What to do in Dover

[Cruisin D]

Can anyone please help with some ideas on what to do in Dover?

We have two young children (8&4).

 

Thanks in advance for any help.

Cheers

[petergoesrock]

Can anyone please help with some ideas on what to do in Dover?

We have two young children (8&4).

 

Thanks in advance for any help.

Cheers

 

What sort of ideas are you after, for a few hours before you join the cruise? For a day or a couple of days?

[John Bull]

Can anyone please help with some ideas on what to do in Dover?

We have two young children (8&4).

 

Thanks in advance for any help.

Cheers

 

Unless you are a truck-spotter or a ferry-freak, there's nothing of great interest in Dover except Dover Castle, http://www.dover-castle-friends.org/

which sits high on the cliffs overlooking the town. But it is an excellent castle to visit, it has a long continuous history from Norman times to WW2, you can clearly see France in decent weather. It can keep you occupied for most of the day.

Not far from the town, but up a long steep hill - take a taxi or a bus (one from near the cruise terminal into town & switch to another for the castle).

http://europeforvisitors.com/europe/articles/dover_castle4.htm

If you're looking at more than 1/2 day, there's plenty of options in the countryside behind Dover or places like Canterbury or Leeds Castle.

 

There's also the option of combining the castle with a boat trip http://www.doverwhiteclifftours.com/70222/info.php?p=4&pno=0

This would involve making your own way down to the town from the castle (20/30 min downhill walk) & back to the cruise terminal

 

John Bull

[sddsddean]

If you want something a bit different, how about a trip on the RH&DR? http://www.rhdr.org.uk/ You should do it by cab for no more than £15, or could go by bus if you walk up into town a bit. As Pete says, it would be a bit dependant on whether you are there for the day or just trying to kill some time pre boarding.

 

Simon

[HeinBloed]

Can anyone please help with some ideas on what to do in Dover?

We have two young children (8&4).

 

Thanks in advance for any help.

Cheers

 

We are just back from Dover but we should be fair and say that we did not go by cruise ship...

 

But anyhow it should also work with a cruise ship:

 

Dover Castle

 

some impressions: http://heinbloed-cruiseguides.blogspot.com/2009/07/dover-uk-cruise-terminal-city-center.html

 

If you are on ship which is in transit through Dover you have a chance that there will be sightseeing bus available.

 

What we discovered now: there is also a pick-up service incl. tour ashore and on water available:

 

http://heinbloed-ncl.blogspot.com/2010/07/tag-61-nach-der-norwegian-epic-in.html

 

As you can see here: we did also the White Cliffs which are "around the corner" of the castle.

 

Last not least: very lovely... Canterbury:

 

http://heinbloed-ncl.blogspot.com/2010/07/tag-72-nach-der-norwegian-epic-in.html

 

Also easy to reach out of Dover.

 

Regards

HeinBloed

[Johanna7]

We were on a cruise, took the shuttle bus to Dover Castle (the bottom part) and walked up the steep hill. We are not young but it is certainly doable. We did not run up. It was a great day and we spent the whole day there.

 

There is so much to see and it is important if you want to see the secret war rooms that you register for that in the gift shop (you do not pay extra, it is included in your ticket) and it would be a great place for children to learn about WWll and how they managed that.

 

There is a restaurant where you can have a meal or snacks and it is quite reasonable.

 

It is not just the castle, there are so many other buildings there you can tour, churches, places where the soldiers lived, some dating back to 1200 AD.

 

We loved it.

[paws10]

We spent at least half day at Dover Castle and the war tunnels. We took the National Express from London to the cruise terminal. From there, we caught a cab for the short ride to our hotel. We checked our luggage and walked to the Castle. The day we were there, they were having some kind of festival with vintage cars and games. There was wine/mead tasting and music. It was a lovely day. I especially enjoyed playing the games and felt like a kid again! The castle provided excellent views. The tour through the war tunnels were especially interesting. Don't miss that!

Our friends stayed there about 5 hours and we walked back to town to do some exploring. The town was dead on Sunday.

If you're looking for a place to have a drink or eat, there is a little strip mall (fairly modern and new looking; I remember seeing a Denby outlet there) at the end that a local recommended.

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit there.

[Cruisin D]

Thanks everyone.

 

I think that we will pay a visit to the castle, as Dover is a port stop of our cruise, we did Canterberry & Leeds on our cruise visit last year. I have already printed some info on the castle.

 

Thanks again.

D

[Sauer-kraut]

If you click on the website in my signature there is a tab on the page that says LINKS, you will find a lot of information on Dover there. There are several on our cruise that will be spending a day or two in Dover before our departure and the links page is a great resource for them.

 

Have a great time! :)