Harwich Town

A Brief Guide For Cruise and Ferry Passengers

Harwich Pier
Harwich Pier With Felixstowe Container Port Across River

Harwich Town is worthwhile to visit in its own right. If you have a cruise, taking a hotel the night before, you have the ingredients for a very satisfying short relaxed stay after a long journey.


Note: The cruise and ferry terminals are 2 or 3 miles by road from Harwich Town and Old Port.


Harwich Old Town itself is at the end of a peninsular. It has very few shops or commerce not connected to the port. There is a strong port atmosphere as you wander the historical streets. Lack of commerce and traffic make its a very pleasant place to visit.

The town is a historically important port which has provided a sheltered anchorage for shipping through the ages. The old town of Harwich is a conservation area containing many historic buildings right up until the recent world wars.

Cruise Terminal
Harwich Town
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There is an interesting Harwich Maritime Heritage Trail - you can pick up a leaflet covering the route at many places including the cruise terminal itself. Included are several small museums, fortifications and other places of interest.


For American Visitors, Harwich was the home of Christopher Jones, captain of the Mayflower that brought the Pilgrims to North America. There is a small free Mayflower museum and you can view (from the outside) the home of Christopher Jones a short walk away.


The focus for visitors to the Old Town is the pier, called Hapenny Pier. You get very good views from the pier of river traffic and you can see the cruise terminal downstream.

From the pier there is a ferry service to the other side of the river and pleasure cruises. The Mayflower Museum is also sited on the pier.


Just south of the Old Town is Dovercourt. This is the main beach resort and is where you will find many of the hotels and shops providing basic needs.


Harwich Ferry

Getting Around Harwich

The rail service from Harwich Cruise & Ferry Terminals at the International Port is broadly hourly and makes the short journey into Harwich, stopping at Dovercourt and the terminus at Harwich (Old) Town.


This is supplemented by a local bus service with a couple of routes connecting Harwich, Dovercourt and the International Port. These buses run every 30 minutes but do not run on Sundays and do not start until after 09:00 and stop running early evening.


The ferry and pleasure boats leave from the pier in the Old Town.


Premier Inn Harwich

Harwich Hotels

There are no large 4 star chain hotels in Harwich.


Premier Inn Harwich

As a hotel the benchmark is probably the Premier Inn Harwich, a new purpose built example of the popular budget chain. It has a good pub/restaurant adjacent.

The Premier Inn is situated midway between Harwich the town and Harwich Port, there is a large supermarket and small shopping mall opposite. Its ideal for ferry and cruise passengers stopping over.

Premier Inn Harwich More Details


Pier Hotel Harwich Old Town

Right in the middle of Harwich Old Town opposite the pier is the Pier Hotel. Its a lot further from the cruise and ferry terminals than the Premier Inn. The Pier Hotel has more character than the modern Premier Inn but its age has all the advantages and disadvantages that go with this.

Pier Hotel Harwich Harwich More Details

Dovercourt Beach

Dovercourt

Dovercourt is the beach resort at Harwich. Its around the headland from Harwich Town and Old Port on the way to the new port where the cruise and ferry terminals are.

Dovercourt is more modern and suburbia than the cramped old port of Harwich Town.


Its a pleasant walk along the coastal path between Harwich and Devonport. Devenport has a lot of accommodation geared to a bucket and spade beach resort.