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Hitchhikers can cross the channel for free because drivers only pay for their vehicle and a certain number of passengers, up to seven with a car and two with a lorry, the same holds true for the [[Channel Tunnel]].
'''To get a lift to France, you may prefer to stop at [[Maidstone Services]] on the M20, where you have the possibility to talk to truckdrivers truck drivers that might be crossing.''' Many more trucks stop at [[Maidstone Services|Ashford Truckstop]] on the M20, but there is security here and if they see you asking for lifts they will tell you to leave. Update January 2012: The security in the Ashford truckstop truck-stop does not allow anyone near the trucks, and there were not so many trucks stopping there anyway, only British truckdrivers truck drivers who are not allowed to take hitchhikers for some insurance issues. We tried to hithhike hitchhike at all possible spots on the big roundabout and before it, but no one stopped for Dover. Ended up taking the bus, which is only 5 pounds day ticket for the whole region.
==== In Dover ====
* you can try to get a ride on the road leading to the port. Difficult as there is no [[shoulder|hard shoulder]] and very few breaks in the flow of traffic allowing anyone to stop.
* you can try hitching after the last round-about. Unfortunately it's illegal to hitch on port property (i.e. after the ''Port of Dover Authority'' sign) and although you might get away with it sometimes, the police is known to enforce this rule and send you away.
* you can try your luck inside the Travel Centre or on the car park in front of it. The problem is that both are nowadays very quiet as most people book on-line. If you speak to people here, you might have to convince them that they don't pay anything extra for taking you across and possibly that you are not an illegal immigrant. [[User:Grégoire|Grégoire]] was told by a person working at a ticket office that you can also directly ask to the people making the queue if they have room in their car before they buy the ticket, so that they can verify it is legal. He found a car in ten minutes, but thinks it should be done discretlydiscretely. [[User:Pete the Temp|Pete the Temp]] found some leads by approaching cars but there was much suspicion and many people coming to buy tickets were crossing as foot passengers.
* you are allowed to stand at the rail of the last roundabout leading into the port, i.e. before the port property. You'll be standing at the height of a truck driver who can see you clearly and can pull aside just in front of the Port Police building after the roundabout. This is far from ideal.
* much better are the normal bus stops on the main seaside road with a sign that says France.
* if you're really stuck you can also try at the Western Docks, there is a truck park where drivers carrying certain types of goods or from outside the EU have to stop to complete some paperwork.
* There is a petrol station very close to the ferry ports where it should be easily possible to find a lift.
* If you are feeling rich or you are desperate, a one-way foot ticket to Calais will cost about £40 GBP 40 (September 2010, as said at the ticket office) with P&O, the only company that operates with foot passengers. A two way ticket (return) for the same day costs 13£GBP 13. But be careful, when you go to buy the ticket go without backpacks because they won't sell you the ticket, because they'll say you won't come back. Act like you are going for the ride with the ferry <!-- (i with 2 friends did this : we asked if there are any things to do on the ferry like videogamesvideo games, or casino, a place where to eat or drink something etc.) --> Also when you go on the bus, if the person who sold you the ticket is there, try to give your backpacks to someone else until you are on the bus, from there you won't have any problems no more.
Good luck!
=== North and North East towards [[Folkestone]] and [[London]] along the M20 ===
One option is to walk out of the terminal building, through the carparkcar park, and follow the road signs pointing cars towards the M20. Unfortunately there isn't really a safe place to pull over until the first bus stop, about 500m away. By this stage traffic is often going quite quickly, and some of it is now local traffic, but it is mostly port traffic, and you should be able to convince someone to stop. A sign would be useful (such as 'M20').
* I waited over an hour here, and walked further to find a better spot, but only found the next bus stop, another 500m or so further down the road. Conditions were no better, but I got a ride in about 5 minutes -Nomad Kat
=== West towards [[Brighton]] ===
Here you can try to get a lift onto the M20 and follow the motorways up and over. Another option is to get onto the coastal road (A259) all the way to brightonBrighton. From my expereince experience I would seriously advise skipping the romantic idea of the coastal road and keep yourself on the motorway. After folkstone its Folkstone it's largely local traffic, a long walk out of the town and you sit there wishing you had of kept to the bright lights of the motor way!! However of course it led to a rich expereinceexperience!
== Extra information ==
* When on the ferry try to find the Commercial Drivers Restaurant on one of the floors. From there you can get a free drink(hot chocolate, tea, coffee, soft drink), however if you wish to buy food it will cost you.
* Whilst waiting in the queue for your time to board the ferry, after the passport check, you can try to change rides in order to get on an earlier boat. Just walk around asking people that have an earlier leaving time than yours. Since you passed passport check they should not be afraid to take you. You can see it on the paper that is usually on their car or truck windows. This can save you a lot of time.
* Although the ticket buying place in the ferry terminal closes during the night, you can still find the arrivals building open all night long in case you need somewhere to sleep.
Update January 2012: The ferry terminal is not open during the night, it closes around 11pm23:00, so you cannot spend the nigth night there. Go instead in the train station, it is not too far from the ferry terminal and even if it's locked, you can ask the staff to open it for you. There are also several pubs in the city center centre that are open up till 2am2:00, if you want a drink.
== External links ==
