Let's face it - ferry travel to Ireland is outdated if it can be avoided. You’ll queue in an uninviting harbor, spend hours on an old steamer, you get seasick and ... all this driving and wasted hours. Isn’t it much quicker, cheaper and more convenient to fly? Well, true in part, but not the whole picture. Ferry travel still has its advantages. Here is a closer look and compare the pro and con arguments.
Ferry Travel to Ireland - the Disadvantages
- Travel Times on the Ferry
Fact: even the fastest ferry on the shortest route between the UK and Ireland will take about as long as a plane ride from Central Europe to Dublin. If you are traveling from the continent you are at a huge disadvantage timewise. - Port Locations and Driving Times
By their very definition ports are rarely located centrally, but at the bottom of a dead-end road. That inevitably means driving to and from the port to reach your destination. - Waiting and Queuing
You’ll have to be at the port well in advance of the ferry actually leaving, waiting, queuing and the drive into the ship will take anything from 45 minutes upwards. Add another 15 minutes from docking to actually leaving the port area. - Risking it in Your Own Car
If you fly in, you'll normally get a rental car. If you drive in the risk is to your own car, maybe even one with the driver siting "on the wrong side". - Cost of a Ferry Crossing
If you are looking at the cost of the ferry ticket alone, without including the petrol you need to get there, air travel will almost always work out cheaper. - Seasickness
Waves and stomachs - often they don’t get on. Enough said. - Stopover Necessary
If you are heading to Ireland from the continent, you can go non-stop. For your own safety it is, however, recommended to include a night's rest halfway.
Ferry Travel to Ireland - the Disadvantages in Perspective
All the above is true. But ...
- Travel Times on the Ferry
While travel on a ferry always takes longer, it might work out to be time well spent - modern ferries have cinemas, shopping malls, restaurants, allow for a bracing walk and provide seating far superior to anything in a plane. So time will fly. Also in the overall timeline the actual crossing might be a minor factor. - Port Locations and Driving Times
Unless you are living near an airport with a direct Irish connection you will experience long driving times as well. - Waiting and Queuing
These days air passengers are advised to arrive hours before the flight, then made to queue several times in an environment where you can’t even sit down. Plus modern security checks in airports almost amount to strip searches. - Risking it in Your Own Car
Yes, but you save on car rental and you know the car. The perceived disadvantage of a left-hand drive car is huge, but only when you want to overtake there is a definite problem (you will hit oncoming traffic before seeing it). - Cost of a Ferry Crossing
These days a ferry crossing from the continent to Ireland might well set you back € 600 or more. But remember that this has to split between all passengers in a car. And that you usually will have to cough up for airport transfers and/or parking as well. - Seasickness
It's all in the mind - motion sickness can be as bad on a flight. Most modern ferries are huge and have automatic stabilization, reducing the risk of seasickness considerably. If you are coming from the continent you may also reduce ferry times to a minimum by using the Channel Tunnel. - Stopover Necessary
Yes - but if cunningly planned this might be an added extra, visiting some sights on the way. Or you take at least one night ferry and sleep the crossing away. Or you take the ferry from France, a nom-stop overnight service. - Taking as Much Luggage as You Like
Here the ferry comes into its own ... while airlines will demand an arm and a leg plus one kidney for baggage these days, ferry operators simply don’t care as long as you make it in and out of the car deck without a tow truck. In short: you can bring all the kids' toys, extra clothing for any weather, two cases of wine, a large library, your surfboard, your golf and angling gear, more clothing, some DVDs, plush toys and the kitchen sink. - No Restrictions Regarding Luggage Contents
With today's security hysteria you can’t bring anything on a plane that may even remotely resemble a threat. Ferry companies are easy.
The Bottom Line - Comparing Prices
If you start to compare prices, don't go for the old "a flight is € 650 cheaper" self-deception. Compare, taking all factors into account. Like here, in a sample for four persons:
Ferry:
- Ferry Ticket Price € 800 (car with four passengers)
- Car Travel to Ferry Port € 150 (1,000 km)
- Car Travel back from Ferry Port € 150 (1,000 km)
- Airline Ticket Price € 600 (€ 150 per person)
- Car Travel to Airport € 30 (200 km)
- Car Park at Airport € 160 (two weeks)
- Rental Car € 450 (two weeks)
- Car Travel back from Airport € 30 (200 km)
Time is of Essence
Unless you start in Great Britain, your first vacation night on a ferry arrangement will not be spent in Ireland but in a wayside hotel, on the ferry or simply driving. So you will lose time in Ireland - but with a little planning gain an exciting road trip.
Who is the Ideal Ferry Passenger?
Here comes the crunch: ferries are a god-sent for those of us who want to travel in a (small) group and/or with loads of luggage. Think Clark Griswold going on a(nother) vacation. Think families.
It also, however, depends on the distance you travel to the ferry and the time you want to spend in Ireland. If you are traveling from Great Britain you will find ferry travel very convenient. If you are traveling from continental Europe it depends on where you start - anywhere south of the Baltic, west of the former "Iron Curtain" and north of the Alps and Pyrenees is fine, beyond that it gets progressively more inconvenient.
When Should You Not Take a Ferry?
If you are a single traveler heading for a city trip into Dublin, definitely.
