Are you planning a day trip from London and wondering which to choose? This Canterbury, Dover Castle and White Cliffs of Dover day trip from London takes in all three of these famous English landmarks in just one day. But what exactly will you have time to see? Is a day trip to Canterbury and Dover from London really worth it – or will you just be spending hours on a coach? A friend and I took this tour in August – here’s our honest opinion.
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Disclosure: I took this tour as a guest of Get Your Guide in return for an independent and unbiased review on their website. This post is in addition and was not a condition of the agreement.
Why choose a day trip to Canterbury and Dover from London?
Mighty Dover Castle, the White Cliffs of Dover and the historic city of Canterbury with its medieval cathedral, these three stunning landmarks add up to a perfect day trip from London. The initial coach journey only takes 2 hours – so you are minimising travelling time – and it delivers you to a fascinating and beautiful region of the English countryside.
This tour is a portal to the county of Kent, also known as the Garden of England. And it gives you an opportunity to spend the day in its gorgeous countryside, visiting awe-inspiring ancient buildings and landmarks that have been key to some of the most important moments in British history.
And yes, I do recommend this tour! Read on for a step-by-step guide to the day including must-sees at each stop and what to pack. Plus two crucial tips which I wish I’d known before we set off – and that will ensure you get the most out of your day.
What’s included in the Canterbury, Dover Castle and White Cliffs of Dover tour from London
This is a full-day tour by coach, leaving from London Bridge in the morning and returning to the same stop in the early evening.
The real plus of this tour is that the coach driver and experienced tour guide smooth your way between each location. They handle the traffic, parking and entrance tickets efficiently as well as recommending key sights. It’s the best way to see these three iconic sights without hassle.
You don’t have to worry about driving through London traffic, negotiating the motorway system or finding a parking place. My friend Fiona and I have been driving around London for years. And even so we really appreciated being able to sit back and chat on the coach.
London: Dover Castle, White Cliffs and Canterbury itinerary:
Escape the bustle of London on this great day trip to the south coast.
- Meet the coach at London Bridge for a 2-hour journey to the Kent coastline.
- Dover Castle, a landmark fortress straight out of a children’s storybook Here you have 2.5 hours to explore independently. You can see the medieval Great Tower, furnished as it was in the time of King Henry II, and the secret wartime tunnels that played a key role in WW2.
- White Cliffs of Dover Only a short drive from the castle brings you to the White Cliffs viewpoint. These iconic natural chalky rock formations are a UK coastal landmark with views across the Straits of Dover to the coastline of France. You’ll have 1 hour here to walk or have lunch.
- City of Canterbury and its famous cathedral It’s a 30 minute drive from the White Cliffs to historic and picturesque Canterbury. You have 2 hours here and can visit the cathedral as an add-on option on the tour. There’s plenty to do in your afternoon in Canterbury from strolling through the medieval streets, discovering enticing shops or taking a punt ride on the river.
- Return to London Bridge by early evening.
What kind of tour can you expect?
You can be as active or relaxed on this day trip as you like. We managed to clock up 20,000 steps by going for a brisk walk along the chalky Dover cliff path, as well as thoroughly exploring the city of Canterbury. But you could just as easily swop that out for a leisurely lunch and afternoon tea.
This is not the kind of tour where you negotiate each site in a large group, following a flag. Your guide gives you recommendations during the coach journey and at each port of call, then you are free to follow your own interests. Just make sure you don’t miss the coach between stops!
Is the Dover Castle, White Cliffs and Canterbury tour good value?
Included in the ticket price:
- Air-conditioned luxury coach travel to and from London and between the 3 locations
- Recommendations from expert guide
- Entrance ticket to Dover Castle
- Entrance ticket to Canterbury Cathedral (if chosen as an add-on)
Not included:
- Food and drink
Yes, in my opinion this Canterbury and Dover tour from London is worth it, especially If you’re short of time and are looking for a richly varied day trip from London. The overall cost includes the entrance ticket prices to Dover Castle and Canterbury Cathedral (if you choose that add-on). And you can weigh it against the ticket costs (and hassle!) you’d incur if you were travelling by train plus bus or taxi, or in your own car.
Dover from London (2 hours by coach)
8.15 am We arrived to meet our coach at a bus stop opposite London Bridge underground station: well-connected and easy to find. I popped into nearby Hay’s Galleria for a coffee: you’ll see plenty of cafes to pick up croissants or pastries for breakfast en route. Top Tip: Have breakfast before you arrive at Dover Castle as you’ll want to spend your time there sightseeing.
Our bus was a bit late arriving – so everyone was gathered and looking worriedly at our phones when it finally pulled up. London traffic was the reason, which is completely plausible, so Fiona and I just congratulated ourselves once again that we were settling into coach seats and not navigating the rush hour.
The journey from the coach stop at London Bridge to Dover Castle takes around 2 hours. The coach passes through the beautiful Kent countryside, also known as the Garden of England. From our seats we spotted fields of hops, used for brewing beer as well as long lines of strawberry hoops. Kent supplies the famous strawberries sold at the Wimbledon tennis championships each year.
You’ll also see the distinctive tall conical roofs and white cowls of traditional Kent oast houses. These handsome buildings are used for drying hops, although many have been converted into homes these days.
Stay in a traditional oast house in the gorgeous Kent countryside
https://www.booking.com/hotel/gb/the-oast-kent1.en-gb.html?
1st stop: Dover Castle
We arrived at the castle’s car park and our guide led us to the entrance and handed out our wristbands and castle maps. From here we had 2.5 hours to explore.
Dover Castle has been a key stronghold on the English coast for nine centuries. Like the Tower of London and Windsor castle it was built in the 11th century, after the Norman Conquest of 1066. But what is most fascinating about this fortress is that it was just as relevant during World War II as it was in medieval times. And it even played a part in the Cold War.
You could easily spend all day at Dover castle, absorbing its rich history. So it’s worth deciding before you arrive what you most want to prioritise.
You could explore the Great Tower and learn about day to day life there during the reign of Henry II. Or discover the WW2 secrets of the underground tunnel network that burrows beneath the castle and dates back to Napoleonic times.
Visit the secret tunnels
It was in these secret tunnels that in 1940 Operation Dynamo carried out the seemingly impossible task of evacuating more than 300,000 Allied troops from the beaches of Dunkirk.
In the 45-minute Operation Dynamo tour you can see re-creations of the Command center and operations rooms. In the adjacent 20-minute Underground Hospital tour you navigate gloomy passages to visit a wartime military operating theatre and living quarters used during WW2, with a soundtrack of voices discussing the emergency treatment of a rescued pilot.
Top Tip: You can’t pre-book tickets on either tour. And queues form sporadically. If you really want to see the Operation Dynamo tour then I recommend you join the queue as soon as you arrive.
To be fair, this is exactly what our guide suggested at the outset. But it seems like such a waste of time – we could have potentially spent 30 minutes just waiting in line. Instead we tried and failed three times to get onto this tour during our morning at the castle. We did manage to join the Underground Hospital tour, but it was a shame to miss out on Operation Dynamo which is by far the most popular.
See the Great Tower
The rest of the castle is easier to access. You can take a self-guided tour of the Great Tower where we enjoyed seeing how noble families lived. The rooms are dressed with surprisingly multi-coloured painted furniture, all scrupulously researched from museums across Europe. The valuable pigments used to create the vivid colours were a sign of wealth and power in medieval times.
We also walked round to the Pharos, a lighthouse dating back to Roman times that held a beacon of fire to guide ships into port in the 1st century. It stands alongside the 10th century church of St Mary in Castro.
Dover Castle has plenty of things for children to do and a couple of cafes for refreshments and lunches. Exhibitions reveal insights into castle life across the centuries, and are bi-lingual since many of the castle’s visitors arrive cross-Channel from France.
2nd Stop: The White Cliffs of Dover
The next leg of the journey is a 15-minute hop by coach between Dover Castle and the National Trust-managed site of the White Cliffs of Dover.
These chalk-white cliffs became a symbol of Britain’s resilience during WW2 and feature in Vera Lynn’s world-famous song (There’ll be Bluebirds over) the White Cliffs of Dover.
The classic image of the White Cliffs of Dover is white cliffs topped with green grass and sandwiched between blue sky and sea. We scored three out of the four as the sky was cloudy when we arrived. But as a bonus we could see the coastline of France, which can often be obscured by haze on hot days.
The White Cliffs of Dover visitor centre has a gift shop and cafe serving snacks, sandwiches, hot lunches and cream teas. If the weather’s good you could plan ahead and bring supplies and a picnic blanket for an impromptu lunch on the grassy cliffs.
Fiona and I headed out along the coast paths to see how far we could walk in the allotted time. The White Cliffs segment of the tour is 1 hour, plenty of time for a scenic walk as long as we kept an eye on the clock.
Speaking of which, don’t be surprised if your network provider sends you a Welcome to France message whilst you’re on the cliffs. Yes, you’re that close, and the French mobile phone signals are strong, so take care to switch off data roaming or you might risk unexpected charges.
Where is the best view of the Cliffs of Dover?
Despite the cloudiness it was actually the perfect day for a walk, warm and mild with a cooling breeze. We could see right across the English Channel to the French coast and watched as a ferry glided expertly through the entrance to Dover port.
At the start of the walk the lower footpath cuts into the limestone cliffs and you can see the chalky texture up close. Then it opens out onto the grassy undulations of the cliff tops overlooking St. Margaret’s Bay, with views to the east of its chalk-faced promontory. Look west and you see a very different landscape: the busy ferry port of Dover.
Seagulls wheeled and cried overhead and the clifftop breeze had a lovely salty tang – a stark contrast to the claustrophobic tunnels that we’d been exploring beneath Dover castle.
Further along the coast is the Fan Bay deep shelter, more World War II tunnels, and the Victorian South Foreland lighthouse.
But we didn’t want to miss the bus so we simply crossed the broad slopes above Langdon beach for the coastal views back towards Dover port.
Check out this map to see where you can walk.
Arguably some of the best views of the iconic white cliffs are from a ferry from France approaching the port. Another famous view of the cliffs is the panoramic stretch known as the Seven Sisters, more than 100km west of Dover near Brighton. But the White Cliffs viewpoint that we visited on the tour gives you a great close-up view.
Read this next if you want more easy day trips from London: Ultimate Guide to Day Trips from London by Train 2025
3rd Stop: Canterbury
It was a 30 minute drive from the White Cliffs to Canterbury, our final stop.
This ancient cathedral city is an UNESCO World Heritage site. The cathedral is the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury, leader of the Church of England and has been a place of pilgrimage for centuries. Geoffrey Chaucer wrote about it in The Canterbury Tales in the 1300s.
We visited on a Monday in August and the town centre didn’t feel over-crowded. This is another big plus in favour of Canterbury, especially at a time of year when the most famous historic cities near London, like Cambridge, are packed with tourists.
There’s a leafy riverside walk from the coach park into the city and our guide led us to the entrance of Canterbury Cathedral. Here she oversaw entry for those of us who’d opted for the cathedral entrance tickets as an extra cost add-on to the tour.
We had 2 hours to spend in Canterbury before returning to London.
Visit Canterbury Cathedral
Founded in 597 AD, this is Britain’s oldest cathedral. The awe-inspiring Gothic spires and soaring nave are obvious reasons to visit. As is the fact that the cathedral was the site of the infamous murder of Archbishop Thomas Becket, in 1170.
Richly coloured stained glass windows depict stories from across the centuries. And don’t miss the stunning Great Cloister, the covered walkways where Benedictine monks once walked, prayed and studied.
It would be fair to say that the half an hour we spent in the Cathedral didn’t fully do it justice, but we also wanted to walk around the city – and grab a long-overdue lunch.
Top Tip: If you’ve booked the add-on Cathedral entry tickets as part of your tour package, your best option is to have lunch at the White Cliffs before you reach Canterbury. We hadn’t realised that we’d need to enter the cathedral, as part of the group booking, as soon as we arrived. So we had to ignore our hunger pangs whilst we took in the soaring interiors.
Explore the picturesque streets of Canterbury
Canterbury is a small and very walkable city, famous for its medieval architecture. You can happily spend an hour or two sauntering the streets and taking in the quirky and picturesque buildings that have survived for centuries. In this respect it’s rather like a miniature York.
But don’t worry, Canterbury isn’t a quiet backwater, it’s a thriving university town with lots of independent shops, cafes and restaurants tucked into its ancient streets.
After visiting the Cathedral we headed out to explore the medieval centre of town. The streets have a satisfyingly higgledy-piggledy air with half-timbered bays and crooked bottle-glass windows. We passed several satisfyingly quirky exteriors on the High Street like Queen Elizabeth’s Chamber and the Beaney museum that’s interesting inside and out.
You can watch punts glide under the bridge at the black and white-framed Old Weaver’s house on St Peter’s Street, then walk on to the imposing Westgate, a medieval gateway that was once the city jail. It now houses a museum.
From here we strolled beside the River Stour in the chocolate-box pretty Westgate Gardens. You could hop onto a punt here for a river ride, but we were too busy choosing a cafe for our very late lunch.
We eventually tore ourselves away from Canterbury with a promise we’d come back again soon. The city still had secrets to reveal with more streets to wander as well as the ruins of St Augustine’s Abbey and the Roman and Heritage museums. We re-joined the coach at 5pm and were back at London Bridge by the early evening.
What to pack for Dover Castle, White Cliffs and Canterbury tour
This is the UK so whatever time of year I’d recommend packing a foldable water resistant mac (paid link).
Ditto a folding umbrella. I didn’t actually use either, but unexpected clouds followed us around all day, during a month of otherwise wall-to-wall sunshine in southern England. Luckily the showers of rain happened whilst we were on the coach.
You’ll also want comfortable flat walking shoes suitable for the (relatively level) cliff paths and cobbled streets.
If the weather is lovely then I’d be tempted to take a picnic and travel rug for lunch on the White Cliffs. The joy of an organised coach tour is that you can leave these things on the coach and don’t need to carry them around all day.
And you’ll definitely want a portable phone charger to re-charge your phone since you’ll be taking lots of photos! I love this Anker Nano Power Bank (paid link) mini-sized one that doesn’t feel like a lead weight in your handbag.
I recommend this tour to Dover and Canterbury
Please note that all visitor information here is for guidance only. Please check the relevant websites for the most up to date information eg. accommodation details, tickets, entrance requirements, opening times etc.
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About the author Nancy Roberts is a former women’s magazine editor and writer. She lives in London and is mum to two 20-something boys. In Map&Family she shares info and inspiration for curious travellers: singles and couples as well as families travelling with teens and young adults.
All photos are all rights reserved. Please do not reproduce these photos without prior written permission
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