I wouldn’t worry too much about the headlight converters. I drive my truck in Europe week in week out and have done for years without them.
There are roadworks along the corridor near middlekerk at the moment.
I went to de panne around 20 years ago and it was quite a pleasant little seaside town.
Just drive normally as you would in the UK… If you can get a car up to more than 100 mph along the corridor whilst avoiding jerzy darek and petr your doing well! Lol
It might be an idea for the OP to look at the moneysavingexpert website, as theres a feature on there that allows you to see which are the good & bad credit & debit cards to use on holiday.
moneysavingexpert.com/travel … avel-money Just select your card from the drop down box to see the status of charges and fees
Dodgy Permit:
The breathalyser law does not take effect until July the 12th & you must buy the French approved items (will be sold on the Ferries/Euro Tunnel & most service stations)
AFAIK its July 1st
The breathalyzers must be NF marked/approved, (similar to the UK kitmark) and AFAIK there are only 2 (approved) manufacturers kits available in the UK & a minimum of 2 breathalyzers should be carried. I have this ebay.co.uk/itm/TWIN-PACK-NF- … 4d017893d2 as Im heading over there on the motorbike 2nd july for my hols Halfrauds & maplins also sell them but Im yet to find a store with available stock
ossie:
Winseer:
ON the ferry, do I get to use the commercial drivers restaurant, bearing in mind I’m off-duty, and have my family with me? I don’t really fancy queuing and paying top dollar for the ferry cafe’ that’s for sure!You will not be able to access the drivers restaurant on the new P&O ships as you need a pass scanned to gain entry to the commercial drivers area.
If they are working now. On the Spirit of Britain, the locks were broken in the 1st week! 
If I waltz into the drivers area with wife and daughter in tow, even if we’re all sporting high viz, I reckong I’m going to get challenged then! I always wondered how they differentiate unless it was by flashing your licence, or something. This “pass” thing they must give you at dover check in I take it then? I wonder if I can be a cheeky git and ask for one as a pony tourist! 
I’m travelling before July 1st, so I reckon I can still side-step the need to get a breathalyser kit! 
This De Panne place looks like it has some kind of Dune Nature park - might be a good place to look for kids rides and stuff, with GoogleEarth being always years out of date like it is.
bigvern1:
ossie:
Winseer:
ON the ferry, do I get to use the commercial drivers restaurant, bearing in mind I’m off-duty, and have my family with me? I don’t really fancy queuing and paying top dollar for the ferry cafe’ that’s for sure!You will not be able to access the drivers restaurant on the new P&O ships as you need a pass scanned to gain entry to the commercial drivers area.
If they are working now. On the Spirit of Britain, the locks were broken in the 1st week!
Hmmm…They were not working when Spirit of Britain first came into service but since second boat Spirit of France you cannot access commercial drivers area on both ships without a commercial drivers ticket that has to be scanned.
Winseer:
If I waltz into the drivers area with wife and daughter in tow, even if we’re all sporting high viz, I reckong I’m going to get challenged then! I always wondered how they differentiate unless it was by flashing your licence, or something. This “pass” thing they must give you at dover check in I take it then? I wonder if I can be a cheeky git and ask for one as a pony tourist!
It is the other drivers & staff who decide if you are a lorry driver or not, obviously kids are a giveaway but so are wearing clean clothes and being polite to the staff. If you can get some tracksuit bottoms or shell suits and flip flops you may have a chance, don’t speak, just grunt
The commercial tickets have always been different to the common oiks and used to have a stamp for the duty free shops too, they were a bit more lax in those days. 
Carryfast:
Wheel Nut:
speeding fines are expensive and easy to get, and they can carry points nowThere’s seems to be a lot of misinformation flying around concerning how easy it is to get nicked on continetal roads for being a bit over the limit and British licences being endorsed for continental speeding offences.I’ve heard stories of Brits being chased by the Swiss authorities for speed camera offences and of licences having points put on them for going over the ridiculous French 130 kmh autoroute limit.
Y
So far I’ve only been done recently on a run home from Le Mans at 180 kmh in a 130 kmh limit on the A 28 after years of doing similar throughout France without so much as a sign of any ‘Flics’.It resulted in a £60 fine and a laugh with the law about who’s idea it was to put and enforce the 130 kmh limit in traffic conditions and on a road designed for a lot more and the fact that it would have been a lot more than that here.Which probably compensates for having to pay expensive tolls for the privilege of getting nicked.But the important bit was absolutely no suggestion of any points on a British licence although they did take it to check it.However I have heard an explanation that the old green paper licence,which I’ve still got,isn’t possible to be processed for foreign endorsements while the new photocard type is
I’ve also seen just about every camera in Switzerland between the German and Italian borders flash as I’ve gone through them
If you still have a green licence how can you have a hgv licence. The green licence was around when you had a separate hgv licence that was renewed every three years. The pink licence which put all your entitlements on one licence replaced it in the early 90s. I think you would struggle to find a vocational licence holder even with one of these now due to medicals etc.
I do stand to be corrected on this though.
kr79:
Carryfast:
Wheel Nut:
speeding fines are expensive and easy to get, and they can carry points nowThere’s seems to be a lot of misinformation flying around concerning how easy it is to get nicked on continetal roads for being a bit over the limit and British licences being endorsed for continental speeding offences.I’ve heard stories of Brits being chased by the Swiss authorities for speed camera offences and of licences having points put on them for going over the ridiculous French 130 kmh autoroute limit.
Y
So far I’ve only been done recently on a run home from Le Mans at 180 kmh in a 130 kmh limit on the A 28 after years of doing similar throughout France without so much as a sign of any ‘Flics’.It resulted in a £60 fine and a laugh with the law about who’s idea it was to put and enforce the 130 kmh limit in traffic conditions and on a road designed for a lot more and the fact that it would have been a lot more than that here.Which probably compensates for having to pay expensive tolls for the privilege of getting nicked.But the important bit was absolutely no suggestion of any points on a British licence although they did take it to check it.However I have heard an explanation that the old green paper licence,which I’ve still got,isn’t possible to be processed for foreign endorsements while the new photocard type is
I’ve also seen just about every camera in Switzerland between the German and Italian borders flash as I’ve gone through them
If you still have a green licence how can you have a hgv licence. The green licence was around when you had a separate hgv licence that was renewed every three years. The pink licence which put all your entitlements on one licence replaced it in the early 90s. I think you would struggle to find a vocational licence holder even with one of these now due to medicals etc.
I do stand to be corrected on this though.
I think there’s some confusion between green/pink and the different licences.I think the pink licence that you’re referring to is actually the same one that I’m referring to as being a ‘green paper’ licence.That’s because it’s definitely all paper not the modern photocard type one and …It’s mostly green not pink. 
I’ve definitely still got mine as issued in 1992 and my HGV validity on it ran out in 2003 because of the medical which I didn’t bother with because I’d already become a medical retirement statistic in 1999 
.So my actual HGV is just an entitlement now subject to the HGV medical and in which case as you’ve said it would then have to become the new photocard type one.
However as I’ve got no plans to return to driving trucks that’s how it will stay unlesss things change.In which case it’s class B car entitlement is valid until 2028 and ‘if’ what I heard about the old paper licence not being endorseable on the continent,whereas the photocard one is,was true that’s a bonus. 
I’m sure it was pink at least part was I have had a photo licence since 1999 though so I may be wrong.
kr79:
I’m sure it was pink at least part was I have had a photo licence since 1999 though so I may be wrong.
It’s a big oblong piece of green paper with just some of the top part on each side that’s pink where the licence details are on one side and new particulars like change of address etc,licence category restriction information and the UK European Communities translations title on the other.
Addinkerke for some shopping then Plopsaland www.plopsa.be for the daughter maybe? Take Sterling GBP to spend in the shops at Addinkerke, you get the best rate. Calais town centre for old style French shops.
Who knows the answer to the outstanding question on this thread regarding Kids Playgrounds on the other side of the channel? I.e. ones with wire tracks, tunnel pipes, climbing frames, etc.