After a stop in London, we will be traveling to Calais by ferry and renting a car. Will we encounter problems by traveling to Belgium (Mons area) before returning to France?
Posted by
Pensacola
9110 posts
There will not be a problem. I routinely do very similar things.
Edit: This sounds like a very short term rental for which you will pay dearly. If you have a few other places on the list, it might be better to keep the car for a bit longer for the same price. Play with the notion and fiddle with the number of days in the rental period and see what happens. Just don't toy with renting in one country and dropping in another, the fee will break the bank.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
32756 posts
Edwina, I agree with Steve.
I understand that it was not until quite recently that Belgians had to pass a driving test.
It has certainly been my experience that some drivers there drive imaginatively and creatively. There are plenty of Belgian cars with lots of dents - especially on the right hand side. Learn about the yellow diamond with the black stripe across it.
Why take a ferry to Calais then drive? The road from Calais to Dunkirk is bumpy, twisty, and full of trucks, as well as a strictly enforced (unmarked cars, cameras, etc) 110 kph limit; the road between Dunkirk and Lille is terrible, very bumpy concrete and always having road works ; the two lanes each way get their fair share of trucks passing trucks at just a touch over 90 kph and queuing cars up behind.
Last month I nearly missed my Eurotunnel because of the road between Lille and Dunkirk, and we had left 1:15 early so we could do a little shopping at Carrafour.
Neither end of the ferry journey is close to the town, the Dover railway station certainly is not close to the Dover ferry terminal.
Why not use Eurostar straight under the Channel into Brussels, then just 45 minutes by train to Mons? Your Eurostar ticket is valid to any Belgian station.
So much less hassle.
You may have a really good answer; if so, no worries. Please, just bear the above in mind.
Posted by
OP
Monticello, Illinois, USA
19 posts
Thanks for all the enlightening responses. These will all be taken into consideration when making our final trip plans. We have been to Mons before to do genealogical research, and experienced some difficulties with language. We did get some good information but now want to go to the university in Mons to do further research. We thought that driving might be easier than meeting train schedules. We appreciate your help. Edwina