Not strictly caravanning or camping, but ....
Thinking of going to Ireland next year to either drive or motorbike (hotels/B&Bs) the Wild Atlantic Way. I have never been and living close to Liverpool there are ferries nearby.
Do folks here have any experience of crossings? How do the companies compare?
All knowledge gratefully absorbed.
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I have travelled from Holyhead to Dublin ,over the Years .
And prefers Irish Ferries to Stena lines .
The Stena Adventurer is Ok .
Irish Ferries
The Ulysses is a luxury liner nice and comfortable to travel on takes approximately three And half hours duration .
The fast ferry The Swift is under two hours .
If you just want to get there quickly .
This is just a personal opinion
Be aware
The afternoon ferries get you into Dublin at teatime .
Can be a nightmare in the rush hour traffic .
I am from Northern Ireland but live in England so use the Irish Sea crossings quite regularly to visit family. In summer, I prefer Holyhead to Dublin but in the winter we tend to drive up to Cairnryan and do the short crossing to Belfast. We have done the Liverpool crossing in the past but 8 hours on the Irish Sea in rough weather is not my idea of fun! My friends call the Liverpool boat the vomit ship as they have never had a good crossing on it yet!
All the routes are pretty much the same price (ridiculously expensive) give or take a few quid so price doesn’t really come into the equation. Just decide how long you want to spend on a ferry and look at the duration of the crossing!
Thanks folks. I was thinking of doing the Liverpool crossing because I am only a couple of miles from the ferry. Wife gets terribly sea sick so it looks like Holyhead will be the one. Holyhead is a couple of hours which isn't too bad.
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i always use the fast ferry, whether its the johathan swift or the stenna.
i have been to meet with others to a rally who had a group discout of £60 return on the irish ferries slow boat. i got a return on the stenna high speed ferry, without the discount and it was £75 return.
for me £15 is well spent if it means i dont have to be in hollyhead at stupid oclock in the morning and i can get to the campsite in ireland before dark. i also cant stand ferries. i dont get seasick just cant bare sitting for hours waiting. last time i went out on the stenna ferry it was a rough rough crossing and i wedged myself in a seat and didnt move.
on my last trip, to dingle, my homeward ferry 9on the jonathan swift) was cancelled because of high winds so i was bumped on to the slow ferry which would have docked in holyhead at midnight. i would then have a 3.5h ride home.....and work in the morning. i managed to book a one way crossing on the stenna that wasnt cancelled, for £60, so got home at 9pm.
we use the ferry to go to the vendee but i prefer to sleep in a cabin overnight. when i travel east i use the tunnel.
i have done the atlantic coast and the ring of kerry on my bike. its fantastic if you get dry weather which i have been lucky with on those days but i rode from dublin to cork in torrential rain once which was a little tiresome especially sitting in traffic out of dublin on a friday.
------------- First van bailey ranger 550/6
Now the proud owner of a coachman amara
We met a bunch of German bikers who had spent a fortnight in Ireland doing the WAW. Their luggage was full of waterproofs and spare dry clothes. They go blazing sun the whole trip!
We enjoy ferries and generally use the long Hull crossings when going to France etc.
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Quote: Originally posted by Lukeledge on 05/11/2020
Is the Cairnryan to Larne crossing still operating, tried to get prices for next year but it came up with no results
Quote: Originally posted by Lukeledge on 05/11/2020
Is the Cairnryan to Larne crossing still operating, tried to get prices for next year but it came up with no results
Cairnryan to Belfast - Stena
Cairnryan to Larne - P&O.
I guess they may be working out how many ships they will have left by next year. They have already announced the closure of Hull Zeebrugge route for passengers. Just a downward spiral since they sold out to Dubai based DP World who don't give a monkeys about the effect of their business decisions on local communities.
------------- 'A sure cure for sea-sickness is to sit under a tree'
A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
Topic: Ferries to Ireland
via mobile 31/10/2020 at 1:11pm
