Sailing out of Dover.......

[DVC Doc]

Few years ago we stayed near Victoria Station for our week in London and then took the train from VS to Dover Priory ("Priory" = Important or you will end up some where else ). Train tickets are noticeably less expensive after 9am (I think) and you will still arrive in Dover early enough. Short taxi ride to the port - don't try to walk it.

If you are good roaming the sites on your own - that's awesome. I strongly suggest all things Rick Steves: his guidebooks and his app, which you can preload with many self guided tours, along with listening to items of interest before you leave home. Check out any videos he has done in London to help you decide what you would like to do. We bought an underground pass for 7 days (I think they have different lengths). You don't have to worry about finding the "right change" to get your ticket each time you want to travel. Get an App for your phone that has the London Underground "map". The one I found didn't need to be connected to the internet, but it was still able to tell you how to get from point A to point B and where to make connections. With out WiFi/Data, it was not able to give you real time updates - but it worked fine for us.

If you want to have some guided experiences, I strongly suggest London Walks (walks.com) for guided 2 hour walking tours. You look at their roster of tours (lots of tours, days & times are important). Then you show up at the designated place and time (usually outside of a underground stop), pay your guide and off you go. We did many of these, and we enjoyed them all. Definitely added to the experience. Even for the British Museum and Tower of London (additional admission fee required at the Tower). After your time with the guide is over, you can continue to browse to your hearts content.

Thanks for the great tips!

 

[oufpat]

I second the suggestion to visit Dover Castle! We had a private tour van pick us up when we disembarked in Dover. The driver took us to the base of the cliffs so we could see where the sea met the cliffs, then to Dover Castle. It is a beautifully maintained castle and grounds. Climb clear to the top of the highest tower for an unforgettable view. The day we visited was crystal clear and the Channel was glistening in the sun and the Magic was docked far below. You could see for miles! There was a falconry exhibition happening while we were visiting as well.

Unfortunately, we did not know in advance we had to register for the tour of the war time tunnels and were unable to wait an hour for the next tour so we missed the opportunity.

That day we also visited Canterbury. It is a charming town. The cathedral is not visible to see unless you pay to go inside the walls.

Do you remember the name of the private tour company that you used when you disembarked?

 

[KDG]

This year we plan on going to Dover Saturday morning which would give us the afternoon to explore the castle at Dover. Do you think that would be enough time?

Yes, I think you could have a good visit to Dover Castle in a half day visit. Be sure to check their hours of operation. They didn’t open until 10 a.m. on the Sunday we visited.

 

[KDG]

Do you remember the name of the private tour company that you used when you disembarked?

We used London Country Tours twice and I highly recommend them. They took us on a day trip to Windsor, Stonehenge and Bath prior to our cruise and a different driver picked us up after the cruise for visits to Dover and Canterbury, then along some of the countryside back to the Heathrow area.

 

[Disneyfriend]

Do you remember the name of the private tour company that you used when you disembarked?

We used Eddie Manning, and couldn't have been happier. His company is very long established and well regarded - you can verify on Trip Advisor, etc.

We used him twice last year. First, he picked us up at our London apartment and drove us to Canterbury (one way trip). He used a luxury minivan and handled our luggage for us. The vehicle was comfortable and spotless, and Eddie is a professional and safe driver.

For the second trip, he picked us up at the cruise terminal in Dover, then drove us to Heathrow. But - with an extra stop, because we had a late afternoon flight and I wanted to squeeze every minute out of our trip. So we stopped in Windsor for maybe 2.5 hours. It was enough time to tour Windsor Castle (though somewhat quickly) plus have a sit down pub lunch that was delicious. Windsor is very close to Heathrow, so it's a logical stop for this type of situation.

We will definitely use his company again if we are fortunate enough to return to the London area.

 

[dcassetta]

Few years ago we stayed near Victoria Station for our week in London and then took the train from VS to Dover Priory ("Priory" = Important or you will end up some where else ). Train tickets are noticeably less expensive after 9am (I think) and you will still arrive in Dover early enough. Short taxi ride to the port - don't try to walk it.

If you are good roaming the sites on your own - that's awesome. I strongly suggest all things Rick Steves: his guidebooks and his app, which you can preload with many self guided tours, along with listening to items of interest before you leave home. Check out any videos he has done in London to help you decide what you would like to do. We bought an underground pass for 7 days (I think they have different lengths). You don't have to worry about finding the "right change" to get your ticket each time you want to travel. Get an App for your phone that has the London Underground "map". The one I found didn't need to be connected to the internet, but it was still able to tell you how to get from point A to point B and where to make connections. With out WiFi/Data, it was not able to give you real time updates - but it worked fine for us.

If you want to have some guided experiences, I strongly suggest London Walks (walks.com) for guided 2 hour walking tours. You look at their roster of tours (lots of tours, days & times are important). Then you show up at the designated place and time (usually outside of a underground stop), pay your guide and off you go. We did many of these, and we enjoyed them all. Definitely added to the experience. Even for the British Museum and Tower of London (additional admission fee required at the Tower). After your time with the guide is over, you can continue to browse to your hearts content.

Excellent recommendations for both Rick Steves and London Walks. I've never had a bad London Walk, their guides are really engaging and knowledgeable. They do offer a wide variety of walks, so chances are there's something that's of interest to everyone in your family. They do offer a small discount if you take multiple walks with them.

The one recommendation I would make about visiting the Tower of London is to be there at opening time. The lines to get in can be very long, so if you get there early you're likely to have the best experience with the least number of people.

If your family has Harry Potter fans, I also recommend a short trip up to Leavesdon to see the Harry Potter studio there. It's about an hour away, so makes for a nice half day trip. https://www.wbstudiotour.co.uk/

 

[Mil leech]

We stayed a few blocks away from St Pancras and took the train the morning of departure, easy 2 hour train ride. This area is right where the British Museum was and there were multiple underground stations to use. We prebooked our train tickets and saved a considerable amount of money.

 

[lorimay]

Thanks to all, so many great suggestions!!
We leave in less than 2 weeks for our WBPC cruise, when we get back I will dive head first into Europe. We already purchased our airline tickets, I think we did really well on Norwegian Air $609.00 for both of us, that is with exit row seats, so possibly a little more legroom.

Keep all ideas coming!!!