Dover Ferry Port Taxi – Eastern Docks
Foot-passenger check-in for a Calais sailing shuts an hour before departure, and the Eastern Docks are a long way from anywhere if your lift falls through. Taxi On The Go drives pre-booked, fixed-fare private hire from Dartford, Gravesend, Bexley and north Kent to the Dover ferry terminal at CT16 1JA, overnight sailings included, and collects passengers off the boat. Cruise ships use the Western Docks – see our Dover cruise page.
Taxi On The Go takes foot passengers to the Dover Eastern Docks ferry port (P&O, DFDS and Irish Ferries to Calais and Dunkirk) at fixed fares: from £85 from Dartford, £75 from Gravesend, £82 from Bluewater, £30 from Canterbury and £160 from Heathrow. Drop-off is at the passenger terminal, where foot-passenger check-in closes 60 minutes before sailing. Reserve on the booking form, by WhatsApp, or by ringing 020 8888 9988 at any hour.
Taxi fares to the Dover ferry port
One-way guide prices for a saloon to the Eastern Docks passenger terminal. The figure quoted at booking is the figure you pay, whatever the M2 is doing; the return off a Calais or Dunkirk sailing costs the same.
| Pickup | Saloon to Eastern Docks (from) | Typical time |
|---|---|---|
| Canterbury CT1 / CT2 | £30 | 25–35 min |
| Maidstone ME14–ME16 | £55 | 45–60 min |
| Gravesend DA11 / DA12 | £75 | 55–70 min |
| Bluewater / Greenhithe DA9 | £82 | 60–75 min |
| Dartford DA1 / DA2 | £85 | 60–80 min |
| Swanley BR8 | £90 | 65–85 min |
| Bexleyheath DA6 / DA7 | £92 | 70–90 min |
| Sidcup DA14 / DA15 | £95 | 75–95 min |
| Gatwick Airport North or South | £120 | 90–120 min |
| Heathrow Airport T2–T5 | £160 | 1h50–2h40 |
Guide fares, standard saloon, one way; final price depends on postcode and vehicle. MPV roughly +25%, 8-seater roughly +50%. Cards cost nothing extra and we charge no booking fee.
Foot-passenger check-in at the Eastern Docks – where the car stops
The Dover ferry port is the Eastern Docks, reached off the A2 at the bottom of Jubilee Way, the viaduct that drops down the cliff into the harbour. Everything for Calais and Dunkirk – P&O, DFDS and Irish Ferries – leaves from here. The Western Docks on the far side handle cruise ships at Cruise Terminals 1 and 2; for a cruise, use the Dartford to Dover cruise page instead.
Foot passengers do not use the vehicle check-in lanes. Your driver follows the signs for the passenger terminal building and stops at the drop-off outside it. Inside, you check in at the operator's desk, clear security and passport control, and are taken to the ship by shuttle bus – nobody walks onto a Dover ferry. That bus is why the cut-off is firm: foot-passenger check-in closes 60 minutes before sailing.
Coming off the boat
Arriving foot passengers are bussed back to the same building, so that is where your driver waits, with 45 minutes' free waiting if the ferry is late.
Why we go down the A2 and M2 rather than the M20 to Dover
Two roads lead from north Kent to Dover. The M20 and A20 through Ashford and Folkestone is the lorry route, and it suffers whenever cross-Channel freight backs up: Operation Brock puts a contraflow on the M20 between Junctions 8 and 9, and the Dover TAP holds lorries on the A20 at Aycliffe. On a bad day the last few miles from the west take longer than the whole trip from Dartford.
From Dartford, Gravesend and Bluewater we use the other side of the county: the A2 to the M2 past the Medway towns and Sittingbourne, then the A2 beyond Faversham and Canterbury, arriving at the docks by Jubilee Way from the north-east. It is dual carriageway nearly all the way, misses Ashford and Folkestone entirely, and is the more direct line from DA and ME postcodes anyway.
Timings from Dartford
- Overnight and early morning: 60 to 65 minutes door to terminal.
- Weekday daytime: 70 to 80 minutes, the slow stretch usually the M2 Medway bridge.
- Summer Saturdays and half-term: we add a further half hour and recommend the pickup time.
Working back from your sailing time to your pickup
Dover treats a foot passenger more strictly than a car. Vehicle lanes accept motorists up to each operator's own cut-off, but the passenger terminal wants you checked in a full hour before departure so the shuttle can get you aboard. We plan every ferry job backwards from that hour.
Take a mid-morning Calais crossing from Dartford. Check-in shuts an hour before; the M2 run takes 70 to 80 minutes at that time of day; we suggest a 20-minute margin on top. That puts the pickup roughly three hours before the ship sails.
Overnight sailings
Ferries leave through the night and so do our cars. No night surcharge – the fare is identical at 2am and 2pm.
Delays and cancellations
Forward the operator's text and we move the pickup, no fee, provided the driver has not already set off.
Returns from France
Boats back from Calais run late in rough weather. We watch the arrivals board and wait at the terminal.
The case for a booked car over train, coach or chancing an app
The train from Dartford to Dover Priory needs a change and, at the Dover end, a walk or a local cab down to the docks with your bags. At 5am on a Sunday the timetable does not help at all. Coaches to Dover start in London, not Kent, and app drivers are scarce for a 55-mile trip ending in a port where nobody is heading back the other way.
A pre-booked private hire car from a Dartford firm settles those problems in one go:
- The price is set when you book – Dartford from £85, Gravesend from £75, Bluewater from £82.
- Your driver is allocated the previous evening, with the car's registration texted to you.
- We know the terminal – which building, which door, and that the Western Docks is the wrong place.
- Card, cash or invoice, nothing added for cards, no booking fee.
- Licensed, insured and DBS-checked drivers on every job.
- Child seats at no cost, and the 8-seat minibus for a big family and its luggage.
Other ports have their own pages: Folkestone Eurotunnel, Harwich and Portsmouth.
Booking your taxi to the Dover ferry port
Give us the sailing
Operator, sailing time, start address, passengers and luggage – via the booking form, WhatsApp or 020 8888 9988.
We suggest the pickup time
Worked back from the 60-minute foot-passenger cut-off and the traffic for that hour, with one fixed fare.
Driver details by text
Name, vehicle and registration the evening before, or immediately for same-day jobs.
Dropped at the passenger terminal
Straight to the foot-passenger entrance at the Eastern Docks. Settle by card, cash or on account.
Every booking includes
- A fare fixed at booking and unchanged by traffic on the day
- Drop-off at the Eastern Docks passenger terminal, not the vehicle lanes
- Pickup times planned around the foot-passenger cut-off
- Estate or MPV for bikes and extra luggage at the quoted rate
- Overnight sailings covered at the same price as daytime
- Ferry arrival tracked, 45 minutes' free waiting for returns
Dover ferry port taxi – common questions
How much is a taxi from Dartford to Dover ferry port?
From £85 for a saloon, one way, to the Eastern Docks passenger terminal – about 55 miles down the A2 and M2, taking 60 to 80 minutes. Gravesend is from £75, Bluewater from £82, Bexleyheath from £92 and Sidcup from £95.
Where does a taxi drop foot passengers at Dover Eastern Docks?
At the passenger terminal building, which has its own drop-off separate from the vehicle check-in lanes. You check in inside, clear security and passport control, and a shuttle bus takes you to the ship. Tell the driver your operator and they stop at the right door.
How long before a Dover ferry does foot-passenger check-in close?
Sixty minutes before scheduled departure for P&O, DFDS and Irish Ferries foot passengers – earlier than for cars, because you are bussed to the ship. We time the pickup so you are inside the terminal before that hour, with a margin for traffic.
Is the ferry port the same place as the Dover cruise terminal?
No. Ferries to Calais and Dunkirk leave from the Eastern Docks off Jubilee Way. Cruise ships berth at the Western Docks, Cruise Terminal 1 or 2, across the harbour. Book cruise transfers through our Dover cruise page so the driver goes to the right terminal.
Will Operation Brock on the M20 affect my taxi to Dover?
Not on our route. Brock and the Dover TAP hold traffic on the M20 and A20 through Ashford and Folkestone. From Dartford, Gravesend and Medway we go down the A2 and M2 and approach Dover from Canterbury via Jubilee Way, missing the lorry queues.
Can you collect me from Dover ferry port after a Calais crossing?
Yes. Give us the sailing and scheduled arrival and the driver waits at the passenger terminal where the shuttle drops arriving foot passengers. We watch for delays and allow 45 minutes free before any waiting charge. Return fares match the outbound.
What if my ferry is cancelled or moved to a later sailing?
Forward us the operator's message and we shift the pickup to the new time without charge, provided the driver is still at base. Stranded at the docks after a cancellation? We can take you home or to Dover Priory station.
Do you go from Heathrow or Gatwick to Dover ferry port?
Yes – Heathrow to the Eastern Docks from £160, Gatwick from £120. We follow the flight, a driver with a name board can be waiting in the arrivals hall if you ask, and 45 minutes' free waiting after landing is built in.