Pinkcat1771

Hi, I wonder if anyone can help? We plan to spend six months over this winter in the south of France.

Will the EHIC health card cover us or should we take out medical insurance as well?

Also we are finding it very hard to find a car hire company that allow us to pick up a hire car here in Bristol and drop it off in Nice. Found a few but they want crazy money for two days car hire! Does anyone know of any companies that offer this?

Our alternative is to take our car but we don't really need a car once we are down there although we do have parking at our apartment we are renting. I assume it's easy to get six months European car insurance? I think my insurer already gives me 90 days as standard anyway.

Thank you for any advice you can offer on any of the above!

C

Novocastrian

The EHIC card will cover many things but you will need supplementary insurance to get 100% cover. If you plan to going skiing make sure that that is covered too.

It's easy to find a company (e.g. Hertz) but you will be charged silly money because someone will have to repatriate the car. Fly or take a train, or in combination with those, hire locally.

See above.

Pinkcat1771

Thanks, sorry meant to say, we will have our cat with us! He's flown before but not ideal as we have to go via Paris. Thinking we may just take our own car and pay for insurance and breakdown cover. I will call my insurance company on Monday to see what the extra charge would be.

petitefrancaise

what about the train?

quiltman

Two things cross my mind:
1. not sure any UK insurance company would cover you for 6 months. the EU cover is usually for a maximum of 90 days in any one year. Good luck tho - do let us know what the result is.
2. I'm not sure but if you spend more than 183 days in France i believe you become tax resident - don't know how they would find out tho!

Best way is to take the train. 2 hours to Paris and about 4 hours to Nice. No aggro with taking the cat so long as pet passport is up to date, plus a lovely way to travel. you can then rent a car locally.

Novocastrian

It can be done. I have a UK policy (with Aviva) that covers up to 180 days per year in the EU but no more than 90 days in a row (which works for us). I'd get in touch with a broker to see what might be available.

Pinkcat1771

Thanks, we will check re insurance this week, if not the train maybe a good option, just hard to take as much luggage. If we took the car we wouldn't want to have to drive it back after 90 days. Never easy is it but I'm sure we will work out what's best. We really appreciate everyone's input!

Our plan is to go for 5.5 mths so we will be well under the six month limit.

cyrian

Not a great journey because you arrive from the UK at Gare du Nord and have to cross Paris to Gare de Lyon. Journey time to Nice is 5h40 direct and longer with a change.
Other alternatives include UK to Lille then change to Nice or UK to Marne-la-Vallee Chessy then change to Nice but these involve train changes and connections.
Luggage on TGVs can be a problem - there just isn't enough space at times.
In 2nd class there is not enough room to swing (sorry store ) a cat.
Take the train to France (not Paris) or Belgium and hire a car from somewhere near the train station.
Remember to include the fuel costs and autoroute charges into your comparisons.
Ehic will only cover 70% of any costs.

dmu

If this is Eurostar, pets aren't allowed on it. Only on ferries and in Channel Tunnel.
In TGVs, a cat in a carrier, kept on the lap, is cheap (5€?) but its ticket needs to be reserved at the same time as the masters' tickets.

Pinkcat1771

Ok thanks, we are keeping everything crossed that we can sort car insurance. So much hassle with all our luggage and cat otherwise. I'm sure my AA car insurance says 90 days but call us if you need longer. They aren't open today so I will call them tomorrow to find out.

cyrian

Thanks dmu, I forgot that.

Pinkcat1771

Great news! Just discovered LV give 180 days insurance in the EU for an extra £ 19.99! No brainer! If my insurer won't do that I will switch! Buying a new car this week anyway so it's no big deal for me to change insurer.

Thanks again for all your suggestions re the train, but hopefully it looks like we can drive instead.

Does anyone think one of the ferry routes is better than the tunnel? We are going from Bristol to Nice? Any ideas or suggestions as to what's best?

Tweedpipe

Forgetting the cat for a second, if it were me I'd take a direct (very cheap) flight Bristol/Carcasonne, and rent a car there for a very pleasant, leisurely drive up through Bezier, then overnight stop (with a great seafood meal of course) in Sete overlooking the harbour.
Following morning drive to Nice. You'd also make significant savings without the road tolls from channel ports down to the Aude (Carcasonne) region.
Back to the cat. Worth checking about that possibility with RyanAir on the Bristol/Carcasonne direct flight.
I should add that depending where you are staying, a car can be a real liability in Nice. Plus, it must be said, imho Nice is perhaps one of the worst (if the not the worst) places to drive in France. We spent many holidays in and around Nice, and always found the lack of respect of the 06 drivers alarming. Found driving in Paris a breeze by comparison!
Please let us know how you get on.

Novocastrian

Excellent.

From Bristol I'd suggest Poole or Portsmouth to Cherbourg or Caen-Ouistreham, then drive the autoroutes via Tours and Lyon to Nice (~11.5 hours, so you might want to overnight somewhere half way).

Edit: Tweedpipe's route is very much cheaper, excepting the cat and the (very) limited luggage amounts it'd be a no-brainer.

grannybunz

Hi. Quite honestly the only way when travelling with a pet is the tunnel, Less stressful for all concerned.

Get the mog a harness and lead so it can get out and stretch it's legs every few hours and get some feramone spray from your vet to make it comfortable getting in and out of the car and to settle in the apartment.

Good luck!