Travellers between UK & Alicante : A Central Topic to share Travel Experiences under COVID conditions - Page 8

Take a look here

https://www.gov.uk/provide-journey-contact-details-before-travel-uk

They require your contact details, address of where you are going to be staying etc.

Just a final update - we arrived at Algorfa yesterday. Last leg from Carcassonne was around 9 hours with a couple of stops for petrol.

As you would expect no Covid checks on the land border.

At present everything through France and Spain has been operating near normal with the exception of social distancing and the wearing of masks in public places. 

We drove with one stop, but that is a lot of driving. Stayed in an ibis, considering it to be an organised and easily cleaned chain. So it proved, and mask use in the hotel was nearly 100%. The breakfast was buffet but all in prepacks, so very good.

Dinner good too, with staff all in masks.

Ibis again on the way back.

Again 2 days of picnics ready in the car with us.

I wear my mask round my neck all day so is to hand at stops.

Route? Don't trust the satnav as there were some poor suggestions that would have added an hour. We came via Rouen (tricky at the city), to Bordeaux then inland by Pau to Zaragoza. The spanish side of the mountains is vastly upgraded recently. Other suggestions welcome.

Hi,

   re my post last week, we did the return trip last night.  Alicante airport reasonable quiet, we were stopped going in and asked if we were flying, would be worth having your boarding pass or flight details handy, otherwise no problems with usual security checks.

   Costa, Eats, W.H .Smiths plus Duty Free open.  Flying Ryanair, flight left a little early and landed 20 minutes early, plane 60 percent full. We had completed the UK health forms but no-one asked for them at Luton airport, and we just walked straight through. Very lax given the latest covid19 situation in Valencia region. 

   One other point, the Ryanair plane itself was very dirty, bits of food debris all over the floor and we saw one couple having to ask for wipes and tissues to clean their seats. It was a similar story on the Ryanair flight out though not as dirty as the return. Not much evidence of the deep cleaning that is supposed to be happening!

  No problems with our stay in Spain (Los Dolses area), good social distancing and procedures wherever we went, in shops and restaurants. 

Rgds,

Aitch.

""because some British idiots felt staying indoors was such an inconvenience!!!!!!""

Not ," British ", not in Leicester.

I see this is an old thread but, though I might add a positive note . . . but also aware everything is still "fluid"

arrived Alicante Friday June 11 2021 from Gatwick via Veuling airline (BA share)

Gatwick North was pretty empty

Checkin was easy - no questions about COVID tests or reason for travel (Currently there is no PCR requirement for entry to Spain from UK (that might change)

Veuling flight (13:00) was only 60% full - arrived 30 minutes early due to no stacking at Alicante

Arrival procedure was easy.

1. passport control using auto gates

2. immigration - flashed residency card - no questions

3. next area they scanned Covid declaration QR code

4. collected bags from carousel - they have marking for distancing

5. 30 minutes tops from landing to getting into taxi.

Hi Drew, thanks for the post, we fly tomorrow from Gatwick to Alicante with Vueling so your post is extremely well timed for us, good info! 

Regards,

Aitch.

A bit more info why still fresh in my head. 

All motorway works have finished on m23 and approach roads to Gatwick.

If you get there early, sit down coffee (Costa) is in the arrivals area. Level 0

lifts from 2 to 0 are far right of departures (we went up and down the travelator first!!)

Checkin opened about 10:30.

on board, usb chargers are under your seat - I had to ask, then realised it was written on the flight card in the seat !!!

Disembarking is 5 rows at a time to keep covid distance so no mad rush in the aisles. 

Don’t forget - if you’re resident - do not show passport to immigration guys in the booth or they’ll stamp it for 90 days only. They get confused if you show both !

I hope you have an easy flight like I described - if not, blame Boris !!

Thanks again Drew, very helpful. We are not resident so expect to get out p/ports stamped. 

Aitch.

Just an update on flying from the UK to Alicante on Tuesday - we flew with Vueling from  Gatwick, check-in straightforward, they asked to see our Spanish Health QR codes, nothing else. Airport very quiet, most outlets open at the airport, the flight was about two thirds full, left a little late but arrived on time.

   At Alicante we were asked at passport control if we had residency, as we don't they stamped our passports. Only documentation required at Alicante was our completed health forms - they just scanned the QR codes and we were through. No customs checks on baggage. From getting off the plane to picking our car up took about 30 minutes.

  Travel from airport to Los Dolses via the N332 was as normal, the new exit roads from the airport towards Alicante and Santa Pola seem to be finished. 

 In the Los Dolses area there are plenty of people around but not busy. Noticed a number of restaurants/bars closed, no doubt due to lack of customers. 

 In the 3 days we have been here driving speeds seem to be the same as previously, though we have not been that far yet so too early to say if the new speed limits have made any difference. 

Aitch.