Transport from Central London to Dover

[JBM1946]

Can anyone recommend a safe, easy and economical transport from Central London to the Dover cruise terminals? We are spending 2 days pre-cruise in London.

 

Thanks for advice.

Joanne

[Paul S]

You would probably get a better response from the British Isles/Western Europe forum.

 

However, as a Londoner I would suggest either by public coach

 

http://www.nationalexpress.com/

 

or by train

 

http://www.thetrainline.co.uk

 

The train is likely to be quicker but more expensive (around 1 hour 40 minutes) with the coach slower (around 2 hours 30 minutes depending on traffic) but cheaper. Neither goes into the docks, so you will need to consider getting a taxi from the coach/railway station to the cruise terminal, and possibly also a taxi from your hotel to either the coach or train station.

 

Here is the site for the cruise terminal

 

http://www.cruise-dover.co.uk/

 

Hope that helps.

 

Paul S

[JBM1946]

Thank you so much, Paul. This is just the information I needed and from a local who really knows! The Internet is wonderful, but sometimes overwhelming! Thanks again.

 

Joanne

[Morgans]

There are frequent trains from Victoria Station or Charing Cross. Easy and not too expensive. You can pay on the day - no reason to pre book. The name of the train station at Dover is Dover Priory and from there, there is a taxi service which takes all of 10 mins at the most and costs about £10. You will be taken directly to the ship. All very easy.

[JBM1946]

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! This is so comforting. Really appreciate the info. We are looking forward to visiting your country and seeing sites I never dreamed we would get to see!

 

BTW, since y'all are being so helpful here -- We are attempting to find a hotel in Central London. That too is overwhelming on the Internet. They all seem very expensive. Any suggestions in this area?

 

Thanks,

Joanne

[Morgans]

Club Quarters St. Pauls is a nice hotel which may be "worth a google". It's very well situated in a safe area and is good for sight seeing being next to St.Pauls but from there, there are lots of places you can walk to. There is also a good bus service from in front of the hotel.Sometimes the hotel puts restrictions on staying during the week but its worth an enquiry. We book through LastMinute.com which has a good choice. Also some of the Holiday Inns are worth looking at so try that site too. Good luck.

[sea-explorer]

Hi,

Although I agree with everything Paul S. & Morgans say re: transport, I would look at the option of pre-booking. It is not necessary in order to travel but fares are a better deal this way. (My silly student son ignored my advice on this & ended up paying £72 for a ticket he could have pre-booked the day before for £26..mind you, maybe he is not so daft, as I always pre-book for him now & end up standing the cost) These lower prices are usually available up to 24 hours before travel.

 

In addition, if you look at National Express coaches, they may have 'fun fares' available for your dates if you book early..these can be as low as £1 each way.

 

If you book the rail in advance you will be given a reference number. You collect your ticket on the day of travel by typing in this reference number into a fast ticketing machine at the station & inserting the card you used to pay.

 

If you book National Express in advance, you print off the booking & present it as your ticket when you begin your journey.

 

Oh, & if you do book online, remember we write our dates differently. 3/9/2008 is the 3rd September not the 9th March.

 

Sorry..can't help with hotels.

[belle907]

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! This is so comforting. Really appreciate the info. We are looking forward to visiting your country and seeing sites I never dreamed we would get to see!

 

BTW, since y'all are being so helpful here -- We are attempting to find a hotel in Central London. That too is overwhelming on the Internet. They all seem very expensive. Any suggestions in this area?

 

Thanks,

Joanne

You have to remember London is a major city and staying there is expensive.

I have the Park Place Victoria booked, it's very close to Victoria Station and the reviews have been pretty good. I'm also looking into the Express Holiday Inn in the same area for another option.

 

I decided wanted to stay near Victoria Station and did a search of hotels near the station and went from there. It also helps that we've been to London many times and know which areas we like to stay in, but this is a new area for us.

 

I also have a hotel booked in Dover should we decide to go over there the day before we board the ship instead of staying in London for the night. We are meeting friends in London for the day so that has to be part of our decision.

 

So many decisions and so many choices to make.

[SuburbanMom]

There are frequent trains from Victoria Station or Charing Cross. Easy and not too expensive. You can pay on the day - no reason to pre book. The name of the train station at Dover is Dover Priory and from there, there is a taxi service which takes all of 10 mins at the most and costs about £10. You will be taken directly to the ship. All very easy.

 

 

Does the train go from Dover Priory (the pier) to the Kensington, London area? I appreciate any help u can give me. We are cruising fron Genoa, Italy to Dover, England. When we dock, we want to go to the Kensington, London area where we will spend 4 days.

[sea-explorer]

Does the train go from Dover Priory (the pier) to the Kensington, London area? I appreciate any help u can give me. We are cruising fron Genoa, Italy to Dover, England. When we dock, we want to go to the Kensington, London area where we will spend 4 days.

 

The train doesn't leave from the pier at Dover, it is a short taxi ride from the cruise terminal. The line runs into Victoria, which is one underground stop to Kensington on the circle or district line, (green or yellow lines on the map here, Victoria is in about the centre of this map, a pale blue line vertically, crossing the horizontal green & yellow lines.)

 

http://www.afn.org/~alplatt/tube.html

 

It's probably easier to use a taxi here too though to save messing about with luggage on the underground.

[Globaliser]

The line runs into Victoria, which is one underground stop to Kensington on the circle or district line, (green or yellow lines on the map here, Victoria is in about the centre of this map, a pale blue line vertically, crossing the horizontal green & yellow lines.)

Kensington is quite a big area. The next stop west of Victoria on the District and Circle Lines is actually Sloane Square; South Kensington is the next stop after that. But it may not be particularly close to the hotel, and in fact there are many hotels that are close to Gloucester Road station but which might describe themselves as being in "Kensington". And Kensington might also be used to describe places that are nearer High Street Kensington station. All depends on the precise address.

 

For anyone for whom it may make a difference, there is actually about an equal number of direct trains from Dover Priory to London Charing Cross, which may be convenient for many central London hotels.

 

And I would echo the caution about trying to take lots of luggage on the Tube. Often not worth the hassle.

[SuburbanMom]

Kensington is quite a big area. The next stop west of Victoria on the District and Circle Lines is actually Sloane Square; South Kensington is the next stop after that. But it may not be particularly close to the hotel, and in fact there are many hotels that are close to Gloucester Road station but which might describe themselves as being in "Kensington". And Kensington might also be used to describe places that are nearer High Street Kensington station. All depends on the precise address.

 

For anyone for whom it may make a difference, there is actually about an equal number of direct trains from Dover Priory to London Charing Cross, which may be convenient for many central London hotels.

 

And I would echo the caution about trying to take lots of luggage on the Tube. Often not worth the hassle.

 

We are staying at the Kensington Holiday Inn on Cromwell. Anyone familiar with the area and know how to get there from the pier? We have stayed at this hotel before and liked the location.Do taxis take VISA or do we need "pounds" for payment?

[Globaliser]

Do you mean Cromwell Road? If so, then the hotel is very close to Gloucester Road Tube.

 

If you want to brave the Tube, then train to Victoria and District or Circle Line to Gloucester Road would do the job. But if you have a lot of luggage, just get a cab from Victoria.

 

Quite a lot of taxis do now take credit cards, but the fees charged by them are often quite steep. These tend to be the cabs linked to big radio cab networks. If you need a cab that takes a card, you can usually arrange to get one of them when you get to the head of the queue at the cab rank.

[Gram Cape Cod]

Have you checked with your cruise line to see if they offer a hotel/transfer package? Last year we booked our hotel and transfer through NCL when we booked the cruise. This was the best deal going, two nights pre-cruise at the Crown Plaza St. James Buckingham Gate and transfer to the pier the morning of the cruise, included a buffet breakfast each morning. Good luck!

[SuburbanMom]

Have you checked with your cruise line to see if they offer a hotel/transfer package? Last year we booked our hotel and transfer through NCL when we booked the cruise. This was the best deal going, two nights pre-cruise at the Crown Plaza St. James Buckingham Gate and transfer to the pier the morning of the cruise, included a buffet breakfast each morning. Good luck!

 

Unfortunately, I don't think we will be able to do what u suggest. Our sailing starts in Genoa, IT and ends in Dover, England. From the States, we fly into Milan not Genoa and on the return, we will be staying in London for a few days before flying out of London.

[Gram Cape Cod]

I believe they also offer post-cruise packages too.