Hitchhiking from Gistel
Hitchhiking to Gistel
Recent reviews mentioning Gistel
51.13404, 2.81775
―Nasalodor
50.93761, 1.86111
Calais is not impossible! However, I was flipped off at the start of my wait. May be a racial thing rather than a Calais thing though (I am east asian).―Nasalodor
51.18584, 3.10625
First car asked for Ghent. As I have a friend there who picked up the phone in bed...perfect. Had been a long day's hitch from London on little sleep :-)―whisperingofthestars
51.26634, 0.61629
Maidstone...the chaos. As you may well know, it's two sides for traffic with a lot that is local. I chose this spot as cars can pull into the petrol station afterwards. Asking cars is a possibility at the restaurant but it's too overwhelming for me...far too many, with a bunch of rude Brits :-)I've done this dozens of times and never really know the best tactic. I actually prefer Clacket Lane on the M25 if I'm alone as there's a lot of trucks/ vans...but I ended up going from there to here.
Hot day.
Finally a Belg car stopped and once on theptorwat announced they were returning their rented car and taking the foot passenger across. Curses. I broke my hitch to pay for the ticket - they had a friend taking them back to Belgium on the other side and I could continue with. Not too bad...but £30 is still £30 and I was tempted to remain in Dover. Still, energy preservation and knowing I was in at least Belgium by night, and the grape harvest waiting for me in a few days that would pay it back.
Maidstone is the spot in UK to go across...but you could be waiting several hours. I looked at the way coming into Dover and think there are some possibilities at the begining...but you should see with time how you're doing and of course you can't speak to most people like that.
Good luck!
―whisperingofthestars
51.18584, 3.10625
Worked quite well for going towards Brussels―Autostopeks
51.18787, 3.10561
Waited about an hour, mostly outside the shop with a sign saying Calais>UK, and asking the few cars I saw with UK plates. Eventually an Irish guy offered me a lift, took me in the ferry and dropped me outside London.―Wienerpolser
51.0347, 3.63871
Heading to the UK. Didn't see any UK plates in the parking so waited at the exit with a sign saying Oostende/Calais. Got a lift with a couple of Azerbaijanis who offered to take me to Dunkerque, but I got off at Jabbeke petrol station.―Wienerpolser
51.18787, 3.10561
Ok, this is my short rant about getting to the UK. It's hard, like really hard. Stop thinking about that in your average hitchhiking times, multiple it by 10. It's like waiting for Godot, but it's the same as ever, it's not matter of change, but time and persistence. I got lucky with a Norwegian car, they told me that they are going in two days and I agreed. But it's extremely difficult and absolute majority don't want to even speak to you once they hear the word UK. Foreign license plates are your goal, but it's still going to be a massive pain. I approached UK cars without a sign and just waved my sign to anyone else. Have your passport and ETA ready and the best of luck for all of you.―martih
51.2144, 2.89712
A decent spot, there were no cars parked here, a good one if you don't want to walk that far. But I would say it's better to just aim for Brugge and get off at the gas station on the highway if going further.―martih
51.05512, 2.66685
It was evening already, but I found a ride to Oostende, I hitchhiked before the roundabout, where there are two road lanes.―martih
51.0761, 3.11137
I got lucky. The first car driving by took me and got me near Brussels. This spot looked promising, was large, and had slow cars for hitchhiking west. But maybe I was just lucky.―martih
51.17623, 3.20231
This is a great spot, but be aware, cars are going in all directions, so you really need to know your direction and major cities in that direction. A car stopped, and the guys told me that they were going to Torhout. I asked whether it was in the direction of Brussels, and they confirmed. But after I realized I had made a semi-voluntary ride to Torhout.―martih
51.19423, 3.21368
I stood here, and a guy picked me up after a few minutes, stopped and told me this wasn't a great place, and brought me to a better one. There is a large space to stop and a decent amount of traffic.―martih
51.2207, 2.91747
A good, safe spot for Brugge or Ghent. Cars can see you clearly, and they can safely stop at the local bus stop. It is still kinda the city centre, so having a sign would be advised, but this road is still one of the main ways for cars to get out of the city; therefore, I think it is pretty good.―martih
50.9707, 3.84342
I got a ride directly to Oostende from here. There were a lot of cars here, and a guy took me almost immediately. This is a good spot if you need to change directions. I arrived late at night, slept in the truck cabin, and the next morning crossed a nearby bridge to the other side and headed toward Oostende.―martih
51.18787, 3.10561
Was heading to the UK. I was stupid and got in the first car that stopped that took me to the next gas station. BAD IDEA. There is lots of traffick heading to callais here, so do not go further.―stepanfoj
51.13532, 2.81919
I waited here for 2 hours trying to find a ride to the UK. There was very little traffic on a Monday night and I was just happy to accept a ride to Calais in the end, shortly before sunset. The driver drove me there out of pitty, I think.But seriously, stick to the bigger service station in Jabbeke. There's not a ton of traffic either, but at least you spot a UK licence plate every now and then.
―daganzebuaatramper
51.18787, 3.10561
I waited here for 1 hour trying to find a ride to the UK. I eventually decided to take a ride one gas station further. A BIG MISTAKE!Though there are not many cars going to UK here, at least there are some. At the next gas station there was one car in the first hour, that is it.
So, even if it seems bad, don't get tempted to go one gas station further. You'll regret it.
―daganzebuaatramper
51.18787, 3.10561
While heading to Ireland, a family heading home from Poland took me with them for a night in their van and even offered me a night in their guest room.―Anonymous
51.21465, 2.92648
―Anonymous