day trip to Dover from London

Heather, We just did Dover and the white cliffs. It's a wonderful walk across them to the lighthouse at the end which has a lovely little tea room for scones and tea. Have you thought about renting a car for the day? We picked one up, admittedly at Stanstead airport, for just GBP 11 a day!! I can't imagine the train would put you close to where you'd need to be for the cliffs. The cliffs are just above the ferry terminal, but it'd be a long, long walk up to them, and then you have the 45 minute walk to the lighthouse. If you have a car, Canterbury would then be easy. Cheers!

We have done day trips to both Canterbury and Dover by train. We took the train from Victoria Station, but I understand there is a "faster" one from Charring Cross to Dover, but that one does not go to Canterburry. We had BritRail passes, so we could get on/off where we wanted. It is a reasonable walk from the station to the castle (though it is a steep hill). We didn't do the cliffs because of time and fog. There's lots of things to see- from Henery VIIIth stuff to WWII things. Usually in summer they have demonstartions of somekind. When we were there it was a falconry exhibit/show.
Canterburry is very nice- have been a couple of times. I wouldn't take the Evans Evans tour. (though if you do decide to do a 'package' tour, they are among the very best)

thanks! I think we are going to try to rent a car - It is cheaper and more flexible -
I'm waiting to see if I get the reservation now -

Don't forget to include the cost of gas (petrol), insurance and parking. Also, be sure you understand the London 'congestion zones' issues and applicable charges.

Both Canterbury and Dover are now also served by the High Speed Train by Southeastern from St Pancras Station in London. Going on the black train at 300 kph is cool. Its only high speed on the HS1 until that runs out and wanders under the water to France, then its back on normal track, but it is good fun and fast. Getting to both Canterbury and Dover is easy by train. We didn't find parking at Canterbury too easy. It is correct that getting up the cliffs would be easier with your own transport or on foot. We actually like the 7 Sisters better for cliff topness. That's near Brighton.

Canterbury is very easy and convenient by train from London. The station is right near the cathedral and the old City area. Much more convenient than parking.

£09.50 Cathedral at Canterbury £16.50 Dover Castle including Secret WWII Tunnels £31.20 Cheap Day return (not valid HS1 - add £5.10 for valid on HS1) Victoria (non HS1) or St Pancras (HS1) to Dover via Canterbury. Go to Dover first as ticket doesn't permit stopover on OUT portion but does on RETURN portion. =====
£57.20 for those 3 bits. === Beware the Olympics. You don't say when the trip is, but be aware that if it is during Olympic time the HS1 trains will come off and the service stops. The equipment will be used to create the Javelin Service shuttling between St Pancras, Stratford for Olympic Park, and Ebbsfleet.

I happen to be a WWII buff and love Dover Castle and the Secret Wartime Tunnels. The rest of the castle isn't bad either.

We loved both Canterbury and Dover. Like Nigel, we had a hard time finding parking in Canterbury (though we did finally). Both good destinations.

Heather - I've done the Canterbury & Dover run multiple times. Its very easy with the train - and well worth the trip. I've always done it on my own, so I am no help with tour info. Parking can be a nightmare in Canterbury. There is also fuel and insurance to worry about.

ok - I am thinking train again now! I hate searching for and paying for parking! By train: What station should we leave from - do we just show up that day and purchase our ticket? Estimated cost? Can we get off in Canterbury and then head on to Dover? Is this two separate tickets? to see the cliffs should we just ask a taxi? Is the castle at Dover worth it? If we went with the tour: the tour cost is about 70 pounds per person and you see all of this... including admission etc....
THANKS!

Checked the national rail website. Day return fares from St. Pancras or Charing Cross ranged from Pounds 34.90 to 40.60. Add to that the cost of admissions, taxis etc. and you are probably getting close to the cost of the tour. Seventy pounds sounds pretty reasonable to include Canterbury Cathedral, if you have not done it before, nice to have a guide for that and Dover Castle. Yes it is nice to do things on your own at your own pace but it is also nice to let someone else do the planning, worrying and so on. A long day trip like this, I think I'd go for the tour.

ok - back to square one and the tour - we will have a car and head north the last week of our 3 week trip - so I think I'd rather do the things around London as a tour - because yes this WILL be during the Olympics -
probably better to let someone else do the navigating!

Heather, You might want to consider getting a GPS unit. We have a NavMan, bought in the UK. Fantastic for finding places accurately, and, very importantly, it found parking lots for us too, as I too am not a fan of having to find parking. Still, having the flexibility of a car is worth it for me. It's worth noting that the cigarette lighter power plugs are different between UK and US cars, if you're planning on taking your US unit. Cheers!

David, what differences are there between the lighter plugs on both sides of the puddle? My US stuff works just fine in the plug, the plugs are both identical. 12V negative ground, round, the same dimensions... I've never known any Americans to have a problem plugging their US GPS into a car. The land power is different but not the cars.

Ok. So now I'm interested In the GPS plug in. Anyone else? Bc we will be taking our GPS for our drive to Scotland.

We took our GPS (Tom Tom) and it worked fine in the cigarette lighter in the rental car.