Portsmouth runs ferries to three different kinds of destination: Normandy and Brittany with Brittany Ferries, northern Spain with Brittany Ferries, and the Channel Islands with Condor Ferries. Pick a tab below to compare within each.
Click a route or port for details
Three routes into Normandy and Brittany, all Brittany Ferries. Caen and Cherbourg are the shorter Normandy crossings, Saint-Malo runs further into Brittany. See the full Brittany Ferries overview or the Ferry to France guide.
Two direct routes across the Bay of Biscay, both Brittany Ferries, both closer to a mini-cruise than a quick crossing. See the Ferry to Spain guide for more on skipping the drive through France.
Condor Ferries runs the Channel Islands routes, now part of the Brittany Ferries group, though it still operates and books separately. It’s a shorter hop with a different rhythm to the France and Spain crossings. See the Condor Ferries overview or the Channel Islands guide.
Full comparison table (Brittany Ferries routes)
| Destination | Crossing time | Type | Good for | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caen (Ouistreham) | approx. 6 hours | Daytime | Quickest to Normandy | View route → |
| Cherbourg | approx. 3-8 hours | Fast or overnight | Easiest last-minute | View route → |
| Saint-Malo | approx. 7.5-11 hours | Day or overnight | Walled pirate city | View route → |
| Santander | approx. 30+ hours (2 nights) | Multiple nights | Skip driving through France | View route → |
| Bilbao | approx. 36 hours (2 nights) | Longest crossing | Most time at sea | View route → |
Not sure which one? If Caen is fully booked, which happens often on the popular night sailings, Cherbourg is the easiest fallback and only adds about an hour of driving on the French side. We know because that’s exactly what happened to us.
Also worth knowing
Every route here departs from the same terminal, see our Portsmouth port guide for check-in, parking and getting there. For what’s actually on board, see our ships page. And if you want the full story behind why this site exists, including the crossing that went wrong, read about us.