Travel Information

Ireland ports

The Emerald Isle is an enchanting destination full of surprises with charming people, lively atmosphere, beautiful countryside and impressive historical attractions to match its literary and musical legacy.

Dublin Port, which serves almost 1.5 million passengers per year, ranks as the busiest passenger ferry port in Ireland. The port is located within easy reach of the city centre and is serviced by a multitude of ferry companies.

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Irish Ferries' new super-ferry, Ulysses, services the Dublin-Holyhead route. It is the largest car ferry in the world, and can accommodate almost 2,000 passengers. The cruise ferry makes two sailings to Holyhead daily, with crossings taking three hours. The high-speed ferry crosses to Holyhead three times a day, in just over an hour.
Stena Line also sails to Holyhead with two daily crossings. Check-in times are 45 minutes prior to departure.

P&O Irish Sea Ferries connects Dublin with Cherbourg in Normandy, France. The crossing takes 18 hours and departs every Saturday, all year around - sometimes the ferry will stop at Rosslare (southeast Ireland), which increases the crossing time to 22 hours. Meals are included in the ticket price and foot passengers are not allowed on this route.

Two companies operate a service to Liverpool. Norse Merchant Ferries has two services a day. SeaCat operates daily crossings, which take 3 hours and 45 minutes. The company also services a Dublin-Douglas route daily, which takes 2 hours and 45 minutes. Dublin is also connected to the Isle of Man. Sailings vary seasonally, increasing from twice monthly during the low season, to two to three sailing a week during high season. Crossings on the Fastcraft take 2 hours and 50 minutes and just under 5 hours on the conventional ferry.

On the southern coast of Ireland, Cork is a vibrant, laid-back city, and launching point for trips to the touristy Blarney stone, historic Cobh and picturesque Kinsale. From the nearby port visitors can sail all year round to Swansea onboard Swansea Cork Ferries, with a journey time of 10 hours. Brittany Ferries operates sailing to Roscoff in France, with sailings available two to three times a week during the summer, and once a week during the winter season. Sailings take about 13 hours.

Rosslare-Europort, being the closest point from the southern part of Ireland to the UK and the European Mainland, is a hub of all the major roll-on, roll-off passenger and freight services operating the southern Irish Sea and Continental routes.

Stena Line offers a maximum of six sailings daily, connecting Rosslare to Fishguard in Wales, decreasing to three to four sailings daily during the low season. Journey times are between 2 hours and 3 ½ hours depending on the vessel. Irish Ferries operates two daily sailings - one in the morning and one at night to Pembroke, with a journey time of 3 hours and 45 minutes. They also service Cherbourg in France, with a journey time of 19 ½ hours. Departures vary, but are roughly once or twice a week. P&O Irish Ferries also has a connection to Cherbourg, three times a week on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday, with a journey time of 19 hours. Meals are included in the ticket price.

Useful Links:

Dublin Travel Guide