September was our ( I say ours, it was Ant doing the drive) first time driving from Warwickshire in the UK to Disneyland Paris in France. It was an experience, to say the least, but all told it was okay. But here are some tips we have discovered along the way which I think are worth keeping in mind & knowing before doing this journey yourself. We’ll begin with the core basics, of course.
What You Need To Purchase:
Upon doing this journey some core requirements are needed in your car in case you get pulled over in the EU. You can buy a AA kit that includes it all from Halfords or Amazon. However these are what is needed:
- UK stickers
- Warning triangle
- Hi-Vests for every passenger (needs to be in reach)
- Spare bulbs
- Log Book
- Drivers License
- Proof of Insurance
- First Aid Kit
- Headlamp Beam Deflectors
Things To Do Before Travelling:
Firstly, confirm your insurance & breakdown cover is European too. Pack your car wisely so it’s easier to be searched if needs be and ensure those bits you need to have to hand are reachable. Get all your documents together and pop them somewhere effortless to reach too.
Something I would recommend is doing research into the road signs in France if it’s your first time. They aren’t the clearest in my opinion and you obliviously need to know them.
Ensure you carry a bank or credit card as well. On the journey are toll roads that only accept the card. When packing the snacks before travelling ensure there is minimum to no dairy or meat as well. Research everything as the last thing you want to do is break any rules.
Arriving at the Tunnel ( Both Sides)
I would say to arrive with an hour at least to spare as they can sometimes call you a tad bit earlier. When arriving at the tunnel simply follow the signs and at the check-in point pull up. If you don’t have a passenger you will have to get out to do the check-in as it’s on the left-hand side. The check-in is easy to follow and you will have a hanger printed which needs to be stuck onto your rearview mirror.
Following the check-in, you then drive into the service area where you can get out etc. We’d advise parking nearby a board to see when you are called for boarding.
Once the board shows your letter & number for a call imminent head towards border control. You will meet the British border control on the English side where your passport will be checked then onto the French border controls directly after again where your passports will be checked (this is the opposite in Calais)? Your car may be selected for a security check however ours weren’t so we proceeded. You then sit in front of some traffic lights before driving into the train itself.
On the train itself there’s roughly 3 cars to each coach and there are toilets on board. You can stand outside or remain in your car, you can move freely between the two. We left our car in first gear and had the handbrake on too. The windows need to be undone halfway also and I’d suggest some hard-boiled sweets to help your ears from popping. The train journey is roughly 35 minutes but can be longer as we found out on the way back.
Exiting & Driving In France:
Exiting off the tunnel is straightforward there is also a somewhat cheap fuel station as you come off ( at the time of our trip). Of course, if your car is petrol it’s quite easy to know what to put in as the pump has E10 on it, therefore, that’s the one. However, if your car remains on E5 then we can’t advise
Things to remember is driving on the right-hand side. That’s the main thing to note. Other than that memorise those signs you’ve looked at beforehand & get yourself prepared for a long drive. Don’t forget to also change your car if feasible to the European setting. Not all cars do this so remember their speed limits are in km/h not mph and you are not allowed a sat nav or anything which warns you of speed cameras. If you’re using an Apple device for the sat nav ours automatically turned off the speed camera alert. Don’t forget the right-hand lane is the slow lane and cars can undertake you too.
Additional Tips:
Remember to take regular breaks if you’re feeling tired or like you need to. If you arrive at the tunnel earlier than your booked time slot as long as it’s not 24 hours early you can sometimes upgrade to an earlier train. I have heard these upgrades can sometimes be free however we paid a small a fee of £22 for ours. Again, on either side of the tunnel is a fuel station.
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I hope this blog post is somewhat helpful and answers our questions anyone has! Feel free to ask anything and we’ll be more than happy to help in any way we can!
Thanks for reading…