Private Small Group Tour to Canterbury, Dover Cliffs & Castle, Rochester & Kent Villages

- Fully refundable and amendable up until 14 days before travel
- Preview your day trip adventure here

Booking a private small group tour with International Friends gives you flexibility to visit your destinations at your own pace, with the added support of expert advice and guidance. Book a private day trip and take advantage of the following inclusions:

Exclusive use of an executive touring vehicle for 9 - 10 hours
Expert staff on hand to help plan your itinerary & ensure you make the most of your day
Door to door service. We collect from all central London (zone 1 & 2) & Heathrow addresses, other pick ups available on request.
Optional service of an expert guide to accompany you for the day
All vehicles deep cleaned daily.
Flexible booking guarantee

Service Options

We have three services, tailored to cater to a range of budgets and preferences.

Driver only
Engage the services of an experienced driver who is familiar with our touring routes, but does not guide. Should you book this service, you will visit your sightseeing stops independently. Audio guides are available at Dover Castle subject to availability.

Driver/guide
With this service level, your experienced driver will guide and offer commentary from the vehicle.

Driver with guide
This is our most popular option. You’ll have an experienced driver and a separate professional guide on your tour, who can guide from the vehicle and lead you on walking tours. When booking this service, you’ll need to allow a seat for the guide. For example, booking this service for 8-16 people will allow seats for a party of 15 passengers plus the guide.

The services above do not include entries or meals, but we are of course very happy to help with this. Should you wish to include entry tickets or meal bookings, please see our FAQs tab.

Booking procedure

Once we have received your booking, our expert staff will finalise your itinerary based on your locations and pick up address. They will then secure the best driver and where applicable, guides for your tour.

We may make suggestions and amendments to ensure you maximise your time spent touring. Occasionally additional fees may be applicable in order to accommodate all of your requests e.g where itineraries will require unusually early or late starts or finishes, or if additional pick ups and drop offs are required. If you do have any special requests we recommend you contact us before booking.

Recommended Itinerary

Your private day trip to Kent begins with collection from your London or Heathrow address. We can collect from your hotel lobby, air bnb, airport arrival terminal, train station, guest house or private address. You'll then leave London behind, beginning with a trip down the old Roman road to the historic city of Rochester. Upon arrival in Rochester, you'll have some time to admire Rochester's 900 year old castle, the 11th Century cathedral, and take a walk down Rochester's quaint high street, a place frequented by Charles Dickens. After some time exploring in Rochester, you will be driven down local back roads and narrow country lanes that our smaller vehicles can handle with ease. You'll take the scenic route, weaving through leafy lanes in the Kent countryside, complete with hop fields, farms, orchards, oast houses and quant villages which give Kent the 'Garden of England' nickname it is so well known for. Your driver will stop in the characterful village of Chilham, centred around a square with a traditional English pub, manor house and 15th century church, before your journey continues onward to the edge of England at the White Cliffs of Dover.

Admire the world renowned White Cliffs of Dover, so famous for their symbolism in British and allied military history, and where you'll be able to see the coast of France on a clear day, lying just 20 miles away! After a short drive from the White Cliffs, you'll arrive at Dover Castle. Should you choose to enter the Castle, you can stroll around the castle grounds, climb the tower, see the Roman church, walk the walls and learn about Dover Castle's integral role in battles from the 11th Century, all the way up to WWII, before you continue towards Canterbury.

Upon arrival in Canterbury, walk along cobbled streets into the heart of the city, peer down the narrow and wonky backstreets of this historic city. Take in the vast array of fun and quirky shops, bars and restaurants, or visit Canterbury Cathedral, a vast, historic and stunning building. After some time to take in this historic city, your private day trip ends and you will be returned to London.

Are entry to the attractions and meals included?

Attraction entries and meals are not included in the prices for private tour.

We do strongly recommend you pre-book your entry tickets for all attractions that you wish to enter. We can arrange Dover Castle entries for you if you add tickets on at time of booking. Booking your entry tickets with us allows flexible booking terms and you would recived a full refund on entry tickets should you need to cancel any time up to 2 weeks before travel.

Some other entries you may wish to consider are as follows. These will all need arranging witht e attractions directly:

Rochester Cathedral - entry is free and there is no need to book in advance.
Rochester Castle
Canterbury Cathedral - tickets are not available to book online, but can be purchased on the day.
Please be aware that Rochester Cathedral & Canterbury Cathedral are working religious buildings, and are sometimes subject to last minute closures.

Is this service only available from London or Heathrow?

The advertised prices are based on pick up and drop off from central London (zone 1 & 2) or Heathrow. But we can also offer this service from selected locations outside central London on request. Please email your enquiry to [email protected] for further details.

How much luggage can I bring?

When booking private tours where you will have luggage (e.g. starting or ending at a cruise terminal or airport), please ensure you check the below for information regarding vehicle luggage capacity.

Booking 1-3 people, the vehicle will accommodate up to 3 large cases and 3 small (carry on) cases
Booking 1-6 people, the vehicle will accommodate up to 7 large cases and 7 small (carry on) cases
Booking 7-16 people, the vehicle will accommodate up to 12 large cases and 12 small (carry on) cases

Large cases must have a maximum weight of 23kg per case, small cases a maximum 10kg per case.

Should you wish to bring any mobility aids (wheelchairs or walkers) you MUST contact us in advance to let us know. We will require full dimensions and weight. These items must be able to be folded and stored in the luggage hold. Wheelchairs must be counted as 1 item of your hold luggage.

Are there any time limitations?

All private tour prices are based on 9 - 10 hours. Our office staff are experts in being able to help you plan your route in advance, to help you get the most out of your day. On the day of your booking our experienced team of drivers and guides will also be able to help and advise you if they need to make time or route alterations depending on prevailing traffic conditions.

All British professional driver working hours are regulated by law in the interests of your safety. Our standard scheduled itineraries are compliant with the current regulations. If you feel you would like to arrange a more bespoke itinerary this will require detailed planning and preparation. In this situation we recommend you email us at [email protected] or call us on on 01843 609699 so we can discuss and help plan your perfect day out.