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Calais
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{{Hitchhiking Zine nomination}}
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'''Calais''' is a port town in the north west of [[France]] on the [[English channel]]. At just 34 km from the British port of [[Dover]], ''Calais'' is the closest port to mainland [[United Kingdom|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). The best alternative to Calais is [[Dunkerque]].Note: Dunkerque port is not in Dunkerque but a few miles out. Also there are only a couple of ferries that leave per day from there which makes hitching difficult. == Hitching Hitchhiking Out ==
<map lat='50.95' lng='1.848' zoom='11' view='3' float='right'/>
=== North-West towards [[Dover]], [[England]] ===
=== South, East towards everywhere ===
To get out of the ferry terminal, the best trick is to follow the signs for the motorway to Lille and eventually you'll get to a big roundabout with the road leading uphill with a bay where vehicles can stop next to the "no pedestrians" signs that all the other hitchers have written all about :) stand by the signs and you'll get a brave trucker to stop for you. Almost all car traffic heads south Paris way, and it's a nightmare getting back onto the motorway if you come off there, so try to flag down someone with a sign saying D or PL. Standing at the roundabout itself is quite tragic as you will be watching migrants trying to get into England constantly running up and down trying to sneak into a truck. If you're going far and/or don't care about speed so much, there's a huge ''lorry park'' on the motorway a few kilometres from Calais 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 easily be possible). Be aware that a truck is legally only allowed to have one driver and one passenger (except if there's more seats), 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, and 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.
You can also get out of the city centre towards the highway N°16 next to the McDonalds at Rue Gutenberg (bus stop Galerie Saint Pierre, bus #02). Don't stay directly at the McD, but go through the tunnel under the highway and stand right in the bend that leads the cars directly onto the highway. Cars are not too fast here and can stop easily - most of them will go to Dunkerque (Dunkirk), if you want to cross the border to Belgium, it could be better to wait for a car that goes straight until De Panne or Ostende. == Links Extra information == * When on the ferry try to find the Commercial Drivers Restaurant on one of the floors. If you can get in, you'll 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 onto an earlier boat or to a better destination. Just walk around asking people that have an earlier leaving time than yours. Since you've passed the passport check, they should not be afraid to take you. You can see the departure time on the paper that is usually on their car or truck windows. This can save you a lot of time.-> I did this a few times and it was fine. But once I had two overly ambitious workers who asked me what I'm doing when I walked around. Told them I'm just heading to my car, but when we borded they checked our paperthing in the window to see if it had the right number of passengers on it (which it luckely had). Never happened to me before, but then again, I walked around with a big backpack. So maybe leave your stuff in the car to ask around. Just make sure to be back in time. The bording sometimes beginns way earlier than the actuall leaving time of the ferry. * You can also change rides inside the ferry, especially when it has arrived in the port and people are getting to their cars and waiting to exit. Just go around looking at number plates and asking around. Hurry, though, you don't want to be left on foot when all the cars are leaving.-> Wouldn't recommend. There is very little time between going down to the cars and the cars leaving. Rather ask around during the crossing while on deck. == Ferrys Timetable ==
* [http://www.poferries.com/tourist/content/pages/template/routes_dover_-_calais_timetable_timetable_DOCA.htm P&O ferries timetable Calais–Dover]
== Trashwiki & Nomadwiki ==
[[trash:Calais]] [[nomad:Calais]]
{{IsIn|Nord-Pas de Calais}}
[[Category:France]]
[[Category:Nord-Pas de Calais]]