How to get from Heathrow Airport London to Dover Cruise ship port?

[justgazin]

Hi, we are leaving on a Crystal Cruise from Dover England on July 25th.  We arrive at Heathrow  airport the day before  (July 24th) and staying at a hotel near Terminal 5. What is the best way to travel to Dover from either our hotel( very close to the airport) or  from the airport on the morning of July 25th?  We would be happy to share a van with others that may be going to the same place on the same day.  We will be on the Crystal Symphony, going to the British Isles.

[flamomo]

We went online and prearranged for a taxi service to pick us up and drive us there. The driver was waiting for us outside the secure area at Heathrow holding a sign with our name on it.

Actually we went from Heathrow to Dover with the taxi and stayed at a Premier Inn close to the ferry terminal in Dover. Dover is a very interesting and historical town. We got out and walked around a bit, and wished we had done more research about the city before we went so we could have stayed at least an extra day. The castle there, according to others who visited it said it was definitely worth the time. The cruise terminal was a 5 minute ride from the hotel. The desk man at the hotel called and got us a taxi to the port.

 

I can't remember the name of the taxi company we used from Heathrow to Dover, but is was out of a town near Dover. I think it cost about $75 US, and took a bit over an hour to get there. You can google "taxi companies near Dover, England" and find out what's available.

[AF-1]

Hello if you go to the european ports of call boards; you should find lots of answers to your question.  Those are the experts who have been to these ports or live in England and can better address your question.  Have fun out there

[Host Kat]

@justgazin

 

Howdy from Texas!  

 

Thank you for your new thread on the Ask a Cruise Question forum that is for general questions about cruising. 👍 

 

To help you out, I have moved this thread to the Ports of Call - Europe - British Isles/Western Europe forum where it will be on-topic. Please browse through the thread titles on this new forum looking for threads of interest. You will probably find your fellow Cruise Critic members have already posted questions and received answers that will be of interest to you.  

 

I sincerely hope this will be helpful and glad to have you aboard Cruise Critic!

 

Happy sails,

 

Host Kat

[marylizcat]

This website is full of useful information: https://www.londontoolkit.com/travel/dover_london_transfers.htm

[justgazin]

Thank you all who have responded to my question going from London to Dover.   I am checking  out all the links you suggested.  This is  a great site!

[Bob++]

LHR to Dover by road takes around 2 hours, so unless you are arriving quite late, taking a pre-booked car straight to a Dover hotel would be a better plan for you. This would give you some free time in the morning to explore Dover Castle before joining your ship in the afternoon. The hotel will be cheaper too.

[PhilbeachTraveller]

As Bob++ says, Heathrow to Dover is at least 2 hours by car; I'd say more as the roads can get very, very busy. I live near Dover and it takes 2 hours door to door to Heathrow by public transport. Actually, I've just got back from Heathrow about an hour ago. Left at 2.30 and home at 4.30. Took the tube from Heathrow to St Pancras, then the fast train. A prebooked car will cost you between £130 to £220 (people on this site recommend Blackberry Cars), depending on how big a vehicle you need. 

[John Bull]

As you’ll have learned, there,s no direct public transport LHR to Dover, you have to go via a change in central London. If you choose to do this,use National Express coach LHR to Victoria coach station then-either Nat Express coach direct to Dover from  Victoria coach station (easy coach change) or a ten to fifteen minute walk to Victoria train station for direct trains to Dover.

But both options will cost you time.

 

This is one of the very rare occasions I,d suggest considering ship,s transfer coaches.

 

Or a pre- booked private transfer. Google taxi Dover and taxi Folkestone, this will show you transfer operators based at the port city rather than the gauntlet of LHR operators, which have very mixed reputations. But Blackberry Cars at the airport end are well-reviewed, including amongst Cruise Critic members

 

JB 😀

[zogrand]

We used Folkestone Taxi. They were waiting for us when we arrived at Heathrow and took us to the Premier Inn in Dover.  The driver was very pleasant - pointed out a few landmarks and was a very good driver.  We spent a whole day at Dover Castle before setting out on our cruise.  There were 4 of us and the price was very reasonable.  They have sample rates on their web site.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

 

Carol