Ferries to Belgium from the UK
Select departure from “UK” to compare ferry routes to your destination. For Belgium most of the ‘Dutch routes' make the most sense
Travel to Belgium by Ferry from the UK
While a direct ferry from the UK to Belgium once operated from Hull to Zeebrugge, this service is no longer available.
Travellers can now opt for alternative routes, such as:
- Hull to Rotterdam: Ferries still sail from Hull, but now only to Rotterdam. From Rotterdam, it’s a 2-hour drive to Zeebrugge or just 1 hour to Antwerp.
- One of the other ferries to France or the Netherlands: Combine a crossing with a drive or train journey into Belgium.
These options provide convenient connections to Belgium.
Map: most logical crossings to Belgium from the UK.
Travel to Belgium by Ferry: Your Options
If you’re planning to travel to Belgium by ferry, there are 11 routes offered by 4 ferry companies, providing flexibility for your journey. You can travel via the Netherlands or France, with routes that are also common for reaching Germany or Denmark.
Top Ferry Routes to Belgium
- Hull-Rotterdam: Close to Antwerp, perfect for travellers from northern England or Scotland.
- Harwich-Hook of Holland: An affordable route, convenient for reaching Antwerp.
- Newcastle-Amsterdam: A longer crossing with a cruise-like experience, great for travellers combining a visit to the Netherlands.
- Dover-Dunkirk: A short crossing (2 hours), very close to Belgium.
- Dover-Calais: The shortest crossing (90 minutes), ideal for quick access.
For a complete overview of ferry routes to Belgium, you can check our ferry maps that display all possible options for your journey.
On this map, you can see all the different routes and the time involved in reaching the Netherlands and or France to get to Belgium. A few interesting things you can spot quite fast:
- From Rotterdam and Calais, it's the same time to reach Brussels by car (about 2 hours).
- If you want to reach Antwerp it's better to travel to Rotterdam and/or Hook of Holland.
- Dunkirk is close to Belgium, which makes it the shortest ride to reach Belgium from the UK indirectly.
All crossings to Belgium from the UK via France
You can also consult these ferry crossings on our dedicated UK to France ferry page.
Ferry Arrivals Closest to Belgium
Belgium is conveniently situated between the Netherlands and France, making it accessible via several ferry routes. The closest ferry arrival points to Belgium include:
- Hook of Holland
- Rotterdam
- Dunkirk
- Calais
These ports provide easy onward travel to major Belgian cities such as Brussels, Antwerp, and Bruges. If you're travelling from the areas of Portsmouth, Poole and Plymouth: you can take a look at the crossings of Brittany Ferries. The crossing from Portsmouth to Caen might make sense if you live in Southwestern England
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Step 1: pick your crossing
Ferry Options to Consider
From the South or Central England:
- Dover: Sail to Calais or Dunkirk.
- Harwich: Sail to Hook of Holland.
From the North of England or Scotland:
- Hull: Sail to Rotterdam.
- Newcastle: Sail to Amsterdam.
Important Notes
- While there are several ferry routes to France, not all are practical for travelling to Belgium. Routes to Calais, Dunkirk, Rotterdam, and Hook of Holland are the most logical options for reaching Belgium quickly and efficiently.
Step 2: Get to Belgium
From Amsterdam (IJmuiden), it takes a 1 hour and 45 mins drive to Antwerpen in Belgium. From Hook of Holland and Rotterdam, you'll be on the road for about an hour to Antwerpen.
If you're travelling from Dover then the most logical would be Dunkirk if you want to travel to Belgium, you can of course also choose to sail to Calais as the regularity of sailings is higher to Calais.
From Dunkirk, you can drive to Brugge in about an hour; from Calais, thedrive is roughly 1 hour and 30 minutes.
It's crazy that you can't travel from Zeebrugge anymore. I've read there was supposed to be a deal that in 2023 ferries would ride again from Zeebrugge to Rosyth. But so far I haven't seen this happening yet.
Hi Bruggema,
We will keep an eye on this route. DFDS was supposed to take over this route, however, we haven't seen or heard anything about this route. We'll tweet them for an answer! If you follow us on Twitter (https://twitter.com/FerryGoGoOnline ) you can follow this conversation!