Gatwick to Dover Port suggestions

[ETski]

We are 4 adults that need to get to the Dover port. We will be arriving at Gatwick south terminal at 11 am on a Saturday. What are our options to get to get to the port on our own. Read that we would have to transfer in London is it doable with luggage?

[sddsddean]

There are 2 ways to do this.

1. Train

 

 

There is a train every half hour from Gatwick (which is is in the south airport terminal) to Dover Priory. The one at 6 minutes past the hour goes via London Bridge you wo only to the next platform. This trip is 2hrs 27mins. The one at 36 mins past the hour goes via St Pancras, where again you would have to change platforms, but is a bit more of a hike. As you would be on the new Javelin trains St P to Dover Priory, this route is 2hrs 5 mins. I picked a random Saturday in July and the fare is £49.30 each. You would also need a cab at the Dover end....say £10-£15 in case you need 2.

 

 

2. Car service

 

 

Unfortunately I don't know any in Surrey, so hopefully someone else can help. Try this for ideas https://www.google.co.uk/search?source=hp&ei=s_YYW47nOMWwswGb6bugCw&q=Car+sservice+Gatwick+to+Dover&oq=Car+sservice+Gatwick+to+Dover&gs_l=psy-ab.3...2039.17413.0.18773.40.32.7.0.0.0.273.3854.1j27j2.30.0....0...1c.1.64.psy-ab..3.36.3822.0..0j35i39k1j0i131k1j0i67k1j0i10k1j0i13k1j0i13i30k1j0i8i13i30k1j0i22i30k1j0i13i5i30k1j33i160k1j33i21k1.0.LC5-gj5IhA4

I found this one on there https://www.airport-pickups-london.com/Gatwick/taxi-from-gatwick-to-dover.asp which shows an MPV(which is at least whay you'd need for 4 people) for £123, so better than 1/2 price for the train. As an idea, it's about a 90 minute drive...maybe less if you are lucky with the traffic!...and nearly all on motorway.

 

 

Assuming you are sailing day of arrival (risky at the best of times), I'd go for the car service.

 

Simon

[Bob++]

I have seen Premier Taxis of Folkestone recommended elsewhere on this board. Folkestone is just down the road from Dover.

 

http://www.premiertaxisfolkestone.co.uk/index.php

[pompeii]

I have seen Premier Taxis of Folkestone recommended elsewhere on this board. Folkestone is just down the road from Dover.

 

http://www.premiertaxisfolkestone.co.uk/index.php

 

We're transferring from Gatwick to Dover for our July cruise and Premier Taxi Folkestone quoted £104 for a saloon car for two people plus luggage. A larger car would probably be about £20-25 or so more. For four people I would definitely use a car service and not public transportation. Door to door service, much quicker and much easier. And probably not more expensive. For two people the service costs much more than the train or bus, but we're willing to pay for the convenience esp after flying all night.

 

I wound up booking with Celine Travel for £103 but haven't used them yet so I can't give a recommendation as to the service. But booking was very easy, their reviews are excellent, prices are quite competitive, and Celine is very responsive via email. Here is the website if you want to take a look https://www.celine-minicab.co.uk/

 

I have also used Twelve Transfers before and they were fine. However, they were more expensive from Gatwick so we didn't book them this time.

[John Bull]

National Express bus https://www.nationalexpress.com/en is another option, but like the train it takes you into central London where you switch buses (very easy) for Dover.

Journey time depends on the connection in London, but all the examples I tried were over 5 hours total.:eek:

Fares around £14, and altho Dover cruise terminal isn't a listed stop drivers frequently offer to swing by there for cruise passengers, so it'd be the cheapest even for four.

 

Gatwick or Heathrow to Dover is one of the rare journeys that I'd recommend ship's transfer bus for two people, but for four the cost will be somewhere near the cost of a private transfer.

 

JB :)

[PhilbeachTraveller]

Gatwick to this part of Kent is a real pain! There is a 'non London' train journey which has 2 changes (Gatwick to Redhill, Redhill to to Tonbridge, Tonbridge to Dover Priory - then you'll have to get a taxi to the cruise terminal). Cheaper than going via London (£21.60 single ticket) and takes 2 hours 40 minutes. It's only about a 90 minute drive so it's much nicer to take a taxi although a lot more expensive. We nearly got a direct train to Gatwick from Ashford International but Southeastern decided they wouldn't make enough money from it! Although the coach is cheap, it'll take nearly all day, as JB says.

[mabt]

I'd just rent a car and drive. You'll pay a one-way fee, but for four people it's probably still cheaper than the train or private transfer. Avis, Enterprise, and Europcar all have locations in Dover. Port is walkable (drop off your passengers and luggage first) or a short taxi ride.

[pompeii]

I'd just rent a car and drive. You'll pay a one-way fee, but for four people it's probably still cheaper than the train or private transfer. Avis, Enterprise, and Europcar all have locations in Dover. Port is walkable (drop off your passengers and luggage first) or a short taxi ride.

 

Not everyone is comfortable driving on the other side of the road, especially after pulling an all nighter on a plane.

[mabt]

Not everyone is comfortable driving on the other side of the road, especially after pulling an all nighter on a plane.

 

Sure. OP asked for options. Driving qualifies. I didn't say it was the only option, just the one I personally would choose (and have chosen in the past).

 

IMO driving on the left is actually the least of the challenges faced by those who are unfamiliar with driving in the UK. It's not for everyone.

[sddsddean]

Sure. OP asked for options. Driving qualifies. I didn't say it was the only option, just the one I personally would choose (and have chosen in the past).

 

IMO driving on the left is actually the least of the challenges faced by those who are unfamiliar with driving in the UK. It's not for everyone.

 

This being the biggest challenge!!

 

Simon

[John Bull]

This being the biggest challenge!!

 

Simon

 

Ahhh, Swindon's Magic Roundabout :)

 

But if the OP hits that roundabout en-route from Gatwick to Dover there's something sadly wrong with their gps - Swindon is around 100 miles in the wrong direction :D

 

The drive from Gatwick to Dover is about as simple as you can get - other than the first and last couple of miles the 80-mile drive is all motorway and usually takes under 90 minutes. Divided highway, no roundabouts (traffic islands/traffic circles), no traffic lights, no road junctions, no tolls :)

On the motorway there's little chance of a wrong turn & zero chance of driving on the wrong side of the road.

 

North on the M23 for 9 miles, ramp onto M25 west/anti-clockwise for 13 miles, ramp onto M26 for 13 miles, automatically blend into the M20 south-bound and in 44 miles you're in Dover. The cruise terminal is just as you enter Dover. Simples.

 

As mabt's post there are a few other differences in the rules of the road, but on this journey the only significant one is drive in the kerbside lane except when overtaking (like many rural stretches of highway in the US) & no overtaking on the nearside - lane discipline is important in the UK.

Road signage is excellent, tho' directions are mainly road numbers and towns in that direction, not road numbers and E or W or N or S. "M20 Dover", not "M20 South"

 

That said, it's not for everyone.

And you'd need to do the maths, including about £12 for gas, and a hefty one-way rental and CDW insurance (plus extra for zero excess) like in the US.. And UK rentals are usually shift-stick - if you want automatic transmission you have to specify.

Then there's the faffing around collecting and returning the thing.:rolleyes:

 

I probably wouldn't bother but yes, it's certainly an option.

 

JB :)

[pompeii]

 

The drive from Gatwick to Dover is about as simple as you can get - other than the first and last couple of miles the 80-mile drive is all motorway and usually takes under 90 minutes. Divided highway, no roundabouts (traffic islands/traffic circles), no traffic lights, no road junctions, no tolls :)

JB :)

 

Right now we have a car and driver lined up for £104 to get us from Gatwick to Dover, but I am toying with the idea of taking the train instead. One, for two people I believe it should be about half the cost, correct? And two, I have heard that traffic can be bad on the motorway and it can take longer by car. If we're not going to save time with the car, then the train looks better and better.....

 

We are scheduled to arrive Gatwick on Tuesday 17 July at 11:45. With arrivals and customs, maybe about 1-1.5 hours before we're on the road? The quickest train journey connecting in London looks like it takes about 2.5 hours; how long is driving apt to take mid-afternoon on a weekday?

 

I know we would have to change trains in London but that doesn't look too difficult. I also know that we have to factor in the cost of a taxi from Dover Priory to our hotel, which shouldn't be much.

[John Bull]

Right now we have a car and driver lined up for £104 to get us from Gatwick to Dover, but I am toying with the idea of taking the train instead. One, for two people I believe it should be about half the cost, correct? And two, I have heard that traffic can be bad on the motorway and it can take longer by car. If we're not going to save time with the car, then the train looks better and better.....

 

We are scheduled to arrive Gatwick on Tuesday 17 July at 11:45. With arrivals and customs, maybe about 1-1.5 hours before we're on the road? The quickest train journey connecting in London looks like it takes about 2.5 hours; how long is driving apt to take mid-afternoon on a weekday?

 

I know we would have to change trains in London but that doesn't look too difficult. I also know that we have to factor in the cost of a taxi from Dover Priory to our hotel, which shouldn't be much.

 

Compared to most train travel via London, Gatwick to Dover is easy because your train to Dover leaves from the same station (choose London St Pancras or London Bridge or London Victoria) as your train from Gatwick - no need to cross central London from one station to another.

 

But you can't be sure what time you'll be on the platform at Gatwick (flight delay, line at immigration, grief at the carousel, etc) so you'd be unwise to buy the cheapest tickets (£11 to £27) because you have to specify the time of the train that you want. If you don't take that train, your advance-purchased ticket is only good for the trash can.

You need off-peak or "anytime" tickets - they cost around £50 whichever of those London stations you change at.

Split-ticketing (buying separate tickets for each train) appears to save about £10 pp if you go via St Pancras or London Bridge, no saving if you go via Victoria.

I haven't priced-up Phil's option of three trains / two changes, but its a lot of faffing around esp with bags and at 2hrs 40 (excluding any missed connections) it's much slower than trains via London (2hrs to 2hrs 30) or by road (about 90 minutes)

 

£104 for a private transfer is about the mark, so with no taxi from the station it's actually a bit cheaper than the train.

And no schlepping, no hanging around for trains, guaranteed seats, no guarding your bags, no other passengers holding loud one-sided phone conversations or the tsching-tsching from someone's earphones. - in short, all very civilised.

Worst of the M25 traffic grief is around Heathrow, not Gatwick / Redhill / Clacket Lane Services / M26 turn-off.

Then the M26 and M20 to Dover are usually problem-free - you are likely to have a straight run though, though there's always the potential for a fatal or truck wreck to create a big delay, as happened early this week. But that grief is for those with tight schedules such as folk heading to an airport. Whilst nobody likes sitting in traffic, in the unlikely event of that happening to you it simply means a later arrival at your hotel.

 

Me?

I'd book that private transfer.

But train or Nat Express bus or rented car will all work, and it's your trip, your money, your decision.

 

JB :)

[pompeii]

Thanks for the advice, John. I think you're right so I'll stop second-guessing myself and stick with the transfer.

[sddsddean]

On the face of it, you'd be saving about £60 if you went by train, but I agree with JB...that spare cash doesn't justify all the faffing about....£104 is actually a pretty good rate, so I think you're right to stick with it.

 

 

Simon