UK ferry routes – where can you go on holiday?

The UK has 23 main passenger ferry ports that take visitors and their cars to other places across the country, as well as Ireland and mainland Europe. 

In this travel advice guide, we look at each of the UK’s passenger ferry routes and where they go. 

England 

There are 11 passenger ferry ports in mainland England that have both walk-on and vehicle availability. Here are those destinations and where they set operate. 

Dover 

Dover is the UK's busiest international ferry port, handling more than nine million passengers a year. With an average of 12-25 departures every day, it provides one of the most frequent ferry networks in Europe.  

Its main services operate to Calais and Dunkirk in France, making the port a vital gateway between Britain and continental Europe. 

Destinations: 

• Calais (France)
• Dunkirk (France) 

Portsmouth 

Portsmouth, located on the south coast of England, handles millions of passengers annually and is one of Britain's most important ferry hubs. The port offers around 15 to 20 sailings a day across a wide range of routes to Spain and France. 

Destinations: 

• Caen (France)
• Cherbourg (France)
• Le Havre (France)

• St Malo (France)
• Bilbao (Spain)
• Santander (Spain)
• Jersey (UK)
• Guernsey (UK)

Poole 

Poole is a key south coast ferry port, it handles more than 500,000 passengers each year. The port typically offers several sailings a day during the summer season. 

Destinations: 

• Cherbourg (France)
• Jersey (UK)
• Guernsey (UK)

Plymouth 

Plymouth handles up to 350,000 ferry passengers each year and serves long-distance routes to France and Spain. The port generally offers one to three sailings a day depending on the season, with more happening during the summer months. 

Destinations: 

• Roscoff (France)
• Santander (Spain) 

Newhaven 

Newhaven is one of the UK's smaller international ferry ports but still carries up to 300,000 passengers every year. The port typically operates two sailings a day in each direction. 

Destination: 

• Dieppe (France) 

Harwich 

Harwich International Port provides an important connection between Britain and the Netherlands, handling up to half a million passengers a year. There are usually two daily sailings in each direction. 

Destination: 

• Hook of Holland (Netherlands)

Hull 

One of the UK's leading North Sea ferry ports, Hull handles around one million passengers annually. There are daily overnight sailings which makes it a popular gateway for travellers heading to the Netherlands. 

Destination: 

• Rotterdam (Netherlands)

Port of Tyne (North Shields) 

Located on the River Tyne, the Port of Tyne at North Shields handles around half a million ferry passengers each year. The route normally operates with one sailing in each direction per day. 

Destination: 

• Amsterdam (IJmuiden)

Liverpool 

Liverpool handles hundreds of thousands of ferry passengers each year and offers regular connections across the Irish Sea. Depending on the route and season, there are typically several sailings each day. 

Destinations: 

• Douglas (Isle of Man)
• Belfast (Northern Ireland)
• Dublin (Ireland)

Heysham 

Heysham is based in the north-west of England and serves both passenger and freight traffic. The port handles offers multiple departures each day.  

Destinations: 

• Douglas (Isle of Man)
• Belfast (Northern Ireland)

Southampton 

Southampton is the UK's largest cruise port, handling millions of passengers each year. Unlike the other ports in the UK, Southampton is primarily a cruise hub, with sailings to destinations across Europe, North America, the Caribbean and beyond.  

Destinations: 

• Barcelona (Spain)
• Mallorca (Spain)
• Valencia (Spain)
• Gran Canaria (Spain)
• Lanzarote (Spain)
• Lisbon (Portugal)
• Madeira (Portugal)
• Malaga (Spain)
• Marseille (France)
• Rome (Italy)
• Naples (Italy)
• Athens (Greece)
• Santorini (Greece)

• Mykonos (Greece)
• Dubrovnik (Croatia)
• Reykjavik (Iceland)
• Bergen (Norway)
• Stavanger (Norway)
• Geiranger (Norway)
• Copenhagen (Denmark)
• Stockholm (Sweden)
• Tallinn (Estonia)
• Amsterdam (Netherlands)
• New York (USA)
• Halifax (Canada)
• Barbados
• Antigua
• St Maarten

Scotland 

Scotland has three main passenger ferry ports but also has several smaller ones that connect to the smaller islands. 

Cairnryan 

Cairnryan is Scotland's busiest passenger ferry port, handling millions of passengers each year on routes across the North Channel. With numerous departures throughout the day, it provides Scotland's main ferry links to Northern Ireland. 

Destinations: 

• Belfast (Northern Ireland)
• Larne (Northern Ireland)

Aberdeen 

Scotland's principal ferry gateway to the Northern Isles is in Aberdeen. The port carries hundreds of thousands of passengers annually and offers regular sailings to Shetland and Orkney. 

Destinations: 

• Lerwick (Shetland)
• Kirkwall (Orkney)

Scrabster 

Located on the north coast of mainland Scotland, Scrabster serves as an important link to Orkney. The port handles hundreds of thousands of passengers each year and operates multiple sailings daily during peak periods. 

Destination: 

• Stromness (Orkney)

Numerous west coast ports 

• Hebrides islands (Skye, Mull, Islay, Lewis, Harris, Uist, and Arran) via CalMac services

Wales 

Wales has three main passenger ferry ports that people use to get to Ireland. They all have the capability to take walk-on passengers and vehicles. 

Holyhead 

Holyhead is the UK's second-busiest ferry port after Dover and is the principal gateway between Great Britain and Ireland. The port handles more than two million passengers a year. 

Destination: 

• Dublin (Ireland)

Fishguard 

Fishguard is a ferry port that links Wales with southeast of Ireland. The port handles around 300,000 to 400,000 passengers annually and typically operates two sailings in each direction per day. 

Destination: 

• Rosslare (Ireland) 

Pembroke Dock 

Pembroke Dock in Wales carries around 400,000 to 500,000 passengers each year. The port generally offers two sailings in each direction daily between Wales and Ireland. 

Destination: 

• Rosslare (Ireland)

Northern Ireland 

Northern Ireland’s passenger ferry ports connect the country to England, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. 

Belfast 

Belfast is Northern Ireland's largest ferry port and one of the busiest passenger ferry gateways on the island of Ireland. The port handles more than 1.7 million passengers a year and offers multiple daily sailings connecting Northern Ireland with Great Britain and the Isle of Man. 

Destinations: 

• Cairnryan (Scotland)
• Liverpool (England)
• Heysham (England)
• Douglas (Isle of Man, seasonal)

Larne 

Larne is Northern Ireland's second major passenger ferry port and serves as an important link with Scotland. The port handles around 500,000 passengers annually and operates regular daily crossings across the North Channel. 

Destination: 

• Cairnryan (Scotland)

Channel Islands and Crown Dependencies  

Three of the United Kingdom’s islands also have passenger ferry ports. 

Jersey (St Helier) 

Jersey's main passenger ferry port at St Helier provides year-round links to both the UK and France. Sailings vary seasonally, with multiple departures available during peak holiday periods in the summer. 

Destinations: 

• Portsmouth (UK)
• Poole (UK)
• St Malo (France)
• Guernsey (UK)

Guernsey 

Guernsey's principal ferry port at St Peter Port and serves both inter-island and international routes. The port also offers regular sailings to the UK and France throughout the year. 

Destinations: 

• Portsmouth (UK)
• Poole (UK)
• St Malo (France)
• Jersey (UK)

Isle of Man (Douglas) 

Douglas is the Isle of Man's main passenger ferry port and handles hundreds of thousands of passengers every year, with numbers increasing significantly during major events such as the TT races. The port provides regular connections to England, Ireland and Northern Ireland. 

Destinations: 

• Liverpool (UK)
• Heysham (UK)
• Belfast (Northern Ireland, seasonal)
• Dublin (Ireland, seasonal)

Ferry routes to France from the UK 

Here are the main ferry routes that can take you from the UK to France: 

• Dover to Calais 
• Dover to Dunkirk
• Newhaven to Dieppe
• Portsmouth to Caen
• Portsmouth to Cherbourg
• Portsmouth to Le Havre
• Portsmouth to St Malo
• Poole to Cherbourg
• Plymouth to Roscoff

There are nine ferry routes from the UK to France, operating from five ports in England. All of these routes accept both passengers and vehicles, making them popular options for travellers taking cars, motorcycles, motorhomes and vans to mainland Europe. 

The majority of UK-France ferry services depart from ports on England's south coast. Dover and Newhaven are in the south-east of England, offering the shortest crossings to northern France, while Portsmouth, Poole and Plymouth are located further west along the south coast and provide connections to destinations in Normandy, Brittany and western France. Together, these ports give travellers a choice of routes to suit different destinations and journey times. 

The number of routes has shrunk in recent years, so it is important to check availability from your chosen passenger ferry port. 

Ferry routes to Ireland from the UK 

Here are the main ferry routes to Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland from across the UK: 

• Holyhead to Dublin
• Fishguard to Rosslare
• Pembroke Dock to Rosslare

• Cairnryan to Belfast
• Cairnryan to Larne
• Liverpool to Dublin
• Liverpool to Belfast
• Heysham to Belfast

There are eight main ferry routes between the UK and the island of Ireland, operating from five ports across Wales, Scotland and England.  

All of these routes accept cars, motorhomes, motorcycles and other vehicles, making them a popular choice for travellers heading to both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. 

Ferry operators in the UK 

These are the ferry companies that operate in the UK: 

• Brittany Ferries
• DFDS
• P&O Ferries
• Stena Line
• Irish Ferries
• Condor Ferries
• Isle of Man Steam Packet Company
• Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac)
• NorthLink Ferries
• Pentland Ferries
• Western Ferries