Where to go from Calais

[the saint in winchester]

Left it a bit late to book flights for May half term week, at reasonable prices anyway. Everywhere is £350 a pop, and there being 3 or 4 of us travelling makes it prohibitive.

I see I can get reasonable priced ferry trips from Dover to Calais.

I'm a bit ignorant about France, only been to Brittany and Normandy for day trips so far.

 

So, my question : is there somewhere within max 2 hour drive of Calais that is a good holiday area? Ideally beach/lake/sand, scenic views/natural attractions, things for teenagers, restaurants/eateries, supermarket etc?

 

I had a google and some bloke in the Telegraph wrote about the Opal Trail. Other than that, I am ignorant on where to go from calais.

 

Appreciate your help? Interested in your comments if you know the area.

 

thanks

[Wes Tender]

Left it a bit late to book flights for May half term week, at reasonable prices anyway. Everywhere is £350 a pop, and there being 3 or 4 of us travelling makes it prohibitive.

I see I can get reasonable priced ferry trips from Dover to Calais.

I'm a bit ignorant about France, only been to Brittany and Normandy for day trips so far.

 

So, my question : is there somewhere within max 2 hour drive of Calais that is a good holiday area? Ideally beach/lake/sand, scenic views/natural attractions, things for teenagers, restaurants/eateries, supermarket etc?

 

I had a google and some bloke in the Telegraph wrote about the Opal Trail. Other than that, I am ignorant on where to go from calais.

 

Appreciate your help? Interested in your comments if you know the area.

 

thanks

 

Yes, Opal trail very nice. We had three days on the Pas De Calais in November and liked it a lot. The coast south of Le Touquet is lovely, with miles of sandy beaches. Le Touquet itself is very ritzy. There is a succession of beach resorts all the way down to the the Somme estuary. We stayed one night at Berck Plage and another at St Omer. That itself is a lovely old medieval town just half an hour from Calais. A cheap holiday can be had by taking the car across from Calais for about £80/£100 and then staying in 2* hotels like the budget version of Ibis, which are clean and modern, if a little basic. On the plus side, some lovely scenery and beaches, plenty to do in the resorts and inland, duty frees and top up in the hypermarkets on booze and local produce.

[Pancake]

Try the Le Touquet and Berck area. Loads to do round there, decent beaches, historical shizzle...

[Wes Tender]

This is the most comprehensive site covering the area.

 

http://www.france-voyage.com/travel-guide/pas-de-calais-departement.htm

 

Watch the Virtual Tour video and excuse the incredibly bad pronunciation of French. Then there is a delightful array of photos of the major places and a good map featuring places to stay, etc.