Operator portrait
P&O Ferries
One route, done intensively - P&O's Dover - Calais service crosses in 90 minutes around the clock, and it is the strait's only door for foot passengers.
- The only foot-passenger carrier on Dover - Calais
- Prices shown live at the booking step
The Dover specialist
P&O Ferries is the most focused operator on the Channel: one route, Dover - Calais, run as a conveyor belt. Its ships rotate across the strait in 90 minutes around the clock, sharing the route's up to 31 daily sailings with DFDS and Irish Ferries - frequency as the product, with the next boat rarely more than an hour or two away.
The foot-passenger door
What sets P&O apart on the strait is walking on board: it is the only operator carrying foot passengers between Dover and Calais. The service runs on selected sailings - from Dover at 09:45, 13:40 and 16:40 - with its own 90-minute check-in deadline, a shuttle-bus transfer to the ship (including the EU Entry/Exit System stop), and disembarkation about 30 minutes after arrival. Two rules matter: you carry your own luggage, and pets cannot travel on foot. For walk-on alternatives elsewhere on the Channel, Newhaven - Dieppe is the friendlier route.
Practicalities worth knowing
With a vehicle, the crossing is the simplest on the Channel: drive on, 90 minutes of lounges, shops and deck, drive off onto the A16. Pets stay in the car with the GB-to-France paperwork checked at the port. The detailed Dover - Calais route guide - terminals, boarding, the full comparison of the three operators - lives on our dedicated route site, linked from the route guide; the departures for your date are in the timetable.
FAQ P&O Ferries
Frequently asked questions
Questions about P&O Ferries.
Which Channel routes does P&O sail?+
On the Channel, just one: Dover - Calais, which it shares with DFDS and Irish Ferries. P&O's wider network serves the North Sea and Irish Sea; on the strait it concentrates everything on the 90-minute crossing.
Can I cross as a foot passenger with P&O?+
Yes - and P&O is the only operator on the strait that does. Foot passengers travel on selected sailings (from Dover at 09:45, 13:40 and 16:40), check-in closes 90 minutes before departure, a shuttle bus carries you to the ship, and pets cannot travel on foot. All luggage is carried on board yourself.
How do pets travel?+
In your vehicle - pets stay in the car for the 90-minute crossing, with the GB-to-France paperwork (microchip, rabies vaccination, animal health certificate) checked at the port. Travelling on foot with a pet is not possible with P&O.
How early do I need to be at Dover?+
Check-in deadlines sit in your booking confirmation - 90 minutes for foot passengers, and the EU Entry/Exit System adds its biometric registration at Dover before departure, so allow margin on your first crossing under the new system and on summer Saturdays.
Taking the short sea?
Compare the Dover crossings and check the departures for your date.