Please sign in to post.

Boat from Greenwich to Hampton Court Palace

I will be staying in Greenwich in June. Can I get a return trip by boat from there to Hampton Court Palace?

Posted by
16028 posts

Yes, you “can”, but it would take all day to go both ways, and you will have to change boats on the way.

Service to Hampton Count Palace from London is provided by Westminster Passenger services. See the route map here:

http://wpsa.co.uk

The journey takes four hours (that part only). The schedule for next summer is not up yet, but if you look at the last scheduled days this year, you will see there is only one round trip ad day. Thus, a boat leaving Westminster Pier at 10:30 arrives at Hampton Court around 14:30, and then that boat turns around and heads back to Westminster (downriver) at 15:00. So you would have no time to visit the palace.

http://wpsa.co.uk/thames-boats/fares-and-sailings.asp

If you wish to take it one-way, check the Thames Clipper website for service between Greenwich and Westminster Pier. Here is the route map:

https://www.thamesclippers.com/assets/doc/TC_A3_Route_Map_APRIL2017-640222a9dc.pdf

The blue “express” route connects Greenwich with Westminster. This is a lovely trip and very popular, so we learned you must queue early to gat aboard a boat during high season.

Posted by
1443 posts

I took a boat from Westminster to Hampton Court, you can go to there from Greenwich I know; the boat ride is picturesque but can be very slow. Take an early boat out so you will have enough time to take one of the tours at Hampton Court (may need to reserve timed ticket). I took the train back it was much faster. I see that you have the current services available. Good luck!

Posted by
5311 posts

I believe it is closer to 3 hours from Westminster to Hampton Court, but that is still too long really. Take the train via Waterloo.

The map of all river services published by TfL is here, if you want to identify something shorter.

Posted by
5697 posts

I remember taking a boat from London to Windsor -- gentle, very slow trip through fields and forests that took hours -- and the train ride back took 45 minutes which by that time was just right. You might want to check for one way boat, one way train.

Posted by
13809 posts

I'll just add my 2 pence worth, lol. This summer I took the tube out to Kew Gardens and we took the boat back (which is the boat from Hampton Court). The ride from there was about an hour and that was plenty long enough. I opted for us to do it on the way back as I figured we'd be tired and would enjoy some sitting time. That worked great - boat left Kew at 530 and got to Westminster Pier right at 630. Of course, you'd have a longer trip to continue on to Greenwich.

Posted by
926 posts

Did the same thing as Pam, heck, we might have been on the same boat! I highly recommend at least one boat trip BACK from Kew Gardens or Hampton Court to Westminster Pier, London. We looked at going both ways by boat and the timing did not work as other posters have mentioned. Let the boat company know if you are using the Travel Card for a discount. :)