Gatwick to dover

[geovet]

First time in London. We will arrive at Gatwick and will need to find a room and transport.

any recommendations where to stay and how to get from airport to hotel and then to port.

 

 Thanks 

[Ray66]

It might be worth also asking on the British Isles forum:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/148-british-isleswestern-europe/

[John Bull]

On 9/10/2024 at 8:55 PM, geovet said:

First time in London. We will arrive at Gatwick and will need to find a room and transport.

any recommendations where to stay and how to get from airport to hotel and then to port.

 

 Thanks 

 

 

Hi,

We need more information...........

.Spending time in central London pre-cruise ?

Or post-cruise ?

Which port ? (usually Southampton or Dover)

Planning to lodge overnight at/near Gatwick ? Or central London ? Or port ?

What day-of-the-week ? (makes a difference to train schedules and to travel-time by road)

Size of your group and any physical limitations (walking, schlepping luggage, etc)

 

JB 🙂

[geovet]

I’m not planning to tour London but open to stay a night if it helps travel. I’m also open to stay a day in Dover to see the sights. I am leaving out of Dover.

 

[John Bull]

11 hours ago, geovet said:

I’m not planning to tour London but open to stay a night if it helps travel. I’m also open to stay a day in Dover to see the sights. I am leaving out of Dover.

 

 

If you don't want to see the sights in London, staying there won't help your travel and it certainly won't help your bank balance.

Assuming you arrive on a morning flight, train from Gatwick airport's South Terminal to  London St Pancras and another from there to Dover Priory as suggested by others. Via London Victoria is an alternative but it's much slower and the frequency is only hourly. 

But by train isn't cheap - it'll cost about £62 per person, total journey time about 2 1/2 hrs..

(There's the option to buy separate tickets Gatwick to St Pancras & St Pancras to Dover Priory for as little as £27 - but that involves pre-booking a set train time from St Pancras. Fine for someone lodging in central London, but not with uncertainties of aircraft arrival times & time taken by airport formalities)  

https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/

 

A private transfer for two from Gatwick airport to Dover hotel should cost  little more than the train, and door to door in under 2 hrs.

Try 

https://www.folkestonetaxi.com/

https://jjtaxis.com/

https://richardsdovertaxi.co.uk/airport-transfers/

 

A bus service involves travel into & back out from central London, frequency is very poor & it will take all day.

This is one of the rare occasions when ships' transfer buses make sense, but they only operate on sailing day.

 

Dover Castle is one of England's finest, and has a continuous history from the 12th Century to World War 2. You could make a decent fist of it with an early start on your sailing day.

https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/dover-castle/

 

JB 🙂

 

[geovet]

Thank you