Travelling from Calais to Dover by ferry - how to get to London

Never saw a bus on a ferry.

When you get off ferry, follow signs to train. Very simple, no need for reservations.

When you get off, consult metro diagram for where you're going next. No need to think about anything ahead of time.

Remember to get currency first thing at Dover -- that's self-evident as well.

There is a regular coach/bus service from Dover ferry port to London, it takes about 3 hours. If you book on-line and depending on the date and time of travel, you can get tickets for £5.00 each.

http://www.nationalexpress.com/coacheslanding.aspx

We actually did the Calais-Dover-London trip in 2008.Foot passengers for the Calais ferry are loaded onto a bus and driven out to the ferry because the traffic is too dangerous for pedestrians. The bus unloads everyone at the ferry and returns to the terminal. Foot passengers arriving in Dover can take a bus or a taxi to the Dover Priory train station which is over a mile away through a lot of traffic--you would not want to walk. The train takes two hours and arrives at Charing Cross Station. We took the ferry because we wanted to see the white cliffs of Dover. It was a very enjoyable experience.

The National Express site does not show any discount fares for coach service between Dover and London. The standard fare is 13.50 GBP. Travel times are 2 1/2 - 3 hours.

Southeastern trains go from Dover Priory to London in just under two hours. One route goes to London Bridge and on to Waterloo East and Charing Cross. Another route goes to Victoria. The off-peak 2nd class fare is 27.50 GBP. See the timetables at www.nationalrail.co.uk.

Tim - it did when I tried it this morning just to check them out before I posted. As I said it depends on day and time of travel. Just tried some other dates in Feb, March and April, the fun fares were there. In March the fun fare has gone up to £6 each.

Linda,

I learned something! My problem was that I picked Dover ferry terminal rather than just Dover as the departure point. When I selected just Dover as the departure point, the fun fares appeared.

Thanks for insisting that I was wrong!

Tim

Tim - that's ok.

It's worth consulting the National Express site when planning travel in the UK. Last year they had a special promotion with £1 fares!

Thanks for all of your help - I did some investigative reporting myself and found that there is also a train that arrives at St Pancras - which is a fast speed train and gets there in just over an hour. I appreciate you pointing me in the right direction!

Sharon,

I assume that the fast train to which you are referring is the Eurostar which runs between Paris and London and goes under the English Channel. If I'm right, then you need to know that the train stops in Calais but not in Dover. The good news is that you won't have to take the ferry. The potentially bad news is that the Eurostar only stops in Calais twice a day. Departure times to London are 09:34 and 21:32.

You would be better off going from Vimy to Lille and catching the Eurostar there. There are nine Eurostars/day that stop in Lille on their way from Paris to London. See www.eurostar.com.

Tim, since December there have been fast trains from Dover to London Saint Pancras that follow the same high speed route the Eurostar uses but are purely domestic. They start from Dover Priory.

Thanks for the update, Philip!

Thanks for all of your information - I will definitely look at the bus lines. Tim, I was surprised too that it wasn't the chunnel train - which I am trying to avoid at all costs (rather be above water than underneath it) :) - everyone gave me a lot of different options.

Sharon