Getting to Kent

From the UK

If you have never been to Kent before, the best way to get into the county from anywhere in the UK is to head to London.

For a quick journey, you can travel from London to Kent by train. There is a London to Kent train service with Southeastern services. London Bridge, Charing Cross, London Waterloo East, Victoria and St Pancras International all connect to Kent, with London St Pancras International operating the High Speed One service, taking less than 40 minutes from the capital to the heart of the Garden of England.

If you're driving, getting from London to Kent is relatively simple. Once on the M25, there are two directions into Kent; if you are coming from the North or the East, you will cross the Dartford Bridge (which has a toll charge). Once over the bridge you will be in Kent and you can follow the signs for the M2 or carry on down a little further to reach the M20; if you’re coming from the south and west: on joining the M25, continue until you reach the M26 which will connect you with the M20. Equally you can stay on the M25 until you reach the M2.

Car-Free Journey Planners

There are also a few journey planners that make getting around Kent and the UK a lot easier, making your journeys stress-free and more sustainably green:

• Traveline
• CycleStreets
• Railsmartr
• GoodJourney

From overseas

You may still need to do extra things before you take a trip this Autumn and it may take longer to clear border control. Give yourself extra time, be prepared for delays and visit www.gov.uk/travel-abroad to check the steps you need to take.

There are a variety of options for you to travel swiftly into the county of Kent. If you are travelling by car, you can drive straight onto LeShuttle at Calais. In just 35 minutes you will be in Folkestone, where you can join the M20 motorway which runs through the heart of the county, meaning you can be on your way to your destination in no time at all! LeShuttle trains run all day and night, with up to four departures an hour.

If you want to find your sea legs, then drive onto one of our ferry providers, with frequent Channel crossings between Kent and Nord-Pas de Calais. DFDS Seaways runs a service from Dunkerque to Dover.

Still want to follow the road but unsure of driving on the left?

Eurolines coaches operate Europe’s largest regular coach service network, covering 500 destinations across the continent. Stopping in Canterbury, the buses also travel into London Victoria Coach station, where you can easily transfer to a National Express coach into Kent.

If you want to leave the car at home, then use the high-speed Eurostar service which runs from Paris, Brussels or Lille into London, with an easy and short transfer on Southeastern's High Speed Rail links from St Pancras International. 

Prefer to be up in the air?

London Gatwick and Heathrow are the two other airports closest to Kent. If you are driving straight from the London airports, then head for the M25 and follow directions for south-bound, taking just over an hour to reach the centre of Kent. If not, hop onto either the Gatwick or Heathrow Express trains into London for connecting trains into Kent.