route my TomTom Go 730 told me to take.

I went Zebrugge - Spa - Bruges - Calais and never paid any road tolls.

Had a great time though, and would do it again. Just watch out for cold snaps if you're camping - following a nice warm Saturday we awoke on the Sunday morning to a frost! Fortunately I'd taken my 4 season sleeping bag so didn't really notice, but other people were freezing!
 
In a fortnight we are driving to Holland for a week and having a second week in France . For the last 5 years we've had driving holidays in France.We travel to Ashford Travelodge the day before - a long 4 hour drive for us. Franky and Bennys for a bite to eat and an early night.The next day it's only a 20 minute drive to Dover.

The worst bit for us is the drive down to Dover - miles and miles and miles of cones/roadworks/50mph limits - then once you hit Europe you'll notice how superior and fast flowing the roads are. The 1st time we drove off the Ferry at Calais and hit our first roundabout was a bit strange but my Sat Nav kept me right - literally. Toll roads are not expensive only a couple of euros.
SPEED CAMERAS - over here you get warning signs about speed cameras and they are bright yellow so you know when to slow down in time. In France they are cunningly hidden in verges and are only a few feet tall so you can't see them. Again my Sat Nav helped me out with this one ;)

Things you'll need - Car Insurance Green Card , Spare Bulbs , Red Warning Triangle , High Viz , Beam Converters. We also bought some cheap travel insurance from 'insurance and go' (£13 for the fortnight)
 
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I lived in Belgium for a couple of years.
High-Vis vests are a legal requirement, you will find a lot of speed cameras around so watch for those, and the roads are not great quality, pot holes etc. As far as I remember there are no toll roads in Belgium, or coming from the ferry in France or Holland either (which are you using? Hoek van Holland or Calais?) Only on the French autoroute/payage.
if you are not travelling at peak times the roads are indeed quiet and the drivers civilised!
For recovery, if you are with AA/RAC they usually have a partnership deal with the local equivalent. Just make sure you have international cover.

p.s. plan for rain ;)
 
I think the above covers it, make sure your phone works abroad, no point having recovery if you can't phone them, make sure your recovery has onward hire car, you don't want to break down day 1 and find you'll only get towed home. Make sure your recovery have a euro number and assistance and don't just ask you to call a local company and they will pay the bill when you get back.

If your going to the F1 I would guess the traffic will be a nightmare make sure your car doesn't overheat also see if you can find out what one ways they will be running and what roads they will be closing, your sat nav won't account for this.

The most important thing is to have a good time and enjoy the experience :)
 
...forgot to say when your abroad TURN YOUR INTERNET OFF ON YOUR PHONE!

My HTC Desire and a 2 week holiday in France last year cost me just under £300 :mad:
 
Yeah, first bit of advice is to meet all the EU road requirements like hi vis etc as already mentioned.

I've driven to Spa twice and will be again this year. We went from Calais and its pretty much motorway all the way, no tolls. Boring as hell, tbh.
 
maccapacca said:
I think the above covers it, make sure your phone works abroad, no point having recovery if you can't phone them, make sure your recovery has onward hire car, you don't want to break down day 1 and find you'll only get towed home. Make sure your recovery have a euro number and assistance and don't just ask you to call a local company and they will pay the bill when you get back.

If your going to the F1 I would guess the traffic will be a nightmare make sure your car doesn't overheat also see if you can find out what one ways they will be running and what roads they will be closing, your sat nav won't account for this.

The most important thing is to have a good time and enjoy the experience :)
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Thanks, I'm with O2 (contract) any idea what their coverage is like in Belgium?

As for the F1 we're staying in a small village called Commanster, about 30 mins south of the race circuit.

albert said:
...forgot to say when your abroad TURN YOUR INTERNET OFF ON YOUR PHONE!

My HTC Desire and a 2 week holiday in France last year cost me just under £300 :mad:
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Thanks, I'll remember that one!

The_Dark_Side said:
Make sure you keep the hi-vis vest(s) in the cabin, not the boot.
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I'll keep them on the backseat I guess - where can I buy these hi-vis jackets from on the cheap?
 
Ezah said:
I lived in Belgium for a couple of years.
High-Vis vests are a legal requirement, you will find a lot of speed cameras around so watch for those, and the roads are not great quality, pot holes etc. As far as I remember there are no toll roads in Belgium, or coming from the ferry in France or Holland either (which are you using? Hoek van Holland or Calais?) Only on the French autoroute/payage.
if you are not travelling at peak times the roads are indeed quiet and the drivers civilised!
For recovery, if you are with AA/RAC they usually have a partnership deal with the local equivalent. Just make sure you have international cover.

p.s. plan for rain ;)
Click to expand...

Thanks,

We have booked a hotel a few minutes from the Ferry terminal at Dover.

Then we're Dover - Calais, and driving from Calais up towards Brugge then on the E40 to Spa.

Are the roads really that bad? What sort of limit do you stick to when say, driving on along the E40?
 
Just remember if the locals are pretending not to understand English, just keep speaking louder and slower and eventually they'll 'comprendez'. :)
 
Driving to spa will be no problem at all with a European sat nav. Aside from being on the wrong side, it's much the same as the uk.

Only thing I found awkward was Belgian fuel stations. They have an automated card pay station (a bit like shells pay at the pump) however none of my debit or credit cards would work with them. Some at pay at the pump only.

Oh, and and as for tolls - that's France. I didn't hit a single toll road in Belgium, luxembourg and Germany.
 
You need to be smart in France.

Get off the toll roads. Cost me 48 EUR through Dunkirque through Reims and onto Saarbruken in Germany.

Total and utter rip off.

AVOID ZE TOLLZ
 
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