Dover Shore Excursion:Post-Cruise Tour to London via Canterbury and Leeds Castle
Description
Make the most of your journey to London after your cruise ends at the port of Dover. This convenient post-cruise transfer to your central London or Heathrow hotel by executive coach is an ideal way to explore the Garden of England's must-see destinations. The trip includes a 2-hour stop in historic Canterbury and a 3-hour guided tour at the amazing Leeds Castle! This service is available on all dates when Princess, Carnival or Holland America cruise ships are visiting Dover.
Tour Options
Itinerary
You’ll drive above the famous White Cliffs and head into the county of Kent, an agricultural area that feeds London from its orchards, hop fields and vineyards. Enjoy the lovely views as you make the short, 45-minute journey to Canterbury, the seat of English Christianity since 597 AD.
Listen to your guide regale stories about the history of the town and cathedral. You’ll hear medieval tales from Canterbury writers, Geoffrey Chaucer and Christopher Marlowe, as well as stories of the Reformation and the Blitz. Then, enjoy some free time exploring the town on your own and visiting Canterbury Cathedral if you wish (own expense) After two hours in Canterbury, we'll travel over the Weald of Kent – a high ridge – and head down to Leeds Castle.
Famously referred to as 'the loveliest castle in the world' and founded in the 9th century, Leeds Castle is best known as a palace for numerous queens of England. Along the way, hear fascinating commentary from your guide about the monarchs and the fate that befell them! Spend three hours at the beautiful castle, set on two islands on a lake, and explore its remarkable interior as well as the grounds and gardens with your guide. Admire rooms such as the library and banquet hall, and be amazed by the one-of-a-kind museum of ornate dog collars! Outdoors, walk through the complicated maze and enjoy the grotto and water features. If you wish, dine on a leisurely lunch in one of the cafés or restaurants overlooking the grounds (own expense).
Drop offs in central London and Heathrow
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- If you are staying in Central London districts, drop offs will begin at 4.30pm.
- We are able to offer drop off at any London city centre hotel, guest house or air bnb.
- If you are staying in a London Heathrow airport hotel, you will be dropped off from 6pm. For other London airport hotels you will be dropped at Victoria Station, where there are trains and buses to all four major airports
- Most major hotels have coach access, but some smaller hotels and apartments are in pedestrian areas or on very narrow roads that a large bus cannot access. In these cases, you will be dropped off as close to your accommodation as possible, but it may require a short walk with your luggage
- Please note that Canterbury Cathedral is a working religious building, and is sometimes subject to last minute closures
- Each person is allowed a maximum of 2 items of hold luggage (75x51x28 cm - 23kg each) and 1 item of carry-on luggage (55x40x20 cm - 10kg each). If you bring extra luggage it will not fit in the vehicle. In this instance you will be responsible for arranging separate transportation for your luggage to your cruise ship.
- Should you wish to bring any mobility aids (wheelchairs or walkers) you MUST contact the operator in advance and provide full dimensions and weight. These items must be able to be folded and stored in the luggage hold. Wheelchairs must be counted as 1 item of your hold luggage.
- This service is available on all dates when Princess, Carnival or Holland America cruise ships are visiting Dover.
Reviews(66)
This was a very nice way to get from our cruise ship to our hotel. There were ten people in the van and our tour guide was delightful. She found us at the cruise terminal and we were dropped at our hotel. The tour of Canterbury and Leeds Castle were very nice. One thing I would point out is that quite a bit of walking was involved, probably close to 6 miles in all, on our particular trip it was a very hot day so this impacted the activity.
Tour guide Sue was a very informative guide. Show us what's of interesting sites.I would definitely book with her again.
They were waiting when we disembarked the cruise ship. There were only six of us so it was a van not a bus. The ride was comfortable and the guide knew her stuff. The ride to Canterbury was less than an hour. The guide gave us some historical information, showed us around then we had some free time before meeting up at the van. Short ride to Leeds Castle where again the guide gave us info then we toured the castle on our own. Everyone could go at their own pace. The guide left after Leeds and the driver took us to London. Dropped off the airport couple first. Then he took the rest of us directly to our hotel. We had different hotels so he dropped off in order of distance. We were the last drop off and the driver gave us more history, tips and information. London was busy so these tips helped quite a bit. Both the driver and guide were friendly and knowledgeable. Would take this tour again. The drop off in London made our day a lot less stressful than trying to get to London on our own and figure out how to get to the hotel while dragging bags.
Was a very good tour and worth the time and cost to do! Best part is being dropped off at or near our hotel(s) at the end of the day into London. Traffic is very heavy and our driver got us thru all it and on a timely basis. We highly recomend doing this tour if your either staying over in London or heading the Heathrow.
A wonderful experience, very professional and friendly tour guide who made everything more interesting with her insights and knowledge. Our friendly driver was also excellent
We had a great time on this post-cruise tour from Dover and would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a fun and scenic way to spend the day before heading to London. The stops at Canterbury and Leeds Castle were well chosen, and both offered unique experiences. Our guide was very knowledgeable and did a fantastic job leading the walking tour through Canterbury. However, we felt that the walking tour could have been shorter—perhaps about half the length—as it left us with very limited time to explore the stunning Canterbury Cathedral on our own. A bit more free time there would have made the visit even more enjoyable. Leeds Castle was a highlight! We felt the timing there was just about right—maybe even slightly more than we needed—but it was a beautiful and peaceful stop. The only hiccup was a miscommunication at the beginning of the tour. We had been told to wait at the cruise terminal for a driver holding a sign that said “International Friends,” and the terminal staff advised us to stay put. However, the driver was actually waiting in the parking lot by the bus, which caused a 30-minute delay for the group. A little clearer communication in advance would have helped avoid the confusion. Despite that, the tour was well organized overall, and we were very pleased to be dropped off right at our London hotel with our luggage in tow. This tour is a convenient and enjoyable option for anyone disembarking in Dover and looking to make the most of their travel day.
Great experience. Enjoyed the ease of getting off the ship and loading luggage on the bus. Canterbury Cathedral was amazing. Leeds Castle was also cool.
A glitch at the start about meeting places cost us almost an hour 🙁. After that, the rest of the day was good! We enjoyed Canterbury Cathedrsl and Leeds Castle on our way back to London. Kudos to our driver Tony, who did an awesome job in terrible London traffic. Got us safely to the hotel by 5:30.
Leeds Castle and Canterbury Cathedral wonderful! English was not our tour guides first language, and she was difficult to understand. Instead of dropping us off at Heathrow hotel, bus drove to London city center to drop off people. Then we had to switch to a van to go to Heathrow hotel. This took additional 2 hours. There was confusion at Dover port in the morning with guide so bus left an hour late so we were rushed all day.
Good Morning, thank you for your review. I have discussed your comments with staff involved and have also checked the vehicles Tacho Graph which is a legal requirement on coaches in the UK. This gives us full information on the vehicles movements and timings. I can see that the vehicle left Dover port at 08:45am which is just 15 minutes past the scheduled departure time, not 1 hour. We always factor in additional time into itineraries to allow for slight delays across the day. The route from Kent takes us into south london. The nature of booking a shared transfer does unfortunately mean there are other passengers to drop off in addition to yourself. We utilise smaller vehicles to help speed up this process, which is why you were transferred into a smaller vehicle to take you to Heathrow. We're sorry you were disappointed with your experience but thank you for taking the time to share your feedback
We got lucky and had a private tour by Maxine(Max). She was very knowledgeable and we had a fantastic tour. We all enjoyed the spacious vehicle and all the details provided. We took some very beautiful routes, stopping along the way for pictures. Max was great. The driver Paul was a good driver and he provided highlights along the route back.
