Expert: David Stewart White - 6/2/2010

Question
QUESTION: We will be arriving by ferry from France and are staying in Oxford.  Can you give us inforamtion as to the best way to get to Oxford via public transportation?

ANSWER: Hello Kate,

Options are limited for using public transportation between Dover port and Oxford.  Basically, your choices are:

Rail
–Take a taxi from the port to Dover Priory rail station.
–Take a train from Dover Priory station to London St. Pancras station (about 1hr 10 min.)
–Transfer from St. Pancras station to Paddington station, using a taxi or the London Underground (about 15-25 minutes, depending upon time of day). The Underground is not a good option if you have lots of luggage and/or are traveling during busy periods.
–Take a train from Paddington to Oxford (about an hour)

Bus/coach
–Catch a National Express coach from the ferry port station to London Victoria coach station (about 2 hours 20 min)
–layover (40 minutes)
–take coach to Oxford (1 hr 50 min)

Although the journey time is longer, the coach is logistically easier, with fewer changes.  

You can play with the details on these sites:

Train:  www.transportdirect.co.uk (select "find a train", enter "Dover Priory" as starting point and "Oxford Rail station" as destination)

Coach:  http://www.nationalexpress.com  (enter "Dover" and choose "Dover ferry port" as starting point, "Oxford" as destination)

I hope this is helpful.

Dave White

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Later in our trip we need to get to Holyhead from Oxford to take the ferry to Dublin. Any advice?

Answer
Hollyhead in Wales?  Oddly that one comes up blank when you attempt to use Transportdirect.co.uk train schedules.  But never fear, if you go to this site:

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk

and enter "Oxford to Hollyhead" you can get train information on this route.  Takes almost 5 hours by train, with two changes, so it's not an ideal journey, but it can be done.  I could find no coach/bus routing for this trip.

Also, here's the website for the ferry terminal in that remote Welsh coastal town:

http://www.directferries.co.uk/holyhead.htm

Have a good trip!