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Hitchhiking from London to Paris

About 11 h 46 min of hitchhiking — roughly 811 km in 7 ride(s), including about 3 h 27 min of waiting by the road. These figures come from rides hitchhikers logged on this map, not from an estimate.

Open this route in the interactive planner

Step by step

  1. Get from London to Shell — 14.5 km. Local transport is usually quicker than walking this stretch.
  2. Hitch 58.0 km (35 min) from Shell to RoadChef Maidstone Services. Expect around 23 min of waiting here. 2 logged rides support this leg. See this spot
  3. Hitch 237.1 km (2 h 22 min) from RoadChef Maidstone Services to Jabbeke. Expect around 1 h 34 min of waiting here. 2 logged rides support this leg. See this spot
  4. Walk 1.0 km (13 min) from Jabbeke to Dienstenzone Jabbeke.
  5. Hitch 53.1 km (32 min) from Dienstenzone Jabbeke to Dienstenzone Drongen-Zuid. Expect around 15 min of waiting here. 2 logged rides support this leg. See this spot
  6. Hitch 64.9 km (39 min) from Dienstenzone Drongen-Zuid to Kruibeke-Noord. Expect around 9 min of waiting here. 3 logged rides support this leg. See this spot
  7. Hitch 36.4 km (22 min) from Kruibeke-Noord to Parking Kalken (Noord). Expect around 3 min of waiting here. 2 logged rides support this leg. See this spot
  8. Hitch 117.9 km (1 h 11 min) from Parking Kalken (Noord) to Aire de Phalempin-Ouest. Expect around 26 min of waiting here. 3 logged rides support this leg. See this spot
  9. Hitch 243.6 km (2 h 26 min) from Aire de Phalempin-Ouest to BP. Expect around 39 min of waiting here. 2 logged rides support this leg. See this spot
  10. Get from BP to Paris — 4.3 km. Local transport is usually quicker than walking this stretch.

What hitchhikers said along this route

“I asked 20 cars to find one going on the M20 (Dover).”
― Anonymous · Shell
“Been their on the 05/03/2016 and waited 55 min for a ride to dover ! So i guess not bad for a first hitchik !”
― Marouan ben, Tue 2016-03-22 · Shell
“Steve and Ben pass by the gas station every week day between 3-5pm and they pick up every hitchhiker they find in their way. They don't go straight to Dover but they can drop you in a lorry park where it's easy to get a ride.”
― Anonymous, Sun 2011-03-27 · Shell
“Scored a ride very quickly with a sign for Maidstone. Ended up helping a couple workers deliver sofas in London for a few hours before getting where I wanted to go, good fun and great spot. Just smile and look friendly as us English are sceptical.”
― That_sid_guy, Tue 2023-01-24 · Shell
“I live in London and have used this spot a few times, in fact it's where I started my first-ever hitchhiking trip. Never had to wait more than 20 mins with an "M20" sign (I've always been here around 9-11am). This is the ideal spot to start hitchhiking towards Dover/Europe in my opinion!”
― i_have_jelly_babies, Sat 2023-08-26 · Shell
“A relatively good starting spot since it's easy to reach with the overground from London proper. However not too many cars stop at the gas station and they are not stopping for a thumb. I did find a ride that was able to take me at least a bit further on the highway in the direction of Dover for higher chances to find someone to take me further. This was around 10 am in mid August.”
― thebeekeeper, Tue 2024-10-08 · Shell
“Had an M20 sign, lots of traffic”
― Anonymous, Sun 2025-09-21 · Shell
“My first hitchhike of the journey and I couldn’t ask for a better ride. Had a Scottish/Polish family doing a road trip from Scotland all the way to Poland and was able to take me across the channel. They were able to add me as an additional passenger on the Eurostar when crossing. This was back on Aug. 1st so you see a lot of families taking holidays.”
― Wiisportzs, Fri 2026-09-04 · Shell
“Hitchhiked back in Aug 1st. I didn’t wait too long but it was extremely sunny so be careful. I was pretty lucky since a Scottish/Polish family was doing a roadtrip from Scotland to Poland. They were able to add me as a passenger onto the Eurotrain very seamlessly, free of charge. So I was able to cross the English channel and make it to Dunkirk. It was a great start to my hitchhiking adventure :D.”
― Wiisportzs, Fri 2026-09-04 · Shell
“didn't like this spot, was her half an hour and it felt like aaages, I too went to Maidstone services”
― rot, Wed 2026-09-09 · Shell

Nearby city guides

Waiting times and distances are averages from community-logged rides. Travel time assumes 100 km/h in a car and 5 km/h walking. They are not guarantees.


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