Dover Cruise Transfers

The usual route is the M25 to the M26, then the M20 towards the coast. The Port of Dover recommends the M20 as the quickest route for most traffic from the west. It becomes the A20 at Folkestone and continues into Dover. For the ferry terminal, the A20 leads to the Eastern Docks roundabout, where you take the first left. For the cruise terminals, you follow the signs to the Western Docks instead.

The alternative is the M2, which becomes the A2 at Faversham and comes into the Eastern Docks roundabout from the other direction (turn right for the ferry terminal). It is a useful backup when the M20 is disrupted. From South Bucks, the least predictable part of the trip is the M25 between the M40 and the M26, so that is where we allow the most slack.

When cross-Channel travel is disrupted, Kent can put Operation Brock in place on the M20. It queues port-bound lorries on the motorway and slows other traffic heading for Dover. If Brock is active on the day, we pick the route and pick-up time to suit.

Plan on about two hours for the 97 miles, and allow two to two and a half hours when setting a pick-up time. Ships and ferries leave on schedule, so we plan backwards from your arrival or check-in time and build in a margin for the M25 and the M20.

Arriving far too early isn't worth it at the cruise terminals. The port says there is no food or drink for sale in either terminal and nowhere to leave luggage before or after a cruise, so an early arrival means waiting with your cases. A fixed fare also means that if you do hit slow traffic on the way, the price stays the same.

Cruise ships use one of three berths on the Western Docks side of the harbour. Passengers starting or ending a cruise normally use one of the two terminals:

• Cruise Terminal 1 (CT1): built in 1914 as Dover Marine railway station and converted into a cruise terminal that keeps the original station architecture. Western Docks, CT17 9DQ.
• Cruise Terminal 2 (CT2): purpose-built in 2000, with a first-floor departure lounge looking out over the harbour, the White Cliffs and Dover Castle. Also CT17 9DQ.
• WD4: a multipurpose berth used for port-of-call visits, on New Marina Curve Road, CT17 9FQ.

Both terminals have baggage handlers, lifts and escalators to all floors, and boarding bridges at every berth. Ferry passengers go to the Eastern Docks instead, where the taxi drop-off and rank are outside the Passenger Terminal building. If you are travelling on to France as a foot passenger after a taxi, check your operator's current check-in guidance, including the EU Entry/Exit System steps the port publishes.

Drop-off is at the terminal, but cars cannot wait there. The Port of Dover says passengers can be dropped at the terminal, with no waiting areas in the port, so your chauffeur unloads, the baggage handlers take your cases and the car leaves. For the journey home, there is a taxi rank outside CT1 and CT2, and your pre-booked GX car meets you there.

If you drive yourself, the port's parking is run by Cruise and Passenger Services (CPS). Their staff meet you, move your car to secure undercover parking in the port and bring it back when you return. By train, Dover Priory is the nearest station, about 66 minutes from London St Pancras on high-speed services, but the cruise terminals are a 30 to 40-minute walk away. From Gerrards Cross that means crossing London first, which is why a direct car is usually easier for this trip.