London to Dover train

[kurts mom]

Hi all
We r doing the WBTA this September all plans are made except transportation to Dover We want to take the train from St Pancras to Dover Priority but not sure where to pre purchase the tickets Just want to make sure we are using a reputable site
This is our first TA so any tips are appreciated
TIA

 

[abdgeek]

The DCL website lists the following site for getting train tickets: https://www.thetrainline.com/. You can also take a coach.

Depending on how adventurous you are, you can walk from there to the port or take a taxi. DCL recommends you book ahead. Here’s the link from the page to see all the options: http://www.disneyholidays.co.uk/disney-cruise-line/plan/getting-to-dover/

This map may help

 

[Luv2Diz]

We are taking the train from London Charing Cross to Dover on Sept 1 for the Northern Europe cruise. We bought our tickets directly from the Southeastern train website.

I find the National Rail Enquiries website to be a little more user friendly to research the train schedules. Once you click on the “buy” button it takes you directly to the Southeastern website to make the purchase. There are no fees to book directly with the train company. There can be fees booking with a 3rd party site.

 

[TikiThunderPirates]

Also when you book through the Southeastern train website you can play around with times of day. Prices are dynamic and based on how busy that time of day is on the route, and if the train/time you want to Dover is non-stop or not. It can drastically change-lower- the price to do a 1 stop on a slower train and only adds about 30-45 minutes. More time to enjoy the experience!

 

[BadPinkTink]

I always use trainline when I travel by train in UK. I buy my tickets about 3 months in advance to get the lowest prices. You can collect your tickets at you departing train station either at the ticket desk or using the self service ticket machines.

 

[lds0191]

Hi all
We r doing the WBTA this September all plans are made except transportation to Dover We want to take the train from St Pancras to Dover Priority but not sure where to pre purchase the tickets Just want to make sure we are using a reputable site
This is our first TA so any tips are appreciated
TIA

We have pre-purchased our tickets from Southeastern Railway. Trainline was not showing (I have been checking for weeks) any discounted tickets for the direct trains to Dover on 9/14 and I saved quite a bit by booking through Southeastern. Same trains, different website. The tickets can be retrieved from the ticket kiosks at St Pancras, or any tube station, from what I understand.

 

[kurts mom]

Thank you all so much for the responses it is very helpful !

 

[msmama]

Just FYI (since you got an answer about the tickets) it seemed that plenty of taxi's lined up at Dover Priory whenever a train was expected (probably even more when there was a ship leaving soon). I would not suggest walking. It's far, but as of 2 years ago there weren't sidewalks the whole way and some of it would've been on busy roads.

Have fun!

 

[kandt]

Depending on how adventurous you are, you can walk from there to the port or take a taxi. DCL recommends you book ahead. Here’s the link from the page to see all the options: http://www.disneyholidays.co.uk/disney-cruise-line/plan/getting-to-dover/

I tried to book my taxi through Dover Heritage Taxi Company using the link DCL provided, but the company never got back to me. I also tired contacting them by email and never got a response.

 

[DCL First]

Buy your tickets early so you don’t get shut out of the time you want

 

[KDG]

We tried to book a taxi from the ship to the Priory station last month. No company would respond to my inquiries. We found they don’t book short little rides either direction (train to port or port to train) but there were plenty of taxis available to take, including vans that could take 6 of us with luggage. So don’t worry about pre-booking the taxis in Dover for short rides.

 

[jeanmonti]

Does anyone know if this is an above or below ground train? We are also taking the train from London and I was hoping to see England on the train ride. Also, what is the difference between first class and standard on the train?

 

[o&smom]

I recommend you put the number of a taxi company in Dover in your phone ahead of time and call when you arrive if you do not see any taxis outside the station. We just debarked in Dover last month, and after waiting in line for a taxi for over 45 minutes with what looked to be another hour in the line, we called a local company and had them pick us up across the street. They picked us up in about 5 minutes. Dover is a small town and there are a limited number of taxis. Enjoy your cruise!

 

[KDG]

Does anyone know if this is an above or below ground train? We are also taking the train from London and I was hoping to see England on the train ride. Also, what is the difference between first class and standard on the train?

The train is above ground all the way. The high speed train takes an hour. It does stop 2 or 3 times, but just for a few minutes at each stop. Don’t waste money for 1st class. It just has slightly cushier seats. Second class was perfectly comfortable.

 

[Canadian Girl]

We took the Disney shuttle from a hotel near Gatwick. It was really convenient. Didn’t have to stay at that hotel either. You can also meet up at the airport for the shuttle. I have travelled a lot by train in the UK but didn’t want to carry large suitcases as it was just my youngest daughter and myself.

 

[jrabbit]

RE: Trains
1) You want to go to Dover Priory (not "Priority")
2) Above Ground
3) When searching for tickets / times / pricing, make sure that you check the ARRIVAL Time. There are usually many options and a train leaving 30 minutes later might arrive in Dover 30 minutes Earlier. Again, time of day, speed of train, number of stops all go into the pricing determination
4) Just like the ship, trains wait for no one. Be ON the platform waiting for your train, let the passengers off, then get right on, don't dilly-dally, because when it's time to go, the train goes.

RE: Train to Port
1) I don't know why you would pre book a taxi. They are lined up waiting for the next train to arrive and they cycle through pretty quickly. We had to wait about 15 minutes for a taxi, since we were just behind the people that got the last taxi. While we were loading up many more taxis arrived.
2) Don't attempt the walk!!

 

[jeanmonti]

RE: Trains
1) You want to go to Dover Priory (not "Priority")
2) Above Ground
3) When searching for tickets / times / pricing, make sure that you check the ARRIVAL Time. There are usually many options and a train leaving 30 minutes later might arrive in Dover 30 minutes Earlier. Again, time of day, speed of train, number of stops all go into the pricing determination
4) Just like the ship, trains wait for no one. Be ON the platform waiting for your train, let the passengers off, then get right on, don't dilly-dally, because when it's time to go, the train goes.

Do you think it's necessary/essential to purchase tickets ahead of time? I'm not positive if we will want to sight see more in London or if we will be ready to leave at a specific time. If you highly recommend buying tickets ahead of time I will but do most trains have availability the day of? Right now tickets are $42 for our family - if I don't purchase today would you expect this to double or is it all based on demand and seat availability that day?

 

[Duck In Blue]

Does anyone know if this is an above or below ground train? We are also taking the train from London and I was hoping to see England on the train ride. Also, what is the difference between first class and standard on the train?

The High Speed line is above ground for most of the way. There are long tunnels between St Pancras and Stratford (first stop) and then Ebbsfleet (second stop). After that it is pretty much above ground. The High Speed line is one class only, you must make sure your ticket is valid on High Speed. There is a cheaper route to Dover from Victoria which is not high speed but does have first class.

You don't have to buy a ticket in advance, but sometimes they sell advance fares that are valid on a specific train that are cheaper. The train will not sell out, there aren't seat reservations on high speed so you will always be able to buy a ticket - there is just no guarantee of a seat!

 

[ButterbearUK]

Just a side note, on some routes in the UK you can save substantial amounts on the cost of your rail journey by buying separate fares for different bits of the journey.

So, for example, if you are travelling from station A to station F, on a direct train that also stops at stations B, C, D and E, it may be quicker to get one ticket from A to C, one from C to D and one from D to F. There is no need to get off the train at all, you can still travel direct but on 3 ticket portion. It’s called split ticketing.

There used to be a couple of sites that would calculate the best combination for your route. Search online for “British railway split ticketing” to find out more. Moneysavingexpert has some good articles on how it works.

 

[jrabbit]

Do you think it's necessary/essential to purchase tickets ahead of time? I'm not positive if we will want to sight see more in London or if we will be ready to leave at a specific time. If you highly recommend buying tickets ahead of time I will but do most trains have availability the day of? Right now tickets are $42 for our family - if I don't purchase today would you expect this to double or is it all based on demand and seat availability that day?

This was about 4 years ago for us. I believe that we bought the tickets the day or two beforehand. We were in London for a week, staying in the Victoria Station area. It was nice actually talking to a person about the different options. Our train originated at VS so was empty when we boarded. by the time we got to Dover our car was about 1/3 full. I want to say that the trip took about 1:30-1:50. Was lovely looking at the scenery. One of the cities had a fantastic cathedral that was easy to see from the train. After our cruise we took the train back into London to St. Pancras to catch the Eurostar to Paris.

We are looking at a cruise next year that ends in Dover and will take the train "someplace" after the cruise. Need to figure that out. Stay in the UK and go to the castle in Dover, stay in the south between Dover & Southhampton or go to Disneyland Paris. Decisions, Decisions!!