Calais

Calais is a port town in the north west of France at the English Channel. with just 34 km from the British port of Dover, Calais is the closest port to mainland Britain and one of the busiest cross-channel ports on continental Europe. Regular ferry services operate from Calais to Dover (P&O and Seafrance, each with over 20 crossings per day).

Hitching Out

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North-West towards Dover, England

Try to get a ride before getting on the ferry, as hitchhikers can get over for free because drivers often only pay for their vehicle and up to a certain amount of included passengers with a car while the limit is two with a lorry. If you are searching for a lift you often have to tell people about this possibility first – otherwise they often don't take you with them just because they think it's too complicated or they'll have to pay. The best way to do so, is by waiting in front of the ticket office. When buying a ticket, the driver has to produce a passport or ID card of every person in the car, so you should be going with him into the office.

Most people will already have bought their tickets online. The number of passengers is on the ticket and the ticket inspectors sometimes go crazy if the number on the ticket doesn't match with the number of passengers in the car.

Besides the ferries there is also the tunnel as a possibility to get over. Cars and lorries get loaded onto a train which takes them over. The price is also the same for each vehicle, not matter how many persons are in the car. However, it is very difficult to get a ride at the tunnel entrance itself, because the road has about 15 lanes coming directly from the motoway, the cars are going quite fast and the drivers will concentrate on finding their correct lane, so most of them won't see you. Also the staff is quite unfriendly and you will be sent away (remember though that this also applies if you try to hitch too much into the port. Most people are being told that hitching by the tunnel entrance is illegal (which is probably doubtful).

So the ferry is definitely the much better option but whatever option, it is definitely better to manage its crossing 'before' arriving in Calais.

Important for Non-EU Nationals (including US citizens)

If you are an American or other non-EU national and want to hitch into the UK it is probably best NOT to actually hitch across the Channel. Hitchhiking raises lots of red flags for the border officials and you will certainly be subject to further questioning and likely denied entry into the UK. It works sometimes but you will be flagged and may have problems on later crossings. A round-trip ferry ticket is 30 Euros in Calais. Irritating to pay but well worth avoiding the hassle of being interrogated and possibly denied entry.

Buy a return ticket or have other evidence you are leaving the UK in a short period of time. A plane ticket out of the UK should be fine as well.

Have enough money to support yourself while there. Or say you do and have some cash, credit cards or bank statements to back that up.

Have a reason to be there and an address. The address of a friend is fine if everything else is in order but they prefer a booking at a hostel or hotel.

Dress the part of a tourist. Being dirty, unshaven, wearing rags etc while crossing any frontier is just ignorant. Pay special attention to your shoes.

Dunkerque could be a alternative to get over (Norfolklines to Dover, same or nearly same conditions than Calais – Dover), although Calais is busier.

South, East towards everywhere

Near Calais on the motorway, few kilometres from the ferryport, there is a huge lorry park from where you can easily get direct lifts to many places all over Europe (Belgium, Netherlands, England, Germany, Poland, Spain, Czech Republic, Austria and Turkey should be easily possible). Be aware that a truck is legally only allowed to have one driver and one passenger, so it's a lot harder to find a ride for two people hitching together. If you are just hitching into Belgium you're probably better off finding a ride while on the ferry, to a petrol station in Belgium.

Turkish lorry drivers are often very kind and help you searching for a lift. You often ask one of them and he talks to all his fellow countrymen – you often ask all of them by asking one, end up having dinner with them :-). Their German is often better than their English but they really try to do their best to communicate.

There is also a service station with free showers.

Links

• P&O ferries timetable Calais–Dover