Ferry to Portugal from the UK
Travel to Portugal by ferry from the UK
Unfortunately, there is no direct ferry crossing from the UK to Portugal. There is, however some rumour that shortly there will be a direct ferry between Plymouth or Portsmouth to Porto.
Through Spain to Portugal
From the South of England, from Plymouth and Portsmouth, ferries sail to the Northern regions of Spain, from where it's a relatively short drive (6 to 8h) to Portugal.
Ferry Map: from the UK to Portugal
Use the map to find the crossings to Spain and eventually Portugal. You can zoom in and out and view the routes in the ports. While there are no direct routes to Portugal you can drive from Bilbao to Porto in about 6 hours.
Crossings to Portugal via Spain
Travel to Portugal by Ferry from the UK
Portugal is one of the most popular outbound travel destinations for Brits. [1]Most popular tourist destinations for UK tourists, Statista While many tourists take the airplane or drive to Portugal, the indirect ferry through Spain is becoming a more popular alternative for a comfortable crossing.
From the south of England, ferries sail from Plymouth and Portsmouth to the northern regions of Spain, from where it’s a relatively short drive to Portugal. Both Santander and Bilbao are options you could consider if you want to travel by ferry to Portugal.
These ferries between the UK and Spain and then to Portugal are one—or two-night crossings and offer a comfortable way to start your trip to Portugal.
Ferry to Santander (faster route)
Sailing from Plymouth or Portsmouth to Santander is your quickest option because Santander is a bit closer to Portugal. On this route, Brittany Ferries sails with their flagship Pont Aven. This is the fastest ferry crossing (20 hours) from the UK to Spain and is a one-night crossing. Plymouth is located in South-West England in Devon.
Alternative: Travelling through France
Travelling via France is another option to get to Portugal, which seems less comfortable to us. However, if you don't want to spend too much time on a ferry, you can opt for this alternative. From the UK, there are many ferries departing for France (at least 20 crossings per day).
When travelling southwards from the UK to Portugal via France, the most logical choices would be to travel via either Calais – Dover (if you're living on the eastern coast of England), Newhaven – Dieppe, Portsmouth – Caen, Portsmouth – Le Havre, Portsmouth – Cherbourg, or Plymouth – Roscoff.
Keep in mind that when you travel via France to Portugal from the UK, you'll be on the road for around 15 hours to get to Porto and 17 hours to Lisbon from the Caen and Le Havre region.
From Calais to Porto is a drive of around 18 hours, and from Calais to Lisbon will be approximately a 19-hour drive.
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Frequent Asked Question ferries to Portugal from UK
If you want to travel by ferry to Portugal you don't have the luxury of a direct crossing. You could choose to travel via Spain to Portugal, then you have 6 weekly choices. Brittany Ferries sails on these crossings from the ports of Plymouth and Portsmouth to either Santander or Bilbao. You could also look into the possibility of sailing first to France and then travelling further from there to Portugal. This will be a long ride though, so the ferry to Santander would be your best choice if you'd ask us.
There is no direct crossing to Portugal but the fastest ferry to get close to Portugal is the ferry from Plymouth to Santander. This ferry takes you in around 20 hours to the city of Santander, this is a one-night crossing. On this crossing, you'll be sailing with the flagship of Brittany Ferries the Pont-Aven. If you're sailing from Portsmouth you can either sail to Santander or Bilbao. Both ferries are 2-night crossings and depending on which ferry you board these trips take you from 28 hours and 30 minutes to 33 hours and 30 mins to the Northern coast of Spain.
References
| ↑1 | Most popular tourist destinations for UK tourists, Statista |
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Are there any plans for a ferry route from Santander to southern Portugal around Albufeira
Hi Terry,
Thanks for your question, at the moment there is no ferry from Santander to Portugal. There are however trains that will take you from Santander to the Algarve region, or Lissabon and Porto.
When there is news about this we will inform you.
Thank you for this article, very imformative.