Driving to Germany

deceit

Has anyone drove to Europe with the lockdown?
I'm finally heading home now, stuck in Ireland because of lockdown since February. Does anyone know if their are any considerations I should take into account other than requiring a travel statement that I'm going home when going from the UK to France?

deceit

For anyone looking to do similar, I've finished my drive last night. Outside of Ireland everything seems business as usual and the only place they cared where I was going was French border control on Dover. Once I showed my residency card for Germany they didn't care after that.
I think after Monday they wont even be asking for this and then their will be no issues at all.

josip

Did you get a ferry to Liverpool instead of Holyhead?

Atlantic Dawn

Did you do it in one drive once you hit mainland Europe or did you need to stop along the way in hotels etc?

deceit

josip wrote: »

Did you get a ferry to Liverpool instead of Holyhead?

I got the ferry from Dublin to Holyhead, then Dover to Dunkirk.

deceit

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Did you do it in one drive once you hit mainland Europe or did you need to stop along the way in hotels etc?

I did it in one drive with just petrol stops. Got the ferry in Dublin at 20.40 and was through Hamburg and home At around 21.00 local time so less than 24hours if you remove the 1hr lost for timezone changes from Dublin to Hamburg.

josip

deceit wrote: »

I got the ferry from Dublin to Holyhead, then Dover to Dunkirk.

I thought that Wales don't allow people to drive more than a few kms away from home?
Did you see any police checkpoints?

jester77

24 hours is not bad. If you don't mind me asking, what would be the rough cost with ferries and fuel for the trip?

I've been considering the exact same trip with the family from Hamburg to Ireland instead of flying every time.

josip

jester77 wrote: »

24 hours is not bad. If you don't mind me asking, what would be the rough cost with ferries and fuel for the trip?

I've been considering the exact same trip with the family from Hamburg to Ireland instead of flying every time.

We normally go Stena Landbridge, Dublin-Holyhead, Eurotunnel and then onto Europe.
It's around €500-€550 return for the Stena Landbridge.
Fares here:
https://www.stenaline.ie/europe-by-car/fares

UK driving is free as long as you avoid Birmingham Toll and Dartford.
French roads to the Belgian border are free, as are Belgium and Germany.
A full tank from Dublin will last us as far as Maastricht.
If we get the morning ferry from Dublin, we'd usually book a hotel 1-2 hours the other side of Calais, aiming to get there 23:00 - 00:00 before pushing on the next day.

jester77

josip wrote: »

We normally go Stena Landbridge, Dublin-Holyhead, Eurotunnel and then onto Europe.
It's around €500-€550 return for the Stena Landbridge.
Fares here:
https://www.stenaline.ie/europe-by-car/fares

UK driving is free as long as you avoid Birmingham Toll and Dartford.
French roads to the Belgian border are free, as are Belgium and Germany.
A full tank from Dublin will last us as far as Maastricht.
If we get the morning ferry from Dublin, we'd usually book a hotel 1-2 hours the other side of Calais, aiming to get there 23:00 - 00:00 before pushing on the next day.

Nice one, thanks for that. Great info

deceit

josip wrote: »

I thought that Wales don't allow people to drive more than a few kms away from home?
Did you see any police checkpoints?

I didn't see a single police checkpoint and when checking travel requirements you are allowed go through.

deceit

josip wrote: »

We normally go Stena Landbridge, Dublin-Holyhead, Eurotunnel and then onto Europe.
It's around €500-€550 return for the Stena Landbridge.
Fares here:
https://www.stenaline.ie/europe-by-car/fares

UK driving is free as long as you avoid Birmingham Toll and Dartford.
French roads to the Belgian border are free, as are Belgium and Germany.
A full tank from Dublin will last us as far as Maastricht.
If we get the morning ferry from Dublin, we'd usually book a hotel 1-2 hours the other side of Calais, aiming to get there 23:00 - 00:00 before pushing on the next day.

I was using Stena landbridge also and it was €201 one way but I was alone in the car. I got 6.9L per 100km for the trip I completed, I used two tanks of fuel but my car is a Golf R with mods so it would be thirstier than most. I did take it very easy though as I wanted to make as little stops as possible so cruise control was on 99% of the time bar one time where I tried for 300kmh once I knew I didn't have to stop again