Ferry to Ireland

Any advice on booking a ferry to Belfast please, best routes, rough prices etc. Travelling from East Anglia midweek, thanks

Stenna sealink Stranraer to Belfast is about the chepest but you've got to take into account the distance from you.

Sails from Cairnryan now not Stranraer, although not much in it distance wise, and takes 3hrs to cross and costs £117 each way

Maybe worth looking at Holyhead to Dublin. Less of a drive and easier to Holyhead then a fast motorway from Dublin up to Belfast

Thanks for the input guys. Think the Holyhead/Dublin might be slightly preferable to the Cairnryan/Belfast although a bit more costly with the longer ferry compared to the extra driving mileage

Carter Group said:

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Thanks for the input guys. Think the Holyhead/Dublin might be slightly preferable to the Cairnryan/Belfast although a bit more costly with the longer ferry compared to the extra driving mileage

Take some Euros, last I did this it was a toll road as you leave Dublin Port, and when you arrive in Dublin take your time, nice place and Guinness is cheaper!

Cairnryan v Holyhead

Its 100 miles closer to go from Holyhead for you BUT its 100 miles from Dublin to Belfast AND £160 more for the crossing so for me it doesn't make sense wotsoever

Have i missed something?

There is NO right or Wrong on this! The question asked was 'advice' on Ferries to Northern Ireland.

I was just offering another alternative. For me, I would sooner travel overnight with the comfort of a cabin

Where you get £160 more seems odd.

I looked at Stenna Freight for a van crossing [each way] Cairnryan to Belfast £146.50, Cairnryan to Larne with P&O £149.15

I currently pay for a 4m sprinter with Irish Ferries, [granted it is on my Trade account with them, which I do not have with P&O or Stenna] £135 each crossing!

I would be surprised if stenna or P&O could be had much cheaper even with a trade account, as when I tried with them to Dublin from Liverpool Irish Ferries were far far more expensive!

I am NOT talking about taking a chance with a passenger fare here, where granted if you booked as non freight you no doubt could get cheaper!

The A75 can also be a pain if your unfortunate enough to get stuck behind slow vehicles, which nearly everytime I have been to Stranraer, has been the case. Good fast roads all the way to Holyhead.

What about the overnight from Liverpool to belfast with stenna line

Delivery point is 31 miles from Belfast or 79 miles from Dublin

I'd check out the weather conditions along the A75 with more snow forecast they had it bad & it's been open n shut many times in the last few days, Be careful of your speed along the A75 the local rozzers are making an industry of it

Each to their own...

Cairnryan to Belfast £120 each way

Holyhead to Dublin £200 each way

(difference of £160)

All i'm saying is the saving in mileage this side, is lost on the other side AND its more money, so for me its Cairnryan everytime

Bearing in mind the questioner is based in IP4

Yep absolutely each to their own.
Strange you pay so much for Holyhead Dublin?

Are you sure the Cairnryan are FREIGHT prices?

SJC. Looks like your delivery is close to the border, so bearing in mind [name]'s post about the A75, the Holyhead ferry might be best bet?

This may be slightly off topic, but is there any issue with insurances when in Ireland? Northern Ireland is part of the UK but Ireland is not as I understand it, so would that mean you're uninsured for vehicle/GiT/Public Liability? (Must have a look at my policies.)

[business] said:

Holyhead to Dublin £200 each way

(difference of £160)

Don't take this the wrong way, but where on earth are you getting your figures of £200 each way from Speed?

Also depends on what size van too of course :-)

Check out the size of the questioners van then comment... lol

Long Services said:

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Check out the size of the questioners van then comment... Lol

Point taken, haven't sent over a lwb since doing a few trunk runs, only our small vans been across in the last two years. That'll teach me!

I know its a bit late, but Liverpool to Belfast or Dublin is the cheapest but it is a 8 to 9 hour crossing on a cargo ship but last time I done it it was £98 each way and you got two meals :-)

£98 8-9 hours

£190 just over 3 hours.

No brainer

Birkenhead - belfast overnighter no sure on the price these days but you get a tea, breakfast and a beer and a nights sleep

Thompson Direct said:

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Birkenhead - belfast overnighter no sure on the price these days but you get a tea, breakfast and a beer and a nights sleep

That's the one I was on, and the food is not bad.

Seems my deal with Irish Ferries at £135 each way is very good then :)

Thompson Direct said:

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Birkenhead - belfast overnighter no sure on the price these days but you get a tea, breakfast and a beer and a nights sleep

Great alternative if you have the time, but they quoted me over £200 when I checked a couple of weeks ago.

I was there last Monday (XLWB) . Travelled Holyhead to Dublin on the way there for £185 On the way back the ferries were cancelled so I travelled Belfast to Cairnryan which was £120. Distance between Dublin and Belfast was about 100 miles I think. I booked through Freightlinks.

Im going back again on Monday going to Larne then Limerick. Going to look into to this Liverpool overnigher

Happy Easter Humber...

Before you drive all the way upto Belfast / Larne from Dublin ask your booking agent if there are any sailing from Dun Loaghaire ( pronounced like Dun Lirey) .. Its only about 12 miles from Dublin and sails into Holyhead. You get the same driver facilities and theres even a pool table on these ships :)

Duffy Couriers said:

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I was there last Monday (XLWB) . Travelled Holyhead to Dublin on the way there for £185 On the way back the ferries were cancelled so I travelled Belfast to Cairnryan which was £120. Distance between Dublin and Belfast was about 100 miles I think.

I did that too last year although I went by Stena from Holyhead to Dublin because the ferry from Dublin was cancelled too,just take note and have your return arranged to allow for an alternative route.

Allen Transport said:

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Happy Easter Humber...

Before you drive all the way upto Belfast / Larne from Dublin ask your booking agent if there are any sailing from Dun Loaghaire ( pronounced like Dun Lirey) .. Its only about 12 miles from Dublin and sails into Holyhead. You get the same driver facilities and theres even a pool table on these ships :)

Thank you for this tip!

OH BY THE WAY HAPPY EASTER GUYS

I had an urgent job near to Limerick last month, I decided to go from Fishguard to Rosslare as the mileage was similar ish from Dublin.

Proved NOT to be a good decision though, as the roads were very twisty, and therefore much slower from the south :)

Taylor Logistics said:

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I had an urgent job near to Limerick last month, I decided to go from Fishguard to Rosslare as the mileage was similar ish from Dublin.

Proved NOT to be a good decision though, as the roads were very twisty, and therefore much slower from the south :)

OH YES THE LACK OF MOTOR WAYS LOL BUT SURE WE HAVE LOADS OF POTATOOOOOOOSSS

[Admin: Please turn your caps lock off]

RLT Happy Easter...

We dont do Ireland to often may be 3 or 4 times a year

I paid £157.20 with Frieght link and was quoted the same with Habour shipping. I wonder what you get told the price is.. (Question Mark)

Allen Transport said:

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RLT Happy Easter...

We dont do Ireland to often may be 3 or 4 times a year

I paid £157.20 with Frieght link and was quoted the same with Habour shipping. I wonder what you get told the price is.. (Question Mark)

Happy Easter to you too! If you mean Holyhead to Dublin, I have no idea what they quote as I only use my account with Irish Ferries on that route. I did call Harbour Shipping a couple of weeks ago, as the Irish Ferry arrives about 6.00am, whereas Liverpool to Dublin would have meant about an hour earlier arrival. I stuck with Irish, as they quoted well over £200 each way.

A few weeks ago we were contacted by Brit European about or ferry and train crossings. When I emailed Brit European for a price for a crossing to Ireland and told him it was for a 4 mtere sprinter, The reply was "Whats one of them. A sprinter whats that"

I told the chap (who was called [name]) " That I would carry on using my regular booking agent and not to bother "

I wonder if any one else suffered the same experience