What would you advise if we want to begin a trip from London, with stops at Canterbury and Dover, before heading west along the coast towards Hastings, Eastbourne and Portsmouth? Train from London and then get a car rental at either Canterbury or Dover? Overnight at Dover? Hotel suggestion? How much time would you recommend spending at Canterbury? at Dover? What would you recommend seeing? Where is the best place to view the famous "White Cliffs"? Thank you!
Posted by
Lynnwood, Washington
9428 posts
The best place to see the White Cliffs is out at sea. You can get glimpses on headland paths but it is not the same impact.
Canterbury is a nice overnight spot.
Posted by
West Virginia
181 posts
When I was on the RS Southern England tour in 2022 we stayed at the Abode in Canterbury and day tripped to Dover Castle. The Abode was very centrally located on the High Street. I enjoyed getting up early and walking around the nearly deserted streets. That’s when you can get the best photos. Dover Castle is all we explored of Dover itself. The places you mention are places we visited on the tour. You may want to check out his itinerary for southern England and some of the trip reports on the forum.
Happy travels:)
Posted by
the great P-NW
417 posts
We loved staying at the Canterbury Cathedral Lodge Hotel, right on the grounds of the cathedral. Comfortable rooms and nice breakfast. In Canterbury, two good restaurants we enjoyed were Cafe des Amis (Mexican) and Pinocchio's (Italian).
Also consider hiring a car from Heathrow to Canterbury. We used canterburyairporttransfers.co.uk. This is a family owned business that will meet you at arrivals at the airport (we provided flight info in advance and texted them a picture of ourselves) and take you to the door of your hotel. This costs about the same as the train if there are three or more traveling, and saves you the hassle of getting to the train from Heathrow while jet lagged, as well as the 20 minute slog with bags from the Canterbury train station to the hotel.
Posted by
Central Florida
78 posts
The Luxmuralis is presenting a fantastic light show in the cathedral Sep,23-27. I was able to view this show on a RS Best of South England in 2024.
https://www.canterbury-cathedral.org/whats-on/events/23-27sept25-luxmuralis-poppy-fields/
Posted by
Mid-Atlantic area
7820 posts
We rented a car at Heathrow and upon arrival we stopped at Churchill’s Chartwell house and Ightham Mote. Believe we spent two nights in Canterbury and took a couple day trips, one to Leeds castle. We spent enough time in Dover to see the castle and WWII tunnels, then we moved on to Rye.