Ferry routes guide

Cross-channel ferry route options make huge differences to your driving distance.

Our advice: Choose your ferry route according to your holiday destination. For example, if you’re heading for the Loire Valley or the Dordogne, your journey in France is much shorter if you pick one of the routes that sail to Brittany rather than Calais.

And if you’re making for the Mediterranean, the luxury of a cruise-ferry to Santander or Bilbao, just over the border into Spain, makes for an easy run to the shores of the Med – far shorter than the long drive south through France from Calais.

It's not just your holiday destination that might influence your choice of ferry. If your home is on the west side of Britain, sailing from Portsmouth or Plymouth makes for a much shorter – and easier – journey than towing to Dover.

And then when you arrive at one of the Brittany ports, you're very close to a lot of fantastic holiday destinations, whereas Calais is a long way from what are generally regarded as France's prime holiday areas. (That said, though, Calais beach is lovely in good weather!)

Here's your port-planning guide, complete with fare examples. These examples are returns, based on a family of four (two adults, two children, with car and caravan up to 7.9m, staying up to 14 days, in August. On the shorter Channel crossings, prices vary according to times of sailings.

Go Caravan ferry route guide

Portsmouth – Caen:
Brittany Ferries
3 sailings daily
Crossing time: 5 hour 45 minutes
Example fare; £630

Portsmouth – St Malo:
Brittany Ferries
7 sailings weekly
Crossing time: 10 hours 45 minutes
Example fare: £701

Plymouth - Roscoff:
Brittany Ferries
11 sailings weekly
Crossing time:  5 hours 30 minutes
Example fare: £660

Portsmouth – Bilbao:
Brittany Ferries
2 crossings weekly
Crossing time: 24 hours
Example fare: £1265

Portsmouth - Santander:
Brittany Ferries
3 sailings weekly

Seafrance ferry routes - among your options

Crossing time: 24 hours
Example fare: £1265

Plymouth – Roscoff:
Brittany Ferries
11 sailings weekly
Crossing time: 5 hours 30 minutes
Example fare: £660

Dover – Dunkerque:
Norfolkline DFDS Seaways
11 sailings daily
Crossing time: 2 hours
Example fare: £179

Dover – Calais:
P&O Ferries
23 sailings daily
Crossing time: 1 hours 30 minutes
Example fare: £150

Dover – Calais:
Seafrance
15 sailings daily
Crossing time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Example fare: £312

Folkestone – Calais:
Eurotunnel
Up to 4 departures per hour
Crossing time: 35 minutes
Example fare: £196

Newhaven – Dieppe:
LD Lines
14 sailings weekly
Crossing time:  4 hours
Example fare: £441

Portsmouth - Le Havre:
LD Lines
14 sailings weekly
Crossing time: 3 hours 15 minutes
Example fare: £557


DRIVING DISTANCES:
As a rough guide to the distance to some destinations, take a look at these figures:

Santander to Narbonne:    690KM

Bilbao to Narbonne:   590KM

Calais to Narbonne:    1080KM

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