Travel Information

Isle of Man ports

The Isle of Man is located in the Irish Sea, between England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, less than 60 miles west of the Lancashire coastline. The island is 33 miles long, 13 miles wide and covers an area of 227 square miles, of which more than 40 per cent is uninhabited. Isle of Man is a unique self-governing kingdom - a Crown dependency, which belongs to neither the UK nor the European Union. It has its own parliament, laws, traditions, culture, cuisine and postage stamps. But as a holiday destination, it is best known for its very agreeable and relaxed pace of life, great sailing and outdoor activities.

Book Isle of Man Ferry Tickets

The thriving east coast town and port of Douglas is the capital of the Isle of Man. The port here has been modernised to provide up-to-date facilities for the conventional and fast roll-on and roll-off (RORO) ferries now operating to the island. The port facilities include a café and convenience store - the Terrazza Café is open year-round in the Departure Lounge of the Sea Terminal, which is located just five minutes walk from the centre of Douglas.

The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company has served the island since 1830 and is now part of the Sealink marine transport empire, marketed under SeaCat. A combination of conventional ferry, high-speed SeaCat or SuperSeaCat sailings run from Liverpool, Heysham, Belfast and Dublin all year round. SeaCat services operate at Easter and in the summer, with conventional ferry services in the winter. Crossings to Heysham take two hours onboard the fastcraft, and three hours on conventional vessels. Liverpool to Isle of Man is two hours, thirty minutes on the fastcraft, and four hours on normal ferries. Dublin is two hours and 45 minutes by fastcraft, fout hours and 45 minutes by normal ferry, while Belfast is two hours and 45 minutes on the fastcraft.