Road trips from Ireland to the UK and mainland Europe

cdn16

Thinking of a few road trips from Dublin to Scotland and mainland Europe (France, Spain) during this summer. As I’ve never done this before, I’m clueless as to how I should prepare! Looking for few helpful tips from the people who have done it themselves before…

Do I need special permission to drive my car in the UK/Europe?

Do I have to pay any road tax in those countries?

Will it be an issue driving on the other side of the road with my RHS-steering car?

TIA.

...Ghost...

Use "a better rout planner" to plan your charging. For non tesla car, you might need to register for a few suppliers, so look into that for each country. In France, you need to have a hi-viz vest in car for each occupant. You don't need road tax for France or Spain, but some countries require a toll pass which you need to buy online, or in the country at service stations. Slovenia and possibly Austria come to mind. The rules for driving in each country are easily found on Google.

markpb

Check your insurance documents. Most will cover you for some limited trips in the UK and continental Europe each year, generally 30 days at a time with a maximum number of days per year.

Some countries require you to get an international driving license which accompanies your actual driving license and translates it into other languages. I don’t think any European country requires it.

Some countries such as Switzerland require you to buy a permit to use their motorways. I think it’s called a vignette.

Driving your RHS car abroad is fine once you get used to it. Motorways are easy. The only problems I’ve ever had were after a break, it’s good to have a passenger to remind you to come out of a car park on the ‘wrong’ side.

Your Irish toll tag, if you have one, won’t work. You can generally pay by car at European tolls. If you’re doing a lot of trips, there’s a European toll tag that you can get.

prawnsambo

Just on the tolls, you will ideally need someone in the passenger seat to pay them since you're on the wrong side of the car to be able to reach out to tap or drop coins in. Some countries have automatic tolls (like here) - Portugal is one that I know of, so check if you can get a toll tag if going there.

The other issue is overtaking on national roads. Not the easiest to do, but again passenger can help with this.

You will also have to check your headlights since these are asymmetrical and you may need to apply tape to the left hand headlight (or both) to avoid blinding oncoming drivers. Other options are a manual adjustment to the height and possibly no need to adjust at all. So check your vehicle to see what's required.

In France (and maybe some other countries) you are obliged to have a spare set of light bulbs in the car. This could be a problem with LEDs (haven't checked if there's a special dispensation for these). Also you need to carry high-vis vests for each occupant in the car (not in the boot) and warning triangle(s).

Best to check the requirements for each country you are visiting.

listermint

Anyone done rosslare to santander?..

prawnsambo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121961612#Comment_121961612

I've done it the other way round. Santander to Rosslare. That was in 2021 and it was basically a Ro-Ro ferry with minimal facilities on board.

Edit: Actually I tell a lie. It was from Bilbao with Brittany Ferries on the Connemara. I think they've changed that ship now, so might be a better class of ferry.

Not sure who (if any) are doing Santander. When you check BF website, it only comes up with Bilbao.

listermint

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121961681#Comment_121961681

They've shipped off santander to bilbao route now. Brand new ship. Wondering what EV would look like down Spain or Portuguese coast. Southwest.

prawnsambo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121961978#Comment_121961978

If you're going to southern Portugal (Algarve), the usual route from Bilbao is on the E-80 through Burgos and Salamanca (which is a stunning city). Charge points along that route aren't great (mostly 50kw). Worth checking Plugshare and other apps for details.

Edit: You can take the A62 from Salamanca into Portugal, but then you hit the Portuguese tolling which is automatic and expensive. I stayed in Spain for as long as possible.

As an addendum, I'm still receiving toll charge letters from 2019 when the hire car was supposed to have had a tag, but didn't. Studiously ignoring them. 😂

josip

For France, get a tag in advance, it will make your life at lot easier.

Some companies have offers that you only pay for the month you use it.

https://www.atmb.com/telepeage-tarifs/nos_abonnements_telepeage_atmb/

In France, you might also need a Crit d'Air sticker if you plan to go to a major city. Order online.

Some others mentioned the vignette for Slovenia and Austria. Both can be purchased online but the Austrian one can only be bought 2 weeks in advance online. So in Austria go to the first petrol station inside the border to purchase. Ireland is now fully signed up to the EU car reg database, so the days of ignoring speed cameras (and there are many) are no more.

the_amazing_raisin

+1 for using A Better Route Planner, it takes all the thinking out

One bit of advice would be to set any networks you have better pricing with to preferred so the app prioritises them

I'd also put the locations of the charging stops into your car's satnav. Data roaming can be a bit slow and I've found my phone's GPS can be a bit erratic while driving, so having the onboard satnav as a backup is a smart choice

Check your insurance coverage and roadside assistance to see if they cover your destination. I had a flat tyre in the UK and had to wait for the AA van to come out and then bring the car to a tyre repair place. In the end I missed the ferry because of the delays

In that respect, I'd strongly recommend leaving yourself with a relatively short drive to the ferry on the way home. I had to cover 900km so any delay was going to make it difficult.

It wasn't a disaster in the end because I just got the next ferry a few hours later, however when the next ferry is over a day away then that would be a bigger hassle

If you're handy with cars you might consider bringing a spare wheel or something decent puncture repair supplies. Be aware that the majority of EVs don't carry a spare wheel and don't have space for them. They often have the repair gel kits but they're pretty useless and ruin the tyre, meaning it can't be repaired

In any case, be aware that any repair kits or spare tyres are typically only rated for 80km/h, so you'll be visiting a tyre shop in short order anyway

CelticRambler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121964342#Comment_121964342

+1 for using A Better Route Planner, it takes all the thinking out

Yeah … maybe do a bit of thinking all the same if you're using that. I've just put it to the test on one of my regular long-distance commuter routes in France and it makes an awful lot of unreasonable assumptions, not least in regards to the journey (driving) time - a whole hour faster than either Google or viaMichelin estimate. Also, unless I'm missing it, there doesn't seem to be any option to plan a route that avoids toll-roads, which would add 30€ to the cost.

@cdn16 : be advised that motorway tolls in France are very expensive. Unless you really need to be somewhere else in a hurry, there's always an alternative toll-free route available, often with a lot more to see and do along the way.

prawnsambo

One other thing to bear in mind (if you intend to use your granny charger anywhere on the continent) is that your normal three pin travel adaptor will likely not work at all (no earth pin) and definitely will not be rated to carry the load.

The only solution I can find is from Tough Leads in the UK. Maybe somebody else has an alternative?

josip

Tesla do schuko adaptors for those with a 3 or a Y.

prawnsambo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121966494#Comment_121966494

Yeah, I spotted that since. But I suppose you could always make one up yourself. Not too hard to get a hold of a 16A IP rated schuko and weatherproof three pin socket and join them with a short piece of 2.5 squared.

josip

As far as I know, the Tesla adaptor has temperature sensors in the pins of the plug which can detect overheating of the socket and reduce amps or stop charging. Might be wrong though.

prawnsambo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121966842#Comment_121966842

It doesn't mention this on the item in the Tesla shop. But EVSEadapters.com sell one that they say does this. It's more expensive than the one in the Tesla shop, so I suspect the Tesla one doesn't.

k123456

If you were too pick one country where its easy to charge CCS , ie minimal Qs , no need to download an app , ie tap credit card, lots of high speed chargers , easy access to charge on ferry where shines out : , UK, France North to Mid , (Spain , close to ferry port ?)…where would you go

French Campsites, is it frowned upon to charge there

BailMeOut

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121961612#Comment_121961612

we did it last summer (to Bibao) in an EV. The ferry is really good and make sure you upgrade to the premium class as the cost is so worth it.

Charging in Northern Spain is not great although we did notice a lot of new installs that were not working but not yet working so hopefully its better this year. The good news is that since Spain does not really do EVs when you find a charger it is usually available.

Make sure you have Ibedrola, Repsol and Zunder apps fully setup and installed as well as Ionity. The Spanish apps look for your passport and a spanish address for some reason but you can use Iberdola'a HQ adress for this.

We stayed in Bilboa, San Sabastian and Biarritz over two weeks and finding chargers was challenging!

listermint

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121967148#Comment_121967148

Nice information. Thank you

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121967148#Comment_121967148

Looks like Ionity has decent coverage now, were they not up and running last year?

Two slightly random questions about Spain, I've heard the motorways are often quite empty because the tolls are also very expensive

I've also heard everyone drives at 150km/h over there because apparently you don't get penalty points for the first 20km/h over the speed limit

Any of that match your experience?

the_amazing_raisin

UK is probably easiest since they drive on the same side of the road and all DC chargers are required to take card now (although I don't think it's been fully implemented on legacy chargers)

Certainly I had absolutely no issues charging when I was there

A bunch of folks here have gone to France and had generally good experiences, however there was the usual BS of getting cards and apps sorted before travelling

EDIT: Also, I've heard a lot of French campsites have EV chargers now, so you don't necessarily need to try plugging into the camping socket. Still, good to have the option for emergencies

prawnsambo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121967321#Comment_121967321

In my experience the motorways are busy enough. Have driven both the East and West of Spain and not found it much different from France in terms of busyness. Some spots very busy, others not so much. Tolls aren't too bad either. Certainly cheaper than France and a lot less prolific than Portugal.

Haven't seen any of the speeding you speak of either.

The one thing that drives me mad (and this is the case in France too) is the way they overtake on motorways. Drive right up to the vehicle they need to overtake to the point that they are matching speeds, then indicate and pull out. No waiting for a gap, just pull out with the obvious concertina effect of everyone having to drop to their speed until they get back up to motorway speed again. You're constantly hovering over the brake at busy spots because it happens so often.

BailMeOut

There was one Ionity outside Bilbao that we used and it was always empty.

I got two speeding tickets over the two weeks sent to Ireland so I would abide by the limits!

CelticRambler

@prawnsambo

the way they overtake on motorways. Drive right up to the vehicle they need to overtake to the point that they are matching speeds, then indicate and pull out. No waiting for a gap, just pull out with the obvious concertina effect of everyone having to drop to their speed until they get back up to motorway speed again. You're constantly hovering over the brake at busy spots because it happens so often.

What??? I've been driving continental motorways month-in-month-out for twenty years, and that's not how it is. Yes, the car behind will come right up to your bumper, but you're already doing motorway speed and you're in front so you won't be braking; then he'll zip out into the outer lane, overtake you at ten/twenty/fifty km/h faster than you, and will pull in in front of you if there's a gap, still going faster than you, so no unreasonable braking and rarely any concertina effect.

However, I do know that Irish drivers in particular can find it stressful because they have real trouble understanding that you're expected to stay the f**k in the right-hand lane unless you're overtaking, and you get back into it as soon as you've passed the slower vehicle, even if there's another one you'll have to overtake 500m further on. If it's a three-lane motorway and you're tootling along in the middle lane at 110, you will get flashed and hassled to "put manners on you" … especially if you're driving on foreign plates.

prawnsambo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121967501#Comment_121967501

You misunderstood me. This is happening in front of you. You're in the overtaking lane to overtake a couple of trucks up ahead in the inside lane and the car behind them does as I described. Could be 100m ahead of you, but the whole motorway slows to the speed of the trucks because of these overtaking antics.

I've driven thousands of kilometres all over Europe, 4000 in 2022 alone. This is something I've seen far too often in France and Spain.

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121967454#Comment_121967454

Oh I wasn't planning on it, just an anecdote I heard from a Spanish guy I work with

He does seem like the kind of guy who'd considered 150 too slow 🫣

CelticRambler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121967529#Comment_121967529

Still doesn't make sense - continental drivers don't generally overtake a truck at 90, they'd be doing at least 110. And yes, they may pull out in front of someone doing 130, but that driver will see the truck, see the car heading straight for his rear and expect the other to pull out … and probably won't slow down even though the gap is closing because he'll be expecting the "slow" car to pull in in front of the truck by the time he catches up with him. Doesn't always work out like that, but definitely the most common scenario.

Where you most need to watch out, especialy at busy times, is coming up to major junctions where you'll get the opposite behaviour: someone speeding past in the outside lane, then cutting in (without indicating …) when they realise they're about to miss their exit.

And 4000km in a year ? That's only ten days commuting on the continent! :D Something else for the OP to think about, perhaps. It's completely normal here to consider journeys in terms of multiples of hundreds of kms. Be aware of that if someone is sending you "a bit further down the road" - wherever they're sending you could be 50km away and they'd consider it quite local.

prawnsambo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121967812#Comment_121967812

Of course it doesn't make sense. Much easier and safer to overtake at speed and slip out into a gap because you've anticipated it by actually paying attention to the road ahead. But no. Drive up to the back of the damn thing, slow down to 80, indicate and pull out at the same time causing a concertina effect that on one occasion, south of Bordeaux brought the entire motorway to a standstill.

And please don't tell me what I did or didn't experience myself, many many times. Your experience may differ, but it sure as hell doesn't invalidate mine.

BailMeOut

There are cameras everywhere. My two tickets were for 88 and 91 in 80km/h zones on a motorway. Each €100

josip

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121967855#Comment_121967855

Was that when you became known as 'BailMeOut' :) ?