London to Dover

[jeffmorse]

Any experience going from London to Dover unconnected to a cruise? We are flying on our own and wish to understand the best way to get from London to Dover.

 

thanks in advance for your help!

 

Jeff

[Morgans]

Jeff - you have a choice of train or coach. There are approximately 2 trains per hour from Victoria Train Station (about £28 return, if you need a return) and also several coaches per day from Victoria Coach Station (£23 return.) You needn't book your tickets in advance for the train - buy on the day but it's advisable to book in advance for the coach. If you prefer, there are also private transport agencies, but have never had the need to use these.

 

Good luck

[cathi]

Jeff - we did this several years ago and found after much investigating that it was cheaper easier and much less stressful to book transfers from London to Dover with the cruise ship company. there is a train that runs out there but when you arrive you still have to take a taxi to the dock. It is nearly 2 hours from Heathrow to the cruise ship dock and that is if the traffic is "light" which is probably at 2 a.m. You said you have done your own air, are you flying in the day before? The only reason I ask is that if you have an overnight flight arriving early in the morning the day of the cruise, I would really recommend asking the cruise ship how much for transfers. You may find it is cheaper than any alternative you can find on your own.

[Globaliser]

jeffmorse - I'm not quite sure whether by "unconnected" you mean that you're going on a trip which is nothing to do with a cruise, or whether you just want to do it other than with the cruise line that you're going on.

 

And also, when you say London, are you starting from central London or do you mean one of the London airports? And if so, which? The answers have a critical effect on the best advice to give.

[Daybreak]

Any experience going from London to Dover unconnected to a cruise? We are flying on our own and wish to understand the best way to get from London to Dover.

 

thanks in advance for your help!

 

Jeff

Jeff,

We are arriving at Heathrow July 17 about 845am and need to get to Dover for Constelation sailin that day. I have contacted a number of transfer options and the least expensive was 130 pounds for party of two. Are you arriving at Heathrow or Gatwick? Does this work for you?

Regina

email queenslojo@aol.com

[narob]

We are going from Victoria to Dover on the 17th and booked everything online for about 20-30GBP for the two of us one way. Using car service back, because bus takes you to London before Heathrow adding an extra two hours.

[aqua]

We just returned from the Constellation. We took the National Express bus from London's Victoria Coach Station to Dover. The one-way cost was 11 pounds per person (50% for seniors.) I booked it on-line and picked up the tickets at the station that morning. It was very convenient and nice. There were several Constellation passengers on the bus also. I think Celebrity charged $60 per person for the same trip- there was even a Celebrity bus leaving the coach station an hour after we departed. The trip took about

2 1/2 hours. We found it to be a good way to get to the pier.

[Bev]

Hi

 

I can recommend Tours of the Realm transfer service. The transfer time is approx. 2 hrs each way between London and Dover. Rates are: 1-4 passengers £125.00 or 1-6 passengers £140.00. These rates include personal meet and greet service at the airport, transfer in an air-conditioned, non-smoking van, soft drinks, and use of the luggage trailer.

 

Tours of the Realm also offer a touring service to see some of the countryside at £165.00 for 1-4 passengers or £180.00 for 1-6 passengers. Transfer time with the tour is approx. 5 hours.

 

Here’s their contact info:

Denise Ryeland, Proprietor, Tours of the Realm

Tel: 01304 248 304

http://www.toursoftherealm.com

 

Bev

[Linda-E]

Hi Bev,

Can't find their website at that address and e-mail to them bounces. They may be out of business. When did you use them?

 

Thanks,

Linda

[Morgans]

Aqua - did you use the 1.00pm service straight to the Cruise Terminal and if so, did you have enough time etc to check in? Or did you use a service to Dover Town Centre and then a short taxi ride?

Thanks for your help

 

Marge M.

[joan24]

Just a word of caution. We hired carservice 2000 to take us from London to Gatwick and they never showed, never called,, never answered my emails after we got home. We called them from our hotel several times and all we got was voice mail. We came very close to missing our flight since taxis were in short supply due to the subway strike.

Joan

[aqua]

Morgans, I'm sorry that I neglected to look at this post for a few days. We took the 9:30 bus to Dover and arrived at the pier about noon. We had planned to get off of the bus at the Dover Ferry Port and take a taxi to the pier. The two places are within sight of each other, but a busy road is between them. However, we were lucky and the bus driver got special permission to take us to the pier. ( I imagine he was glad to do it because there were several Constellation passengers on board and we all tipped him well!)