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You're best off finding a ride at either [[Maidstone Services]] on the M20 or [[Medway Services]] on the M2. Even if you're offered a ride to Folkestone or Dover, it's often best to turn down these rides and wait for a ride going all the way to France.
If you get tired of hitchhiking from one of these service stations, or are beginning from a spot further southeast, then it is often easier to hitchhike a ferry from [[Dover]] than getting a ride through the [[Channel Tunnel]] in Folkestone (although both are possible).
'''Personal experience, June 2019'''
I got to Maidstone services and immediately found a van with a Berlin number plate. They couldn't take me, though, because - as most people do - they had booked their ticket in advance and there they must had to state which and how many passengers are would be in the car. (if If they go for the cheapest option, they cannot amend their ticket.) What worked instead was asking the a group of polish Polish freight drivers in front of their vans. Most of them have a ticket with pP&o ferries O Ferries and don't need to state how many passengers are in the front. No questions were asked by the ferry/ticket operators. So, as of today, go for the commercial drivers instead of private people.
'''Personal experience, October 2019'''
We (1 male, 1 female) went to the Maidstone service station, approaching lorries to get a lift to France. A British driver told us since Feb 2019 most lorries can't take an additional "driver" aka hitchhiker for free and are not taking hitchhikers anymore. Interestingly Romanian and Polish trucks are excluded from this regulation since they usually drive a lot further and are expected to have a second or even third driver in the cabin. So if you want to hitch with a lorry, go for the PL and ROM plates.
The British driver also told us, you can't add extra passengers to the tunnel ticket so we'd be do better to ask for ferry passengers. We then phoned the two biggest ferry companies to check and yes - on most tickets you can add on additional passengers without any fee.At Maidstone itself we couldn't find anyone going to Dover, so we went to the petrol station close to Folkeston and found a guy taking who took us all the way to Hamburg!
If going for the Dover ferry option, stand at the BP petrol station on the road before the ferry port (51°07'06.1"N 1°18'25.0"E) on Limekiln St/A20 roughly a mile before the ferry entrance. Ferries go to Calais and Dunkerque. If you're heading south towards [[Paris]], take the Calais ferry and you'll likely find a direct ride. For those headed North/East to Belgium, Germany, and beyond, both ferries work but Dunkerque may be a bit better (Calais ferry goes ferries go more often though). Accept any ride going on the ferry, as it should be easy to find a ride further towards your destination by talking to people on the ferry.
See the [[Dover]] page for more details.
For the tunnel, there is no great spot to stand, so look around for a discreet spot where cars can stop. Make sure you're not in view of the police or tunnel employees. Hitchhikers have been successful at the motorway entrance as well as standing behind the arrow sign where the two roads split before the tunnel control. It's recommended to ask your driver to not reveal that you are a hitchhiker to passport/ticket control, as there have been reports of hitchhikers being denied entrance to the tunnel. More information at [[Channel Tunnel]].
[[Category:England]]
