Dover Travel Forum

We are planning on travelling in the late summer and since we have never visited Europe, outside of London, plan on flying in to Paris for a quick look-around and head to Dover later that day. We want to spend one night there and take a cruise starting the next day via Iceland and Eastern Canada ending up in New York. Does the Eurorail from Paris stop before it gets to London? Is there a train to get us back out to Dover once we end up in London? My preference would be to disembark at Calais and take surface transportation to Dover. Is that possible? Thanks very much - in anticipation.

You could get off the train at Calais and take a ferry. There are several operators and frequent sailings.

Details here: http://www.directferries.co.uk/dover_calais_ferry.htm

Foot passengers need to check-in at least 30 minutes before sailing.

In the UK you can get off the train at Ashford or at Ebbsfleet International before ending in London. From either (though Ashford is the nearest to Dover)there you can get a train back to the port.

http://www.eurostar.com/UK/uk/leisure/travel_information/before_you_go/route_maps.jsp has a route map

www.nationalrail.co.uk for times/fares for the train back to Dover.

The EuroStar stops at Ashford Station in Kent so you could travel by train from Paris to Ashford and catch a smaller train to Dover. Dover is well worth a visit, the Castle is fantastic and if you climb to the top the views are stunning. The town is well worth a visit too.

The ferry is a good option, you can book one way, try seafrance or P&O ferries.
You might need more than one night in Paris. It's a brilliant introduction to Europe.

I get the impression from your post that you are not spending even one night in Paris. Your Home Page doesn't say where you are from but I'm assuming the US. Unless you are flying from the east coast, you will arrive somewhat jetlagged. By the time you zip into Paris (not a pleasant ride) and have a quick glance and head for the train to Calais, you will not have seen much of Paris, will be exhausted and missed one of the most beautiful cities on earth.

You might consider zipping into Paris and spending the day sightseeing, getting a hotel for the night, doing a bit more walking around in the morning and then catching that train / ferry for Dover. Otherwise why not fly into London as it's probably much cheaper than Paris. We've been looking at flights from San Francisco and it costs much less to fly to LHR than to CDG.

Just a thought.

I'm probably a bit prejudiced against Dover (too many nights sleeping in the ferry terminal as a broke student) but I'd consider spending a night somewhere more interesting, like London or Paris, if your itinerary allows it (sorry, Suet - just a personal view)

No worries spincat, it just seems that Dover gets overlooked a lot by people passing through. It's worth a visit though!

I'll give a fair go some time and have a visit when I'm not passing through - it must be good really; it is just one of those places that never get a fair chance, as you say.