996 on the Grossglockner pass

Had a very nice time in Austria last week, weather was stunning as was the scenery. Good trip there and back other than a lot of traffic on the autobahns. Car was great. Took a fair bit of preperation with all the rules for travelling - more so for coming home than going. But thankfully no dramas.

Great views in the clear mountain air

Thanks for the post, great pictures, I just wondered what preparation ie. tests etc. were required for the journey as i have a carryover Eurotunnel crossing that i would like to use and sounds like you went through a few countries. Thought it may be of interest to other members as well on this forum.

Yes no problem, here goes. Are you sitting comfortably - - - - We went to Austria - for including travelling - 1 week. For us we followed this process. You must remember that whilst the UK may allow us to travel it does not mean the country we go to wants us, so check all the countrys you want to visit specific entry and exit rules on line. For us travelling this route France - Germany - Austria and back meant - Be double jabbed. Get some FFP2 face masks (These are good) and read the Germany 3G rules Have the NHS (Not just the covid app) app on your phone showing vaccinaton status and get the paper certificate from the NHS by post proving your double jabbed We travelled by ferry to France - monitor the Ferry / Tunnel web site and upload any API's (Advanced Passanger Info) etc they ask for (The tunnel has an APP also) You each need a declaration with you for France Depending where you are going expect to have paperwork - on line forms for those countrys if you are not just passing through. It's better to fill them in than not (So Germany had an online form) Austria had an online form -but was very basic as we were double jabbed and it was a green country for us and them The hotels will likely ask to see your covid documents as well as passports Restaurants will want to see your Covid QR code on your phone (NHS App) for all people in the party We came home to the UK via the tunnel and needed to upload API again as well as our test - booked and taken in Austria 2 days before. Be carefull where you book this, look on line as the red cross did our tests 'free of charge' and results within 15 minutes some places charged for the service. Which ever you have access to you need to book an appointment - likely before you leave the UK. You have to upload all this to the Euro Tunnel booking page no sooner than 72 hrs before departure which means unless you take a lap top you have to know how to save and attach files etc on your mobile or tablet, worth practicing before hand and setting up a folder for covid stuff as you will likely be doing this after a long day in a hotel room somewhere. Once the uploads are complete travel home is fairly normal and was very quiet at the terminal. But the tunnel train had no air con on, no toilets and you had to stay in your car. I know its not a long journey but be aware it's warm, 2qwyou cannot stretch your legs or have a wee for about an hour, so do so landside. Also worth noting that some hotels are still closed or are offering a restricted service. Some service stations are closed especially in France so keep the tank topped up. Finally there are very few UK plated travellers on the road and the NPR cameras are having a field day - we were pulled by German customs (The Zoll) for document and vehicle checks on the autobahn - have all the papers, driving licences, insurance passports and V5 to hand. Have all the kit for the car including yellow hi viz. In France they require a breathtester to be carried they are £3 some sites say you do not need them but I even saw the French buy them so I suggest you do. Have your lights on (or DLR's) and fit beam adjusters if your car needs them. All of this assumes at no point have you tested positive. (I will leave that part up to you) Once home - You need a 2 day test (Even If you're double jabbed) when back in the UK and this needs booking before you go and the reference number added to your crossing bookings. You have to pay for this and its about £65 each ( Remember the Red cross in Austria was free and took 15 minutes to have the results ) we did ours in a shopping centre in Reading & the results took over 48hrs you have no requirement to quarentine according to the .Gov web site during this time but we took a home Antigen test to make sure whilst we waited and kept distant from crowds / shopping etc and used masks and hand gel - you may want to consider home shopping or takeaways for the 48hrs (You can of course pay more for quicker tests) And that's it, as my neighbour said "was it all worth it" "Yes" was my reply Any questions happy to take them. Regards Ian

Hi Ian looks like you had a great trip, nice photos and thanks for giving your feedback. Enjoy

Thanks for the info Ian, a good reference guide.

Ditto on the above, looks like a great trip and (seemingly) worth the hassle. Did it add much complication once you were away or was it more a case of getting everything lined up before you went?

HI Bit of both - You need to know whats needed before you go and book things like you return tests both the ones three days before you return and the ones 48hrs after your return as you need the reference for these on your API's for the channel crossing. Otherwise just do a list of what you need along the journey by country there and back. Use all the web sites you can to gather the requirements (.Gov, RAC, Ferry, Tunnel + all the Country gov sites your visiting) Ian

What a palava, puts one off from travelling abroad

Well Baron, you need to do what you need to do I guess and the rules have all changed since the trip more than once. It's my view that you cannot let a bit of adminstration get in the way for a trip over seas, I feel it would be a great shame especially as you never know how long you have in life to visit these places. I appreciate your statement may be aimed at the chance to travel the UK in place of such bureaucratically demanding destinations but your a long time dead and we want to see it all. Best wishes Ian