National Express - Terminal 5?

I plan on arriving at Terminal 5 and taking the National Express to Dover (through Victoria Coach station). I have looked at LHR map and see that I have to go outside the arrival area.

Do I have to take a bus to get to the National Express coaches (central coach terminal). Or is there a National Express stop outside the arrival area?

You don't necessarily have to go to central bus station - that's only for T's 1, 2, 3 which are all close to it.

Buses pick up at T's 5 and 4, in both cases on the concourse just outside the terminal entrance.

But for Victoria there are many more Nat Express services from central bus station than from the outlying T's 4 and 5, so it depends on the time of the bus - the timetable will show you.

JB :)

It looks like the coach picks up at Terminal 5 first then the other terminal.

There are 2 coaches at 9:10 and 2 at 11:05, with many stops along the way with connecting coach at 11 or 11:30 at Victoria both arriving at 13:30. I took the coach from Victoria to Dover many years ago, and do not remember stopping so many times.

I was planning on taking a flight that arrives at 6:40am Saturday August 8, only in the planning stage.

Do you think I would be able to get the 9:10 coach? Or is better the 11:05 coach? and the 11 or 11:30 from Victoria?

I stayed at the Premier Inn Ferry Terminal before and was thinking of staying there again. Or is there one that you can recommend only for 1 night?

Is it better to take the coach to Ferry terminal or City Center and take a taxi to the hotel from there?

At the present time, the cost is the same purchasing one ticket from Heathrow - Dover vs Heathrow-Victoria then Victoria to Dover. Not purchasing yet.

Airport formalities for visitors are usually up to 90 minutes from touch-down to arrivals hall, and luggage reclaim & immigration lines should be at their shortest at that God-forsaken hour :p

You should have no problem making the 9.10 :)

Book for that one, and in the very unlikely event that you don't make it you can re-jig to a later one for a small admin fee. I think you have to go to central bus station to do that, but as I posted there are many more services from there, certainly between 9.10 and 11.05

One thought that's occurred to me re my bright idea :rolleyes: for potentially cheaper tickets for the two separate legs. Only bookings from airports can be re-jigged to a later coach - from other places a ticket is waste-paper if you miss the booked coach. I don't know whether a through ticket from the airport is good for a later coach from Victoria to Dover, I guess it ought to be. But a separate Victoria to Dover ticket is probably not transferable to a later coach.

No worries though, you should be in plenty of time for the 9.10.

Can't help re Dover hotel, but Premier Inn is certainly pretty convenient and seems to be well-regarded. And you know the place. I'd have thought that the simplest & easiest.

Because of the road system, the Ferry Terminal stop is a little more convenient to Premier Inn than the town centre (Pencaster Road) stop.

(irrelevant to you, but for those taking the bus on sailing-day):

The cruise terminal option on Nat Express' website is only available on days when there's a Fred Olsen sailing. And its much more expensive than a ticket to Ferry Terminal or Pencaster Road.

But drivers normally offer to drop cruise passengers at the cruise terminal "as a favour". Since a taxi from the Ferry or Pencaster Road would cost about £10, a £5 tip seems a fair deal for all. ;)

JB :)

(irrelevant to you, but for those taking the bus on sailing-day):

The cruise terminal option on Nat Express' website is only available on days when there's a Fred Olsen sailing. And its much more expensive than a ticket to Ferry Terminal or Pencaster Road.

But drivers normally offer to drop cruise passengers at the cruise terminal "as a favour". Since a taxi from the Ferry or Pencaster Road would cost about £10, a £5 tip seems a fair deal for all. ;)

JB :)

Thanks for the great information. This is the first time I will be traveling by myself so want everything planned.

This was what our coach driver did. Once we were at the ferry terminal, he asked if anybody was going to the cruise terminal since there were Disney cruisers on board, he went there. We told him we were staying at the Premier Inn Ferry Terminal, he said he passed it and he stopped opposite the hotel. We appreciated his offer and tip him.

Airport formalities for visitors are usually up to 90 minutes from touch-down to arrivals hall, and luggage reclaim & immigration lines should be at their shortest at that God-forsaken hour

Since when was 6.40 am at Terminal 5 a "God-forsaken hour"? It's one of the busiest times of the day for international arrivals!

Busy or not, G, it's definitely a God-forsaken hour. ;)

More importantly, at that time of day there'll be little risk of queues left over from delays earlier in the day, delays which can have a knock-on effect for hours.

I don't think long-haul flights, or more accurately large or noisy aircraft, are permitted to arrive before 6am? And some not until 7am?

JB :)

(recently-retired and consequently now wakes at a more seemly hour :p)

More importantly, at that time of day there'll be little risk of queues left over from delays earlier in the day, delays which can have a knock-on effect for hours.

 

I don't think long-haul flights, or more accurately large or noisy aircraft, are permitted to arrive before 6am? And some not until 7am?

For Terminal 5 alone, here are the long-haul flights that are currently scheduled to arrive before 7 am, all but one of which are operated by large aircraft.

BA026  Hong Kong         04:55  Airbus 380
BA012  Singapore         05:05  Boeing 747
BA056  Johannesburg      05:05  Airbus 380
BA074  Lagos             05:25  Boeing 747
BA262  Riyadh            05:25  Boeing 747
BA016  Singapore         05:30  Boeing 777
BA028  Hong Kong         05:35  Boeing 777
BA058  Cape Town         05:40  Boeing 747
BA064  Nairobi           05:55  Boeing 747
BA066  Philadelphia      06:20  Boeing 777
BA106  Dubai             06:20  Boeing 747
BA184  Newark            06:20  Boeing 777
BA244  Buenos Aires      06:20  Boeing 777
BA078  Accra             06:25  Boeing 747
BA124  Bahrain           06:25  Boeing 777
BA112  New York JFK      06:35  Boeing 747
BA212  Boston            06:35  Boeing 747
BA072  Abu Dhabi         06:40  Boeing 777
BA092  Toronto           06:40  Boeing 787
BA216  Washington Dulles 06:40  Airbus 380
BA142  Delhi             06:50  Boeing 777
BA206  Miami             06:50  Boeing 777
BA054  Johannesburg      06:55  Boeing 747

Thanks for all your help.

My sister has now decided to join me on this cruise so I will be going to Terminal 2 with Air Canada.

To get the National Express, it mentions you have to go to the Central Coach Terminal to get the coach by walkway, lifts.

Are the signs for the Central Coach Terminal easy to follow? How long a walk?

Are the signs for the Central Coach Terminal easy to follow? How long a walk?

Actual walking should be no more than 5 minutes.

Thanks.

Good signs like this

Simon

thanks that helps.

I will be arriving at 6:30am and my sister at 7:30am Air Canada terminal 2 on August 7.

We will be using the National Express - LHR- Victoria station - Dover Ferry Terminal (taxi to hotel).

National Express has a coach at 9:45 or 12.

Do you think we can make the 9:45 coach?

Assuming you mean 0945 leaving LHR, you would be very unlucky not to get it (although a lot of transatlantic flights will be arriving in the same time frame as yourselves). If you mean 0945 leaving Victoria, I don't think you have a chance...Aug 7th is a Friday so you will be travelling with all that wonderful rush hour traffic.

Simon

Assuming you mean 0945 leaving LHR, you would be very unlucky not to get it (although a lot of transatlantic flights will be arriving in the same time frame as yourselves). If you mean 0945 leaving Victoria, I don't think you have a chance...Aug 7th is a Friday so you will be travelling with all that wonderful rush hour traffic.

 

Simon

It is leaving 9:45am LHR, arriving Victoria 10:45am, leaving Victoria 11:30am, arriving Dover Ferry Terminal 13:55.

You should be OK for the 09.45 if your flight arrives reasonably on-time.

If you don't make it, your tickets are transferable to a later one for a small (£5?) admin fee, though I'm not sure whether you'd have to go to central bus station to sort that.

The facility to transfer tickets to a later coach is only available for departures from airports (eg Heathrow, Gatwick) & not from other pick-ups such as Dover or Southampton or Victoria - although your through ticket Heathrow-Dover is good for the later coach from Victoria.

This concession because Nat Express acknowledges that flight or airport formality delays can foul-up the best-laid plans.

JB :)

No one knows whether you will breeze through or not but the national express busses depart every 30 mins or so. We bought our tickets on the day and didn't have a problem getting on the next coach.

Are you both arriving in Terminal 2 or 5??

Your last post said 2

Why go over to Terminal 5 isn't there a central bus station for Term 1-3 close by??

I am sure the locals can confirm

Are you both arriving in Terminal 2 or 5??

Your last post said 2

 

 

Why go over to Terminal 5 isn't there a central bus station for Term 1-3 close by??

 

I am sure the locals can confirm

I was thinking of taking BA terminal 5 (when I started this thread) then my sister decided to come with me so I decided to go with Air Canada terminal 2 to make it easy to meet up and use the central coach station near terminal 2.

You should be OK for the 09.45 if your flight arrives reasonably on-time.

If you don't make it, your tickets are transferable to a later one for a small (£5?) admin fee, though I'm not sure whether you'd have to go to central bus station to sort that.

The facility to transfer tickets to a later coach is only available for departures from airports (eg Heathrow, Gatwick) & not from other pick-ups such as Dover or Southampton or Victoria - although your through ticket Heathrow-Dover is good for the later coach from Victoria.

This concession because Nat Express acknowledges that flight or airport formality delays can foul-up the best-laid plans.

 

JB :)

do you think we should purchase our tickets before or wait until we get to central coach station? we will be going on a Friday.

I was thinking of taking BA terminal 5 (when I started this thread) then my sister decided to come with me so I decided to go with Air Canada terminal 2 to make it easy to meet up and use the central coach station near terminal 2.

Ok I was confused but as long as you know where you will be that is all that matters :D

do you think we should purchase our tickets before or wait until we get to central coach station? we will be going on a Friday.

Safest bet is to pre-book. For Heathrow to London Victoria there are many services, but fewer for Victoria to Dover & it could cause you a delay if a coach is booked-out. Also avoids that chore on the day.

BTW, book to Dover town centre or ferry terminal - don't book to cruise port, that service is only offered on days when there's a Fred Olsen sailing, and even then the price to the cruise terminal is artificially high. It's a taxi ride of £10 or less from town centre or ferry terminal but coach drivers frequently offer to take cruisers to the cruise terminal "as a favour". ;) A £5 tip neatly splits the saving of a taxi fare. :)

JB :)

Hi JB

How was your trip to the Caribbean? What ship were you on (or did you

Just walk on the water?!)

Simon

Hi JB

How was your trip to the Caribbean? What ship were you on (or did you

Just walk on the water?!)

 

Simon

Hi Simon.

Thomson Dream.

Didn't buy the unlimited drinks package, so unable to walk on the water ;)

Didn't rate the ship, though we've been very happy on other Thomson ships & we chose Dream for the unusual itinerary. That itinerary got screwed-up a little by high winds & choppy seas (in the Caribbean !!!) and we didn't make the San Blas islands (tender) or Costa Rica, though other ports such as Havana made up for it.

Review in due course.

JB :)