Travel Information

United Kingdom ports

Planning a trip to Britain can present the visitor with a bewildering array of choices. England alone offers the visitor plenty of sights to see and activities to pursue. London, a mammoth metropolis offers world-class theater, entertainment, museums, parks, restaurants and of course shopping. As an island detached from Continental Europe, the UK has plenty of ferry connections to Continental Europe, Scandinavia as well as the Channel Islands, Shetlands, Isle of Man, Orkneys, Scotland and Ireland.

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Dover is the principal port on the English Channel, with many ferry companies offering connections to France. Sailings to Calais are offered by Hoverspeed, SeaFrance and P&O Ferries. Crossings take between one and two hours, depending on the vessel and passengers can choose from over 60 crossings a day from these three companies.

Other destinations from Dover include Dunkerque and Boulogne-sur-Mer. Norfolk Lines operates ferries to Dunkerque, only for passengers with cars, caravans and trailers, motor homes and motorcycles. There are up to 10 sailings daily, with a journey time of two hours. Speed Ferries currently operates ferries to Boulogne-sur-Mer. There are five daily return sailings, with a crossing time of 50 minutes.

Situated on the Lancashire coast, Fleetwood is well established as one of the UK's major ports for roll on - roll off traffic to and from Northern Ireland. P&O Irish Sea Ferries operates ferries to Larne, which is serviced three times a week and takes eight hours. Meals onboard are included in the ticket price. SeaCat provides irregular crossings to Douglas on the Isle of Man during the summer season, however the Steam Packet Company offers regular sailings to the Isle of Man.

The Port of Folkestone is situated between Dover and Dungeness in Kent, on the South East coast of England. Hoverspeed provides up-to four daily sailings to Boulogne-sur-Mer, with journeys averaging an hour. This passenger-only service departs from the terminal located in the Outer Harbour.

The Port of Harwich is a highly efficient, modern and multi-purpose port, which has become one of the UK's most pre-eminent North Sea ports. Danish ferry operator, DFDS Seaways, sails to Esbjerg in Denmark, three time a week, with a journey time of 18 hours. The route to Cuxhaven, in Germany, sails three times a week, with a journey time of 19 hours. Stena Line offers links to Hook of Holland in the Netherlands, operating four times daily. The daytime crossings take three hours and 40 minutes and the night crossings takes six hours and 15 minutes.

The Port of Heysham is a major 24-hour passenger and freight ferry port. SeaCat Ferries, offers connections to the Isle of Man, with sailings varying seasonally. The journey takes two hours on the Fastcraft and 3 ½ hours on the conventional ferry.

The Port of Hull is the only passenger port on the Humber Estuary. P&O North Sea Ferries operates vessels to Rotterdam. Sailing once a day, overnight, the ferry has a journey time of 11 hours. Passengers must check-in 90 minutes prior to sailing in order to keep their cabin bookings. The second route is to Zeebrugge in Belgium. Sailings are once daily, with a journey time of 12 hours. Finanglia Ferries has weekly crossings to Helsinki and Hamina in Finland.

The vast Port of Liverpool is one of the UK's principal ports and covers both banks of the River Mersey. P&O Irish Sea Ferries has connections to Dublin in Ireland. The crossing takes seven hours and depart up-to twice daily. SeaCat Ferries offers connections to the Isle of Man. Services vary seasonally, with a journey time of two hours, thirty minutes. Norse Merchant Irish Ferries sail twice-daily to Belfast in Northern Ireland, with sailings taking approximately eight hours, 30 minutes.

The Port of Tyne (Newcastle) is located 10 miles east of Newcastle City centre on the north bank of the River Tyne. Danish ferry operator DFDS Seaways offers sailings from the International Ferry Terminal to Amsterdam (Ijmuiden). Departing daily, with a journey time of 16 hours. The second route is Newcastle-Kritiansand-Gothenburg, in Sweden, taking 26 hours and departing twice a week. Fjord Lines sails to Bergen in Norway, with a journey time of 26 hours and 45 minutes. En-route, the ferry calls at the Norwegian ports of Stavanger and Haugesund.

The Port of Newhaven is a relatively small, but a busy port positioned at the mouth of the River Ouse in East Sussex. The ferry terminal and services are operated by Hoverspeed, which sails to Dieppe in France. There are up-to three sailings available daily during the peak season, with a journey time of two hours. Transmanche Ferries also operates crossings to Dieppe, three times daily. The cabins onboard cannot be pre-booked and have to be requested at the reception after boarding.

Pembroke Port provides facilities for major deepwater, dry cargo docking, with the port currently handling cargo and aggregate, passenger ferries, as well as oilrig supply vessels. The £38 million purpose-built roll on-roll off terminal at Pembroke Dock affords excellent ferry terminal facilities. Irish Ferries operates two daily sailings to Rosslare in Ireland, with a journey time of three hours and 45 minutes.

The Port of Plymouth is the historical second home of the Royal Navy, and is situated at the mouth of the River Tamar in the Southwest of England. Brittany Ferries has up-to three daily crossings to Roscoff in France, with journey times of six to seven hours. There also sailings to Santander in Spain, twice a week, with journey times of 30 hours.

Poole Harbour ranks as one of the world's largest natural harbours and its busy commercial port serves both cross channel ferries and cargo vessels. Brittany Ferries offers cross-channel crossings, with two daily sailings to Cherbourg in France - journey time is just over four hours. Condor Ferries sails to St. Malo in France with journey times of four hours, thirty minutes. There is also a twice-daily service to St. Peter Port in Guernsey, with journey times of two hours, thirty minutes, and also to St. Helier in Jersey, with a crossing time of three hours. During the summer months, there is a fast ferry service to Cherbourg, with a crossing time of two hours and 15 minutes.

Portsmouth is the historical home of the Royal Navy. P&O Ferries services several roundtrip routes to Bilbao in Spain and three ports in France: Caen, Cherbourg and Le Havre. The Bilbao route departs twice weekly, with a crossing time of 30-36 hours. The Caen connection departs twice a day. The Cherbourg route is serviced four times daily, with a journey time of just under five hours. The Le Havre sailing departs three times daily, with a journey time of six hours. Brittany Ferries also service Caen, St. Malo and Cherbourg on a daily basis. Condor Ferries has daily crossings to St. Helier in Jersey, with a journey time of 10 hours. There are also daily connections to St. Peter Port in Guernsey, with a journey time of six hours. Connections to Cherbourg are available only during the summer months.

The Port of Southampton is Britain's premier south coast port. Red Funnel Isle of Wight Ferries operates a passenger vehicle service with 17 departures daily to
East Cowes, with a journey time of 55 minutes. The super fast Red Jets can only accommodate passengers and are non-bookable. The trip to West Cowes takes just 22 minutes and departs from Southampton Terminal Two, 34 times a day.

From Weymouth, Condor Ferries operates a daily service to St. Helier, with crossings averaging three hours and 35 minutes. It also provides daily departures to St. Peter Port in Guernsey, with crossings normally taking two hours and 15 minutes.

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