Does anybody know where I can hitch up late at night in Calais after sailing from Dover? I am crossing with partner and 3 kids at 23:15 on the 31/07/05 and will need to stop somewhere before travelling on to a site near eurodisney. Ive heard many dodgy stories about stopping at Aires. Any advice would be much appreciated.
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Hello Soldierblue. You can pitch up at the port at Calais (for nowt). We have done it many times, both "going and coming". The port is well lit and patrolled. If you wish to do this, you must exit the port (drive on right) to the roundabout. Then follow signs for "ferry parking without tickets", as if you are returning to the ferry. You will see loads of other 'vans/motorhomes parked up. There are showers (free),toilets and water in the ARRIVALS terminal if required.There is also a cafe. We carry our water with us as it can be a long walk to the tap (dont take aquaroll as tap is on third floor!). Unfortunately the HGV's disembark nearby so you will not get a "peacefull" night, but beggars can't be choosers.
You could also park at the Hovercraft terminal, which is a bit further on from roundabout. We have also done this but prefer the Ferry port.
We have also stayed on the first Service Aire on the A26 (called Aire-de Rely), that was OK. However, as it will be dark when you land and it is your first time, I would stop at the port.
As Laurie has said your best bet is the parking area a Calais which is quite large. It could be busy at that time of year and this causes unit to park quite close together. Best that you were not in a hurry to get away very early to allow the parking to thin down, from say around 7.00am onwards as it cab be a little difficult to work your way through all the units.
Thanks for the quick replies and advice. I have satnav and the Mrs might not be too keen to stop there with the noise. I dont mind driving for a bit for somewhere quieter so any more suggestions in that area would be helpful. I might still opt for the port but am keen to keep my options open.
Tony
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The trouble is that the time of your crossing and the time you reach France there will be no campsites open. Personally I would not recommend that you stay on a motorway aire for two reasons. Firstly there have been too many stories of people being robbed and their holidays spoilt. Secondly most of these Aires are very close to the Autoroute so they would be just as noisy as Calais Docks. I appreciate that these overnight ferries are cheap but for another £30 you could travel at civilised times. In 1993 we went on an overnight ferry from Dover - Calais and vowed never to do it again. We found it disrupted the first couple of days of the holiday.
Tony, As David says: you are travelling at peak weeks and late at night, so your options are limited. You could find, for instance, that the car park is full at Calais. Also it is true that you could be hemmed in with other outfits. We try to park next to an exit. I wouldnt worry about the noise it isn't too bad. If you stay on an Aire, you could be next to a Fridge truck ( now THAT is the pits). Personally, I think the aires around Calais are safe especially the one I mentioned previously and, because you are going when you are, they will be like a caravan site anyway. We always used to sleep at an Aire just south of Lyon in the early days, when we used to take the kids (July/August). It was quite big, terraced with toilets. Unless you got there before 6pm, you couldnt get on. It was just like a caravan site with people barby'ing. We called there last year in April out of curiosity....completely empty: not one vehicle.Apart from the ferry port, we always use Municipal sites en-route these days.
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Topic: Overnight stop in Calais
