London by Sea & Car

My Thoughts

Any suggestions on what the best Ferry route to get to London by car is and how long is the drive on the other side? Thanks!

WexCan

Best is probably Dublin/Dun Laoghaire-Holyhead but you'd be looking at wuite a long drive on the other side

ie http://www.google.co.uk/maps?f=d&hl=en&saddr=LL65+1DR&daddr=w1t+5ay&ie=UTF8&z=7&om=1

Or else Rosslare-Fishguard but again another longish drive

http://www.google.co.uk/maps?f=d&hl=en&saddr=fishguard&daddr=w1t+5ay&ie=UTF8&z=7&ll=51.6998,-2.570801&spn=2.607835,7.492676&om=1

mikedragon32

Personally I prefer to via Rosslare-Fishguard as, once you get onto the M4, it's a straight run to London.

Holyhead to London is a pain with several Motorway changes and having to negotiate the roads around Birmingham is a major pain in the hole.

dak

I drove Dublin-London during the summer . Best route is Dublin-Holyhead. Expect a minimum 5-6 hour car journey( mainly motorways ) to get there depending on Traffic and getting lost etc. Driving in London is difficult if you don't know your way around .

This year I bought a Garmin Nuvi 300 Sat nav for the car . This is samll enough to fit in your shirt pocket . Cost circa 400 euro . You enter your destination and it talks you through every junction on the way- recalculates your route automatically if you go wrong. It made a world of difference and I must say there was absolutely no stress involved . Wouldnt drive anywhere unknown without it . Stoped the rows over map reading with the wife!!

netwhizkid

I guess it depends on where in Ireland you are located, If you are in Cork or Kerry I'd say go Cork-Swansea onto the M4 and it is a doddle from there to London, Watch out for the Cardiff Motorway services (burgerking) pretty nasty food it was.

If you on the east coast or in Connaught/Ulster then either Rosslare or Dublin is faster, Swansea is nearer in terms of British driving but the sailing is 10 hours compared to the others. I think the Motorway off-ramp into Swansea is cool as it is totally elevated and you come down kinda off a hill.

Jimoslimos

Interested in the London-Dublin route myself since I just passed my driving test a few weeks back. At moment I'm leaving 4hrs prior to flight (2hrs to airport + 2hrs check-in) so 5-6hrs to Holyhead doesn't sound too bad plus the restrictions on baggage make flying a pain in the a**e :mad:
Any ideas on what the price is like for car + 2 passengers?

John R

http://www.stenaline.co.uk or http://www.irishferries.com will give you the fares.

They do some cheap-ish offers but when you include the cost of driving London-Holyhead it will not be cheaper than flying.

Unless you have a reason for wanting the car with you it won't be worth the cost.

Rail and ship is probably a better alternative, it is quicker c4 hours London to Holyhead and can be cheaper than flying at £32 return all in.

jjbrien

John R wrote:

http://www.stenaline.co.uk or http://www.irishferries.com will give you the fares.

They do some cheap-ish offers but when you include the cost of driving London-Holyhead it will not be cheaper than flying.

Unless you have a reason for wanting the car with you it won't be worth the cost.

Rail and ship is probably a better alternative, it is quicker c4 hours London to Holyhead and can be cheaper than flying at £32 return all in.

Dont go with Irish Ferries if you life depends on it. Basicly no of the staff have a good level of English so if the ferry gets into trouble then your really in trouble. Myself I stick to stena line or norfolk line. You could try Norfolk line or P&O to Liverpool its just a staight run down the M5 and then the M1 quite an easy journey.