dover parking

[trickydicky]

hi everyone, does anyone know where we can park, safely, near to the docks. we are travelling from lancashire and would rather stop (preferably overnight) in dover than when we get to calais.

[w1ntersun]

Hi,

 

You can overnight on marine parade if you wish but I prefer to go over to calais.

 

Richard

[trickydicky]

richard, why ?

[Tomo3090]

In Calais you can use the aire, or drive for an hour or two and find a nice quiet one in a town or village. Depending on which way you are going, Fecamp or Le Touquet are nice and fairly scenic.

 

If you are in a club why not use a CL/CS site convenient for Dover, there are loads to choose from, and only a few quid. We went to Marine Parade last year but it was a bit noisey so we found a C/L and are doing that in Jan.

[neillking]

Definitely noisy at Dover - all those ferries coming in and going out all night. Apart from nearby CLs there is motorhome parking, aires style, at neaby Canterbury.  

[Tony Jones]

Marine Parade (behind Premier Inn) is legal, free and not too noisy IMHO.

You CAN park on the roof of the terminal building, but they sting you £8 and it's VERY noisy.

 

Tony

[potjoe]

Hi,Yes we have done the one in Dover and the one in Calais think both just as good,Sunday 23th we are crossing to Calais and stopping on the as we can just go as we are then in France .

 

John

[myshell]

Hi trickydicky,

 

Was at Dover last weekend on my way back home, parked up on Marine Parade, just to let you know there is a lot of building work going on at the moment (just opposite the public toilets) the traffic cones are breeding down the beach side of the road and have restricted the amount of parking space available.

 

Have a safe and pleasant trip!

Regards

Phil

[michele]

Hi folks just got back today & last night we stayed in Calais the boats wwere noisey but it wasnt the boats that kept us awake .

The wind howled nearly took the bikes off we nearly couldn't get in for the sand blocking the road it had blown a gale all over the place .

At 12 oclock last night I coulnt sleep with the bikes and the Fiamma cover flapping in the wind I thought we were going to take off . Anyway I got up and moved the van so we were with our back against the wall .

On leaving this morning saw around 50 I kid you not immigrants hiding by a bush oh dear put me off staying again.

Anyway if you are going there if you are staying there take your video camera best I can discribe is like Hawai with the waves so big you could surf them :D boy that sea was rough .

[Mel B]

We have used Dover's Marine Parade for many years without a problem and have never found it noisy at all and I'm a very light sleeper.

 

We've also used the Calais dock's visitor/ticket office parking and again found that to be fine. We've never used the Calais aire as it always appeared to be very noisey with the ferries going in and out and being open to the sea, it meant that the wind could be a problem. We have also used the motorhome car park at the Cite Europe shopping complex, despite this being right next to the Eurotunnel area it was extremely peaceful and we will certainly be using it again.

[locovan]

Dover Parking and Map

http://www.dover.gov.uk/parking/dover.asp

hope this helps look under Marine Parade free at night but a charge in the day.

[Mike Parke]

We use Dover sea front at times although it is 'normal' for us to get a early morning crossing, 01:00 ish, and stay on the sea front at Calais. We are taking our daughter and grandson over for 4 days just before Christmas and will spend each night on the sea front. We find it interesting to watch the vessels coming in & out and it is not to far to walk into town in the evening. Having spend numerous days/ nights at the seafront over the passed 11 years we have never had any trouble with ferry noise, wind noise or potential immigrants but at the end of the day it is up to each as an individual to park where one feels happy.

[silverbike]

We stayed at St Margaret's Bay next to the Dover Patrol Monument about 3 or 4 miles outside Dover. You drive through a quiet residential road to a cliff top carpark. There is a restaurant there but it was closed and we were the only overnighters, very quiet.

The Sat nav address is Granville Road.

[trickydicky]

thank you all for your replies.we have'nt been to calais before so it is easier for us to stay on marine parade, especcially as we have a long drive from lancashire first. we want a very early morning crossing so it sounds perfect.fingers crossed it won't be noisy.while i'm on the subject though, can anyone give me the name/ postcode for the aire in calais just in case we change our minds, or need to use it on our return. thanks again.

[Tony Jones]

Only marginally relevant, but there's an excellent chippy in Castle Street (or is it Castle Road?). We usually go there first, and have our fish and chips in the van on the street, before moving on to our chosen parking place for the night.

[ron.]

A lot of us prefer to park on the Calais side for the following reasons.

 

1. You can go over on an evening/night sailing which is going to be cheaper and less crowded, including the roads.

 

2. You wake up fresh the next day with the crossing already behind you, rather than having to get up at the crack of dawn to face the ferry crossing before you can even start the proper journey.

 

3. You gain an hour on GMT if you have a longish journey the next day, or alternatively have a good lay-in if not.

 

Personally we use the Calais Dock parking area as it is so convenient (you can see it as you exit the ferry) rather than hunting around for an Aire, maybe in the middle of the night. I know that some people say they can't sleep there due to the noise from lorry movements from the ferry area, however, this has never effected us and I consider myself a light sleeper. Again, if you are going over on a weekend this will not apply due to the continental weekend lorry driving ban.

 

I've attached a map of the parking area I did for a friend (if he found it anyone can!)if you fancy giving it a try sometime.

[niton]

I prefer to park on the French side as it means we can get an early start the next morning.

We have just returned from France and stayed the night at Gravelines which is about 12 miles east of Calais. The parking is in Rue de Port opposite the marina. It is only a short walk in Gravelins over the drawbridge past the fort. There are no facilities but you should not need them if you even you have enough water on board and have previously empties your toilette cassette.

There is also an Aire at Fort Mahon Plage with facilities but costs 6€ per night.

I have in the past stopped in a village southeast of Calais which was safe and quiet.

I use for information on Aires 'All the Aires France' from Vicarious books.

 

Peter.

[neillking]

It's worth commenting on the noisy/not issue. We live in the country and find the low hums of traffic, building ventilators & airconditioning units and departing ferries extremely intrusive. We have city friends who come here and are woken early by the early bird song that doesn't disturb us. Dover is a busy town with 24 hour city noises thanks to its port. Some will find it intrusive others not, overnighters will surely know which group they belong to?

[MotorhomeViews]

We were also on the aire on the Thursday 20th. Caught the P&O 10.30 ish ferry , arrived during gale force conditions. my wife was nearly blown over with the force of the winds.

Unfortunately Had a problem with locking the motorhome, so had to venture out again to check the doors fortunately didn't see any illegals lurking.

Anyway settled down with a large brandy and coffee , read and listened to the amazing howling winds and rain flurries. We awoke the following morning to find the local maintenance people attempting to remove the resultant sand banks , they asked us to move the motorhome, why still not sure but when we pulled back the windscreen blinds we found a note attached under the wiper.

It was from an unkown neighbour complaing bitterly about the "Racket" we had made , keeping them awake. Were they blaming us for the weather? My wife was really upset that someone could be so judgemental.

 

Re the original post regarding parking at dover, we parked in Folkestone by the harbour. Great sunsets over the channel but watch out for the boy racers who congregate in the evenings doing their handbrake turns, tyre squealing and the like.

 

trev

[Usinmyknaus]

I always have small re-useable, washable, foam ear plugs on board the van as I am a very light sleeper when away from home. I find they make enough difference to noise levels that I can sleep just about anywhere but in an emergency, such as the alarm going off, I will still wake up. I find them essential when using most aires and any busy campsite, particularly those featuring campers of a Mediterranean persuasion, if you know what I mean.

 

Bob

[MotorhomeViews]

Hi

Just returned from Calais aire (spent Thursday night there in the Hurricane!) A word of warning, when we went through Passport control Calais side we were asked if we had any problems parking overnight in Calais. Apparantly there have been problems with people (read illegals) banging on doors and sides of motorhomes parked overnight in Calais. Make sure you lock up well and alarm to avoid problems. We always keep a mobile within arms reach to ring the police if we should need them.

 

Have a great trip.

Trev and Pat

[MotorhomeViews]

Hi Michelle

We were on the Calais aire in the Hurricane (or at least it felt like one!) Arrived early hours of Friday morning and couldn't believe the wind. We were absolutely freezing by the time we'd filled up with water, hair eyes and mouth full of sand. We were fortunate to find a space next to the mural but were rocked about all night fortunately our full water tank helped to keep us held down. Not so sure I would like to experience it again.

Regards

Pat and Trev

[neillking]

Best advice surely for avoiding trouble is always to avoid the 'honeypot' locations. There are good stopovers close to both Dover and Calais without actually having to stop exactly where the trouble is likely to be. What's the obsession with being 5 minutes away rather than 15 or even 25 minutes when your journey to get there was probably many hours?  I don't really understand it.

[Rapido-lass]

There is a very good Caravan Club CL in whitfield, a 5 min drive from the docks. You have hardstanding and electric. It is very handy. You can arrive and leave at anytime for the ferry. It's called Lenacre Court Farm - 01304 821064.

 

We live in Kent and tend to use this CL, for the convenience of it being so near the Docks and it being quiet so we can get a good nights sleep. We also use it due to the fact that we know and are affected by the amount of times their are accidents or hold ups on all routes to Dover docks causing long and lengthy tailbacks etc and the famous 'operation stack'. Just having that peace of mind and time cushion means you don't miss your crossing and ruin the start of your holiday.

 

For us the holiday starts when we leave home, so in effect it feels like we have gained a days holiday!

[trickydicky]

can anybody tell me where the calais aire is situated please.is it close to the port.is it where you can see motorhomes parked up when you enter calais, on the right hand side ?