alan h's activity

Questions Asked

My place is between Lakes Orta and Maggiore, and I have used Flybe in the past to fly from Birmingham to Milan Malpensa.Looking for flights in Sept/Oct, I was disappointed at the high costs - so went to the Easyjet site to look at the Luton to Tur

Thu, 08/20/2009 - 04:27

I have often advocated swinging up through Belgium when travelling from UK to Italy, on the grounds of the cheap petrol in Luxembourg and toll free motorways. I did this route again a couple of weeks ago, but found the roadworks on the Dunkirk-Lil

Tue, 07/28/2009 - 09:32

 I thought it might help people not break the law [or get caught breaking it] to some info on speed cameras they might come across in driving down to Italy. [This really applies to people like me who don’t have a sat-nav that tells them all the in

Sat, 07/04/2009 - 11:03

When driving to Italy, [Lake Maggiore area], from Calais, I almost always drive up towards Dunkirk and then head East towards Luxembourg.   The reasons for doing so is simple:-

    Fri, 07/03/2009 - 12:52

    If you are driving down to Italy, this regularly updated AA site gives you the latest info on fuel prices across Europe.  Its useful for deciding where to fill up. Note - in Luxembourg, [where I always fill up - its worth the minor detour from Cal

    Thu, 07/02/2009 - 05:32

    .     I heard this today on Radio 4.  I take it you already know of tough and bough and cough and dough?Others may stumble, but not you,On hiccough, thorough, lough** and through.Well done!

    Sat, 06/20/2009 - 16:58

    .   I'm considering handing over ownership of my Italian Holiday Home to my kids. Does anyone know

    • How easy this is to do, and how costly?
    • Whether this can be done in the UK - or do I have to do it in Italy?
    Fri, 06/19/2009 - 04:54

    Comments posted

    Wed, 08/12/2020 - 05:48

    Ugo, thank you for your response.

    My post was solely about the risk of being quarantined on returning overland from italy to the uk.

    With the way infection rates are going in europe, travelling by car or rail looks fraught with the risk of quarantine when you get to the uk.

    As well as the problem with avoiding Belgium and Luxembourg (I'm not convinced that not stopping in those countries when driving through will allow you to avoid quarantine), infection rates are rising in France and the Netherlands.   Switzerland also has problems, especially in the Geneva area.... .. .. So I'm 95% certain that my trip to my holiday house near Lake Orta in September won't happen.

    Travel after Brexit doesn't worry me unduly.  It's in the EU's interest to allow UK residents entry, remembering that we never were inside Schengen anyway. So current arrangement will probably be reproduced after Brexit.

    ..................

    Let's hope that Italy continues to control the virus as  well as they are now.

    Fri, 08/07/2020 - 03:45

    Belgium  

    Anyone travelling through Belgium who arrives in UK after 0400hrs  on Saturday morning will have to quarantine for 2 weeks

    Luxembourg

    UK quarantine applies now

         Area of Uncertainty 

    The only thing that isn't clear is whether you have to quarantine if you drive straight through without anyone entering or leaving the car whatsoever.   (Food, petrol, or toilet stops, breakdowns, accidents etc would mean quarantine anyway)

    I've heard opposite views on TV, from a Minister and a "Travel Expert"

    Fri, 07/31/2020 - 04:31

    I avoid Basle  as I've experienced some serious delays there in the past.

    By ducking into Germany near Colmar  or Mulhouse onto the autobahn you can turn off before Basle and take the dual carriageway bypassing Lorach straight into Swizerland.  Never been stopped on that route, and I reckon that because of the clear roads it just as quick, if not quicker, than the busy roads through Basle.

    Then straight on to Lucerne  and the Gotthard.

    Thu, 07/30/2020 - 16:51

    Need a new route now Luxembourg has gone on the Quarantine list

    Expect Belgium to go on the list soon.

    I will go:-

    Calais,  Chalons en Champagne   Vitry le Francais  Nancy, Colmar, into Germany,  Lorach and on to Lucerne.  Then Gotthard Tunnel and into Italy.j 

    Thu, 07/30/2020 - 11:40

    To get them to go away, you will need to trap them, and release them well away from your house - by "well" meaning 1 mile plus.

    To discourage more coming, block off every entry to the house, even those at roof level  remove climbing plants from the walls and remove overhanging branches.

    Good luck - you'll need it

    Wed, 07/29/2020 - 03:42

    Surprisingly,  it appears that  if you trap dormice in the UK, you cannot release them in the wild, but have to humanely kill them.

    Hopefully its different in Italy

    Tue, 07/28/2020 - 05:05

    You could try Googling to find any ex-pat forums in the area.  If there are,  then try to contact them.

    Sun, 07/26/2020 - 08:45

    Thanks. 

    Hoping to go down in September, quarantined permitting

    Tue, 07/21/2020 - 06:34

    Which route did you take, and were there any overnight stops?  If so what were they like?

    Sat, 07/18/2020 - 05:58

    Would be helpful to know how your trip goes, and what things are really like in Italy.

    We're hoping to drive down in mid September.