Driving from Port-en-Bessin-Huppain, France to Calais

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Port-en-Bessin-Huppain,+France/Calais,+France/@50.0554738,-0.5794106,8z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m13!4m12!1m5!1m1!1s0x480baa3c3cf3aeaf:0x40c14484fbce0a0!2m2!1d-0.7719714!2d49.3373658!1m5!1m1!1s0x47dc3f75d7f1e363:0xacbed9e08cd279f4!2m2!1d1.858686!2d50.95129

Thank you !!!!

If by chunnel you mean "Eurostar train", have you already got your tickets? Very few trains for England stop at Calais and the station is inconvenient for the few that do.

Don't trust google maps driving times as they are often quite optimistic. Use via Michelin, much more accurate.

Yes, we purchased our train tickets a few weeks ago for the Eurostar train. Our train leaves Calais in the late afternoon and arrives in London about 1 hour later, following a stop in Folkestone. Calais was the station we were told was best.

The Eurostar doesn't stop in Folkestone. Its first possible stop is Ashford in Kent, but trains which stop at Calais don't stop there. Some do stop at Ebbsfleet International which is on the Thames.

The only train which starts in Calais and ends at Folkestone is the Eurotunnel, which is the train which cars drive onto and the whole train with dozens of cars goes through the tunnel. There are no seats on the train (except a couple for the crew) and no provision for foot passengers.

I'd advise you to closely look at your tickets and ensure that they say Eurostar and not Eurotunnel.

Yes, we purchased our train tickets a few weeks ago for the Eurostar train. Our train leaves Calais in the late afternoon and arrives in London about 1 hour later, following a stop in Folkestone.

I too would have suggested turning in the car at Lille instead of Calais, Lille is a bigger place with many more Eurostar trains stopping there, and many more car hire offices.
Note the Eurostar trains stop in Calais Fréthun, not Calais Ville. Calais Fréthun is outside Calais, near the tunnel mouth with nothing there but a car park. Where exactly are you handing in your car? If it is in the centre of Calais, how are you getting from there to Calais Fréthun station?

According to the timetable (click here) I see a 14:01 from Calais (16:01 Sundays) and a 21:01, nothing in between. Both taking just over 1 hour to get to London St Pancras.
Both these trains stop at Ebbsfleet on the edge of London. No Eurostar trains stop at Folkestone, the Channel Tunnel line does not go through the town.

Although Calais is closer to the channel and closer to Normandy, the station and amenities, the car rental facilities and the frequency of services is far superior at Lille.

Who was it who suggested Calais to you as best?

I appreciate everyone's replies! First, our tickets are for the 14:01 Eurostar train, not Eurotunnel, leaving from Calais Frethun and arriving in London St. Pancras Station one hour later. We are then renting a car from Hertz at the St. Pancras Station and driving to Swansea, Wales. Our friends from Wales suggested Calais. Originally, we were going to take the train to London by way of Folkestone and then a train from Folkeston to London to Swansea so I was still thinking the train stopped in Folkestone. Now I know that is not the case and the train will take us directly to London St. Pancras. We return our French rental car at the Hertz Agency located at Avenue Roger Salengro - Avia Petrol Station. 70 Avenue Roger Salengro, Calais, 62100. From there our travel agent says we can take a cab to the train station in Calais Frethun, about 5 kilometers away but not easy to get to. Does this sound correct?

Tom, that sounds correct. I wouldn't have called 14:01 "late afternoon" which confused me. Yes Calais Fréthun is about 5Km from the centre of Calais, and the only way to get there is taxi. Make sure you get there in plenty of time (absolute minimum 30 minutes before departure), as you need to go through passport control (twice, exit Schengen and enter UK) before you are allowed on the platform.

I personally would not have voted for driving out of London starting from St Pancras. I hope you have a good map. As your train stops at Ebbsfleet, you could have picked up a car there, though there is only limited car hire there. Ebbsfleet is on the M25 London ring Motorway. Driving round London on the M25 can be very busy, but it is still faster and less stress than driving out of London.

Charles - thank you for the very helpful information regarding the train station in Calais Frethun as well as the rental car information. For maps in the UK, we have been looking at via Michelin as well as AA Route Planner Britain.

And, you are correct, 14:01 is not really "late"afternoon, more like "mid" afternoon. I didn't think that one through!!
Jane and Tom