I have a first international gig lined up around Xmas in Belgium and opted out to drive there and back.
Those of UK sitters who regularly travel with own car, do you have any advice for a rookie please?
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Try to determine if the sitting has off road parking… I got caught once with street parking in a busy city and its not much fun!!
This one hasn’t. However, I was told that the three previous sitters all came with their cars and used a free on street parking a couple of streets away. I’m ok with that, will see how it works out.
Thank you for advice @Martin_S 
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@Anywhere.Local Congratulations on your Christmas sit in Belgium! That will be a festive time to be there.
We’ve learned a couple of things driving in the opposite direction (Switzerland to the UK).
The sooner you book your transport across the Channel, the cheaper it is. The Channel Tunnel is easy and straightforward.
If you don’t already have a UK sticker for your car, you’re required to have one while driving in Europe. It’s best to purchase it in the UK.
We put a big “Keep Left” sticker with an arrow on the dashboard of the car to make sure we stay in the correct lane while in the UK. It’s more difficult to remember when we’re driving a European car in the UK. You may want to have a “Keep Right” sign.
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You may also want to familiarize yourself with blue zone parking in Belgium. You can purchase a disk at most gas stations and some grocery stores. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disc_parking
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It’s all booked, thank you @Mary-Kay.
It pains me though having to pay around ÂŁ100 every time to get off/back onto our beautiful island. I envy Europeans who can just drive across the border to spend a day in a neighbouring country.
That is a brilliant advice, I am certainly doing that.
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well, in France, Italy and Spain autoroutes are very expensive. In Switzerland, you have an annual fee (a sticker put on the screen when you pass the border, valid a year)
You can check before leaving, how much it will cost you going on website like viamichelin for example. Following your car, the type of energy (diesel or petrol) + tolls, you know how much the car will cost you for the whole trip
Careful in some streets you have to pay a parking quite expensive too, sometimes not after 6PM, sometimes later on, sometimes not on sundays, sometimes everyday, it depends where you park… Better to use applications which indicate where are streets around wih free parking (hard to find in big cities)
In England, sometimes we can’t park more than x minutes on certain spots, and you need to move the car afterwards, it’s not enough to pay again. This does not exist in France, sometimes lunch time is free so if you pay let’s say for 2 hours at 11am, this might allow you to stay until 15 if lunch time 12-14 is free
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Where are you sitting in Belgium? We’ll be there around Christmas too, might be nice to meet up!
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Thank you for the tips @Candide, much appreciated , this is a next stage for me - looking into insurance and the details of the trip.
Thank you for reaching out @Els . I DMed you
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