Tickets and fares
Channel ferry prices
See what moves a Channel fare and check the current from-price for your route and date
- The rhythm sets the fare - frequency is cheap, a night in a cabin is a hotel stage
- Foot passenger tickets are the cheapest way across, where routes carry them
- Binding total always in the booking step
- No copied price tables that age silently
- Prices shown live at the booking step
Live fares
Check current fares by route
Current from-prices for the main crossings, from the Dover short sea to the overnight sailings into Brittany.
Prices for a car incl. driver, one way
© OpenStreetMap contributors
Table of Contents
What moves a Channel fare
Four things set the price of a crossing: the route, the date, the vehicle and - on the overnight routes - the cabin. The Dover short sea works like a bus: enormous capacity, prices that move with demand hour by hour, and the lowest car fares of the Channel outside the holiday peaks. The western routes work like a hotel with an engine: fewer departures, a cabin for the night crossings, and fares that reward booking early because the cheap categories sell through first.
Route against route
As a rule of thumb, the further west you sail, the more the ticket costs and the less the journey costs: a St Malo or Roscoff arrival saves hundreds of road kilometres, fuel, French motorway tolls and often a hotel night against driving down from Calais. Newhaven - Dieppe sits in the middle - a four-hour crossing usually priced below the Dover peak fares, with some of the cheapest foot passenger tickets to France at all. The live from-prices above show the current picture per route; the binding total for your date, vehicle and cabin always appears in the booking step.
Cabins, foot passengers and the fine print
On the overnight sailings to Caen, St Malo, Cherbourg and Roscoff, the cabin is booked with the ticket and priced by category - inside twins cost least, outside and premium rooms more. Foot passengers pay the smallest fares on the Channel, but not every route carries them: Newhaven - Dieppe and Plymouth - Roscoff do on regular sailings, while on Dover - Calais only selected P&O departures take foot passengers. Change and cancellation terms follow the ticket type you choose - flexible fares cost more upfront and less when plans move. Whatever you compare, compare the arrival too: the cheapest crossing is rarely the cheapest holiday stage once the French road miles are counted.
FAQ prices
Frequently asked questions
Questions about Channel ferry fares.
Which currency are the prices in?+
The from-prices on this site render live in your currency; the operators sell in pounds and euros depending on the direction of the booking. The binding total, in the payment currency of the booking step, appears before you pay.
Why do the routes cost such different amounts?+
Because you are buying different things. On Dover - Calais you pay for a 90-minute shuttle with enormous frequency; on Portsmouth - St Malo you pay for eight hours of ship, a cabin and a night's accommodation. Compare the whole travel stage - crossing plus fuel, tolls and hotel nights - rather than the ticket line alone.
How do vehicle sizes change the price?+
Fares are per crossing and rise with vehicle length and height - a motorhome pays more than a car, a car with a roof box more than one without. State the real dimensions when you book: the loading plan depends on them, and mis-declared vehicles can be re-priced at check-in.
When is it cheapest to cross?+
School holidays and summer weekends carry the highest fares, and on the western overnight routes the cabin categories sell through from the cheapest upwards - so early booking buys more on the west than on the Dover short sea, where capacity is huge. Midweek and shoulder-season crossings price lowest.
What if no price is shown for my route?+
Then treat it as "not bookable right now" rather than free or sold out: check a neighbouring date in the timetable, or the nearest alternative route. A missing price is left blank on this site, because a zero would be wrong.
Ready to price your crossing?
Check the live fare for your route and date and continue to the booking step.