Bringing beers and food items back to the UK on megabus?

[Dave J]

So I'm going by coach this trip, party due to the short notice (less than 3 weeks), partly due to the coach being £100\€124 cheaper, partly because the coach timings arriving and leaving Dam are far better and partly due to wanting to maximise both the time and budget I'm there for. If the money was an issue as such I'd simply cut a night off and get the flight anyway.

Anyway as going and coming back by coach and no liquid and food restrictions as such etc I'm thinking best not to waste the chance of being able to take a load of beers and food items (non fresh) etc back. Well what spare luggage space I have anyway.

But I'm wandering what if any restrictions there might be in taking a load of beers, chocolate and snacks etc back to the UK via coach?.

[Padge247]

You can't drink alcohol on board (seen guys nearly get thrown off for it), but they mite allow closed bottles, definitely in the hold. I always take back crisps, chocolate and other junk food for the trip back =)

[Dave J]

yeeh, would only be in the hold anyway. It struck me that I'd have a load of empty space in the suitcase and would be good to make use of it andbring back all the crap I tend to munch on and drink there to share with family back home. Cant wait to pack a load of Dutch or any interesting beers in the suitcase for back home. 1 thing I really miss with airport restrictions all those banned items no longer allowed.

[bigdaddyk]

there is no limits on beer and food withing the European union

[sensismiler]

there is no limits on beer and food withing the European union

Right, but there are limits where you will have to then convince customs that it's all for you. If you get an arsehole, which lets be honest is fairly likely, then you can lose the lot. Customs at Calais don't seem to take a shine to coaches from Amsterdam so they seem to always get torn apart.

From the sound of it you're not thinking of a mega haul of booze so you should be fine.

[Dave J]

Just to fill the excess suitcase space, so as above certainly no mega haul of anything. More a nice selection of sweets and snacks for back home for family and probably at best 20-25 bottles\cans of beer.

Done the customs at Calais in he past many years ago. 1 poor lad back then got stripped searched just for having a plastic bong in his case. Kind of like flights, they can only search so many and if all they still have in Calais in that portable hut like luggage scanners and metal detectors etc probably less again. Though fully expect a case near half full of snacks & beers to be fully searched from Dam more in the expectation that it could be masking any weed that I certainly won't be risking taking back.

[Padge247]

Now obviously people do get searched and caught with contraband while travelling on the Megabus, but in my 3 or 4 trips back I have never seen the bus get properly searched. I think they are actually more bothered about looking for people trying to sneak through the border, than looking for contraband (they tend to spend most time looking behind bags in the hold).

On one trip a guy had clearly got a large amount of bud in a bag with his seat (everytime I heard the zip go on the bag, I got a good smell), all made it back. Another trip a group of guys had been drinking beer and the open bottles were quite obvious, and again nothing was said (until the driver saw them when we got back to Dover, and threatened to throw them off) at customs.

Everytime I have been travelling back I have seen someone being detained at border control (at least once someone off our bus !).

Not trying to encourage anyone to bring illegal goodies back (I have never myself, my grinder is the only paraphernalia), just mean I don't think they search THAT hard =)

[bigdaddyk]

customs will allow you to bring upto 100 litres of beer from within the European union. food has no limits. If anything customs will be nicer to you if they think you're a drinker. They hate drug takers!