Harwich is a town in Essex, England and one of the Haven ports, located on the coast with the North Sea to the east. Nearby cities include Felixstowe to the northeast, Ipswich to the northwest and Colchester to the southwest. The town received its charter in 1238, although there is evidence of earlier settlement - for example, a record of a chapel in 1177, and some indications of a possible Roman presence.
Its position on the estuaries of the Stour and Orwell rivers and its usefulness to mariners as the only safe anchorage between the Thames and Humber led to a long period of maritime significance, both civil and military. The town became a naval base in 1657 and was heavily fortified, with Harwich Redoubt, Beacon Hill Battery, and Bath Side Battery.
Harwich International Port at nearby Parkeston continues to offer regular ferry services to the Hook of Holland in the Netherlands and Esbjerg in Denmark. Many operations of the large container port at Felixstowe and of Trinity House, the lighthouse authority, are managed from Harwich, and plans for the development of a new container port in Bathside Bay.
Harwich today is contiguous with Dovercourt and the two, along with Parkeston, are often referred to collectively as Harwich.
Despite, or perhaps because of, its small size Harwich is highly-regarded in terms of architectural heritage, and the whole of the older part of the town, excluding Navyard Wharf, is a conservation area.
On the quayside may be seen the Pier Hotel of 1860 and Great Eastern Hotel of 1864 (the latter now divided into apartments), both reflecting the town’s new importance to travellers following the arrival of the railway line.
Harwich International Port:
With a long tradition of handling passenger ships, the Port has facilities and expertise to ensure cruise passengers and ships’ crew alike receive memorable customer service.
The purpose-built cruise terminal has excellent passenger and luggage handling facilities. An ongoing series of investments including gangway modifications and additional baggage handling areas delivers an unbeatable service matching the requirements of modern large cruise ships.
Harwich is the most northerly of the major cruise Ports on the UK’s east coast, and is perfectly placed for Scandinavian and Baltic cruises, as well as round-Britain and other European destinations. The strength of this location is recognised by major cruise lines and has been paramount to success in this sector.
Easy access to London’s four airports – in particular Stansted, just 50 miles away – is complemented by excellent road links. Rail services take passengers literally to the door of the cruise terminal.
Visitors to the Port value the friendly and personal service, which is supported by discreet but highly effective security. The facilities and terminal are exceptionally clean and well maintained. This cleanliness reflects the pride of all Port staff in the service they offer, and is well recognised and appreciated throughout the cruise industry.
The choice of Harwich International Port for a number of high-profile naming ceremonies and promotional cruises in recent years has also underlined its position as one of the UK’s top three cruise Ports.
Harwich is well located for a number of major visitor destinations and attractions ideal for cruise itineraries. These include Colchester (Britain's oldest recorded town), Constable Country, the perfectly preserved ancient wool town of Lavenham and the Sutton Hoo Saxon burial site.
The UK’s capital London and historic Cambridge are also within easy reach.
As a cruise passenger using Harwich International Port, we hope you will take a few days before or after your cruise and enjoy what the ‘Haven Gateway’ area has to offer.
Harwich taxi - please email: info@minivanplus.com
If you are looking taxi from Heathrow airport to Harwich port or luxury heathrow transfers to Harwich cruise port visit www.adlg.co.uk. ADLG also provide taxi service in London to Harwich and taxi from Gatwick to Harwich cruise port.
Our servieces:
- Airport transfers - Our drivers meet & greet ourclients inside the all terminals in the arriaval halls holding a board with the clients name on. After meeting you our drivers will assists you with your luggage and lead you to the car for your for your transfers.
- Airport to airport transfers: We operate a very competitive and reliable airport shuttle service between all London airports: Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton and London city airports.
- London transfers - We provide transfers from all London areas including hotels, businesses and private addresses and our drivers will be at the pickup location 10 minutes prior to the transfer time.
- Cruise transers - For cruise transfers we aim to provide the most suitable vehicle for your requirements as cruise passengers need to carry an excess amount of luggage, however for pricing the number of passengers will be taken into account to allow us to offer you the best competitive price. For small groups of 2 to 3 passengers with large amount of luggage we have a very cost effective option of our small minivan transfers
- Cruise transfers with tours - For small extra charge may be you will like to include a small tour:
If you are travelling to / from Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and London to / from Southampton cruise port the on route tours include: London, Windsor Castle, Winchester, Stonehenge, Salisbury, Bath.
If you are travelling to / from Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and London to / from Dover cruise port the on route tours include:
London, Leeds Castle, Canterbury, White cliffes of Dover and Dover Castle.
If you are travelling to / from Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and London to / from Harwich cruise port the on route tours include:
London, Hampton Court, Windsor Castle. - Cruise Port Pickups - We pickup from all UK cruise ports including Dover cruise port, Southampton cruise port and Harwich cruise port. We also provide very early morning pickups from the cruise ports to enable passengers to catch their early morning flights from Heahrow, Gatwick and Stansted airport at no extra cost
