The UK has so many great options for travelling to Ireland or Europe by ferry or crossing the channel by Eurotunnel. The ferries are regular and have lots of facilities on board. Booking online is normally gets you the best rate. You can also save money by choosing an early morning or late evening/night crossing.
Remember when booking your ferry that we can't give out the vehicle's registration number in advance. It's not a problem, though. Just enter either "CAR HIRE" or "TBA" into the registration box when making your online ferry booking and provide the number when you get to the port.
Here are some of the best options for crossing into Ireland and Europe:
Stena Line
Stena operate ferries from the UK to Ireland and Holland. Their fast catamarans run from Holyhead to Dun Laoghaire across the Irish Sea and from Harwich to the Hook of Holland across The Channel. The port of Dun Laoghaire is just south of Dublin and is a great alternative to the main Dublin Crossing. Dublin's port is right in the centre of the city so you're first bit of driving in Ireland will be through the centre of its capital city!
Stena Line benefits from running the most routes across the Irish Sea and helpfully offeres "open jaw" tickets, allowing you to cross to Ireland on one route and cross back via another. This can help you avoid doubling back on yourself.
Click here for more info from Stena Line
P&O Ferries
P&O operate the popular Dover - Calais crossing as well as routes to Holland, Belgium and Ireland. The Liverpool to Dublin crossing is pretty slow and we would suggest driving to Holyhead and taking a ferry from there. The two routes between Scotland and Northern Ireland can sometimes be cheaper than the crossings into the Republic of Ireland.
Click here for more information.
EuroTunnel
EuroTunnel operate the car-carrying train service from Folkestone in England to Calais in France. The trip takes just 35 minutes.
Click here for more in from EuroTunnel
You can book your motorhome onto Eurotunnel online. It costs between £130 and £180 depending on the time of year, with your ticket covering the vehicle and up to 9 passengers.
To book your crossing, you can use either your registration number or size and specification of the vehicle. You’ll find your vehicle registration number on your Spaceships booking confirmation email. You can change the vehicle registration number on your Eurotunnel booking any time before you travel without penalty, so don’t worry if we have to swap your original vehicle.
The best way to book is to use the vehicle size and specification option. Your motorhome is a Fiat Ducato campervan, between 5.5-8m and with a diesel engine.
Before you travel, you will need to be aware of current border regulations and complete some additional documents which you can download here.
Brittany Ferries
A great option for direct ferries to Spain and North-West France
Click here for the Brittany Ferries website
DFDS Seaways
DFDS run a Dover to Dunkirk route as well as the only ferry from the UK to Denmark
Click here for more in from DFDS Seaways
Maps reproduced with kind permission of AFerry
You can compare all ferry crossings to and from the UK with AFerry.
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