Sail/Rail Dublin Port to London and back

JHMEG

Posted way back about this, have been through it, and here are my experiences and observations.

Travelled out on a Thursday 14:30 IF fast sailing. Approx 200 foot passengers. We left directly from the Terminal so there was no need for any bus transfer. Annoyingly IF seem to have a casual attitude towards departure times and journey times as we left approx 15 mins late and took 15 mins longer than we should have, meaning we were about 30 mins late arriving into Holyhead.

Bus transfer to the station in HH, where it became apparent that a lot of people did not know about SailRail tickets. Got talking to a fellow traveller who paid £51 for the ferry and £75 for the train. Ouch. We paid €40 plus a new €4 levy for using the fast ferry. Interestingly if you buy your ticket in the UK there is no levy for the fast ferry, just the standard £31.50.

Arriva train from HH to Chester was a modern-ish railcar with trolley service. No fridge on the trolley so the beer was 26 degrees for a reasonable-by-IE-standards £2.65 a can (€5.50 a can on IE).

Train from Chester to London was a Virgin Trains air-conditioned very modern train with a 1st class carriage that was being used but not being charged for and with none of the trappings of 1st class. The staff were being kept busy with Irish Travellers who were rifling the shop and generally acting the maggot with tickets etc.

Return journey on the Saturday was similar except the Arriva train was only 2 air-conditioned carriages with no trolley. Interestingly this service has a few small stations which the train only stops at if requested by a passenger. It stopped at one such stop.

The same casual attitude towards departure times and journey times existed on the return ferry. Interestingly the 100 or so foot passengers were brought by bus back to the terminal in Dublin port, unlike on the Thursday where the ship left directly from the terminal building.

Plenty of taxis outside, fare to Connolly was €13.50 whereas it had been €10.50 going from Connolly two days earlier. Not sure why.

Bus was announced on the boat as being €2.50, not sure which one as there were both DB and BE buses outside. Interestingly there is no 53a scheduled for that time on a Saturday.

Southsider1

Do you need a passport for that trip?

newportlad

no you don't need a passport to travel. the last couple of times i've travelled sail rail to london i've brought my provisional driving license and That was fine. you'd prob get away with a age card also but i.m not definite about that

Ham'nd'egger

JHMEG wrote: »

Posted way back about this, have been through it, and here are my experiences and observations.

Travelled out on a Thursday 14:30 IF fast sailing. Approx 200 foot passengers. We left directly from the Terminal so there was no need for any bus transfer. Annoyingly IF seem to have a casual attitude towards departure times and journey times as we left approx 15 mins late and took 15 mins longer than we should have, meaning we were about 30 mins late arriving into Holyhead.

Bus transfer to the station in HH, where it became apparent that a lot of people did not know about SailRail tickets. Got talking to a fellow traveller who paid £51 for the ferry and £75 for the train. Ouch. We paid €40 plus a new €4 levy for using the fast ferry. Interestingly if you buy your ticket in the UK there is no levy for the fast ferry, just the standard £31.50.

Arriva train from HH to Chester was a modern-ish railcar with trolley service. No fridge on the trolley so the beer was 26 degrees for a reasonable-by-IE-standards £2.65 a can (€5.50 a can on IE).

Train from Chester to London was a Virgin Trains air-conditioned very modern train with a 1st class carriage that was being used but not being charged for and with none of the trappings of 1st class. The staff were being kept busy with Irish Travellers who were rifling the shop and generally acting the maggot with tickets etc.

Return journey on the Saturday was similar except the Arriva train was only 2 air-conditioned carriages with no trolley. Interestingly this service has a few small stations which the train only stops at if requested by a passenger. It stopped at one such stop.

The same casual attitude towards departure times and journey times existed on the return ferry. Interestingly the 100 or so foot passengers were brought by bus back to the terminal in Dublin port, unlike on the Thursday where the ship left directly from the terminal building.

Plenty of taxis outside, fare to Connolly was €13.50 whereas it had been €10.50 going from Connolly two days earlier. Not sure why.

Bus was announced on the boat as being €2.50, not sure which one as there were both DB and BE buses outside. Interestingly there is no 53a scheduled for that time on a Saturday.

Overall, how much did your ticket cost and how long did it take you from point to point in comparison to flying? Also, was it more/less stressful and handier/more awkward to make?

jahalpin

I used to get the SailRail from London - Dun Laoghaire when I was a student in London

It was a relaxing way to get home after a tough few weeks at uni. I used to get the 22.00 train from Euston - Holyhead (I think we had to change at Crewe) and then the 02.30 HSS to Dun Laoghaire

If I was to do it now, I would make sure that I got either the HSS from Laoghaire or the Jonathan Swift from Dublin Port rather than the Ulysees.

JHMEG

Hamndegger wrote: »

Overall, how much did your ticket cost and how long did it take you from point to point in comparison to flying? Also, was it more/less stressful and handier/more awkward to make?

€44 over, £31.50 back, plus €7-ish each (€5 on ths bus) on taxis between Connolly and the Port. €4.60 to get to/from Connolly from Leixlip.

Leixlip to London in approx 9 hours. It's quite relaxing as there are no tight connections to be made, and I could do the whole thing largely by rail.

I've known I was going since December and if I had booked flights then I think it was €1/£1 each way, €15 for parking, plus whatever the train would be from the airport to Paddington which was beside where we were staying. Journey time would be a bit more than 3 hours.

January

The €2.50 is for Dublin Bus Service to Bus Aras

KC61

Out of curiosity why did you take a taxi when there is a Dublin Bus to/from Busaras, no more than 5 minutes away from Connolly? Spending EUR 24 vs EUR 5 seems a lot of unnecessary expense.

Cookie_Monster

why is it so expensive to Busaras, is it not a regular scheduled DB service to the port?

KC61

It's deemed a special service - akin to the Airlink. It's outside the provision of normal bus services.

JHMEG

KC61 wrote: »

Out of curiosity why did you take a taxi when there is a Dublin Bus to/from Busaras, no more than 5 minutes away from Connolly? Spending EUR 24 vs EUR 5 seems a lot of unnecessary expense.

There were 3 of us.

1. Going to the port was €3.33 as the driver said "a tenner will do".
2. At a saving of 83c each the bus is not worth the slight inconvenience and inflexible departure time.

Coming back we expected the price to be the same.

January

This isn't the 53a it's a special bus that actually meets scheduled boats to and from Dublin Port.

JHMEG

adrieanne__x wrote: »

This isn't the 53a it's a special bus that actually meets scheduled boats to and from Dublin Port.

Where are details of this service to be found on their website?

mikemac

Is it worth paying the extra 4 euro for a fast ferry?
Like how many hours difference between a fast ferry and a slow one.

This could be key, if it's a couple of hours it's probably worth paying

Heart

JHMEG wrote: »

Where are details of this service to be found on their website?

Dublin Bus ferry service details:

http://www.dublinbus.ie/en/Your-Journey1/Timetables/Ferry-Connections/

H

KC61

feelingstressed wrote: »

Is it worth paying the extra 4 euro for a fast ferry?
Like how many hours difference between a fast ferry and a slow one.

This could be key, if it's a couple of hours it's probably worth paying

Well given that the fast ferry offers the best rail connections from Dublin yes it probably is.

However going back there is a direct connection from London into the afternoon Ulysses sailing.

JHMEG

When I search by place for 'port', or 'ferryport' on the DB site, that unnumbered service doesn't show up. That isn't very clever!

Re the €4, I would consider the theory of an hour and a half less travelling time for €4 to be worth it. However, the optimal solution is Michael O'Leary's one.

JHMEG

KC61 wrote: »

However going back there is a direct connection from London into the afternoon Ulysses sailing.

Well, as said above there's no surcharge for the fast ferry coming from London to Dublin, so it's kind of a moot point. But if there was:

09:10 ex Euston for the Ulysses - total time 8hr15
12:10 ex Euston - total time 6hr55

JHMEG

I forgot to say in my original post that there were hold-ups in every station from Chester to London Paddinton (via the undeground from Euston) with the Irish Rail hand-written tickets, as staff inspected and consulted each other, before letting us through. After a while it became a bit monotonous.

noelfirl

JHMEG wrote: »

When I search by place for 'port', or 'ferryport' on the DB site, that unnumbered service doesn't show up. That isn't very clever!

Port doesn't (not on the first page) but any of "ferryport", "ferry port", "ferry" or "irish ferries" work for me.

Fratton Fred

I've been using this a lot lately as I'm not sure when i will be returning from London.

I catch the 20:10 from Euston and change at Chester. (You have about 45 minutes at Chester to grab a pint over the road) and this gets you to Holyhead at 12:50 ish (depends on how many stops the train makes at request stops). You can aklso get the 20:40 from Euston, but change at Crewe and this gets to Chester about 10 minutes before the HH train. Alternatively there is a direct Virgin train from Euston at 19:10 but this means a 3 hour wait for the ferry.

I then get the Stena ferry which I find easier. The added advantage is that there is a bus from the Stena Terminal to Connolly which usually means I can get the 6:25 southbound Dart.

When you book in the UK (Not sure about Ireland) you can collect your tickets from the station machines so they work on that barriers. You can also book a cabin for £20 whereas it is £40 if you pay for one onboard. The three hours sleep in a canin makes a big difference.

Alun

JHMEG wrote: »

I forgot to say in my original post that there were hold-ups in every station from Chester to London Paddinton (via the undeground from Euston) with the Irish Rail hand-written tickets, as staff inspected and consulted each other, before letting us through. After a while it became a bit monotonous.

That's odd .. I've done a number of pretty obscure rail journeys involving many changes and some very small stations getting to the start of long distance walks in the UK using these tickets, i.e. stations and trains where you wouldn't generally see that many of these kinds of tickets and never had a problem once.

That having been said, they do look pretty amateurish, not helped by the spider like handwriting of the guy who writes them out by hand at Dun Laoghaire ferry terminal, and him not pressing hard enough to make much of an impression on the multiple carbon copies. Surely it would be possible to machine print them somehow?

KC61

noelfirl wrote: »

Port doesn't (not on the first page) but any of "ferryport", "ferry port", "ferry" or "irish ferries" work for me.

I think that the problem is that it doesn't come up in the "Plan your Journey" section on the front page, but rather the site search.

The page is found by clicking on:
Your Journey/Timetables/Ferry Connections

I guess that they'd need to number it to get it into the "Plan your Journey" section.

noelfirl

KC61 wrote: »

I think that the problem is that it doesn't come up in the "Plan your Journey" section on the front page, but rather the site search.

The page is found by clicking on:
Your Journey/Timetables/Ferry Connections

I guess that they'd need to number it to get it into the "Plan your Journey" section.

Ah, I see. Still, I would have presumed that if the "Search by place" box didn't work, one might try the site search instead. Even as it is, typing in "Dublin Port" in Search by Place only brings up the 53/53a, but the menu on the left expands anyway to list "Ferry Connections".

JHMEG

noelfirl wrote: »

Ah, I see. Still, I would have presumed that if the "Search by place" box didn't work, one might try the site search instead.

'port' brings back the 53/53a - leading one to assume that the 53/53a is all there is. Customers really shouldn't have to second guess DB's website.

Scofflaw

Have to say that this thread has given me a huge wave of nostalgia. Used to take the ferry and rail to/from London several times a year through most of the Eighties and early Nineties (from the MV St Columba era to the first wave of catamarans). Last ferry into Dublin Bay on Christmas Eve was particularly sentimental.

Also, I remember prices for the journey being about £32 return c. 20 years ago, so it's nice to see that not everything has inflated beyond all measure.

nostalgically,
Scofflaw

Fratton Fred

Scofflaw wrote: »

Have to say that this thread has given me a huge wave of nostalgia. Used to take the ferry and rail to/from London several times a year through most of the Eighties and early Nineties (from the MV St Columba era to the first wave of catamarans). Last ferry into Dublin Bay on Christmas Eve was particularly sentimental.

Also, I remember prices for the journey being about £32 return c. 20 years ago, so it's nice to see that not everything has inflated beyond all measure.

nostalgically,
Scofflaw

I think you'll find that Aviva trains Wales are still using the same carriages and have avoided cleaning the toilets since then as well.

newportlad

hi i'm thinking of getting the 20.10pm service from holyhead next weekend. i.m aware there's a four and a half hour wait tho in holyhead. just wondering has anyone gone this same way before? maybe i'd be better getting euro lines bus service? thanks in advance for any answers

Dougiehowlett

Bought the ticket last week Dublin - London for next weekend, but now thinking that the fast ferry could be a better option to get into London earlier. Can I upgrade and pay the extra €4 when checking in?

JHMEG

Dougiehowlett wrote: »

Bought the ticket last week Dublin - London for next weekend, but now thinking that the fast ferry could be a better option to get into London earlier. Can I upgrade and pay the extra €4 when checking in?

I actually don't think the €4 matters - they don't charge a levy coming the other way.

mike1

Was wondering if anyone was aware if you could buy these tickets at Dublin Port it's self? and would they be open to sell these tickets on the early ferry the 8.45am for instance?? also have to pay cash so over the phone is a no no for me. thanks for any help!

penexpers

You can walk up and buy the ticket at the port - the ticket desk will be open.

mike1

thats great,thanks penexpers

seanmacc

JHMEG wrote: »

Travelled out on a Thursday 14:30 IF fast sailing. Approx 200 foot passengers. We left directly from the Terminal so there was no need for any bus transfer. Annoyingly IF seem to have a casual attitude towards departure times and journey times as we left approx 15 mins late and took 15 mins longer than we should have, meaning we were about 30 mins late arriving into Holyhead.

Bus transfer to the station in HH, where it became apparent that a lot of people did not know about SailRail tickets. Got talking to a fellow traveller who paid £51 for the ferry and £75 for the train. Ouch. We paid €40 plus a new €4 levy for using the fast ferry. Interestingly if you buy your ticket in the UK there is no levy for the fast ferry, just the standard £31.50.

On the departure time of that 14:30 ferry (I work for them) it is far from casual. The problem lies in the departure time usually for two reasons 1. being the high volumes of traffic during the summer 2. One of the captains on the J Swift is notoriously slow and cautious when it comes to weather and traffic volumes and is afraid to go full whack.

The 4euro levy on the fast ferry is not strictly enforced by staff in the terminals unless you are buying the ticket there. If you buy your ticket in Connolly or Heuston they may or may not charge it, just tell them you want the slow ferry and they won't charge it. The terminal staff are not going to frog march you to a desk on a pre-purchased open ticket to pay an unjust 4 euro. The 4 euro incidentilly only came in when management realised after the ash cloud saga how little money the ferry company actually make from sail and rail considering the high volumes of foot passenger traffic they took then. I.F get approximately 19 euro for every sail rail passenger. When you consider a one way ferry only ticket on the J.Swift is 41euro if you buy it on the day you can understand why the 4euro went on it.

Rock Steady Edy

They do charge the extra £4 for the Swift in the UK. Got the surprise in June when they'd just intoduced it.

Between the swift surcharges and the credit card surcharge, a €40 ticket quickly becomes €50 and the already longer journey time starts to make Ryanair look attractive again. At least you're not with them for long.

I've done 3 rail and sails returns in the last 4 months to London and my preference for this method is waining though a mixture of: the HSS travelling at 2/3 speed and taking an average 2 hours 20 mins (despite what their timetable says), waiting in Holyhead for an hour (poor connections), trains that don't have the capacity for the number of passengers travelling, the fact you can't reserve seats from Holyhead if commencing from an Irish port, the excessive number of changes required on route, missed train connections, the poor timing of the HSS leaving Holyhead for Rail & Sail passengers and Dublin port being both neither easy to get to nor the nicest place on earth.

The Virgin trains are excellent, but only connect with the departure and arrival of the mid-day slow boats to and from Ireland, forcing an 8+ hour journey to and from London.

DundalkDuffman

Just a heads up for anyone booking this over the phone, there is a 6 euro charge on top of the 40 euro fare for laser or visa credit cards, Visa debit is no additional charge.

Gekko

I was about to ask whether the trains were generally crammed full and it seems Rock Steady Edy answered that for me.

It seems like it'd be a last resort for me to travel this way....if I was on a tight budget or if I'd missed a flight home for instance and didn't want to book a new ticket at an extortionate price...and if I was travelling fairly light.

Terrontress

Gekko wrote: »

I was about to ask whether the trains were generally crammed full and it seems Rock Steady Edy answered that for me.

It seems like it'd be a last resort for me to travel this way....if I was on a tight budget or if I'd missed a flight home for instance and didn't want to book a new ticket at an extortionate price...and if I was travelling fairly light.

to be honest, I think the benefit is when you are not travelling light!

I've used it in the past when carting big loads to London. Stuff that I can carry myself but would be slaughtered on baggage costs for.

I am not sure about IF but Stena take your bag off you at the terminal so you don't have to look after it on the boat.

Rock Steady Edy

Gekko wrote: »

I was about to ask whether the trains were generally crammed full and it seems Rock Steady Edy answered that for me.

Go on a slow boat that connects with a Virgin train (they're at leaat 4 carriages long), and you'll enjoy the train experience anyway. At this time of year I'm sure the other connecting trains would be emptier anyway.

jesus_thats_gre

Did this last week myself when travelling to Canterbury.

Got the high speed ferry from Dun Laoighaire at 13:15 to Holyhead.

I missed the express train services to London Euston so ended up getting the 16:30 (or so) train instead.

Ended up chaging at Chester and then changed again at Crewe to get a train Euston.

Then walked from Euston to St. Pancras.

Got the high speed train to Ashford International.

Then got a connection from Ashford International to Canterbury.

Arrived in Canterbuy at 23:20.

Despite all the changes, I thoroughly enjoyed the journey and it wasn't remotely stressful - the iPad helped a lot!

The return journey was a lot more straightforward though. Got the high speed train from Canterbuy to St. Pancras and then got the direct train from Euston to Holyhead.

The whole journey cost me 80 euro all in. I booked through Stena Line the day before I travelled. I didn't get charged the levi for the high speed ferry.

I would normally fly into Gatwick with Ryanair and then travel into Victoria on the train and then again from Victoria to Canterbury. It's fine when you get a cheap flight but the train journey is still the guts of £40.

purplepanda

Just a note for those who end up on a overcrowded Holyhead Arriva train with too few carriages, just like IE style, heading for Chester / Crewe, you can actually often get off at Bangor, then wait a short while for a better Virgin train straight to London, was told this by a ticket inspector a while back!:D

Most of the Virgin intercity trains terminate at Bangor & don't go all the way to Holyhead, only a couple each day link up with the slow ferries. Still I've done London to Dublin Ferryport in 6 3/4 hours twice in the last year!!

That's something to remember about the cheaper cabin if you pay for it in advance, although I don't really like the night trip myself :eek:

KC61

purplepanda wrote: »

Just a note for those who end up on a overcrowded Holyhead Arriva train with too few carriages, just like IE style, heading for Chester / Crewe, you can actually often get off at Bangor, then wait a short while for a better Virgin train straight to London, was told this by a ticket inspector a while back!:D

Most of the Virgin intercity trains terminate at Bangor & don't go all the way to Holyhead, only a couple each day link up with the slow ferries. Still I've done London to Dublin Ferryport in 6 3/4 hours twice in the last year!!

That's something to remember about the cheaper cabin if you pay for it in advance, although I don't really like the night trip myself :eek:

Please check timetables before you make sweeping statements like this.

Out of seven trains to/from North Wales, five go to Holyhead and two only to Bangor. The issue specifically here is which trains connect with ferries as most do not.

The scenario that you describe (change at Bangor to Virgin Trains service) applies only to the 0845 Irish Ferries fast ferry sailing Monday to Friday only. This ferry has a direct connection at Holyhead by Virgin Trains on Saturdays (1155) and Sunday (1150). All other ferry sailings require you to travel to Chester (at a minimum) to connect with a Virgin Trains service.

Virgin Trains timetable for North Wales is here

purplepanda

Of course the timetables should be checked first, to ensure that connections are viable for you. However there are some Virgin trains that start at Bangor because staff have told me to change because of overcrowding from Holyhead, after I had complained about the amount of passengers squashed on two carriages.

The early morning trains from London that have the quickest timings via the fast ferries to Dublin do involve changes at Crewe / Chester, the direct Virgin trains usually connect with the slower ferries later in the day.

If you want to get from London to western & southern destinations in the rest of Ireland you really need to get the early morning 07.20ish Euston train.

KC61

purplepanda wrote: »

Of course the timetables should be checked first, to ensure that connections are viable for you. However there are some Virgin trains that start at Bangor because staff have told me to change because of overcrowding from Holyhead, after I had complained about the amount of passengers squashed on two carriages.

The early morning trains from London that have the quickest timings via the fast ferries to Dublin do involve changes at Crewe / Chester, the direct Virgin trains usually connect with the slower ferries later in the day.

If you want to get from London to western & southern destinations in the rest of Ireland you really need to get the early morning 07.20ish Euston train.

The point that I am trying to make is that if you're going to post this sort of information here at least check before you post.

There is one lunchtime train that starts at Bangor. Not most or several as you have suggested - look at the timetable link that I posted. The other is late evening that only goes to Birmingham that connects with no ferries. That is it.

There is one direct train from London that connects with ferries.

The only ferries that have connections that do not require a change at Chester/Crewe are:

TO IRELAND:
13:50 (Stena Line) / 14:10 (Irish Ferries)
- 0910 Direct from Euston (Mon/Fri) / 0850 (Saturdays)

FROM IRELAND:
08:45 (Irish Ferries Swift fast ferry from Dublin Port)
- 11:23 Arriva Trains Wales to Bangor and change to 12:24 Virgin Trains (Mon to Fri)
- 11:55 Virgin Trains (Saturdays) Direct from Holyhead
- 11:50 Virgin Trains (Sundays) Direct from Holyhead

08:05 (Irish Ferries from Dublin Port) / 08:20 (Stena Line from Dublin Port)
- 12:50 Virgin Trains (Sundays only) Direct from Holyhead
- or if you have time to kill (90 minute wait at Holyhead) 13:58 (Mon to Fri) Virgin Trains Direct from Holyhead

For every other sailing you must travel to Chester/Crewe to change to Virgin Trains.

The early morning train from London is at 07:10 (as per the timetable link above) with a change at Chester that connects with the 12:00 Irish Ferries Swift sailing.

Rock Steady Edy

I see Stena are introducing a €6 surcharge for Sail & Rail passengers for the HSS when it starts again on 1 April, copying Irish Ferries introduction last June.

BenShermin

Rock Steady Edy wrote: »

I see Stena are introducing a €6 surcharge for Sail & Rail passengers for the HSS when it starts again on 1 April, copying Irish Ferries introduction last June.

Irish ferries only put theirs up by €4 though. I would not pay €6 extra for Stena to be honest as Irish Ferries provide much better connections to/from Holyhead for sailrail.

Mushy

Does anyone know how long it usually takes for them to get the bags to passengers that have put them in the hold? Cos I shall be using SAilRail again, get into Holyhead at 10.45, with a train leaving at 11.23. Will that be enough time in-between boat and train?

AlekSmart

[QUOTE=Mushy;71250924]Does anyone know how long it usually takes for them to get the bags to passengers that have put them in the hold? Cos I shall be using SAilRail again, get into Holyhead at 10.45, with a train leaving at 11.23. Will that be enough time in-between boat and train?[/QUOTE]

I have to admit to a certain unfamiliarity here,but there`s a certain Poirot type of image coming through here...porters manhandling large banded trunks,two-wheel trolleys and steam bursting forth from the locomotive`s tank....sigh...now that would be a TV advert to commission !!!!

Fratton Fred

Mushy wrote: »

Does anyone know how long it usually takes for them to get the bags to passengers that have put them in the hold? Cos I shall be using SAilRail again, get into Holyhead at 10.45, with a train leaving at 11.23. Will that be enough time in-between boat and train?

The luggage goes on a van which is usually in front of the coach, so it gets to the terminal more or less the same time you do. You should be ok.

Mushy

Fratton Fred wrote: »

The luggage goes on a van which is usually in front of the coach, so it gets to the terminal more or less the same time you do. You should be ok.

Cheers man, it'd be better if the fast sailing didn't take 2 hours.