As someone who has recently taken up long distance hiking, I was intrigued by the fact that the London to Rome pilgrimage trail runs right through this terminal. But once I experienced actually going through the station, it lost its luster for sure.
First of all, if you have a car, the experience seems like it would be much better. But as a foot passenger, they make it clear that the terminal is not meant for you. First of all, the walk to the foot passenger terminal from the heart of Calais is a long one. Taking a taxi from the train station is a much better option. Also there is not much leeway built into the time they say to arrive at the terminal. There's about ten minutes of buffer from the time on the ticket to the time the boat starts loading.
Once shuttled on the bus from the terminal to customs, security are kind of douchey. I get that Calais is kind of newsworthy in the whole immigration debate but I have crossed through recent warzones (Bosnia in 2003) with less of a critical eye on my documents. It was like people who walk to the ferry were immediately under suspicion.
Overall, the terminal seemed to function well and the ferry departed on time. Seeing the Cliffs Of Dover in the United Kingdom from the sea was an amazing experience and worth most of the aggravation. But I can now see why generations of people before me were glad to see it. Leaving Calais behind was pretty amazing. read more