My desire to ride the B500 Schwarzwaldhochstrasse (Black Forest High Road) has finally overcome me. The route has been on the Free Motorcycle Touring Routes Page for a year or more now, and it needs riding.
The plan is to travel from Harwich to the Hook of Holland, via Stena Line Ferries and then through the Netherlands, into Germany and the B500.
Booking the ferry and hotels could not have been easier. Yet when it came to working out what Covid Tests I needed, when I needed them and whose rules I had to conform with, things got much more complex.
Having spent the last few days working my way through the regulations, Covid test requirements, and even the need for specific mask types, the purpose of this article is to share the information I found in the hope of making it easier for you.
If you prefer to read about motorcycles, best skip this page and move on to the next.
Ground Rules
But first, let me start by setting out the ground rules:
- Politics. This is the process I’ve been through, and there is absolutely no political commentary in any of what follows.
- I’m not medically trained, so I have zero, absolutely no chuffing idea about any of the science.
- The situations I describe are those that I found and how I interpreted the rules at that time. The situation for you may be different.
- And finally, and perhaps most importantly, we both undeniably agree that I’m an idiot.
Starting Points
For leisure travel, taking a motorcycle to Europe starts with the basic assumption that you are double jabbed (had both vaccinations) and that 14 days have passed since the second jab. I’m sure there are ways of doing it without this, but they all seemed to involve extended stays in quarantine hotels.
From here onwards, I’ll assume you have had both jabs and have used the NHS APP to download a copy of your NHS COVID Pass.
The UK Government website does a decent enough job of defining what you need and which countries allow tourists. If you Google – “Can I travel to ….” the UK Government’s pages appeared on page one of the search results.
It is a bit of a slog, but you will find the UK Government’s interpretation of the rules you need to follow to visit your chosen destination. There is also information about what you need to do when you are returning to the UK.
All of the rules and requirements are not in one place, so expect to be pulling data from various sources to get the whole picture.
Timing the Tests
For my trip on the Stena Line Ferry to Holland, in addition to being double jabbed, I needed a PCR Test taken within the last 48hours, which isn’t as easy as it sounds.
The ferry leaves at 10pm and arrives at 8am the next day. When I arrive in the Netherlands, the test needs to have been taken within the last 48hours. Even with same-day PCR testing, the results are not immediate. Most of the testing centres told me I would get the results by Midnight (23:59) the same day.
I couldn’t risk testing on the day of travel because the ferry sails at 10pm, and boarding will be an hour before that. If I didn’t have the results, I couldn’t get on the boat. So I need the results the day before I board the ferry.
I was looking for a testing centre that could complete the test after 8am (better make that after 10am to be safe) and give me the results that day. That way, I would have a valid test to get on the ferry the next day and could use the same test results to enter Holland the day after that.
Testing Centres
I mentioned earlier that I’m an idiot, and this is the part that proves this. Am I the only person who didn’t know that there are hundreds of private testing centres all over the UK?
I spent hours on the Government website following links, all of which did not help me find a testing centre anywhere near me that could offer the certified results needed. One of the links even suggested that Newcastle is in the East Midlands, which, if you are not from the UK, would be similar to suggesting that Paris is the capital of Spain.
Searching Google was pretty much a waste of time. Put COVID in any Google search, and you will drown in a tsunami of suggested websites.
Luckily, I did find one helpful site, the Covid Testing Network, that listed out the places I could get tests near me and how much they are charging. Well, I say how much they are charging because the headline price was never what I ended up paying, apart from the cost of the Day 2 Return test.
And there is more
Having booked the tests to get out to Europe, there is still more to arrange. As part of arranging your journey out, and depending on what colour country you are returning from, you will need to book a Day Two test ready for when you arrive home.
The testing sites all seem to offer these. I put in the details of my return dates, and the kit will be delivered to my home address the day after I return. I complete the test at home, send it back, and put the number of the test on my UK Locator form.
Locator Forms
All of the countries I’m visiting appear to want locator forms completing, including the UK, when I return. These are available online, and having ploughed my way through so much paperwork, I’m not leaving anything to chance.
Forms for the Netherlands and the UK are absolutes. I’m going to need these. I’m also completing the German version on the off chance that someone thinks a Brit travelling from the Netherlands to Germany is odd and demands a form to make them feel secure.
Murphy’s Law states that you always need what you haven’t got, so by having the extra form, I’ll stop anybody asking me for it.
Can I go now?
I think I’ve covered everything for going. Insurance Green Cards are no longer required – for UK insurance in Europe – while GB stickers are needed if you wish to avoid the fine. European breakdown and travel insurance are excellent ideas.
There is, however, one more COVID test required, the one for returning to the UK, which will also get me onto the ferry, and this is also the test I haven’t fully worked out how to obtain. [See Update below]
All of the pages on the UK Government websites that I could find refer to me needing a test to return to the UK, but don’t go into any more detail. That is OK. The general rules seem to be that the test results must be no more than 48 hours old, but where I get such a test remains a question.
If I was flying, the problem appears to have been solved. Most airports have private testing centres offering rapid antigen tests, which is wonderful, assuming that this test is acceptable to your destination and you are flying.
My overly simplistic brain then decided that there must be a similar service at the Port in Holland. All the truck drivers must be getting tests done, so a rapid testing service at the Port has to be the answer.
Thankfully, along with being simplistic, I’m also paranoid, and so I called StenaLine to check if there is such a testing facility at the Port, and disappointingly, there isn’t. So on the way back from the B500, it seems I’m searching for a same day Covid testing centre. Bugger.
Update
I received a Tweet from @OEWhitworth, who pointed me in the right direction for the Covid test required before travelling back to the UK – in my case, before boarding the ferry in Holland.
He had uncovered (through MoneySavingExpert.com) Chronomics, a company that sends you a test to take with you.
You complete the test within 72 hours of your departure back to the UK and confirm the results with Chronomics online. Assuming the test is negative, Chronomics will then produce the documentation you need to travel back to the UK, which you can access and download if needed through their website.
My thanks also to @SimonHBikes, who kindly shared his experiences travelling to and from Italy, which helped me tidy up a few details.
Clarity
Whereas I hope this article helps you unpick the maze that surrounds Covid tests and getting into Europe, I must remind you that there is nothing political in this article.
It is simply me – the village idiot – recounting the process I went through. The rules and requirements for travel continue to change, and all of this might be out of date, thirty seconds after it is published.
