Dublin-Oxford by ferry, go via Dublin Port or Rosslare?

ProudDUB

My sister and I are going to visit family in Oxfordshire in July. (We are going to Woodstock, which is near Oxford.) We need a car, so we are taking the ferry. She wants to drive down to Rosslare, over night there, take the 9am ferry to Fishguard & drive to Oxford. There is only one sailing a day to Fishguard, so that is our only option.

I live beside Dublin Port, so I think it is mad to drive to Rosslare, when we can take a ferry to Holyhead from pretty much right out side my front door. There are morning and afternoon ferries so we are not forced to to take a 9am one.

So what do people think? We will have her 2 daughters with us. They both get car sick and sea sick. Which ferry crossings are the quickest and easiest? Which drive is easier, Dublin-Holyhead to Oxfordshire in one day. Or Dublin-Rosslare-Fishguard-Oxford spread out over 2 days? Are there any major road works or potential snarl ups to be expected on either route? How long would the Fishguard to Oxfordshire or Holyhead to Oxfordshire drives take realistically?

There is a slight chance we will be in either Limerick in Galway the day before we travel. So her plan is to drive to Rosslare from there. There is no Galway/Limerick to Rosslare motorway is there? There is to Dublin. I'd be more inclined to drive to back to Dublin and take it from there.

Neither of us have much experience driving in the UK or in Ireland. She lives in the US and I just moved here from there. So the overall ease of driving, and the route itself matters more to us than the average traveler.

Thanks for any advice.

mikedragon32

To bo honest, it sounds like either option will be hell for your nieces.

If you need a car when there, couldn't you fly over and just hire one on arrival? It might be easier in the long run.

If you drive, Rosslare option is more straightforward as once you're on the M4 it's more or less a straight run.

650Ginge

No point driving to rosslare and staying over. Try the Stena Hss 2hr crossing from Dun Laoghaire only once a day at 13.00. Big boat usually quite stable, and spacious. The driving to Oxford is 95% motorway, nice calm relaxed smooth drive with little braking and speed changes should help the motion sickness.

Maybe the daughters could fly and meet them alo g the way. I am not sure what ages they are though.

shaunandelly

A Man would go your route and a woman with kids would prefer the other other route and try and break it up. The Rosslare route isn't that mad when you think about it. You still have to go south by road either in Ireland or the UK. You may be adding 30 or 40 road miles on the Rosslare route but it isn't that big a deal. More important is where you are going to be in the UK at certain rush hour times. Coming down the M6 towards Birmingham can be very busy at anything like rush hour. Don't be tempted to cut the corner off across North Wales as this is very hard mileage especially in bad weather. The afternoon sailing from Dublin is a bit of a no no as it is gonna make the UK leg a lot harder.

irelandspurs

Fly into birmingham and hire a car

zagmund

To be honest, if they get seasick & carsick then it would be torture. Investigate flying to wherever is near Oxford and hiring a car when there.

Look at the prices on www.stenaline.ie & www.irishferries.ie - you are likely to spend the guts of €400-€450 for a return trip on the boat with a car in the middle of Summer. Add in a cabin (to make it easier on the seasick people) and you are likely to be well over €500 just to get across the sea, and then you still face 4+ hours of driving to get to Oxford.

Not that it makes much material difference, but from Rosslare you can get to two different ports - Pembroke & Fishguard. However, like the Dublin Port sailngs to Holyhead they both go at around the same time so there is nothing to choose between them other than price.

If you want the *fastest* crossing then the Stena HSS (1h30) from Dun Laoghaire is yer man, followed by the Irish Ferries Swift (1h50) from Dublin. Regular ferries from Dublin are ~3h, and from Rosslare are ~4h I don't know if there are any fast craft from Rosslare during the Summer.

After that, you face the drive from south Wales (~4h) or Holyhead (4h30). No matter what way you look at it, it's going to be a long trip.

Depending on when you go in July you could get mixed up in the Olympics - car hire prices could be higher than usual. If you are before the Olympics you could get caught up in pre-Olympics last-minutery, but this shouldn't impact Oxford.

Consider also sending the sister and nieces by plane and you taking the boat & car and meeting them there.

z

shaunandelly

irelandspurs wrote: »

Fly into birmingham and hire a car

Yeh, that's what I'd do as well. De-stress by avoiding rush hours.

ProudDUB

Thanks for all the feedback folks.

I just priced flights and car hire. It looks like it will be even cheaper than the car & ferry option. We didn't really consider that as we thought it would be too expensive.

Cheers !

650Ginge

You can use tesco tokens at a rate of 4 to 1 for both Stena and Irish Ferries.

Fratton Fred

I always find the rosslare routes a bit rougher, so not good for a poor sailor. The UK leg is more straight forward as it is M4 to Newbury and turn left for oxford.

Holyhead isn't that difficult and your overall journey is shorter. With the morning ferry you will be on the M40 before the rush hour kicks in.

FerryGeek

Hi,

I live right near Woodstock!! Some advice. When you visit Blenheim - just take the park and gardens tickets! The palace really isn't worth it. You have access to everything with the park and gardens pass including the cafe, rose garden, maze etc etc. Also there is an Indian restaurant in Woodstock - don't go there - it really is the worst Indian restuarant I have ever been to!!

While you are here, you should also visit Stratford upon Avon for a play (http://www.rsc.org.uk/buy-tickets/l/stratford-upon-avon/) and aslo there is a little village called Great Tew that you really must visit! It's perfection!

As for your travel conundrum, if flying, you'll find that Birmingham is really no closer to Woodstock than Heathrow. If driving from Heathrow simply take the M40. Head off to Oxford. Take the ring road and then head through Kidlington. Drive through Kidlington and once past on the A4260 head off left into Woodstock - I would say that this is by far the easiest route.

If taking the ferrry, I would say Holyhead to Dublin. You can get fares at around £150 and you don't need a cabin as the crossing is only about 3 hours. It's about a 4 hour drive once you cross over however. But you can stop on the way for a spot of lunch.

Stena Line have an offer now where friends go free. I think it ends soon but you might find they extend it - often if Irish Ferries extend their offer then Stena will too, forever and forever!! Details here: http://www.stenaline.co.uk/ferry/book-now/extra-passenger/ or for a list of the latest special offers, also see here for a list of the current special offers from the different operators - http://www.aferry.co.uk/specialoffers/offersuk.htm

Have a great time in North Oxforshire! For pubs in Oxford, try the Head of the River and the Turf Tavern! I think you'll have a great time! :)

ProudDUB

Thanks FerryGeek. Always good to have some good local knowledge.

Slight change of plan. We are now staying in or near Chipping Norton to be closer to an elderly relation. Any tips on where to stay? Would love somewhere with a pool for the 2 kids. Removing pool priviliges for the day is a great way to get them to - oh ok bribe them to - behave themselves !

Going to Blenheim is #1 on our list. The sister and I love going to see stately homes. Why do you think the Palace tour in not a good idea? Is it a rip off? Do you only get to see a couple of rooms? The sister will be very disappointed to hear that.

Re transport. The plan now is to fly into and out of Bristol. A Cheltenham based cousin flies via Bristol whenever she is coming home. She says that it is a much, much easier & smaller airport to fly in to, and drive to/from Oxfordshire than Heathrow or Birmingham are. As my sister & I will be driving in the UK for the first time, this is important.

She also says it trumps flying into Birmingham as we don't have to drive thru the city centre to get to and from it. The airport in B'ham is north of the city. As we are going to/coming from the south, we'd have to go via B'ham city centre to get to it. She says that that can add an hour to the trip, even more if it is close to rush hour.

Thoughts?

Fratton Fred

You might be getting a bit mixed up there. Birmingham Airport would be a million times easier than Bristol if you are going to Chipping Norton.

Brum airport is South East Birmingham, just off the M42. So to drive, you would go M42 south to the M40 and then down to Banbury and head to Chipping Norton from there. Piece of cake.Cheltenham is in Gloucestershire by the way and would be easier for Bristol as it is next to the M5.

Birmingham Airport isn't that big, much smaller than Dublin and very easy to navigate. Driving in England isn't that different to driving in Ireland, just obey the rules of the road. People are less forgiving if you try and cruise along in the outside lane of the motorway, or forget to indicate at a junction.

shaunandelly

As said Birmingham Airport is south Birmingham and the right side of city for Chipping N. Bristol is the one that is the wrong side of the city for you. and would add an extra hour each way on your journey time