Preparing the ESSENTIALS for our Motorhome trip to EUROPE
hello and good morning hope everyone's keeping well and for me actually it's it's good to be back on the videos but um yeah so what we've been up to lately we've just been preparing for our travels haven't we really we have yeah and it's it's a very busy time at the moment isn't it so we have not um really uh we've gone out a couple of times but uh the last couple of weeks now we've we've just tried to prep the motorhome haven't we yeah so I have packed all my clothes and somehow managed to squeeze them into the Wardrobe and the cupboard above the bed on my side um I'm sure I've still got too much than what I need yeah um because we can do laundry in that while we're out there um but I just need to make sure I've got everything for all weathers yeah yeah so what is actually happening then so um we had planned for Europe um we have said it in past Vlogs um so we're doing a month out in Europe uh however before that we are actually off to the Overlander show um and um heading straight from Europe from there really aren't we so so the plans are Overlander show for the weekend from next uh from Thursday uh when this video is going out um we will be there so come and say hi um also we're then off to Kent for an overnight stop ready to get the uh the Train on the Monday morning yeah and if you want to come to the Overlander show and you haven't got your tickets yet if you go on there and use the discount code SM10 um you'll get discount for that yeah and even if it's yeah even if it's day tickets uh you're just popping in for the day obviously this vlog's going out Thursday so um the show starts on Saturday and the Sunday uh I believe so camping from the Friday um yeah so I'm just going on and we'll talk about what we've done to prep I suppose yeah apart from apart from my clothes yeah so what have we done to actually prep then so the first thing is looking at the insurance company so we are we have comfort insurance it's cost me I think around 500 pound for the year and insurance ain't cheap at the moment anyway um but with that you get uh European cover so we are covered um for the European countries so that that's an easy easy one to do also with that then we've been looking at different European breakdown Insurance obviously it's a new van but you never know what's going to happen out there um however I'm looking it is it's not been that cheap to look at but Jodie found something didn't you yeah so I my bank account were Nationwide cost me 13 pounds a month and with that I get mobile phone insurance travel insurance and European Breakdown Cover recently I'd say a year or so ago and I've had this bank account for ages they've changed who they use for their breakdown they use um AA now so I round them up and asked about the European cover and asked about was it cover motorhomes and we are within the diameters um our size motorhome is eight meters maximum and we're just under that yeah um as if it covered uh the vehicle been taken back home if anything did happen uh yes we've got the top cover because of my I've been paying it from a bank account which I didn't realize and but that saved us um having to worry about 500 pounds or something again I think we were getting quotes in the region of 500 pound just for to cover us to go to Europe and it's probably up to 600 pound if you wanted it as a year but if you wanted it just for that period it was another again another around 500 quid as long as I'm in the vehicle when it breaks down um them are covered but I can't see me not being in the vehicle if anything happens so so we are covered that's that's the only thing we're gonna go with that so that's the uh that's the breakdown all covered so that also means because of my bank account we have travel insurance so it's for me and a partner and anyone under 18 merely so it just obviously that now that's just me and you yeah but if we took Abby anywhere um because the rest of her children are over 18 um but it does cover cover me and you which is good and it's em covers European for 30 days um and it's another 30 days you've got to find them up and speak to them because I think they might be like a cost on there so that's good that's like the extra cover but always uh we have got the standard UK um Global health insurance cards um and they are up to date um so obviously anything standard that you would get on NHS uh most European countries as long as you've got the global health card um you'll get covered via NHS anyway but it's always good to have that extra insurance private insurance because you just never know certain things then we've got for the van so um the light deflectors obviously is a must and it is law two of them standard on your vehicle uh while you're traveling in Europe obviously driving on the uh the other side of the road did you get that in the pack though or did you yeah so I got that in a pack I've got two high vis vests because I know in France there's certain rules when traveling spare Bulbs Etc and stuff like that I don't believe you the alcohol testing kit anymore you know your breathalyzer set however I've got the triangle and that comes within a kit easily to buy on Amazon as a standard kit so that covers anything with the vehicle and if we do break down also being the size of the vehicle we're over three and a half ton so we need the uh angle morts stickers again off Amazon easy to get so I've got three that are magnet so I'll put the magnet ones on either side of the cab I will take them off in the evening as I've heard rumors and stuff like that of people having them go missing overnight also with that then we've got the sticker ones because it's not magnetized on the on the habitation side I will stick the sticker at the rear of the uh the vehicle so that that covers then the um you know the vehicle when it's driving state so we'll be legal in that country so just talking about some documentation then um so documentation obviously you've got your standard things like your passports Etc um but with the vehicle just making sure that you got your V5 uh form with you a copy of your insurance documents and uh Health um insurance documents Etc um and also having driving license it's always good to take a photocopy of any of these and keep them in a separate place just in case you do lose them you know I've done a fair bit of traveling over my time and um you know if you lose something and need to get a passport again or something like that have you got a photocopy then it helps out massively so always have photocopies of backup to back up your documents basically yeah so later on today I'm going to be looking at anything that we need to print off um I've got an Nyrex folder that's got the plastic pockets in so we're just going to put everything that we think we might even overdo it but at least we've got more rather than less and so let my Breakdown Cover all that kind of stuff is going to go in there as well yeah and just make sure we've got everything like numbers that we might need to phone I'll probably write them down big on the paperwork things like that so we've it's there to hand it's there if we need it yeah and also actually on online there is actually a um a document that's basically if you do break down in Europe and it's basically a tick list of everything you need to go for at the moment I can't remember exactly what that document is but I will put the name of it uh down on the screen now on our travels then um what I suppose apps or I suppose books out there available for you to find your locations where you're going to stay obviously you've got a multitude of Aires Service Stations okay Supermarkets Campsites but there's a few things that we use and we're going to use um and there's a couple of them of the apps that a lot of people are aware of but apps are great but if you do lose signal or you lose your power you're stuck you don't have you know so always have backup with a map or a book so you know where you're going I'm a strong believer of that yeah definitely and you know the apps we've got are Search for Sites and Park4Night they're quite a good one to use while you're abroad however um we have got a couple of the the books then so um we've got the Camping Card ACSI card um and this is basically discounted campsites um I will put the link to the website below but it cost me about 20 euros I think it was 21 Euros for the year now it covers um northern and southern Europe and you get two books that cover that but within there they have got a website as well but you've got pictures the prices and you can get good discounted um sites out of season so if it's um like now when we're going they class that as out of season and we get discounted prices on different campsites so that's always a good thing to have you can be um limited with that though because not every campsite um allows that but if you're happy with where you're going that's fine but then if you see a campsite you'd like to go to and it's not on there you may be paying a little bit more maybe double some in some cases so it's not every single campsite but you've got some more books as well haven't you yes so we got recommended these and it's basically all the Aires so it's the sixth edition um we've got um so this one's for Spain and Portugal this one's for northern France and then we've got a big one here for southern France um and yes again I will put the link in the description for um these Aires books but what I like about them is if we open it up okay you get a big old map okay so it's a lot easier yeah so it's just a lot easier if you're looking on the map hide Jodie's face there's Calais up here okay and you can plan uh basically your route you can use Google Maps on that for time and and see at the distance and stuff like that but you've got all the numbers and then you search through the book okay and um within the books South Front we just open it up it's got all pictures everything like that it's um what services it's got on the air and stuff like that again you can find all this information online um but if you're heading off and you've got a big map in front of you you can pretty much Circle where you want to be look at the distance of travel and say right okay that's where we want to be and you've got a set amount of Aires around there and you could already pick your ones and a backup one um before you've even set off yeah because we're not actually planning things rigidly because even though that would kind of made me feel a little bit better that we've got a plan the only plan we've really got is obviously the tunnel timings and Benidorm which is for a week isn't it yeah so we've got does it say 10 days to get to Benidorm no no we've got six nights six nights to get Benidorm from right so that so that's the only thing we've really got planned yeah um but these are great because then if we're moving on um we can either have a quick look at an app yeah which we'll go to First yeah um you know and if we can't like I said if the batteries low or there's no signal we've got these as a backup I might want to like look at these first well yeah I mean it's the map that's what I like about it it's okay going online and then having the map in front of you and looking that way but it don't really open it up and give you all the information at once we could look for something on on the app and then go to the map and just secure that can't we yeah yeah yeah exactly so so they're really good and like I say we'll put the uh the link in the description for for them uh and they do a lot more books for a lot more different places out there so um yeah so that's a good thing so when I was saying about Benidorm our plan even though we haven't got a rigid plan our plan is that we're heading down um through France and just sort of hopefully either one or two night stay um and then around the coast um sort of past Barcelona and see where we end up down that way heading towards Benidorm and if we get chance after Benidorm we'd like to head a bit further down maybe Gibraltar yeah heading towards Gibraltar probably and then and then back up but we are looking we're not sure where we're going to be stopping yet um we don't want to do the norm if we can help it that a lot of other people have done yeah um just because it's been done and we want to show you something different um but there might be one or two that are very similar yeah um and then we'll head back up through France again and but we've got a month not there haven't we yeah so a month out there so like we say So the plan is Thursday is Overlander show and that's taken us till Sunday Sunday we leave the show probably around midday and we're heading towards Kent and we're staying in Camp uh Canterbury on a little um CL site there for the evening uh we have got electric um just to make sure we've got our batteries and everything topped up we've got no electric at the show we can we can last for quite a few days with what we use anyway in the van but we just want to make sure that everything is topped up and we don't have to be a bit tight on electric when we're at the show yeah so final charge before we go yeah uh and then it'll be the Monday morning uh nice and early um heading for the the Euro tunnel or the Le Shuttle as they call it nowadays um and ready to to board um 35 minute Crossing I believe 35 minutes and then we'll be across into Calais um and once we're across there we have already sort of circled our first location but we won't give that up just yet no that's because it might not even end up there yet that's it it's just circles um yeah so with the Eurotunnel and everything I'm not 100 sure of it because um I don't like the idea of going under the sea if I'm honest and because it's the 35 minutes I think I'll be fine I prefer ferries um then but because it ended up cheaper didn't it in the best yeah so the quickest way of doing things with the Tesco club called vouchers I've got 150 pounds off so it only cost us 100 pound return ticket on the the train rather than about 1500 pounds on the ferry to Santander so uh for me it was worth it even though I'm going to burn off a bit more fuel uh on the miles just to get there it was still cheaper than getting the ferry yeah um yeah so I'll be fine so I suppose what's happening with our Vlogs then um so what's happening with our vlogs so we will I like to pick the camera up more than Lee does and there's a reason that Lee doesn't pick the camera up as much as me because I end up with too much footage so because I'm like that we're going to be putting a bit more raw material not as edited um and we are going to be doing more Vlogs because I am definitely because there's going to be so much to see I'm definitely going to be picking the camera up so we're gonna go for two a week to start off with we're going to yeah so we're going to stick to Thursday see how we get on with that to two a week we're gonna after this one's um gone out um the next one you will get would be on the next Thursday and next Thursday is going to be the Overlander show um and all about that and then from then after that Thursday it'll be on the Tuesday and the Tuesday will be literally traveling down to Kent to get the tunnel and us getting across um and then yeah the Vlogs are Carry On from there so every Tuesday and Thursday um and that'll probably be for the next I would say month and a half yeah yeah yeah um and just see how that goes and then we will update you on that as we go through anyway so yeah that's fine um so the show then we are heading off there on the Thursday as we've said uh there will be other YouTubers there I think there's a YouTuber area we haven't really sort of Parked on a YouTuber area yet have we no so it's going to be a new experience to us but apparently there's quite a lot of people there and so you are welcome to come and say hello if you find that area but maybe a sticker we're quite happy with that we'd love to see you yeah definitely so if you are around please do I don't think we don't want you visiting because we do don't we yeah we love it yeah we love talk to people you know I can talk to England so that that's what's happening now for the next month and a half um and I hope you enjoy our European trips whatever comes of that because um we don't know yet um but I think it'll be fun yeah so it's quite exciting because the Overlander show in itself is exciting um and then after that we're going on our travels so that's exciting so it's um exciting that I wish he was going with that but it's exciting I'm just excited that's all I'm just excited it's getting it I'm one of those one of these people that I don't get excited until right near when you go in and it's it's um in a couple of days time so yeah I'm excited to get excited so I mean with that while we're out and about and Vlogs are going out and you've got suggestions um of different areas we could visit things we could see um anything really tips and tricks you know always put them in the comments we'd love that you know um yeah we may have moved on from an area but hey we we're open to even going back to an area so put them in the comments as we're traveling um and yeah give us the ideas and inspiration um and we go off and and do that so that's all good yeah just thinking I mean we will remind you this again um but when we come back on the Friday which is the 20th of October yeah we will be attending the NEC in Birmingham as well just for that one day one day so if you are planning on going in there on the Friday come and say hello and just in case we forget to tell you another Point um come and sail off the NEC on Friday the 20th we'll be wondering so with that you know as always it's um very much appreciated and if everyone that's um subscribed to the channel it is um great to see the community still building and the support via your comments from everyone um it's just been amazing um we never expected this uh to to be going like this but we absolutely love it and we will keep doing our best to give you the best content um we can we can and we will obviously grow with that yeah so um thank you thanks again and thanks to everyone yeah and if you are watching this and you're interested in our Vlogs and you haven't subscribed yet please subscribe it's free everybody asks that and that was it is free yeah but it does actually help us so um it'd be appreciated if you did actually press subscribe um and obviously you've got the notification Bell so you can see things up first especially when we're going to Europe loose and you know when we're posting exactly exactly that so with that then we will catch you on the next Vlog um from the Overlander show yeah see you later See ya!
2023-09-22 02:50
