France Ferry & Campsite info (use Search function) mod warning post 1

webpal

mr_edge_to_you wrote: »

Hi there

Hoping to go to France this August if Irish Ferries actually manage to take delivery of the WB Lates.

We’re spending a night in Normandy on the way back up. Last time we did it we spent the night in a hotel in Caen which was grand but nothing special. Can anyone recommend somewhere else that would be a nice place to stay for the night? A nice seaside town maybe? We’re a family of four (kids 6 and 3).

Fougeres is nice and you can go to le Mont st michel also

McSween

First Up wrote: »

French woman took your wine receipts? In Roscoff? Why?

Sorry was disembarking and couldnt continue. She seemed to be trying to work out what we had bought. She told us to pull over on the left and straight away the guys forming thr queues told us to move forward and we did. I got out if the car and walked back fifty yards as she had our passports. When i got closer to she came out and said they were ok. Bizarre carry on.

First Up

McSween wrote: »

First Up wrote: »

French woman took your wine receipts? In Roscoff? Why?

Sorry was disembarking and couldnt continue. She seemed to be trying to work out what we had bought. She told us to pull over on the left and straight away the guys forming thr queues told us to move forward and we did. I got out if the car and walked back fifty yards as she had our passports. When i got closer to she came out and said they were ok. Bizarre carry on.

In Roscoff? Very bizarre.

Claroc

molly dolly wrote: »

I work in the motor trade.  

One year a customers car broke down, they missed the ferry, no french.  It was a landrover, not a franchise well covered in france.  Big delay on parts so it actually worked better to get a tow to the ferry and we meet them in Wexford to tow them off.  They were broke so it was two nights sleeping in a car etc etc with two young kids.  Nightmare.  Never ever travelled without cover.  Himselfs car had warranty cover that extends to europe but never took the chance when his last car was out of warranty.  Our logic is if you have it you seldom need it.  We did get a fright on way home once when one of the kids left the light on in car and battery was flat next day.  

Still two and a half months to our holiday but excitment is growing.

Can you tell me where you get your cover please? i have been quoted €190 for 10 days, is that the normal? seems very high to me

McSween

First Up wrote: »

In Roscoff? Very bizarre.

Yes. She didnt appear to have the english to do the job.

First Up

McSween wrote: »

First Up wrote: »

In Roscoff? Very bizarre.

Yes. She didnt appear to have the english to do the job.

But what job was she doing? How much wine (or anything else) you are carrying is nobody's business on the French side. I have been through Roscoff and Cherbourg a dozen times or more and never experienced anything like that.

DavyD_83

Picked up roof bars and box yesterday. Ended up with bigger (hopefully better) and more expensive than initially planned because fittings in my car don't align with all boxes apparently; all very weird.
So, 430 litre box all set for our travels.
Thanks for the tips above, gonna pick up the bags from argos, and some Bungee cords to be on safe side.
We already have plenty of little stools around the place, so will try remember to throw one in as well

McSween

First Up wrote: »

But what job was she doing? How much wine (or anything else) you are carrying is nobody's business on the French side. I have been through Roscoff and Cherbourg a dozen times or more and never experienced anything like that.

It said Doune/Customs. I agree and that makes it all the stranger. They were searching a Lithuanian registration on the left of where she was.

First Up

McSween wrote: »

First Up wrote: »

But what job was she doing? How much wine (or anything else) you are carrying is nobody's business on the French side. I have been through Roscoff and Cherbourg a dozen times or more and never experienced anything like that.

It said Doune/Customs. I agree and that makes it all the stranger. They were searching a Lithuanian registration on the left of where she was.

And that was when leaving France? Very very odd. Maybe they were looking for something or someone in particular.

54and56

McSween wrote: »

Yes. She didnt appear to have the english to do the job.

I very much doubt our customs guys at Rosslare have proficient enough French to the the reciprocal job either!!

54and56

First Up wrote: »

But what job was she doing? How much wine (or anything else) you are carrying is nobody's business on the French side. I have been through Roscoff and Cherbourg a dozen times or more and never experienced anything like that.

What you are carrying as you depart a French port is very much French Customs business. They are entitled to go through absolutely everything in your car to ensure you are not carrying anything illegal in or out of the country. See https://europa.eu/european-union/topics/customs_en for examples of justifiable reasons a customs officer in a French port can search your car and it's contents and if you're really into the detail have a look at https://www.revenue.ie/en/tax-professionals/tdm/customs/import-export-policy/baggage-control-examination-20160524143614.pdf which sets out specific reasons an Irish customs officer can examine outbound travellers luggage which I'm sure there is a French equivalent of.

BTW, once you have paid local tax when purchasing wine in France French customs shouldn't have any concern about the volume you are taking with you.

@McSween, when you say "We only had a handful over allowance." what allowance are you referring to?

First Up

Je_suis_Jean wrote: »

First Up wrote: »

But what job was she doing? How much wine (or anything else) you are carrying is nobody's business on the French side. I have been through Roscoff and Cherbourg a dozen times or more and never experienced anything like that.

What you are carrying as you depart a French port is very much French Customs business. They are entitled to go through absolutely everything in your car to ensure you are not carrying anything illegal in or out of the country. See https://europa.eu/european-union/topics/customs_en for examples of justifiable reasons a customs officer in a French port can search your car and it's contents and if you're really into the detail have a look at https://www.revenue.ie/en/tax-professionals/tdm/customs/import-export-policy/baggage-control-examination-20160524143614.pdf which sets out specific reasons an Irish customs officer can examine outbound travellers luggage which I'm sure there is a French equivalent of.

BTW, once you have paid local tax when purchasing wine in France French customs shouldn't have any concern about the volume you are taking with you.

@McSween, when you say "We only had a handful over allowance." what allowance are you referring to?

Security checks are fine but checking wine receipts hardly counts.

webpal

First Up wrote: »

Security checks are fine but checking wine receipts hardly counts.

Possibly to make sure tax has been paid. There is a “limit” of 90 bottles of wine also. Anything more than that and it can be deemed not for personal consumption.

donegal.

webpal wrote: »

Possibly to make sure tax has been paid. There is a “limit” of 90 bottles of wine also. Anything more than that and it can be deemed not for personal consumption.

theres a limit for importing but is there a limit for what you leave france with?


I'd guess checking the receipts is handy to decide which cars to search.(this has happened to me a lot coming from the UK)
20 boxes of wine and a receipt for 20 boxes = drive on
but no receipt = pull over and lets see whats really in the boxes

webpal

donegal. wrote: »

theres a limit for importing but is there a limit for what you leave france with?

A valid point, I don’t drink wine so never worry about limits tbh

First Up

webpal wrote: »

First Up wrote: »

Security checks are fine but checking wine receipts hardly counts.

Possibly to make sure tax has been paid. There is a “limit” of 90 bottles of wine also. Anything more than that and it can be deemed not for personal consumption.

The "limit" is entirely notional (its 90 litres = 120 bottles) and as another poster has said that's an Irish issue, not a French one.

finbarrk

Yeah. You can do it online on the Tesco Clubcard webpage. You will need to put in the long code from each individual voucher.

54and56

First Up wrote: »

Security checks are fine but checking wine receipts hardly counts.

Car exiting France (the target of a lot of terrorism in the last few years) onto a ferry with hundreds of passengers has a boot full of sealed wine boxes. Customs (thankfully) show some interest in risk assessing the car and its occupants. Instead of just diving in and ripping open some or all of the boxes the customs officer asks if the occupants of the car have receipts for the wine boxes which they happily produce. Customs officer checks the date(s) of purchase and the volume purchased against the visible boxes in the car and satisfies her/himself that all looks kosher with little threat that the boxes are anything other than what they appear to be.

For that reason alone checking wine receipts counts and long may they continue to do it!!

First Up

Je_suis_Jean wrote: »

First Up wrote: »

Security checks are fine but checking wine receipts hardly counts.

Car exiting France (the target of a lot of terrorism in the last few years) onto a ferry with hundreds of passengers has a boot full of sealed wine boxes. Customs (thankfully) show some interest in risk assessing the car and its occupants. Instead of just diving in and ripping open some or all of the boxes the customs officer asks if the occupants of the car have receipts for the wine boxes which they happily produce. Customs officer checks the date(s) of purchase and the volume purchased against the visible boxes in the car and satisfies her/himself that all looks kosher with little threat that the boxes are anything other than what they appear to be.

For that reason alone checking wine receipts counts and long may they continue to do it!!

If the authorities have a concern about the security risk of a vehicle, I sincerely hope they have something more thorough as a procedure than checking wine purchase receipts.

54and56

First Up wrote: »

If the authorities have a concern about the security risk of a vehicle, I sincerely hope they have something more thorough as a procedure than checking wine purchase receipts.

Of course they have, it's a multi layered risk assessment most of which never impacts us at all. Pulling a sample of cars over for visual checks and to verify the provenance of their contents is just one of many layers in an integrated security screening process. It puts some people on notice that checks are carried out (helps prevent unhindered abuse of customs rules) and gives other travelers a degree of comfort when they can "see" that checks are being made.

Checking wine receipts against the volume of wine boxes being transported is just a very minor but legitimate component of a much more comprehensive multi layered risk assessment and screening process 99% of which we never see.

First Up

Je_suis_Jean wrote: »

Checking wine receipts against the volume of wine boxes being transported is just a very minor but legitimate component of a much more comprehensive multi layered risk assessment and screening process 99% of which we never see.

Pretty minor for sure; first I ever heard of it.

You'd think they would alert people to keep receipts if they plan to use it as a security feature.

54and56

First Up wrote: »

Pretty minor for sure; first I ever heard of it.

You'd think they would alert people to keep receipts if they plan to use it as a security feature.

Na, think about it. If you were up to no good and aware that you needed receipts to potentially avoid a physical search of your wine boxes you'd just go spend the €100 or so needed to "prove" you'd recently purchased 8 cases of (pretty cheap) wine.

First Up

Je_suis_Jean wrote: »

First Up wrote: »

Pretty minor for sure; first I ever heard of it.

You'd think they would alert people to keep receipts if they plan to use it as a security feature.

Na, think about it. If you were up to no good and aware that you needed receipts to potentially avoid a physical search of your wine boxes you'd just go spend the €100 or so needed to "prove" you'd recently purchased 8 cases of (pretty cheap) wine.

What does "up to no good" mean?

Toots

Guys, are the IRL bumper stickers still required for bringing the car to France or is the little symbol with the EU flag on the reg plate sufficient?

Quazzie

Toots wrote: »

Guys, are the IRL bumper stickers still required for bringing the car to France or is the little symbol with the EU flag on the reg plate sufficient?

The flag on the number plate is enough. IRL sticker only required on vintage cars that don't have the "new" plates.

This is why there is a requirement for GB stickers on UK cars.

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

Stone Deaf 4evr

First Up wrote: »

What does "up to no good" mean?

I believe it covers everything from marrying your cousin, all the way up to asassinating the archduke of the Austria-Este, culminating in a world war.

First Up

Stone Deaf 4evr wrote: »

First Up wrote: »

What does "up to no good" mean?

I believe it covers everything from marrying your cousin, all the way up to asassinating the archduke of the Austria-Este, culminating in a world war.

Wow; buying cheap wine can be dangerous.

Stone Deaf 4evr

First Up wrote: »

Wow; buying cheap wine can be dangerous.

Indeed, theres many a cousin looked more attractive after some cheap plonk. :pac:

54and56

First Up wrote: »

What does "up to no good" mean?

Everything illegal e.g. exporting contraband cigarettes, prohibited/protected exotic animals (crate load of baby crocodiles discovered in an airport last week IIRC), drugs, laundered money, explosive material, counterfeit goods etc etc.