Ferry to Ireland from the UK
Travel to Ireland by Ferry from the UK
Many ferries to Ireland depart daily from five British ports, making it easy to reach both Ireland and Northern Ireland. Ferries are available from ports in Wales, England, and Scotland.
The routes to Ireland from UK are from South to North:
- Pembroke – Rosslare
- Fishguard – Rosslare
- Holyhead – Dublin
- Liverpool – Dublin (on hold since sep 2023)
- Liverpool – Belfast (Northern Ireland)
- Cairnryan – Larne
- Cairnryan – Belfast
Compare all Ferry Options
Whether you prefer a longer, more comfortable crossing or a fast catamaran ferry, our handy ferry map will help you explore all the routes from the United Kingdom to Ireland.
Map: ferry routes to Ireland from the UK.
About the crossings to Ireland
As shown on the map above, there are many options for travelling to Ireland by ferry from the UK. Depending on your location in the UK and where you want to be in Ireland, you can choose the crossing that best suits your needs.
To give you some perspective:
- Travelling from Rosslare to Dublin takes about 2 hours by car.
- The drive from Belfast to Dublin is also around 2 hours.
- Driving from Rosslare to Belfast takes approximately 4 hours.
For some, a combination of a ferry and a longer drive is more appealing than booking a longer crossing. Others prefer the comfort of a longer ferry journey.
It's also possible to travel from the Isle of Man (Douglas) to either Dublin or Belfast.
The crossings in short:
- Holyhead (Wales) to Dublin (Ireland): Operated by Irish Ferries and Stena Line, with journey times from 2 hours 15 minutes to 3 hours 25 minutes.
- Cairnryan (Scotland) to Larne (Northern Ireland): Operated by P&O Ferries, taking approximately 2 hours.
- Liverpool (England) to Belfast (Northern Ireland): A route by Stena Line with an 8-hour journey time.
- Cairnryan (Scotland) to Belfast (Northern Ireland): Stena Line operates this crossing, with a journey of about 2 hours 15 minutes.
- Fishguard (Wales) to Rosslare (Ireland): Run by Stena Line, with a crossing time of 3 hours 15 minutes.
- Pembroke (Wales) to Rosslare (Ireland): Irish Ferries operates this route, taking around 4 hours.
Ferry from Wales to Ireland
From Wales, you can travel to Ireland from Fishguard, Pembroke, or Holyhead. The fastest crossing is from Holyhead to Dublin, taking just 2 hours and 15 minutes across the Irish Sea.
Ferry from Liverpool to Ireland
From Liverpool, you can sail to Belfast with Stena Line. In the past, there was a crossing from Liverpool to Dublin, but this ferry service stopped operating in 2023.
Ferry from Scotland to (Northern) Ireland
From Scotland, you can travel pretty fast to Northern Ireland by ferry. These ferries bring you back and forth between Ireland and Scotland in approximately 2 hours.
On board
Recently, we travelled by ferry from the UK to Ireland. On the outbound journey, we took the fast Dublin Swift catamaran ferry with Irish Ferries, and for the return, we sailed on Stena Line's Stena Estrid, both on the Holyhead to Dublin route. You can read about our experience in more detail in this blog:
Journey from Holyhead to Dublin on the Fast Dublin Swift Catamaran Ferry
If you’re looking for more information specifically about the Holyhead to Dublin route, you’ll find it on this page: Ferry Holyhead to Dublin.
Below, you’ll find pictures of the ferry route maps between Ireland and the UK along with some photos from our crossings.
How early should you arrive
Time of arrival and departure time for your trip is mostly easy to find on your booking confirmation
Prices and availability for this crossing
The schedule and timetable for ferries from the UK to Ireland can be viewed using this booking engine. Simply fill in your details to get prices and the timetable for your trip.
Additional Information
When travelling on crossings between France and the UK, there are a few important things to keep in mind:
- Download entertainment in advance: On longer night crossings, it’s a good idea to download series or movies beforehand, as Wi-Fi on board can be expensive, and roaming in international waters is costly.
- Travelling with young kids on a night ferry? We’ve got some helpful tips for travelling with kids here.
- Worried about getting seasick? In this article, you’ll find some tips to help prevent it.
Luggage & Pets
On most ferries, there are no restrictions on the amount of luggage you can reasonably bring. Pets are allowed, but additional fees apply, and they must stay in designated kennels on board. For some destinations, pets need to meet specific requirements, such as certain vaccinations and a pet passport. You can find country-specific regulations and company policies in this post.
Do any ferry crossings between England and Ireland allow dogs onto the decks with their owners rather than having to stay in the car or a kennel?
Hi Sue,
Thanks for your question. It depends a bit on the route and the specific boat. With Stena Line for example you can book a pet cabin. And the rules are different per ferry.
On Stena Adventurer (Holyhead – Dublin) and on Stena Nordica (Fishguard – Rosslare), pets must remain in their cabins for the duration of the crossing. All pet owners must clean up after their pets both in the cabins and on the decks. For example: Pets travelling on Stena Edda (Liverpool – Belfast), Stena Embla (Liverpool – Belfast), Stena Estrid (Holyhead – Dublin), Stena Horizon (Cherbourg – Rosslare) and Stena Vision (Cherbourg – Rosslare) can get fresh air, exercise and toilet breaks in a dedicated area on the outside deck. Pets must remain on a non-retractable lead. You can also book pet friendly cabins. For Irish Ferries you can find more about the rules on this page for the route from Pembroke to Rosslare.
https://www.irishferries.com/uk-en/frequently-asked-questions/top-10-faqs/pets-ireland-britain-routes/
Long story short: you can travel by ferry from the UK to Ireland while walking the dog with for example Stena Line on the route from Holyhead to Dublin and Fishguard to Rosslare and Liverpool Belfast.
Hope this helps.