Canterbury Cathedral and White Cliffs of Dover

[mamalovestraveling]

Hello,

 

Thinking about spending a night around Kent to visit the Canterbury Cathedral next summer. What else is there to explore?

The next day we would like to visit the White Cliffs of Dover before embarking on the cruise.

Are there any other must see sights not to be missed in that area?

Would love to stay in a manor for that night somewhere around Canterbury and Dover unless you recommend staying at the coast line.

We will be staying two pre nights in London and were also contemplating visiting Canterbury Cathedral and the white Cliffs of Dover on the way to the cruise on embarkation day but not sure if that can be done? Ship is leaving at 5pm, so we want to make sure we have plenty of time not to miss the boat.

 

Any feedback you can share is much appreciated!!!

 

[LHT28]

Dover Castle

[Bob++]

What to see depends on your interests. Canterbury Cathedral is probably a must.  You could take a train to Canterbury and stay there; visit the Cathedral and then go on to Dover the next day.  Dover Castle,  https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/dover-castle/ is well worth half a day.

 

You won't see the White Cliffs from land as they face out into The English Channel, but you may get a sighting as you sail out of Dover.

 

There are plenty of interesting places to stay in Canterbury - Canterbury Cathedral Lodge is one; right in the Cathedral grounds. https://www.canterburycathedrallodge.org/

[PhilbeachTraveller]

Definitely Dover Castle . You can easily spend a whole morning at the Castle so, if possible, check your luggage in at the terminal and then get a taxi there. There is no public transport to the White Cliffs National Trust site but you could get a taxi  to take you there on the way to the cruise terminal (you'll have to pay the car entrance fee, which I think is £3.50). You can definitely spend an entire day in Canterbury and there is a walking tour, which is well worth it.  Seeing the Cathedral and the White Cliffs on the way to the terminal isn't really worth it as you'd be way too rushed. Come down to Kent and spend the night!

 

The White Cliffs Hotel in St Margaret's Bay (near Dover) is well worth it and the village is lovely. Eastwell Manor is 15 minutes from Ashford International station so there is easy access to both Dover and Canterbury from there. It's very grand! 

[mamalovestraveling]

Thank you so much😀

[blakejared]

When I was in London, I did a day-trip to Canterbury and it took a whole day.  I visited the cathedral and went on a guided walking tour ("Canterbury Guided Tour").  It was fun and educational.

[BarbinMich]

Another castle that we've visited when stopping at Dover is Leeds Castle.  It's about 20 miles away and is a lovely small castle on an island in a lake, built by Henry VIII.  Canterbury is about 10 miles from Dover.  Been there too on a different cruise.  You could probably arrange a private tour that could go to both.  We also enjoyed Dover Castle.  So lots of possibilities!

[Disneyfriend]

We did something very similar this past summer.  After a week touring London, we moved to Canterbury and stayed there in a hotel (Abode Canterbury) for two nights before our cruise out of Dover.

 

To maximize our time, we set up a full day private tour with Jane at https://toursoftherealm.com/.  She met us in the lobby of our Canterbury hotel and then walked with us to Canterbury Cathedral for a private tour.  This took approximately two hours.

 

Next, she drove us to some tiny villages in the English countryside.  We stopped for lunch at an English pub that was - no joke - some of my favorite food from our entire trip.  We explored a tiny stone church that was a great contrast to the magnificence we had just experienced at Canterbury Cathedral.

 

Jane drove us next to Dover, where we spent another 2-2.5 hours exploring Dover Castle, including the WWII tunnels.

 

Finally, she drove us to St. Margaret's Bay for a lovely look at the White Cliffs.

 

I can't tell you what a lovely day we had.  Jane was warm, knowledgeable, and funny - and an excellent driver.  She managed to give us a day that was very full and yet very relaxing.  It helped, too, that Jane is from Kent and knows it extremely well.  I truly can't recommend her enough.

 

Enjoy . . . I wish we could do it all over again!