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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.
* [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]]
[[Category:Ferries]]
[[de:Calais]]
[[fr:Calais]]