Booze Cruise to Calais

Advantages: cheap, fun, quick.
Disadvantages: None! We are after all talking about cheap booze and fags!

...we were and got off at Exit 36. It couldn’t have been easier. When we arrived we found that cigs were not much different from on the ferry, tobacco is though so if you want that it’s worth the extra drive. I didn’t mind it was my way of having a little peak round France and liking what I saw. The drive was lovely, greenery everywhere and the sun was shining, can’t wait for my next holiday, France it will be… by ferry! If you would like to find out further information about SeaFrance or book you can call 08705 711 711. For group reservations you can call 08705 301 301 or visit seafrance.com to book or for further information online. Here is a list of the timetable. ---Dover to Calais--- 01:00am* 05:15 07:00 08:15* 09:30 11:00 12:15* 13:30 15:15 16:15* 17:45 19:15 20:15* 21:45 23...

Redhead 24.06.2002 · Read review
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Review of Calais (France)

Calais Hotel Meurice

Advantages: Central location but quiet, elegant, luxurious
Disadvantages: Central location but not too easy to find

...I often go to France for short breaks, usually from Poole to Cherbourg but recently for a change, and because of some business in Kent, my wife and I decided to revisit one of our favourite hotels, the Hotel Meurice, in the very centre of Calais. We spent a Saturday and a Sunday night there at the beginning of February 2008 and we weren't disappointed. Last time we had been here was about 10 yrs ago when its elegant interior was a bit jaded. It has been improved since, although there are still little bits here and there that need some TLC. Let's get straight to the point - Calais isn't the most attractive town in France so who would want to stay here? Well we did. We wanted several things that the Meurice allowed us to do. It allowed us to wallow in the hotel's luxury for a couple of days. It allowed us to refresh our wine...

webfoot 08.02.2008 · Read review
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Review of Hotel Meurice, Calais

The great booze cruise

Advantages: Cheap, Cheap, Cheap
Disadvantages: Time

...I have been viviting Calais for a number of years to regularly stock up on wine and cigarettes. My husband and I both smoke and we also like a tipple of an evening. When visiting Calais we chose one of two modes of transport. The Channel tunnel or the ferry depending upon which is giving the best offers at the time, (such offers can be found on the Internet or in national newspapers). Advantages of Channel tunnel It is a lot quicker and only takes about 35 minutes to get through the tunnel. You set off from Calais with shops available to buy those last few things that you forgot. You do not get sea sick if you have a weak stomach. Advatages of Ferry It allows my husband to get 40 winks before we drive home. Wit nice weather it is wonderful standing outside on the deck. Less claustrophobic than the tunnel. Once in...

mkberridge 11.10.2005 · Read review
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Review of Calais (France)

Oh la la the best in Calais by far

Advantages: Relaxing hotel, easy to get to
Disadvantages: maybe a little pricey

...I had to travel to Germany, in fact it was the furthest part of the old West Germany you could get to, so I needed to break my journey (after travelling from the West Country), just coming out of the Channel Tunnel, Calais seemed a good place to stop off over night. *** Where is it *** The Holiday Inn "Calais - Nord" is located just out of the centre of Calais near the car ferry port. So it is very convenient for both the Channel Tunnel and the ferry ports. It took me about 10 minutes to drive there from the Channel Tunnel. The hotel is located at 6/8/10 Boulevard des Allies 62100 Calais France Tel +33 321 34 6969 Fax + 33 321 97 0915 www.holiday-inn.com/calais-nord The hotel is very easy to find, in fact the directions on the Holiday Inn website are perfect. The hotel is located right next to the car ferry...

lazza123 13.03.2008 (25.03.2008) · Read review
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Review of Holiday Inn Calais Nord

stock up on the booze for christmas

Advantages: very cheap wines and spirits
Disadvantages: none

...If you have a passport and fancy a shopping trip with a difference to stock up on some very cheap wines and spirits,a trip accross the English channel to calais in France will do very nicely. I have been 3 times this year.The money I spend on petrol driving aproximately 250 miles each way to Dover and back plus the cost of a ferry crossing is easily made back by the savings in the hyper-market that I shop in. You can travel as a foot passenger but then you are very limited with what you can carry.I recommend taking the car as the hyper market is only a 10 minute drive from the ferry port. There are several hyper markets in calais but I always go to the same one as it is so easy to get to. The shop I use is called 'carrefour'and is situated in a complex called city europe which has many other shops including a toys r us...

welshlad33 30.09.2002 · Read review
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Review of Calais (France)

  "Lille De France" - Geddit?

Advantages: Near London by train, cosmopolitan feel, excellent transport connections, eating out, plenty to see
Disadvantages: Dog poo

...I?ve now been to Lille three times in the past year or so, each previous time, merely for the day. Only over the last weekend did we stay overnight. Why Lille? Well, rather like the reason dogs lick their naughty bits, it?s because we can. Lille is the first main stop in France on the Eurostar/TGV route from the Channel Tunnel ? yes, I know you could get a train that stops at Calais (Fréthun), but that?s like getting out at Bristol Parkway and expecting to be in Bristol! Gare Lille-Europe arrives outside your train window 1 hour and 40 minutes after London Waterloo International disappears. Stage 1 of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL), means that we now get to hurtle through Kent at 186 M.P.H. before slowing to a mere 100 M.P.H. to shrug off the 32 miles of tunnel in a mere 20 minutes. Doing 'a ton' MORE than even the over...

BNibbles 07.12.2004 (09.12.2004) · Read review
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Review of Lille (France)

LE TOUQUET near CALAIS

Advantages: France! Food, architecture ... shopping!
Disadvantages: Would-be Crooners

...Our remaining Euros from our last trip to Calais were burning a hole in our pockets, so we decided to take advantage of the excellent 24-hour return ferry from Dover to Calais. It cost 40 pounds sterling - about euro 64 for a car and 4 passengers from the UK to France, leaving at 12:30 and returning the same time on the next day. Plus P&O Ferries give you a voucher for 3 bottles of wine - just be sure to get them on the WAY OVER to France, as the offer states (though if you sound pathetique enough, you MIGHT be able to talk them into giving you the wine, on the way back to the UK). Instead of stopping in Calais, we drove on down the coast of Normandy. We decided to save Dunkirque for another day, so headed west. We took the slow route, and stayed off the A16 toll road on the way there, so we passed through several towns...

Reynarda 23.11.2002 (26.11.2003) · Read review
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Review of General: France

Hossegor, France

Advantages: Beats any British beach holiday hands down
Disadvantages: Strong currents on some days

...My family and I started going to Hossegor, (which is situated in the Bay Of Biscay, SW France), when I was about 5, way back in the mid 80's. Well, up he coast a tiny bit from there actually). We always stay at the same place when we're there. Its a 4star campsite called Le Vieux Port. The campsite has everything that you'd need. Even as young children we always had something to do. The entance consists of a long kind of driveway, along which runs a football pitch, crazy golf and a mini go-kart thing for the kiddies. It all looks very classy, with flags from different countries running down both sides. Then you approach the reception and main bar areas of the site. The campsite has one very very nice bar which is never too crowded, but always is full of atmosphere. There are often live bands playing here (most...

BJEEE 20.12.2000 (21.12.2000) · Read review
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Review of Lille (France)

Easiest way to get to France - Seafrance Ferries

Advantages: Cheap, the ferry was really nice inside, beautiful scenery
Disadvantages: Expensive food and gift shop

...I've been on Sea France ferries a few times now, and, lucky for me, its service is always consistent. Last weekend, me and my partner decided to go on an impulsive day trip to France, so late Saturday night, we booked returned ferry tickets to Calais from Dover. Booking the tickets was, in itself, a little bit of a nightmare if you take into account how many different companies are trying to sell you tickets for the same ferry, some more expensive than others, and often you have to fill out a form and then it'll tell you how much, so it can be time consuming if you're wanting to shop around. After looking at a few different sites, we found one (I can't remember what it was) that had foot passenger tickets as £6 each, which was cheaper even than the Sea France website. The next morning, we had a two hour drive from our town to Dover...

Stephoohla 19.08.2009 · Read review
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Review of SeaFrance Ferries

AA ROAD ATLAS FRANCE 2009

Advantages: GREAT VALUE FOR MONEY
Disadvantages: TO MANY GREAT PLACES TO VISIT

...need in a map and more. It's clear scale 4.5 miles to 1 inch (1 : 280,000) makes reading easy and has been fully updated from IGN, France's official mapping agency, also there's over 20 town plans plus a central Paris map on page 93. Not forgetting the detailed colour layout of Motorways, Roads, Tunnels, Railways, Airports, Junctions, Castle, Cathedral and funny enough even fixed camera sites. On page 2 there's a very useful distances and journey times table, which calculates the distance between 50 towns/cities in km. So say for example take Calais to Paris the distance is 294 km with a rough journey time of 316 minutes. KEY POINTS France's clearest mapping Clear Scale 4.5 miles to 1 inch (2.8km to 1cm) 20 Town plans A map of Paris Fully updated Fixed speed camera sites Distance and journey times 108 pages SUMMARY...

donovan74 06.07.2009 · Read review
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Review of 2007 AA Road Atlas France (AA Atlases) - AA Publishing