Travel in Europe 2022

[landie50]

Hi
We are planning to travel through France, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Solvenia in July.
checking the driving and what to bring on RAC website. They mention don’t take fresh meat and dairy products. They also say you need some paperwork for fresh fruit.
is this the case?
We are not planning any city driving but should we buy a clean air certification for France, Germany
Any other tips?

Thanks

 

[witzend]

Hi
We are planning to travel through France, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Solvenia in July.
checking the driving and what to bring on RAC website. They mention don’t take fresh meat and dairy products. They also say you need some paperwork for fresh fruit.
is this the case?
We are not planning any city driving but should we buy a clean air certification for France, Germany

Its not just Germany & France that operate Clean Air Zones which extend outside city limits other countries you mention also have them France and Germany are best obtained from their own Government sites around 6€ each avoid the get it for You sites , For Switzerland maybe also Austria you'll need a pass to drive on their roads, Can't say about the dairy products and meat other than I've not heard of anyone having theirs's confiscated

Green-Zones – Apps on Google Play

Environmental zones, traffic restrictions, environmental badges in Europe

play.google.com

 

[jagmanx]

In Austria the pass (vignette) is only needed for motorways. So it can be avoided. It is not expensive so probably best to play safe.
The meat and milk rule only applies when entering the EU from UK so1 you might "wing it" as suggested.
The Swiss pass was 30 euros and cannot be avoided as
1 it is bought at the border
2 may major roads turn into motorways

As an aside yes Switzerland and campsites are costly but "wilding" is ok so a 50/50 approach is good.
Surprisingly we had to pay cash for campsites and tyre repair !
Take out a loan for cable cars or mountain railways

 

[GMJ]

In Austria its a vignette for 3500kg but a Go-Box for heavier vehicles. We travel down through Austria to Italy and do not get either as we find the B roads a nicer drive anyway. Switzerland did more than 1 option: a vignette for 3500kg vehicle and a 10 day pass for larger ones from memory. We got the 10 day jobbie when we last went.

Re Food - no meat or dairy but AFAIK no one is reporting being stopped and checked at the border. We are on our second trip at the mo and haven't been checked for food on either occasion. Do ya feel lucky?

The clean air certificates are relatively cheap so may be worth getting. You can apply whilst in the UK. Once on they are for the life of the vehicle (well my France and German ones are anyway). Just beware of the websites you order from as they should cost around 5€ each but some agent websites charge much more than that. You can apply using the official website easily enough.

 

[Nabsim]

In Austria the pass (vignette) is only needed for motorways. So it can be avoided. It is not expensive so probably best to play safe.
The meat and milk rule only applies when entering the EU from UK so1 you might "wing it" as suggested.
The Swiss pass was 30 euros and cannot be avoided as
1 it is bought at the border
2 may major roads turn into motorways

As an aside yes Switzerland and campsites are costly but "wilding" is ok so a 50/50 approach is good.
Surprisingly we had to pay cash for campsites and tyre repair !
Take out a loan for cable cars or mountain railways

May have been good I took the mountain train up the Jungfrau back in 1967 then

 

[TJBi]

<snip>

The clean air certificates are relatively cheap so may be worth getting. <snip> Once on they are for the life of the vehicle (well my France and German ones are anyway). <snip>

Life of the vehicle or life of the windscreen if shorter (if you obey the instructions and affix to the windscreen).

 

[groyne]

May have been good I took the mountain train up the Jungfrau back in 1967 then

We're still paying for our trip up, and that was 5 years ago.
if you're planning to do a few rail journeys in Switzerland, it may be worth looking at getting a Eurorail pass. (It'll even save you money on the Jungfrau).

 

[landie50]

Thanks very much.

 

[GMJ]

If you are after a Tag for use on the French motorways then drop me a PM and we can both get 4€ off a Bip&Go tag...

Your Liber-t electronic toll payment subscription | Bip&Go

Bip&Go electronic toll payment: your Liber-t pass delivered anywhere in France in 48 hrs when you subscribe online to our plans

www.bipandgo.com

We use ours whenever we have to on toll roads in France as sometimes it just doesn't make sense to avoid them, for example, we had one day this week which would have added 3 hours to the days driving had we avoided all the tolls.

 

[jagmanx]

May have been good I took the mountain train up the Jungfrau back in 1967 then

Yes, but you get a better view from the opposite side
The Shilthorn. Either 2 x cable car or cog railway then a flat railway then cable car.
Check the weather !!!

 

[alcam]

If you are after a Tag for use on the French motorways then drop me a PM and we can both get 4€ off a Bip&Go tag...

Your Liber-t electronic toll payment subscription | Bip&Go

Bip&Go electronic toll payment: your Liber-t pass delivered anywhere in France in 48 hrs when you subscribe online to our plans

www.bipandgo.com

We use ours whenever we have to on toll roads in France as sometimes it just doesn't make sense to avoid them, for example, we had one day this week which would have added 3 hours to the days driving had we avoided all the tolls.

Yes I used to be dogmatic about not using toll roads
They can often save time and money

 

[Colinc]

To answer your questions

1. Dont take fruit, veg, meat or dairy onto the eu. Visit a hypermarket when you arrive and stock up. Easy and part of the fun. But never been checked so far ……

2. If you arent going to cities then you probably dont need clean air passes. Check the maps for each county to be sure. They are cheap and easy to get if you do so well before you leave.

As regards other tips: get the Aires books for each county. Or use WEBSITE BLOCKED BY ADMIN app. Also French Passion (their version of Britstops)

It is a big subject so maybe a few specific questions would be best?

Good luck on your trip.

 

[Colinc]

Not sure why that app name blocked?

 

[witzend]

Camper Contact not the one I thought then.
But the POI,s available here ate good and several not mentioned else where

 

[REC]

Check your internet access, if you use it. Roaming charges can rack up if you are with one of the companies which charge now.
POI app is great.
Make sure satnav has Europe maps loaded...I updated our Garmin and lost the maps previously loaded. Did not find out till in France. Could have had Finland and not France! Maps were very useful in this situation
We weren't checked for food at border
Enjoy your trip.

 

[Colinc]

Camper Contact not the one I thought then.
But the POI,s available here ate good and several not mentioned else where

i suggested park for night - pretty handy in Europe.

 

[Wooie1958]

If you are after a Tag for use on the French motorways then drop me a PM and we can both get 4€ off a Bip&Go tag...

Your Liber-t electronic toll payment subscription | Bip&Go

Bip&Go electronic toll payment: your Liber-t pass delivered anywhere in France in 48 hrs when you subscribe online to our plans

www.bipandgo.com

We use ours whenever we have to on toll roads in France as sometimes it just doesn't make sense to avoid them, for example, we had one day this week which would have added 3 hours to the days driving had we avoided all the tolls.

Thanks for the link you sent us to get a tag

In all the years we've been going into Johnny Foreigner land the wife has taken her life in her hands leaning out if the window to pay the tolls

Not any more, she now has a life of leisure sat in the passenger seat with nothing to do except enjoy the scenary

 

[landie50]

Thanks everyone for the information and advice. We will get sorted on this asap

 

[barge1914]

In Austria the pass (vignette) is only needed for motorways. So it can be avoided. It is not expensive so probably best to play safe.
The meat and milk rule only applies when entering the EU from UK so1 you might "wing it" as suggested.
The Swiss pass was 30 euros and cannot be avoided as
1 it is bought at the border
2 may major roads turn into motorways

As an aside yes Switzerland and campsites are costly but "wilding" is ok so a 50/50 approach is good.
Surprisingly we had to pay cash for campsites and tyre repair !
Take out a loan for cable cars or mountain railways

Wilding is slightly ok in some cantons, others are very anti and police will move you on.

 

[barge1914]

Thanks for the link you sent us to get a tag

In all the years we've been going into Johnny Foreigner land the wife has taken her life in her hands leaning out if the window to pay the tolls

Not any more, she now has a life of leisure sat in the passenger seat with nothing to do except enjoy the scenary

Make sure you get tag online and sent to your home whilst still in uk. Once over the channel we found it is nigh impossible to pay for it even if you go to agent.