Ferry Prices For Ireland

[slinky.kate]

the cheapest I can see for over xmas is over £300.surely that cant be right

[ummmm]

Where are you going from - to?

My nephew got a brilliant deal last week...£7 train and walk on passenger.

[slinky.kate]

cairnryan to lorne or Belfast,need to take car though as I am disabled

[Buenchico]

Please help us to help you, Kate:

Are you travelling as a foot passenger or by car?

On what dates do you actually want to travel? (Is there any flexibility?)

Which routes are acceptable to you? (Pembroke-Rosslare? Fishguard-Rosslare? Holyhead-Dublin? Liverpool-Dublin? Liverpoool-Belfast? Cairnryan-Belfast? Cairnryan-Larne? Troon-Larne?)

[Buenchico]

Sorry, crossed posts!
(I've been trying to find out which routes are still operating. They keep changing!).

Dates, please?

[ummmm]

I believe you're going for Xmas?

[maggiebee]

Had a quick look SK as it's a journey I've been thinking of taking. Not cheap at that time of year. Maybe Buenchico can find something cheaper than I could - £232 (assuming 2 people + car) with P&O

[maggiebee]

Sorry, should have said I looked at 22nd to 29th December 2015.

[rockyracoon]

It nearly always costs a fortune to take the car over to Ireland, it must be the dearest stretch of water to cross.

Puts me off going.

[ummmm]

Rocky...it's probably cheaper to fly and hire a car. I was looking at return flights today and for 3 people it was £170.

We hired a car a few weeks back and it was 80 Euro for 4 days.

[rockyracoon]

That's not bad going. We usually have to go during the school holidays :(

I do like the car for the fact that I can just bung everything in the boot and not worry about baggage allowance.

[ummmm]

We did as well and the flight was 124 for 2.

Do you have to pay per person on the ferry? It's a long time since I used it.

[rockyracoon]

Can't remember to be honest. We've always paid about £180 each way on the fast ferry from Holyhead to Dun Loaghaire (sp)

I suppose the longer you go for, the more it pays. I wouldn't mind travelling round Ireland for a week or two, OH not so keen.

[ummmm]

Lot of driving involved for such a small country.

[maggiebee]

Think Slinky Kate said on another post that she needed her car as she is disabled. Maybe she doesn't have the option to fly, but not sure of this.

[slinky.kate]

the dates were 23/27th dec.3 people and a dog.need to take car as my disabled scooter is in the boot,the prices are putting me off,i thought it would be roughly £100ish return.

[ummmm]

Looking at what Rocky has said the price looks about right. Taking the ferry used to be the cheap option...!

[hc4361]

The sailing time is about 8 and a half hours, I think. It's not going to be cheap.

[Buenchico]

Despite my suspicion that there would be massively higher prices around Christmas time, that doesn't seem to be the case. The cheapest one-way crossing between Cairnryan and Belfast, throughout the whole of December, is £135, meaning that you can never get a return fare below £270. On the dates that you're seeking, you can get £135 outbound but only by travelling at 4am. Paying £165 for travel at 0730 might be more acceptable, otherwise you're looking at £175 or £185 for later travel.

Coming back on that route, there's a £145 fare available at 2300 but otherwise you're looking at a minimum of £175. So a total of perhaps £340 might be the total cost.

On the Cairnryan to Larne route the 0400 sailing is £128 but it's £158 to travel later (at 0730). You can return for the same fare on the 2000 service, making a possible total of £316 for travel at reasonable times.

There seem to be no ferries operating during the relevant period between Troon (which is 54 miles from Cairnryan) and Larne so, unless you're prepared to drive all the way to Liverpool (232 miles from Cairnryan), there doesn't appear to be any easy alternative. (You can travel as foot passengers for a total of £150 on the Belfast route, or for £162 to Larne, but I see that it would be difficult for you. Further, you'd have to get someone to look after the dog and then pay for a hire car, or arrange for someone to pick you up, in Northern Ireland).

There are surprisingly cheap flights available on those dates with FlyBe (between Glasgow International and Belfast City) at a total of £68.22 per person return but you'll still be paying over £200 for three of you. easyJet can do it (between Glasgow International and Belfast International) though for £59.32 per person return, bring the total cost to under £200.

[slinky.kate]

buenchico,blue card holders get a good bit of their fares with Caledonian mc brayne ferries,i thought it might be the same with the irish ferries

[DTCwordfan]

A depressed young woman was so desperate that she decided to end her life by throwing herself into the ocean. When she went down to the Glasgow docks, a handsome young sailor noticed her tears, took pity on her, and said, "Look, you've got a lot to live for. I'm off to the States in the morning, and if you like, I can stow you away on my ship. I'll take good care of you and bring you food every day." Moving closer, he slipped his arm around her shoulder and added, "I'll keep you happy, and you'll keep me happy."

The girl nodded yes, after all, what did she have to lose? That night, the sailor brought her aboard and hid her in a lifeboat. From then on, every night he brought her three sandwiches and a piece of fruit, and they made passionate love until dawn.

Three weeks later, during a routine search, she was discovered by the captain. 'What are you doing here?' the captain asked. She got up off the ground and explained, "I have an arrangement with one of the sailors. He's taking me to the States, and he's screwing me."

The captain looked at her, "He sure is, young lady, this is the Stranraer to Belfast ferry.'