Turks River Cruise From Kingston: Hampton Court for £10

Turks has been running boats on the Thames for more than 300 years, and its public river cruise from Kingston to Hampton Court Palace is one of the shortest and cheapest ways to see the upper river. Boats leave from Town End Pier, 68 High Street, Kingston upon Thames, KT1 1HN, where the company also keeps its office, and the run to the palace takes about 40 minutes. The official timetable lists an adult single at £10.00 and a return at £13.00.

Turks calls itself a family-run Thames river boat company, and its About page puts its history at three centuries. Unlike the big central London operators, it works only the green stretch between Richmond and Hampton Court, with three piers of its own plus St Helena Pier at Richmond beside the White Cross pub. From March to October, the company says, Turk Launches run up to 45 boat trips a day along this part of the river at the height of the season.

The people are part of the appeal. The team page introduces Captain John, known as Johnny-O, who has skippered for Turks for 40 years and is mostly seen on the New Southern Belle with a grin and a wave. Nick started in 2008 selling tickets on the riverbank while still at university and worked up through crew and bar manager to gain his Boatmaster's licence.

The fleet is not anonymous either. The Yarmouth Belle was originally built in 1892 and is a traditional English side wheeler with a large outside deck, a bar and a dance floor. The company calls her the prettiest boat on the Thames. The New Southern Belle is a Mississippi-style paddle steamer that brings a little New Orleans to Kingston, and Turks notes she appeared in the British TV drama New Tricks and in Culture Club's Karma Chameleon video.

The Richmond Royale is a party boat with an open top deck and panoramic views. Every boat in the public fleet has inside and outside seating, toilets and a licensed bar, so you can take a drink up to the deck and watch Kingston Bridge slide away behind you. The small launch Beatrice, a classic Georgian-style boat that comes with a skipper, is offered for small private hire.

The October 2026 timetable ran at weekends only. Boats left Turks Pier Kingston at 11:00, 12:30, 14:45 and 16:15, calling at Town End Pier five minutes later and reaching Hampton Court about 40 minutes after that. Coming back, boats left Hampton Court at 11:45, 14:00, 15:30 and 17:00, reaching Town End Pier half an hour later and Turks Pier Kingston 15 minutes after that.

The homepage posts same-day notices, so look there before you set off. On 29 October 2026 it carried a message that there were no trips that day. Choose the pier that suits how you arrive. Turks Pier Kingston is closest to Kingston bus and train station and the town-centre car parks, while Town End Pier is a short walk from Kingston town centre and Surbiton.

The fares are refreshingly simple and published on the timetable page. Between Kingston and Hampton Court, in either direction, adults aged 16 to 65 pay £10.00 single and £13.00 return. Concessions, which cover children aged 6 to 15 and adults over 65, pay £8.50 single and £10.50 return. Tickets are sold through the Turks booking portal, which also shows sailing times.

The return ticket is the better buy for most visitors, because it costs only £3.00 more than a single and saves the walk or bus back. The honest exception: if you plan a long palace visit, take the single out and the train home from Hampton Court station, which is just over the bridge from the palace, rather than racing the last boat back to Kingston.

Turks lists the landmarks on its wider route as Eel Pie Island, Teddington Lock, Richmond Hill and Hampton Court Palace. The Kingston to Hampton Court leg is the gentlest part of it. You pass large riverside houses, boatyards and towpaths, and the company points out that rowing, sailing and paddle-boarding are often in full swing around the boats, especially at weekends.

This is not the river of landmarks and skyscrapers. It is willows, swans, moorings and the slow turn of the river as the palace's red-brick chimneys appear above the trees. The trip is short, and the bar and toilets are never far away. The company itself says kids love it and that it is perfect for tired legs.

Turks frames its public trips as a March to October season, and the October 2026 timetable already thinned the service to weekends. Outside that window the company keeps working the river with private hire and party boats, which depart from its piers at Kingston, Richmond and Hampton Court and from riverside spots such as Orleans House and The Lensbury. Groups of friends planning a winter celebration can call the events team rather than waiting for spring.

At Kingston, both piers sit within a few minutes of the town centre's market place, shops and riverside bars. At Hampton Court, the pier is a short stroll from the palace gates, so you can step off the boat and be at the ticket hall in minutes. The palace gardens, the maze and the long walks through Home Park along the river make a full afternoon on their own.

Plan B if the boat is cancelled or full: the riverside towpath between Kingston and Hampton Court follows the same route on foot along the edge of Home Park, and on a dry day it is a fine walk in its own right. For a longer river day, Turks also runs from St Helena Pier at Richmond, where its evening jazz cruises start.

Office and pier: Town End Pier, 68 High Street, Kingston upon Thames, London KT1 1HN. Season: March to October, with October 2026 services at weekends. Kingston to Hampton Court takes about 40 minutes. Adult single £10.00, return £13.00. Concession (6 to 15 and over 65) single £8.50, return £10.50. Every boat has a bar, toilets and outside seating. Use the Karpo APP to plan lunch in Kingston before the boat and a palace visit after it.