Help with Dover Port Transportation

[oufpat]

I'm looking for transportation from Dover Port to Heathrow. I could be off ship at 8am and need to be at airport for 1pm. I'm looking for a company that can provide some type of excursion such as stop at Dover Castle or Windsor, before arrival at Heathrow. 

[John Bull]

Dover to LHR is 100 miles, a minimum of about two hours., more likely toward three hours.

But the timescale is extremely variable - about half  of that journey is on the notorious M25 London orbital motorway, which can be log-jammed by such a simple thing as a truck breakdown. And whenever it's log-jammed the surface-road alternatives quickly log-jam too if it's a weekday. 

 

So I'd very strongly suggest you choose WINDSOR castle - it's only 20 minutes from LHR, and there are a variety of routes from Windsor to LHR.

If the worst comes to the worst (it probably won't ) you have a window of an extra 3 hours to go direct to LHR. 

 

Windsor castle is well worth a couple of hours, and it's right in the town centre if you have time for a wander.

Guides aren't permitted in Windsor castle, they have their own guides or most folk opt for an audio-guide. So all you need is a car & driver.

Try these, which CC members have used............

https://www.dovertaxis.com/

https://doverroyaltaxis.com/

https://www.premiertaxisfolkestone.co.uk/

The above are all based at the Dover end.

 

There are dozens of LHR-based operators, and it's a bit of a lottery. I suggest you avoid those without plenty of good recent independent reviews, and try

https://www.simplyairports.co.uk/ - the biggest and they're reputable. Reviews are mixed (tends to be the way with large organisations).

https://www.blackberrycars.com/  - often recommended on Cruise Critic.

 

It should be simple to get quotes for 8am at Dover cruise terminal to LHR, via Windsor for as much time is available, and with a 1pm arrival time at LHR.

 

BTW, you want to be at LHR at 1pm.

What time is your flight? 

Is it an inter-continental or European or domestic flight?

And what date - more importantly what day-of-the-week?

 

JB 

[oufpat]

Thanks for the above info, we will be leaving on a 4pm international flight on a Sunday.

[John Bull]

7 hours ago, oufpat said:

Thanks for the above info, we will be leaving on a 4pm international flight on a Sunday.

 

Joy of joys, it's a Sunday 

Traffic will be much lighter than during the week, especially the early part of the morning.

 

But my advice to visit Windsor still holds.

Dover castle doesn't open til 10am, costing you close on two hours.

And even on a sunday you'd want to have some wiggle-time for delays (after a saturday night out seems to be the favourite time for folk to get themselves killed on the roads, and after a fatal accident the police close a road for hours to meticulously investigate).

 

Downside of a sunday is that tourist sites will be busy, so it makes sense to pre-book Windsor Castle to avoid the ticket lines.

And St George's Chapel is closed to visitors on sundays - religious services are held throughout the day.

 

Official LHR advice is to arrive 3 hours before your flight, but that's pretty conservative - a lot of us reckon it's to provide business to the airport's shops & restaurants in return for their extortionate rents. 

Even for inter-continental flights most airline check-ins close one hour (or even less) before flight time. That's pushing your luck, but two hours is plenty, and allowing an hour for the 25 minute drive from Windsor gives you the necessary wiggle-time.

 

JB 

[PhilbeachTraveller]

Any of those taxi companies JB mentioned are fine. There is also Air Link Cars which comes highly recommended. They don't have a website but they do have a Facebook page (not allowed to post it here). Sunday is a lot quieter on the roads so you should be ok (unless there is an accident), but yes, most of the tourist sites will be busy.

Shame you'll miss Dover Castle (Leeds Castle is also on the way but doesn't open until 10am as well). You could always stop at Canterbury Cathedral (opens at 9) as it's not far from Dover. The taxi companies should be able to give advice on timings etc.