Every guided day that leaves London for Leeds Castle, in one place. They run ten to twelve hours from Victoria, most of them include castle admission in the fare, and all of them add Canterbury and the Kent coast to the castle. Here is what each one gives you at the castle itself.
Ten hours from the Evan Evans kiosk at Victoria, castle admission in the fare and a guided grade for Canterbury Cathedral. The most-reviewed Kent day out of London, and the one whose shape the others copy.
From $130 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Early entry before the general gates, a mead tasting from April, and a finish on the water at Embankment Pier rather than a coach station. The boat and the tasting both stop between November and March.
From $134 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Ninety minutes at Leeds Castle with entry paid, forty-five at Canterbury Cathedral and twenty below the White Cliffs. Wi-fi, USB charging and headsets at every seat, and the cathedral tour is a grade you select.
From $130 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Gate 19 at Victoria, away at quarter past eight. Ninety minutes at the castle with entry paid, a full hour at Canterbury Cathedral, and a Thames cruise closing the day at Embankment Pier.
From $144 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
A car and a driver-guide for ten hours, priced for the vehicle up to seven. Two hours at Leeds Castle, longer than any coach here. Admission is not in the fare at any stop.
From $1,376 per group, up to 7
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Twelve hours and the only day here that stops at Dover Castle rather than passing it. Two hours at each of three sites, from your own address. Entrance fees are excluded throughout.
From $619 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Two moated Kent castles in eleven hours with entry to both. Three hours at Leeds is twice what the Canterbury coaches allow, and Hever follows for two and a half. The coach caps at twenty-nine.
From $172 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
A professional driver and an English-speaking guide as two separate people. Eleven hours, two at Leeds Castle and two in Canterbury, from your London address. The quoted fare is the six-seat vehicle.
From $2,683 per group, up to 15
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead on every one, and you are not charged until you book.
See top toursA coach or a private car leaving central London between eight and half past in the morning, back between six and eight in the evening, with Leeds Castle as the first stop and Canterbury and the Kent coast filling the rest. Ten to twelve hours door to door.
The castle is a stop, not the day. Every coach on this route gives you ninety minutes to three hours there and spends the balance on the road and at two more landmarks. That is the trade, and it is a good one if Kent is what you want to see. It is the wrong trade if Leeds Castle itself is why you are coming, and the honest alternative is on Leeds Castle without a tour.
Every coach day on this route includes entry to Leeds Castle, so you walk past the ticket office rather than into it. At an adult gate price of £38.50 that is a meaningful part of the fare before you count the driving.
Canterbury Cathedral is an hour further east and the White Cliffs another forty minutes beyond that. Reaching all three under your own steam is two days and a hire car; a coach does it between breakfast and dinner.
Read the reviews and one pattern repeats: almost every five-star one names the guide. Headsets at every seat mean the commentary runs on the drive as well as at the stops, and guides reroute around motorway closures rather than cutting a stop.
Ten hours, narrow Kent lanes at both ends and London traffic in the middle, handled by somebody else. On a two-driver holiday that is worth more than the fare difference.
This is the comparison that decides it, and it is closer than most people expect.
| Coach day trip | Train and admission | |
|---|---|---|
| Time at Leeds Castle | 90 min to 3 hr | As long as you like |
| Castle admission | Included in the fare | £34.50 or £45.50 online |
| Other landmarks | Canterbury Cathedral and the White Cliffs | None, without a second day |
| Getting there | Included, from Victoria | 70–75 min to Bearsted, then a taxi |
| Discount for arriving green | — | 20% off admission with a valid ticket |
| Day length | 10–12 hours, fixed | Yours |
| Cancellation | Free to 24 hours before | Ticket valid twelve months |
Book the most-reviewed Kent day
The fares land within a few pounds of each other for two adults. What separates them is not money, it is what the day is for.
Where the day starts. Victoria is the hub. Evan Evans boards at its own kiosk opposite Gate 1 inside Victoria Coach Station at 8:30am. Premium Tours goes from Gate 19 at 8:15am, boarding from eight. Golden Tours meets at Bus Stop 1 on Bulleid Way at 8:15am. The private cars collect you from an address instead.
Where it ends. Not always where it began. Two of these finish on the water at Embankment Pier after a Thames boat leg rather than back at a coach station, which is better if you are staying in central London and worse if your luggage is at Victoria.
What it costs. Coach fares start at From $130 per person. Private vehicles are priced per group or on a sliding per-person scale, so the cost per head falls with the size of your party.
When to book. Several days ahead in summer, when these sell out. Every one of them refunds in full up to 24 hours before departure, so booking early costs nothing in flexibility. A Leeds Castle, Canterbury and Dover tour in June is a different market from the same trip in February.
Castle admission in the fare, Canterbury and the Kent coast attached, and somebody else driving the M20.
Compare the toursThree readers are better served elsewhere, and it is worth saying so plainly.
Everyone else: this is the right page, and Leeds Castle Tours keeps the fares beside the hours each one gives you at the castle.