Ferry to Ireland from the UK
Travel to Ireland by ferry from the UK
Many ferries to Ireland depart daily from five British ports. This makes it easy to reach both Ireland and Northern Ireland. There are ferries leaving from ports in Wales, England, and Scotland to Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Compare all the ferries
Do you prefer a longer, more comfortable crossing or a fast catamaran ferry? Check our handy ferry map for routes from the United Kingdom to Ireland.
You can use the booking module and select Ireland as your destination to find all the crossings to Ireland.
As you can see on the map above, there are many choices when travelling to Ireland by ferry from the UK. Depending on where you live in the UK and where you need to be in Ireland, you can choose the crossing that suits you best.
For some perspective: travelling from Rosslare to Dublin takes about 2 hours by car. Similarly, the drive from Belfast to Dublin is about 2 hours. Therefore, driving from Rosslare to Belfast takes around 4 hours. For some, a combination of a ferry and a longer drive is more attractive than booking a longer crossing. Others prefer the comfort of a longer ferry journey.
Crossings to Ireland
Ferry Guide UK to Ireland
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.
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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.