Ferries to Ireland - Irish Sea Ferry Routes & Crossings
Travel across the Irish Sea has always been popular and now there are more choices than ever of ferries to Ireland, especially with the advent of high-speed ferries and catamarans. Many people want to travel to Ireland with their car to explore some of the more remote and beautiful parts of the emerald isle, and it's as easy to do as pulling off the motorway and parking up. For those wanting to visit Ireland on foot, bus and train services meet ferries at all the ports on the Irish Sea. These are the routes from the U.K. to the Republic of Ireland:
Swansea to Cork - Swansea Cork Ferries operates a daily overnight service from Wales to the southern Ireland port town. Access from the M4 in the U.K. is very easy and bus and train connections are also good.
Fishguard to Rosslare - Stena Line runs a twice-daily superferry crossing on this route, which takes three and a half hours. A regular train service connects Fishguard with Swansea, Birmingham and London.
Pembroke to Rosslare - Irish Ferries also runs a twice-daily service from its south Wales port at Pembroke, with a journey time of around three hours 45 minutes.
Holyhead to Dublin - Stena Line operates a superferry service twice a day from the northwesterly tip of Wales to the port of Dublin, a journey that takes approximately three hours. Irish Ferries also runs a parallel service. Both companies offer a high-speed alternative taking an hour and three-quarters on their modern catamarans. The Stena service arrives in the port of Dun Laoghaire, a twenty-minute drive from the centre of Dublin. Holyhead has excellent road and rail links to the rest of the U.K.
Liverpool to Dublin - P&O Irish Sea operates two sailings a day on this eight-hour crossing from the heart of Liverpool to Dublin. The second crossing is overnight. Sea Containers Irish Sea Operations run a Seacat service on the same route taking just under five hours. There is also a Seacat service between Douglas on the Isle of Man And Dublin, with a crossing time of less than three hours.
Remember that you need to take your passport on all ferries to Ireland and make the appropriate insurance arrangements if you are driving. Disabled travellers in need of assistance should contact their ferry operator prior to travelling. Pets can now be taken and return without quarantine if you prepare in advance (see http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/quarantine/index.htm). For more information on specific departure times contact the ferry operator on your chosen route.
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