From Ashford International, the direct Southern train to Hastings is the only option worth considering. It takes about 46 minutes, 44 on the quickest, with seven stops on the way and no change to make. On the weekday timetable we checked, these trains ran about hourly from 06:13 to 23:25, 18 departures in all.
For most of the day the pattern is regular: from 08:24 to 22:24 there is a departure from Ashford International at 24 minutes past every hour. Only the first two and the last break it, at 06:13, 07:21 and 23:25. On a typical run the 06:13 has you in Hastings just before seven, and the 23:25 gets in at about ten past midnight. The 23:25 gives a late way on to Hastings for anyone reaching Ashford International in the evening.
With an hourly Hastings service, being a few minutes late at Ashford costs you nearly an hour. Turn up at Ashford at 10:26 and the next Hastings train is the 11:24, so aim to be on the platform before 24 minutes past rather than relying on the next one.
The planner also offered a route with a change at Tonbridge, leaving Ashford at 06:46, 10:00, 11:02 and 12:02, but at about 1h 46m it takes more than twice as long as the direct train, so there is no reason to pick it over the next direct Hastings departure.
This Southern service is also the second half of the St Pancras route from London, which connects into it at Ashford International. If you are travelling from London and reach Ashford by another train, the hourly departures at 24 minutes past are the ones to aim for.
Hastings station is some 680 metres from Wellington Place; allow nine minutes or so on foot, which puts the centre of Hastings under an hour from Ashford.
Journey times and changes below come from the rail and bus timetables for Tuesday 1 December 2026. Weekend and holiday timetables differ, so check the day you travel.
From Ashford International on the weekday we checked: about hourly between 06:13 and 23:25.
By road it is about 33 miles from Ashford to Hastings, mostly via the A2070 — roughly 1h 2m with clear roads. Car parks in Hastings are listed on the Getting Here page.