Travel documents should not be forgotten when you go on holiday. Not even if you travel by car within Europe. This is often a relaxed and pleasant way to travel for those who enjoy driving. After all, going on holiday by car also means a lot of freedom. You can leave when you want, stop on the way if you feel like it or if necessary for the children or the dog. Moreover, you always have transport with you at your destination. Groceries and outings are done at your own pace and you are more free to choose the places you want to visit. Nevertheless, a car holiday also requires extra caution. There are plenty of stories about people who have and suddenly lost their car with all their loved ones to criminals.
Prepare a holiday with the car well
A holiday trip by car must be very well prepared. Especially the various travel documents should not be forgotten when packing. A number of those documents must also be checked in time to ensure that they are not due for renewal. Do not do this just before departure, because then it is often too late to receive a new document in time. If you have just completed a family expansion, remember to have the new world citizen put on your pass in good time.
The pass and the driver’s license
A few months before you want to travel, check whether passes and driving licenses of you and your partner, if applicable, are still valid until after the holiday. Sometimes you have to wait a little longer before you get the new documents, so be on time. Moreover, new passport photos usually have to be taken, because the rules of the government have sometimes changed again.
You must always take the green card of the car insurance with you
Be sure to bring the green card of your car insurance. Especially on uninsured cars, foreign police officers check and respond harshly. You must therefore be able to prove that your car is properly insured.
Membership of the ANWB
Do not only bring the ANWB membership card with you, but also the telephone number of the head office in the Netherlands and its department office in the country you are going to. If you have an accident or breakdown on the car on the road or during your stay and you cannot solve it yourself, it is nice to be able to get help from the ANWB there too.
You will need contact numbers of Visa card, bank card, etc. in case of theft
The risk of theft of money and bank cards is realistic, especially when traveling. It happens to holiday guests from all walks of life. No matter how careful you are, thieves keep coming up with new tricks that you are not always aware of. Therefore always make a list of the telephone numbers that you must call to have your Mastercard, Visa card, bank card, etc. blocked, for example. However, do not put that list with your other travel documents, but in your wallet or in the suitcase, otherwise it will also disappear in the event of theft. If you don’t, and you have to look for it at your holiday address first, then any thieves will have more time to empty your account. Don’t give them that pleasure.
Travel insurance information
Make sure you have good travel insurance and take the information about it with you when traveling. In any case, you must bring the telephone number of the contact person, so that in the event of theft of valuable items you can immediately report what happened. It makes you more credible than not letting you know until after your return.
Always report to the local police
Always report theft to the police of the place where you are staying and ask for a copy of the report to be sure. Before you leave, also take pictures of the valuable photo equipment and other valuable items. However, it is often better to leave it at home, but also make sure you have pictures of it.
Health insurance
Take your health insurance card with you. When visiting a doctor or hospital abroad, it is nice to be able to show that card. Usually the matter is settled with the health insurance fund, especially when it concerns more expensive hospital bills, but sometimes you also have to pay the bill yourself, but can later submit it to the office of your health insurance fund for reimbursement.
Vignettes are part of the travel documents
You need a vignette per country for travel on the motorways in Austria and Switzerland. You can get it from the ANWB in the Netherlands, or at the border with those countries at the customs office. They are then slightly cheaper there, because in the Netherlands the ANWB adds some administration costs. At the border, however, you sometimes have to queue for a vignette, especially during holiday peaks. With a vignette bought in the Netherlands you usually get across the border faster and usually do not or hardly have to stop.
The Visa card, Mastercard and / or loose money for toll gates
In Scandinavia, France, Italy, Spain, etc., a number of roads have to be toll. There are toll booths at the beginning and end of such a toll road. You will have to pay toll there. Above the toll booths it is often indicated whether the gate is intended for trucks or passenger cars and whether you can pay with a Visa, Mastercard, or just money. Therefore, do not drive too fast and make sure that you end up in the correct gate. Sometimes it is very busy. If you have entered the wrong gate, it is difficult to get out again and choose another one.
A map is always easy during a car holiday
Even if you have a navigator in your car, always take a map or a book of maps with you in case the navigator should cancel it. It rarely happens, but it does! You’ll only be in a foreign land somewhere in the dark if the navigator breaks down. So always take paper information with you for the trip and for the part of the country where your holiday address is located. It takes up very little space in the glove compartment, but you are always helped in an emergency and can also check that the navigator information is correct if you do not trust it.
New devices that you take with you
There are a number of duty-free zones within Europe, including Samnaun (Switzerland) and Livigno (Italy), where you can make tax-free purchases. However, this also means that customs immediately outside those areas will check extra for drinks, perfumes, watches and other expensive luxury items. The winter guests from Ischl, who have been to Samnaun high over the ridge, to buy a new, expensive watch, can have a say in this. Therefore, always keep an eye on the tax-free amount and keep the receipts with that, so that you can prove that you have not exceeded it.
Take the receipt with you
So if you have just bought a new watch, a new photo device, a new iPhone or iPad, please enclose proof of purchase with your travel documents, so that you can always prove that you bought it legally in the Netherlands. If you are unable to prove this, you run the risk of having to pay import duties at the border.
The information about the holiday address
Do not forget to include the information about the holiday address with the other travel documents. Especially the address, the telephone number of the contact person, the road information for the last leg of the journey and a photo of the building where you will be staying. Also take a look at Google, so that you will soon not be completely unfamiliar with the way to the holiday address.
Get a booklet from the library
A good booklet with information about your holiday resort and the surrounding area is also useful. There are often walking paths, places that are worth a visit, information about cities and buildings, excursions and good restaurants. You can get these at the ANWB, but with a bit of luck at the local library if you are a member. You can also search for information on your own via the internet.
Collect all travel documents in a folder
Put all the necessary documents together so that you can take them all with you on the day itself. Only with the pass, the driver’s license and the green card is that difficult, because you usually need them every day. Put these separately on your packing list and check off everything that goes into the car. That way, everything is included later on and you have not forgotten anything.
You can sometimes use travel plugs well there
Never forget to bring your travel plugs with you, so that you can connect your electric shaver, your laptop, etc. to the mains in any country. Dutch plugs sometimes differ from the plugs of other countries, but you can compensate for that with a travel plug. Travel plugs are also for sale at the ANWB, among others.
Before you leave, save all your documents
It is also possible to break-in at home during your holiday. If there are important things and photos on your computer at home, save them all and give the stick or the external drive to a trusted person from your family circle. That way you still have everything if your computer or laptop should be stolen at home.
A small extra tip regarding the travel costs during your stay
If you come close to Samnaun or Livigno on your journey, refuel there. Petrol is also tax-free there and that it pays to refuel there, as proven by the many petrol stations along the way.
Livigno and Samnaun
Livigno in particular is suitable for a fuel stop, because you can travel through it. Samnaun is unfortunately located at the end of a deep valley and is therefore somewhat less suitable for that, although a trip to it pays off if you live close to the Reschen Pass on holiday in Austria. You then combine a nice outing with a cheap tank.