The New Aire in Calais
Hi there
I have been looking at the new aire in Calais and have seen from this site that you can pay by phone (which may solve the difficulties some have mentioned due to the low level of the data entry point on the borne at the entry gate.
Has anyone used paybyphone in France ... or at this aire? Does anyone know whether there are time limits on the entry barrier to the aire (not the campsite)?
Any feedback would be welcome
Cheers
Jane
Comments
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We used it last year and had no issues with the machine, arriving after 11pm. You have to get out of your van to pay, its all in English and you state if you want the night on the Aire, a token for the services or both.
Paid by CC no problems. Make sure you retain your ticket to get out the next day, it has a code on it to exit and as far as I know its 24 hours.
Good aire, not a lot about in the area but we just sued it as a safe place to stop after getting a late ferry over, nice flat HS pitches all marked out.
The services are outside the Aire so you can just pay to use those if you want.
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Is this part of the completely refurbished municipal campsite in Calais - used to be Camping Gravelot (I think it may still be under the same name). If so, what do those who've stayed there think of it for caravanners, as it would be a very useful first and last night stop.
Photos of the new site look quite impressive - but often reality is not quite the same.
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Hi Valda
Its on Rue D'ansfeld so not sure its the same one you mention but it has the same name, looked very nice when we were there last summer. All new buildings and quite busy with a mixture of tents, caravans and MH's. Good size pitches and al HS with a lot of grass about also, nicely spaced, think there was WiFi free. It does look like the photo's so would say give it a go.
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We've stayed on the Aire about half a dozen times now. Quiet, secure and easy to get to/from the tunnel. A 10 minute walk to the beach and about 25 minutes to the town centre. There's no time bar for entries or exists. As reported above, access using a credit or debit card is simple.
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Thanks for the feedback everyone. On another forum folks have suggested that overnighting at Cité Europe is a good alternative. Does anyone have any thoughts on this one?
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No water, no power, no waste disposal - but it's a free car park overnight stop for late arrivals in Calais. We used it once with a car/Caravan for a few hours - and once shared a different car park in town with gypsy travellers, and once went down to sleep in Auchan supermarket at Boulogne till they opened the coffee shop there in the morning. There are lots of options.
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No, I could be wrong. CamperContact has Cite Europ listed not just as a car park but as a proper Aire these days. Still free, but they say with waste water and chemical disposal both available now. CamperContact is a good source of information and always has gradings from other motorhomers, and photos so you can see what the Aire is like.
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Eurotraveller - it would seem that the services are at a nearby garage rather than on the parking area itself - though we won't be too concerned about using these. We will travel with enough water for the overnight stop (to keep the weight down) and can get sorted with waste etc when we arrive in Lyon for our second night. We are hoping to spend the late afternoon and evening with family in Lyon and so our aim will be to get some sleep and then press on as early as we can
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Calais to Lyon by late afternoon ! Wow! You motorhomers do shift. It must be nearly 500 miles. Take care.
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Its 751km ET so you are pretty close! Google maps estimates 6 hours 37 minutes though we are thinking it will take closer to 8 and longer if we add in a few stops. We do two hour shifts and take turns to drive which helps. If we leave by 06.00 (or thereabouts) we should be down there around 16.00 which gives us time to pitch up and get ourselves sorted for an evening out. Thats the plan anyway ... We usually stop for a night in the Champagne region but this time round we can't fit that in (sadly)
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