Stuck in Northern spain with wife sick, need cheapest way to get back to UK

semmyroundel

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Hi all, I don't know if this is the right place for this, but here goes..
In advance of a trip we're planning ti India and back next year, we thought we'd try a trip from Dieppe across France and turn right in Spain to Galicia, back the same way, more for her than me as I'm good on a bike for thousands of miles.
Enjoying it so far until yesterday she started vomiting and is still feeling unwell ( quite apart from daughter back home needs our attention due to sudden bereavement of BF's stepfather diving off cliff in Brighton) and so she's wrapped up in all that upset.
I suggested she get a flight back from Bilbao but she wants to go home with me (we're both on the same bike) as we have no support back home.
So it was mooted to get the ferry from Bilbao or Santander as we're currently near Vitoria, but wondering cheapest way to get ticket one way home (I had heard about the trick of booking a hotel at same time but don't know if this will work one way, or indeed going back to UK).
Any help would be greatly appreciated. TIA
 
semmyroundel said:
Hi all, I don't know if this is the right place for this, but here goes..
In advance of a trip we're planning ti India and back next year, we thought we'd try a trip from Dieppe across France and turn right in Spain to Galicia, back the same way, more for her than me as I'm good on a bike for thousands of miles.
Enjoying it so far until yesterday she started vomiting and is still feeling unwell ( quite apart from daughter back home needs our attention due to sudden bereavement of BF's stepfather diving off cliff in Brighton) and so she's wrapped up in all that upset.
I suggested she get a flight back from Bilbao but she wants to go home with me (we're both on the same bike) as we have no support back home.
So it was mooted to get the ferry from Bilbao or Santander as we're currently near Vitoria, but wondering cheapest way to get ticket one way home (I had heard about the trick of booking a hotel at same time but don't know if this will work one way, or indeed going back to UK).
Any help would be greatly appreciated. TIA
Click to expand...
Sorry to hear of your predicament.
I very much doubt you’ll get a ferry from Santander or Bilbao as they’re usually full . Worth a look though .
Pretty sure your discount idea is out the question .
Your idea was best . Fly her back from Bilbao and then you can leg it back at your own pace . Possibly have another bash at that idea ?
Or go halves and ride with her to Bordeaux then fly her back ?

Just to add, you never said where you are at the mo but there are also flights from Asturias Airport (Oviedo) to Gatwick
 
I'd suggest FIRST- you need to base any decision on facts.
Take her to a doctor to get her checked out properly. IN Spain, go to a chemist and ask for a doc- they know the closest one to you.
Pharmacist may be able to help or not.
If he/she says 'fine to travel' then book on ferry- From where you say you are, just over an hour
Or park up the bike somewhere(hotel, dealerships etc) and fly back if family urgency dictates.
It is your wife so the expense side should not enter into the equation IMHO
Rome to Rio offers this- no idea where you are trying to return to aside from UK...

Bus to Bilbao Airport, fly to Manchester Airport​

5h 35min
£80–243

Bus to Bilbao Airport, fly to London Gatwick Airport, train​

5h 38min
£72–242

Bus to Bilbao Airport, fly to Bristol Airport​

Fastest
5h 25min
£76–233

Bus, bus to Biarritz Pays Basque Airport, fly to London Gatwick Airport, train​

7h 30min
£76–376

Bus, bus to Biarritz Pays Basque Airport, fly to London Stansted Airport​

7h 58min
£71–327
https://www.rome2rio.com/map/Vitoria-Gasteiz/United-Kingdom

If doc says she's ok but wobbly- book a B&B locally and let her get her strength back. When you're unwell, travelling by bike is miserable.
Wishing her well.
 
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semmyroundel said:
Hi all, I don't know if this is the right place for this, but here goes..
In advance of a trip we're planning ti India and back next year, we thought we'd try a trip from Dieppe across France and turn right in Spain to Galicia, back the same way, more for her than me as I'm good on a bike for thousands of miles.
Enjoying it so far until yesterday she started vomiting and is still feeling unwell ( quite apart from daughter back home needs our attention due to sudden bereavement of BF's stepfather diving off cliff in Brighton) and so she's wrapped up in all that upset.
I suggested she get a flight back from Bilbao but she wants to go home with me (we're both on the same bike) as we have no support back home.
So it was mooted to get the ferry from Bilbao or Santander as we're currently near Vitoria, but wondering cheapest way to get ticket one way home (I had heard about the trick of booking a hotel at same time but don't know if this will work one way, or indeed going back to UK).
Any help would be greatly appreciated. TIA
Click to expand...

Best to check you can actually get on a ferry due to it being peak season. As you are not far from Bilbao or Santander I would not worry about the hotel as surely you will not need it. The discount is 30% on ferry cost only, not a cabin and they only have hotels costing 100 euros or more.
There is a ferry from Santander to Plymouth this afternoon at 18.15 (check in by 17.00) arrives Plymouth tomorrow 15.00) - £412 including a 2 berth cabin.
No sailings to Portsmouth today. One from Bilbao tomorrow at 13.00

As for the quickest route back to London: French péage to the tunnel with maybe a cheap motel at some point. This would mean a shorter ride when back in UK.
 
Call your Travel insurer. Given the circumstances you have described, they may be able to assist you.

That said, your wife being sick might well require verification from a local doctor / hospital and / or the death (no matter how tragic) of a fighter’s boyfriend’s stepfather might be too remote to satisfy the ‘close relative’ requirement.

If nothing else, it’s free to call your insurer and enquire.
 
Wapping said:
Call your Travel insurer. Given the circumstances you have described, they may be able to assist you.

That said, your wife being sick might well require verification from a local doctor / hospital and / or the death (no matter how tragic) of a fighter’s boyfriend’s stepfather might be too remote to satisfy the ‘close relative’ requirement.

If nothing else, it’s free to call your insurer and enquire.
Click to expand...
+1 as the first move
 
Thanks guys, I will call insurer as you say, I have a report from "Urgencias" at the local hospital and we could at a push stay where we are for a couple of days. The issue of boyfriend's stepfather is too tenuous a link but has given my wife impetus to shorten this trip now that she's unwell.
Wednesday 16th is available to Portsmouth £443
 
@semmyroundel , "Personally" I think just stopping and NOT panicking would be much more sensible!

Number one as suggested above, Get your wife sorted before travelling, Pharmacy / Doc etc

Hundreds of miles on the back of a motorcycle is NOT a good thing for someone with vomiting / sickness and quite possibly dehydration weakness etc and will not help her recover and rushing back could be the worst thing for her!

My Sis was rushed back from a pretty bad bike crash accident over Yorkshire way, instead of letting her rest in hospital/hotel for a few days with back injuries !! She ended up with a spinal infection and we nearly lost her!!!
 
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ThreeDawg said:
Stay where you are, get wife well enough to travel.
Click to expand...

I put 50p on the travel insurance helpline stating this, with the offer to pay for a hotel.

Advice with a stomach upset is not to travel or go to work/school as a) it might delay your recovery and b) infect others on the boat etc
 
DrFarkoff said:
@semmyroundel , "Personally" I think just stopping and NOT panicking would be much more sensible!

Number one as suggested above, Get your wife sorted before travelling, Pharmacy / Doc etc

Hundreds of miles on the back of a motorcycle is NOT a good thing for someone with vomiting / sickness and quite possibly dehydration weakness etc and will not help her recover and rushing back could be the worst thing for her!

My Sis was rushed back from a pretty bad bike crash accident over Yorkshire way, instead of letting her rest in hospital/hotel for a few days with back injuries !! She ended up with a spinal infection and we nearly lost her!!!
Click to expand...
I picked up an infection at Chimay a few years ago; instead of getting it seen to abroad we road up to Zeebrugge for the overnightighter to Hull thinking a night on the boat might have made me feel a bit better; and then a short ride to Sheffield next morning; bad idea; i felt worse the next morning and my left arm was throbbing and going red; how i managed to ride back i'll never know. Straight into hospital and 4 days on the HD infections ward on IV;; lesson learned the hard way; always take proper professional advice first and foremost.
 
Lots of good advice there.
Is the illness heat related in anyway?
Hope the wife recovers soon and you can carry on.
 
semmyroundel said:
Hi all, I don't know if this is the right place for this, but here goes..
In advance of a trip we're planning ti India and back next year, we thought we'd try a trip from Dieppe across France and turn right in Spain to Galicia, back the same way, more for her than me as I'm good on a bike for thousands of miles.
Enjoying it so far until yesterday she started vomiting and is still feeling unwell ( quite apart from daughter back home needs our attention due to sudden bereavement of BF's stepfather diving off cliff in Brighton) and so she's wrapped up in all that upset.
I suggested she get a flight back from Bilbao but she wants to go home with me (we're both on the same bike) as we have no support back home.
So it was mooted to get the ferry from Bilbao or Santander as we're currently near Vitoria, but wondering cheapest way to get ticket one way home (I had heard about the trick of booking a hotel at same time but don't know if this will work one way, or indeed going back to UK).
Any help would be greatly appreciated. TIA
Click to expand...
I'd say the first port of call is to contact your travel insurance
 
Or you could just tell her you going to ask for help………..then head to local tavern, post a thread on here, order few drinks and read all the wise guys responses?! 😜
Stay where you are and make sure she drinks plenty of water 🤔
 
Many thanks for all the suggestions and advice. Update so far:
We went back to the hospital and the doctor wrote that she shouldn't be spending lots of time on the back of a bike now that this has happened.
I emailed that report to my Insurance (at least Nationwide Flex Plus's health clearing dept) and without any admission of liability of costs, they've sent me a form to detail what out of pocket expenses we incur.
I agree with waiting it out until she gets better, but we're on a 3 week motorcycle trip to Galicia to ride around the coast, over 1 week of which has gone so we'd still face another 5 days going on her current condition before moving on but that would leave us no time to go further west (we're just south of Bilbao at the moment) and we came from Dieppe across France, and would have to return there, so absolutely pointless really as it took 4 1/2 days to cross France including stops overnight as I'm not an 80 mile an hour Motorway rider but go on local roads to enjoy it.
Essentially the leisurely travel around France and Spain has hit a hiatus that means one way or the other we'd hve to go back
 
Arsey said:
Sorry to hear of your predicament.
I very much doubt you’ll get a ferry from Santander or Bilbao as they’re usually full . Worth a look though .
Pretty sure your discount idea is out the question .
Your idea was best . Fly her back from Bilbao and then you can leg it back at your own pace . Possibly have another bash at that idea ?
Or go halves and ride with her to Bordeaux then fly her back ?

Just to add, you never said where you are at the mo but there are also flights from Asturias Airport (Oviedo) to Gatwick
Click to expand...
Thanks Arsey, wouldn't be so bad if we were already in Galicia-the destination of the journey really, but we're in Miranda De Ebro near Burgos and Vitoria so that part of the journey hasn't happened yet.
Ferry from Santander to Portsmouth already booked now (only 1 hour from where we live in West London) rather than Plymouth. Leaving tomorrow at 2pm. Any fellow riders say hello if you're on that boat please, it'll be nice to see a GSer despite me having a Yamaha :)
 
to be honest with all the paperwork, I'm losing the will to fight, if they don't reimburse so be it. It's only money anyway. Just want to get her home now.
 
Can you leave the bike for a few days, both fly back to UK, get her settled and then you return to finish a reduced trip.

Speaking as someone who has done the ferry between Spain and UK, and the Bay of Biscay can be treacherous, and may not be a good choice if wife is not well to start with, hopefully in a day or so you can fly.

Best wishes to you both.
 
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