The Most Unforgettable Things to Do in Dover, England

As a family of five, it is often difficult to plan a budget friendly trip that everyone will love. But Dover checked all the boxes and convinced us that this is a place to visit more than once. Below is our 4-day itinerary in Folkestone & Dover area. I have also added a list of additional things we plan to do on our next visit to the area.

DAY 1: Check In & Local Beach Spots

If you haven't used booking.com for your travels—PLEASE DO! I have always had great experiences with the hosts and check in are so, so easy! Day 1 was basically a day of traveling, exploring the local area, and finding a few shores within walking distance of our little home away from home.

A great place to stay, to save on money, and to get out of the busy hustle of Dover on your off time is a little village about 20 minutes away called Folkestone.

This little gem of a spot has all of the amenities of the city AND its on a shore that is relatively quiet and not too touristy.

The house we stayed in was right on the walking path of a harbor and boasted little tea shops, fisheries, ice cream parlors, and pubs just a 5 minute walk away.

We got into town at 1PM, our check in wasn't until 3PM so we took this time to get groceries for the week & plan our day trips in a tea shop while we lunched.

Once we got into the house we took the time to unpack, hang out in the cute little backyard of our house with our dog to acclimate her, make dinner with previously bought groceries, and walk the local pier with access to the shore.

DAY 2: Dover Castle & Local Eats

How could we not make Dover castle our first stop?

This is one of the most well preserved castles in the UK. The inside of the castle is filled with exhibits, tours, and photo opps, all along the way up the tower where you will be able to see breathtaking views of the cliffs, coast, city, and ports.

The entire property could easily be an all day excursion, but we chose to do the main points of the property (the castle and the underground hospital tour) which took us about half the day. The second half of the day, we reserved for beach and pier walks.

The entire property consists of a Roman lighthouse, the castle, cathedral, national trust walk of the cliffs, and a few walking paths around the immediate historic sites off the site of the castle.

NOTE: With our heritage pass, this admission was FREE for my family of 5 (My Mom paid 17GBP for her ticket).

Day 3: White Cliffs Hike To The Lighthouse & To Die For Take Away

We could have done the white cliffs while at Dover castle, but with little ones, we thought it wise to keep the 5k hike on a separate day so that no one was too tired by the end of the day.

This was my favorite day of the entire trip. Along the walk, there are storyboards that explain the history of the white cliffs. You can plan your route according to the amount of time you want to spend walking. We chose to do a 50 minute walk to the lighthouse, have tea in the converted bottom of the light house, picnic for a bit, and walk the 50 minutes back to our starting point for a second photo journal walk.

Along the path, we discovered a cliff shelter that had some rich history about the world war and strategies used on the castle and lighthouse. The access point to go into the shelters was quite steep and on the edge of the cliffs, so for safety reasons, we chose to bypass this site. However, if you are well seasoned at climbing and in good physical condition, I would recommend the tour around it.

Apart from the missed shelter spot, I was able to photograph all along the cliffs, inside the lighthouse, and even witness a film being produced at the top of the cliffs! The walking path wasn't crowded at all and people were courteous while I was shooting my images.

After seeing the white cliffs and all the colors and textures it has to offer, I would definitely call this spot the photogs dream.

White Cliffs Of Dover

I captured this image on our way to South Foreland Lighthouse. The views are absolutely breath taking and so much history to learn along the way.

Day 4: Walmer Castle| Tea at the Abbey Gardens & A Walk on the Pebbled Shore

My mom's favorite day was the Walmer Castle visit. Outside of the castle is a small pebbled shores that boasts walking and biking paths along the coastline. The paths are divided by small wildflower beds that welcome you into a secret field of smooth rocks and mysterious waters.

On the other side of the road, you'll find Walmer castle, where you'll be welcomes by a well groomed pebbled road that leads to a drawbridge and moat of the castle. If you peek into the iron rod gates, you can see an extensive flower garden off to the side that surrounds the house and gift shop of the property.

When you pay for admission, you walk through a cute little gift shop that leads you to a garden nursery and your first cafe. Through the cafe doors, you'll enter a historic house that offers an audio tour of all of the personalities and timelines that the castle has standed.

Outside of the castle is another bridge across the mote that leads to a hedged path to the abbey garden, vegetable garden, picnic area, basement level mote, forest garden, and additional tea room where proper teas and dinners are served in the midst of the small apple orchard and veg garden.

The forest is a strategically sound insulated area where kids have a wood playscape with climbing structures, bridges, and stoops to hop from. You can hear muffles of laughter while having tea but nothing obnoxious or disturbing to your adult time.

P.S. This is another FREE ADMISSION destination with your heritage pass.

Total Price Breakdown:

Lodging:

$508.00 +$25.00 Pet Deposit

3 bedroom 2 bath house with yard 30 feet from shore

Food:

$250.00

We packed groceries before hand and had 2 nights out for dinner for the adults and kids had shared plates.

Sites/Admission:

$225.00

I ended up purchasing a family pass For English Heritage sites, which gave us free admission and parking to any english heritage site for the year.

There are over 400 sites UK wide and since we reside here for now, I decided it was worth the investment and actually saved us $45.00 after our third admission as a family.

Souvenires:

$45.00

Yes! I budgeted for souvenires and told my kids they had 10 pounds each to buy something.

This kept costs down, avoided the dreaded "Can I have it?" each time we crossed a gift shop, and guaranteed light packing when it was time to go home.

Gas:

$110.00

We traveled by car via Cambridge area and are blessed enough to have access to US rates in gas.

Tolls:

$10.00

Coming in and out of London

URGENT TOLLS ARE NOT BOOTHED ON THIS ROUTE YOU HAVE TO PAY VIA DART CHARGE The easiest way to pay is to create an account on line and prepay your tolls.

MISC:

$225.00

I LOCKED THE KEYS IN THE CAR AND PAID FOR A LOCKSMITH TO COME OUT LAST MINUTE DURING OUR CHECK OUT MORNING UGH!

Total:

$1398.00 or $233.00 per person (Family of 5 + Grandma Visiting from US).

Conversion rate at this time was approximately 1.22 USD for 1.00 GBP

Conclusion

Out of all of our little family adventures in the UK, I can definitely put Dover at the top of the list with so much to do and see. It offers rich history, culture, events, and family friendly/dog friendly activities. We already planned our second trip there and can see us going to this beautiful and quirky place regularly.

I hope I inspired you to look into Dover, and please share your experiences with me! I love to hear others' thoughts and opinions.

Have questions? Pop me a message or comment below and I'll answer as soon as I can!

Disclaimer

This was a trip taken during off season—British kids were in their last weeks of spring term so it wasn't nearly as busy as it would be in high season—consequently prices were much lower for food and lodging.