Hotels near Dover cruise port: where to stay the night before you sail

Dover's cruise ships sail from two buildings, Cruise Terminal 1 and Cruise Terminal 2, and the Port of Dover puts both at the Western Docks, postcode CT17 9DQ. The port also lists a third berth, WD4 on Marina Curve, which it describes as used for port-of-call visits. Your cruise documents, or the port's own schedule, say which berth your ship uses.

Our schedule has 95 departures from Dover, from April 16, 2027 to October 27, 2028. They are listed on the Dover page.

Which hotels are closest to the Dover cruise terminals?

Dover Marina Hotel & Spa, on the seafront at Waterloo Crescent, is 1.3 km from the terminals on foot by OpenStreetMap routing. The town center hotels and the two guest houses come next, at 1.6 to 2 km. Premier Inn Dover (A20) and Holiday Inn Dover are on the edge of town and need a car or a taxi.

Hotel	Address	Walk to the cruise terminals	Walk to Dover Priory station
Dover Marina Hotel & Spa	Waterloo Crescent, CT17 9BP	1.3 km, 0.8 mi	1.0 km, 0.6 mi
Travelodge Dover	Unit 8, St James Street, CT16 1QD	1.6 km, 1.0 mi	1.0 km, 0.6 mi
The Norman Guest House	75 Folkestone Road, CT17 9RZ	1.8 km, 1.1 mi	190 m, opposite the station
Hubert House	9 Castle Hill Road, CT16 1QW	1.8 km, 1.1 mi	1.1 km, 0.7 mi
Premier Inn Dover Central (Eastern Ferry Terminal)	Marine Court, Marine Parade, CT16 1LW	2.0 km, 1.2 mi	1.6 km, 1.0 mi
Premier Inn Dover (A20)	Folkestone Road, CT15 7AB	4.8 km, 3.0 mi	4.5 km, 2.8 mi
Holiday Inn Dover	Singledge Lane, Whitfield, CT16 3EL	6.5 km, 4.1 mi	4.8 km, 3.0 mi

We measured these walks on OpenStreetMap on November 9, 2026, from each hotel's postcode to the terminals' postcode and to Dover Priory. They are distances, not times. On the same routing the station is 1.9 km from the terminals, a walk the port puts at 30 to 40 minutes, which gives you a fair idea of the others with a suitcase in each hand.

The Port of Dover's own list of hotels for a stay before or after a cruise names four of these: Dover Marina Hotel, Holiday Inn Dover, Premier Inn and Travelodge. We added the two guest houses because their own websites speak to cruise travelers. This is a selection of hotels whose sites we could read, not every place to stay in Dover.

How do you get from a Dover hotel to the ship?

By taxi, for most people. The port says there are taxi ranks outside Dover Priory station, and outside Cruise Terminals 1 and 2 for passengers coming off a cruise. It also says passengers can be dropped off at the terminal. The Norman Guest House puts the taxi ride to the Western Docks cruise terminal at about 4 minutes.

• The shuttle bus. YMS Travel runs a hop-on, hop-off bus between the terminals, the train station, the town center and Dover Castle, the port says, with tickets from the driver valid all day. On turnaround days, when a cruise starts or ends in Dover, it runs only between the terminal and the station. The port adds that a station shuttle runs on selected dates.
• On foot. Possible from the seafront with light bags. With checked luggage, the 1.3 to 2 km from the nearest hotels is a long haul, and we would book the taxi.
• Bags before boarding. The port says it has no facility to store luggage at the terminal before or after a cruise. Keep your bags at the hotel until you leave for the ship.

The London to Dover guide covers the train, the shuttle and the drive in more detail.

What each hotel offers cruise passengers

• Dover Marina Hotel & Spa. Part of Hilton's Tapestry Collection, in a 19th-century building on the seafront. Its home page says it is "just minutes from the cruise port", and its directions page says onsite and nearby parking is available for guests. We found no parking price on its pages on November 9, 2026. It also has a spa and restaurants, if you arrive a day early and want the evening in the hotel.
• Travelodge Dover. In the St James retail and leisure complex in the town center, which Travelodge says is "just 5 minutes by car from the Port of Dover". Check-in is from 3 pm and check-out until noon, with early check-in and late check-out for an extra charge. Parking is chargeable and first come, first served. On November 9, 2026 its page listed charges from 9 am to 6 pm Monday to Saturday, up to £10.00 for 24 hours, free on Sundays, card only.
• The Norman Guest House. A family-run bed and breakfast on Folkestone Road, opposite Dover Priory. It says the cruise terminal is 5 minutes away by car and offers secure off-street parking, locked overnight. Breakfast runs from 7 to 8:30 am, earlier on request, and it will leave a continental breakfast tray in the room for anyone leaving very early. Latest check-out is 10 am. Its rates page shows per-person prices with no date on them, so ask for a current rate.
• Hubert House. A guest house in a Grade II listed Georgian townhouse below Dover Castle, with on-site parking for guests. It has no lifts, and it says its small double room is not suitable for cruise travelers or more than two suitcases, so ask for one of the larger rooms. Hubert House says the ferry port is a five-minute walk away. The cruise terminals are at the Western Docks, 1.8 km by our routing.
• Premier Inn Dover Central (Eastern Ferry Terminal). On Marine Parade. Premier Inn says you will be "right on hand for the ferry or cruise ships". Despite the ferry terminal in its name, it is the farthest of the town hotels from the cruise terminals in our table, at 2.0 km. Parking cost £5 per 24 hours on November 9, 2026, in a car park managed by Horizon Parking.
• Premier Inn Dover (A20). On Folkestone Road out of town, with free on-site parking. Premier Inn warns that some sat navs send drivers into the Channel Tunnel and says to follow Folkestone Road, the B2011, instead. For food, Premier Inn points you to an independently run restaurant next door.
• Holiday Inn Dover. In Whitfield, with free on-site parking 24 hours a day, four electric car chargers and baggage storage. It puts itself 10 minutes from Dover's ferry port, a figure for the ferry port rather than the cruise terminals. Breakfast is 6:30 to 9:30 am on weekdays and 7 to 10 am on weekends.

Can you leave your car at a Dover hotel during the cruise?

None of these seven hotels published a park-and-cruise package on its own website when we checked on November 9, 2026. The parking above is for staying guests, so ask the hotel before you plan to leave a car for the length of a cruise.

The port's own cruise parking is run by Cruise and Passenger Services, the port says. It offers meet-and-greet, takes the car to secure parking and brings it back when you return, and you book by phone or on its website.

Should you stay in London and take the train instead?

You can, and if you fly into London you may want a night there anyway. Southeastern's high-speed trains run from St Pancras International to Dover Priory in about 1 hour 7 minutes, and the fastest takes 1 hour 3 minutes. Southeastern counts around 42 direct trains a day. From Dover Priory it is the taxi rank or the shuttle to the terminals.

The trade-off is sailing day itself. You carry your bags onto a train, change to a taxi in Dover, and a late train eats into the time before boarding. A night in Dover leaves only the short taxi ride. We would sleep in Dover with checked bags, and choose London if the evening in the city matters more.

• Where to stay in London. The area near St Pancras and King's Cross is the one for Dover. See where to stay in London before a cruise.
• The journey. Trains, tickets and the last leg are in the London to Dover guide. Landing at Heathrow, see Heathrow to Dover.

Before you book

• Check-out against boarding. Your cruise line gives your boarding time. Travelodge's check-out is noon and the Norman's is 10 am, and the port cannot hold bags, so ask your hotel to keep them if you check out early.
• After the cruise. The taxi ranks outside Cruise Terminals 1 and 2 are there for passengers coming off a ship, the port says.
• No room rates. Rates change daily, so we do not print them. Each hotel's own website is in the sources below.

The London cruise ports guide compares Dover with Tilbury and Greenwich, and the documents guide covers the UK ETA you need before you fly in.