Ferries from England to Ireland.

[Barriesimpson]

As you all know, we embark on our Irish Raid in 18 days time so I'm now looking at the ferry options from England/Wales to Ireland. Does anybody have any suggestions for me? The point of entry to Ireland is not important as we are planning to tour around the island.

 

[Figaro]

I like the shortest crossing, Cairnryan to Belfast, but if you're coming from the south that may not suit you ?

 

[Barriesimpson]

I like the shortest crossing, Cairnryan to Belfast, but if you're coming from the south that may not suit you ?

Yes, coming from the south so would prefer something closer. Thanks for the input.

 

[davanne]

They do a sailing from France to Ireland …..would be easier for you coming from Spain although you may be using the long crossing from Spain to England so from
Wales you can either sail from Fishguard /Pembroke south wales or Holyhead (Anglesey) north wales.

 

[Barriesimpson]

They do a sailing from France to Ireland …..would be easier for you coming from Spain although you may be using the long crossing from Spain to England

I had not thought of that to be honest, however, I have an unjustified urge to use the channel tunnel as I have never done it, and it seems a shame not to. I am not using the ferry from Spain, rather I will drive across France.

so from
Wales you can either sail from Fishguard /Pembroke south wales or Holyhead (Anglesey) north wales.

Ok, so the best for me is probably Fishguard then. Thank you for your input.

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[lorger]

You could do Spain to Ireland

 

[Barriesimpson]

You could do Spain to Ireland

Yes I know, but I have stated my intentions to use the Chunnel. Thanks for your input though.

 

[Riverbankannie]

Do you want to dash across England from Dover (M25, M4 etc) not many great stopovers on that route to Fishguard (with the exception of Quackers near the M4 Bath turnoff of course)
A nicer option if you have the time, would be cross country to stop say in the Cotswolds, Shropshire, North Wales then use the Holyhead route.
If going via South Wales Powys allows overnight stopovers in the towns listed

Car Park Charges - Powys County Council

en.powys.gov.uk

 

[dunnah01]

I did the geeky spreadsheet for our 4.25T 7.5m moho from the east of England to Western Northern Ireland via Liverpool, Holyhead, Cairnryan. Holyhead Dublin was fastest and cheapest. Turns out it as a nice crossing aswell - bonus

 

[Barriesimpson]

A nicer option if you have the time, would be cross country to stop say in the Cotswolds, Shropshire, North Wales then use the Holyhead route.

That sounds like a better choice, and yes, we have the time. Thank you for your input.

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[Chris]

If you ask me Fishguard is a bit of a pig to get to if you are coming in from the south.

Pembroke - Rosslare would be my preferred route.

That said, being from Pembroke I am somewhat biased.

 

[Puddleduck]

It's a real pity SeaTruck is no longer doing motorhome crossings. I really enjoyed the experience.

 

[davanne]

If coming into Wales towards Pembroke or Fishguard then there are some lovely places to stopover for example The Gower peninsula ,Carmarthenshire and also some lovely places to visit in Pembrokeshire itself.

 

[Barriesimpson]

If coming into Wales towards Pembroke or Fishguard then there are some lovely places to stopover for example The Gower peninsula ,Carmarthenshire and also some lovely places to visit in Pembrokeshire itself.

Thank you davanne.

 

[grasscutter]

We used Holyhead to Dublin. Easy to get to.

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[Boldly]

Is Holyhead back to normal after the winter disasters?

 

[f6c]

Pembroke Rosslare

 

[ChrisL]

Fishguard - Rosslare is the crossing i've always used, then tour clockwise. Eagle point campsite in Bantry bay is a nice spot to stay if you intend stopping on sites.

 

[Barriesimpson]

Fishguard - Rosslare is the crossing i've always used, then tour clockwise. Eagle point campsite in Bantry bay is a nice spot to stay if you intend stopping on sites.

Thank you for your input.

 

[meanders]

We have previously done
Fishguard Rosslare
Pembroke Rosslare
Swansea Cork
Holyhead Dublin
Holyhead Dún Laoghaire
Liverpool Dublin

Also the Swift fast ferry from Holyhead

Not sure how many of those are still running, but the fast boat is the only one I would not do again. Most uncomfortable and very unlike the HSS that used to do the Harwich Hook run.

Having done Ireland a few times, the east side has not much to see so we often go in one way, circuit round the south and west coasts and come back another way.

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[Red Sonja]

We always do Cairnryan to Belfast route. We live in Kent but prefer this shorter crossing. We have also found it to be the cheapest crossing.

 

[Barriesimpson]

We always do Cairnryan to Belfast route. We live in Kent but prefer this shorter crossing. We have also found it to be the cheapest crossing.

Interesting, thanks for the input.

 

[Tombola]

If coming into Wales towards Pembroke or Fishguard then there are some lovely places to stopover for example The Gower peninsula ,Carmarthenshire and also some lovely places to visit in Pembrokeshire itself.

Exactly this..and there are couple overnight places I've done a few times right near the port of holyhead.
South stack lighthouse/nature reserve being one, which is worth a look if you can manage all the steps down to it, and back up.from it.

Ferry is easy from here..they no longer sail from Liverpool to dublin..which is a shame but to Belfast still exisists i believe

 

[Lenny HB]

Done Fishguard, Pembroke & Holly head, did Pembroke with the Motorhome nice big boat and relaxed crossing.
If going from Holyhead use the Stena fast cat, the Irish Ferries one is a lot smalker and evil in a rough sea, which is common on the Irish Sea.

 

[Lusky]

Oh so so many cheap and lovely options on that route Annie

Do you want to dash across England from Dover (M25, M4 etc) not many great stopovers on that route to Fishguard

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[TheMobileWanderer]

If you ask me Fishguard is a bit of a pig to get to if you are coming in from the south.

Pembroke - Rosslare would be my preferred route.

That said, being from Pembroke I am somewhat biased.

Neh. If you were biased, you'd have suggested a circuitous route around the Wales coast northward and then to Conwy and on to England!

 

[Deafender]

Mrs D is Irish and we lived out there for twelve years until the Pandemic, and we are actually planning retirement back out there. We regularly travelled across by ferry, and since coming back to UK now do so the other way around. We still do so 2-3 crossings a year, in some years previously 4 to 5 times.

You have great choices - There are plus and minus points on all the options outlined above - Lenny HB is spot on with the small Irish Ferries Catamaran - called Jonathon Swift - also often called the “Scaredy-cat” because it is much more frequently affected by rough weather than all the others, and we were affected by that a few times - but it’s not a huge issue, they just book you instead on the big one called Ulysses, which conversely is/was one of the world’s biggest RO-RO Ferries.

We’re based in Buckingham - literally about as far from any of the Coastlines of UK as possible to be - and we base our UK departure point on where we want to be on the other side - and what time of day to sail, and even traffic considerations getting to port if we are on a tighter schedule. Also we have two dogs, and shortest crossing is out of Cairnryan, so we’ve done that a few times, even though it’s furthest away for us.

Our next trip to Ireland starts with our friends in Carne, Wexford - literally a fifteen minute drive out of Rosslare Harbour - so we’re booked Fishguard to Rosslare. X-mas this year will be touring visiting family between Dublin and Mrs D’s home town in the Midlands Region (again, about as far from the four coasts of the island…) and we’ll likely go Holyhead to Dublin for that one.

If it were me on your route and looking to get there quickest, I’d go the South route as we call it - Tunnel to Wales and crossing from either Fishguard or Pembroke… less travelling up-country in the UK, and drops you in to the ‘Sunny South East’ around Wexford, and an excellent base to start touring - also by the way, much less fafff out of the Port than Dublin, which at the usual 17: 30 arrival by both Irish Ferries and Stena, does get slow to get out of Dublin City in rush hour there - if you’re not bothered about navigating Dublin City itself, I’d use the Port Tunnel to avoid it, it’s right at the entrance to Dublin Port. It pops you out on to the North part of the M50 - the Dublin equivalent of the M25 - and from the M50 you can get a decent road towards any corner of the Republic, or ‘turn right’ and head up to Northern Ireland.

For pure touristy comfort and ease, coming out of Rosslare Harbour is our own preference- straight on to nice, wide roads and sandy beaches off to the left within a fifteen minute drive… also within a two minute drive on the right is a good sized SuperValu supermarket with ample parking and usually other MH’s in there when we come through…

Enjoy!

 

[gpat]

Holyhead everytime from the south. Motorway or dual carriageway all the way. It's a long way from Folkestone , but then they all are.

Unless you want to go via the Isle of Man in which case Liverpool IOM then IOM to Belfast or Dublin. Slightly less driving.

 

[Barriesimpson]

Mrs D is Irish and we lived out there for twelve years until the Pandemic, and we are actually planning retirement back out there. We regularly travelled across by ferry, and since coming back to UK now do so the other way around. We still do so 2-3 crossings a year, in some years previously 4 to 5 times.

You have great choices - There are plus and minus points on all the options outlined above - Lenny HB is spot on with the small Irish Ferries Catamaran - called Jonathon Swift - also often called the “Scaredy-cat” because it is much more frequently affected by rough weather than all the others, and we were affected by that a few times - but it’s not a huge issue, they just book you instead on the big one called Ulysses, which conversely is/was one of the world’s biggest RO-RO Ferries.

We’re based in Buckingham - literally about as far from any of the Coastlines of UK as possible to be - and we base our UK departure point on where we want to be on the other side - and what time of day to sail, and even traffic considerations getting to port if we are on a tighter schedule. Also we have two dogs, and shortest crossing is out of Cairnryan, so we’ve done that a few times, even though it’s furthest away for us.

Our next trip to Ireland starts with our friends in Carne, Wexford - literally a fifteen minute drive out of Rosslare Harbour - so we’re booked Fishguard to Rosslare. X-mas this year will be touring visiting family between Dublin and Mrs D’s home town in the Midlands Region (again, about as far from the four coasts of the island…) and we’ll likely go Holyhead to Dublin for that one.

If it were me on your route and looking to get there quickest, I’d go the South route as we call it - Tunnel to Wales and crossing from either Fishguard or Pembroke… less travelling up-country in the UK, and drops you in to the ‘Sunny South East’ around Wexford, and an excellent base to start touring - also by the way, much less fafff out of the Port than Dublin, which at the usual 17: 30 arrival by both Irish Ferries and Stena, does get slow to get out of Dublin City in rush hour there - if you’re not bothered about navigating Dublin City itself, I’d use the Port Tunnel to avoid it, it’s right at the entrance to Dublin Port. It pops you out on to the North part of the M50 - the Dublin equivalent of the M25 - and from the M50 you can get a decent road towards any corner of the Republic, or ‘turn right’ and head up to Northern Ireland.

For pure touristy comfort and ease, coming out of Rosslare Harbour is our own preference- straight on to nice, wide roads and sandy beaches off to the left within a fifteen minute drive… also within a two minute drive on the right is a good sized SuperValu supermarket with ample parking and usually other MH’s in there when we come through…

Enjoy!

Excellent! Thank you very much for the detailed reply. Plenty for me to peruse over.

 

[PaulC70]

Im in Bedford and even though Holyhead is closer we almost exclusively do the Cairnryan route, in fact we booked our trip yesterday. Cairnryan is the quickest crossing and the cheapest especially if you book to travel Tuesdays or Wednesdays as motorhomes / caravans get charged same as a car so we saved an extra £60 on the return.

We simply make the 380 mile trip into part of the experience by having a couple of stop overs on the way. Not that we've decided yet lol but usually York / North Berwick then the ferry.

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