North or South Terminal
Canterbury to Gatwick
Typical drive
1h 15m – 1h 45m
Fixed fare for Gatwick
Canterbury Airport Transfers · Express Travel Kent
Airport taxi from Canterbury, its suburbs and the Stour valley villages
A pre-booked airport taxi from any address in Canterbury, from Wincheap and Thanington to Hales Place, Harbledown and St Dunstan's, and from the CT1 to CT4 villages such as Sturry, Fordwich, Littlebourne, Bridge and Chartham, to Gatwick, Heathrow, Stansted, Luton and London City.
Fixed fare for the car before you book
Name board in arrivals, flight tracked
Rated 5.0 from 355 Google reviews
- 01843 247247
Call to book
Canterbury Airport TransfersExpress Travel Kent
Express Travel Kent quotes one fixed fare for the whole car before you confirm, answers bookings at any hour of the day or night, and only takes journeys arranged in advance: airport trips, long-distance travel, business and school transfers, and executive cars for the days that matter.
Further down: how long each airport takes by road, why a car cannot pull up at most front doors inside the city walls, what to expect at Canterbury East and Canterbury West, and which junction takes you onto the A2.
Airport Transfer Service
Canterbury to the London airports: typical drive times
The ranges below are the door-to-terminal times Express Travel Kent publishes for Canterbury. The M2 and the M25 can push them either way, so the pickup time suggested when you book is counted back from your flight, not from the quickest figure. Other airports on request.
A fixed fare for the car, shown before you book
Flight tracking and meet and greet on every airport collection
Same fare for early mornings, late nights, weekends and bank holidays
Up to 6 passengers in an MPV; child seats on request
Terminals 2, 3, 4 and 5
Canterbury to Heathrow
Typical drive
2h – 2h 30m
Fixed fare for HeathrowMain terminal
Canterbury to Stansted
Typical drive
1h 45m – 2h 15m
Fixed fare for StanstedMain terminal
Canterbury to Luton
Typical drive
2h – 2h 30m
Fixed fare for LutonMain terminal
Canterbury to London City
Typical drive
1h 30m – 1h 50m
Fixed fare for London CityTypical door-to-terminal times · Traffic can change them · Other airports on request
Pickup Points
Stations, campus, hospital and the walled centre: where the car meets you
Much of central Canterbury was laid out long before motor traffic, and some of it is closed to cars for most of the day. These notes cover the places where the right meeting point is not obvious.
01
Addresses inside the city walls
Since 26 October 2020 an automatic bollard system has refused most drivers entry to the city-centre streets, with round-the-clock access kept for listed groups such as registered residents with off-street parking and wedding vehicles. If you are staying in the pedestrian zone, give the address when you book and a meeting point at its edge is agreed with you.
02
The Cathedral Precincts
No vehicle can drive into the Precincts, and the way in and out on foot is Christ Church Gate in the Buttermarket. Leaving after a service or a ceremony? Allow a few minutes to walk from the gate to the agreed pickup point.
03
Canterbury West station
Just north of the Westgate, by the St Dunstan's level crossing. Southeastern's high-speed trains from St Pancras have called here since December 2009, and a multi-storey car park opened in June 2020. A handy place to change from train to car for Heathrow or a long trip north.
04
Canterbury East station
On the line from London Victoria to Dover Priory. A footbridge with lifts, opened in 2021, carries you over the ring road and onto a path along the top of the restored city wall, a step-free way between the platforms and the centre.
05
Canterbury Christ Church University, North Holmes Road (CT1 1QU)
The main campus stands beside the ruins of St Augustine's Abbey, on ground the monks once used for orchards. Tell us the building or entrance when you book, especially on moving-in and moving-out days at either end of term.
06
Kent and Canterbury Hospital, Ethelbert Road (CT1 3NG)
Run by East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust. Heading to the airport straight from work? Book the pickup for the entrance you will leave by and the time your shift finishes, and let us know quickly if that time slips.
Areas We Cover
Collections across the city and the CT1 to CT4 villages
Airport and long-distance journeys begin at any address in the city or the villages that ring it. Here is where each part of the area sits and how it reaches the main roads.
Inside the walls, Northgate and St Dunstan's
The historic core and the streets just beyond the old gates, including the approach to Canterbury West. Within the bollard zone a meeting point is agreed when you book.
Wincheap and Thanington
South-west of the centre along the A28, where one of the city's three Park and Ride sites stands. Since September 2011 Thanington has had its own slip road onto the westbound A2, the London direction.
Hales Place
The estate on the northern edge of the city, built on the old Hales family land that the city council bought for housing in 1953.
Harbledown
Joined to the city on its western side, close to where the Canterbury road leaves the A2. The almshouses of St Nicholas, founded by Archbishop Lanfranc as a leper hospital, are still there.
Sturry, Fordwich and Broad Oak
Sturry is on the Great Stour about 3 miles north-east of the city, with its own station on the line out of Canterbury West. Fordwich, its neighbour on the Stour, is the smallest community in Britain with its own town council, and Broad Oak lies just north-west of Sturry.
Westbere, Hersden and Upstreet
Strung along the A28 towards Thanet. Westbere overlooks lakes left by flooded quarry workings, Hersden began in the 1920s as a village for the Chislet Colliery miners, and Upstreet runs along the main road close to Grove Ferry.
Littlebourne, Wickhambreaux and Ickham
East of the city on or just off the A257, about 4 miles out. Wickhambreaux is built around its green and the old Wickham Mill; Ickham's parish also takes in Bramling.
Bekesbourne, Patrixbourne and Bridge
South-east along the old Dover road. Bridge is 2.5 miles from the city in the Nailbourne valley, Patrixbourne about 3 miles out beside its late-Norman church, and Bekesbourne has a station between Canterbury East and Dover Priory.
Chartham and Petham
Chartham sits on the Great Stour 2.3 miles south-west of the city, one stop from Canterbury West on the Ashford line. Petham is a North Downs village about five miles south.
“Not on the list? Send us your address and we will reply with a fixed fare.”
Book Your JourneyBeyond the Airport
More than the airport: long-distance, business, luxury and school travel
The same pre-booked cars and fixed fares cover journeys that are not airport trips, as long as they start or end in the Canterbury area.
01Long-distance journeys
From Harbledown or the Thanington slip road onto the A2, then the M2 at Brenley Corner and on to London, the Midlands or a family visit at the far end of the country, with the price settled before you leave.
02Business transfers
Executive cars for meetings in London, visiting speakers for Christ Church University, or a colleague to fetch from Heathrow. London City Airport is reached on the A2 and through the Blackwall Tunnel.
03Luxury and exclusive transport
An executive saloon for a wedding at a village church, a graduation day at the Cathedral, or a day in London with the car and driver kept for you by the hour or the day.
04School transfers
Pupils and students taken between a Canterbury home, their school, college or university and the airport, at the start and end of term or for an exchange trip abroad.
05Cruise and ferry ports
The two cruise terminals at Dover's Western Docks are a straight run down the A2. Southampton's five terminals are a longer day, usually in an estate or an MPV so a fortnight's luggage fits.
Journey Times
The roads out of Canterbury, airport by airport
Nearly every airport journey starts on the A2, picked up at Harbledown, at the Thanington slip road or near Bridge, and joins the M2 at Brenley Corner, junction 7, close to Faversham. After that the route depends on the airport.
Door to terminal, by car
| Typical time | Route after the M2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Gatwick, North or South Terminal | 1h 15m – 1h 45m | M25, then south on the M23 |
| Heathrow, Terminals 2, 3, 4 and 5 | 2h – 2h 30m | M25 heading west |
| Stansted | 1h 45m – 2h 15m | Dartford Crossing, then the M11 |
| Luton | 2h – 2h 30m | Dartford Crossing and the M25, then the M1 to junction 10 |
| London City | 1h 30m – 1h 50m | A2 into London and the Blackwall Tunnel |
Typical door-to-terminal times; traffic changes them. Friday afternoons and the first days of school holidays can add 30 to 45 minutes on the M25, and overnight roadworks on the M2 and M25 are frequent. The fare you confirmed does not move either way.
Local Knowledge
Landing at Gatwick or Heathrow for a stay in Canterbury
Flying in for the Cathedral, a graduation or a few nights inside the walls? We follow your flight, and the driver waits in the arrivals hall holding a board with your name, then wheels the cases out with you. You have 45 minutes of free waiting after an international landing and 30 after a domestic one, timed from when the aircraft actually touches down.
Heathrow keeps its forecourts for dropping off only, so the car is parked in the terminal car park, about two minutes' walk from the doors, rather than at the kerb; at Terminal 4, whose multi-storey closed in June 2026, it waits in the Priority Pick-Up Area or the Park and Ride.
Where you can be set down in the city:
- Hotels and holiday lets inside the walls: if the street is behind the bollards, the car stops at the agreed point nearest to it.
- The Cathedral: cars cannot enter the Precincts, and the way in on foot is Christ Church Gate in the Buttermarket.
- Canterbury East: from the station side, the footbridge over the ring road leads onto the wall-top path into the centre.
- Canterbury West and St Dunstan's: just outside the Westgate, where traffic still squeezes between the gatehouse's two drum towers.
Common Questions
Questions from Canterbury and village travellers
Usually not. Since October 2020 automatic bollards have kept most vehicles out of the city-centre streets, so a meeting point just outside the pedestrian zone is agreed when you book. Put the address and any preference in the booking notes.
Yes. Book Canterbury West as the pickup point and give the time your train is due. If you are running late, call or send a WhatsApp message so the driver knows; waiting beyond the free 10 minutes is charged at the standard rate.
From Sturry, Fordwich, Littlebourne and the other villages to the north and east, the car heads round or through Canterbury to the A2, which becomes the M2 at Brenley Corner. Bridge and Bekesbourne already sit beside the A2, and Chartham and Petham join it from the south-west.
No. There is no meter, and the fixed fare stays the same for traffic, roadworks, a diversion, an early or late start, a weekend or a bank holiday. Waiting beyond the free time, unbooked stops, big route changes asked for on the way, and parking fees or tolls where they apply can be added.
Yes. Choose the car for the cases: an estate seats 4 with 3 to 4 large cases, and an MPV takes up to 6 passengers with 4 or more. Give the number of cases when you book so the right car is sent.
The online booking system takes card payments, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Klarna and Revolut, and the code ExpressTravelKent gives 10% off. You can also book by phone on 01843 247247, on WhatsApp or by email.
Client Reviews
What passengers say about Express Travel Kent on Google
Reviews of Express Travel Kent from customers in every area we cover, not only Canterbury, as shown on Google on 31 October 2026.
I was really impressed with the taxi service I used today to get to the airport. From the start, I received timely updates and reminders, along with the car number and driver's name well in… Read full review
Abdulai Latif
I can't recommend this taxi company highly enough. From great prices to consistent, exceptional service, they are truly the best in the area. I have been picked up and dropped off several ti… Read full review
Harriet Fleet
I cannot recommend John and his team enough. Excellent communication, professionalism and friendliness throughout my return journey to Gatwick. I will definitely be using them again, 10 out… Read full review
Angela King
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