A lot of ferry searches are for crossings that don’t actually exist, the wrong UK port, the wrong destination, or an operator that stopped running years ago. Nobody seems to answer these directly, so here’s the honest version, with what to book instead.
One correction, September 2026. This page used to list Portsmouth to Jersey as a route that did not exist. It does now, and has since March 2025. We have left the entry up rather than quietly deleting it, because a page about routes that don’t exist ought to be honest about the one it got wrong.
The short answers
| People search for | Direct ferry? | What to take instead |
|---|---|---|
| Portsmouth to Jersey | Yes, since 2025 | DFDS, direct. See the route |
| Portsmouth to San Sebastián | No, never existed | Bilbao, then an hour by road |
| Portsmouth to Barcelona | No, never existed | Nothing close. Fly, or a very long drive |
| Southampton to Spain | No, never existed | Santander or Bilbao from Portsmouth |
| Plymouth to Bilbao | No, Plymouth serves Santander | Portsmouth to Bilbao |
| London to France | No, London is not a sea port | Portsmouth, about two hours away |
| P&O to Spain | Not since 2010 | Brittany Ferries from Portsmouth |
| Portsmouth to Le Havre | Ended September 2026 | Caen for Paris, Cherbourg for a shorter crossing |
“Is there a direct Portsmouth to Jersey ferry?”
Yes, and this is the one that changed. For years there wasn’t: Condor sailed Portsmouth to Guernsey, and Jersey meant an island hop. Jersey then awarded its sea link to DFDS, who started direct Portsmouth sailings on 28 March 2025. It takes around nine hours, roughly six times a week, on Stena Vinga. See Portsmouth to Jersey.
If you find advice telling you to go via Guernsey, it predates the change. Plenty of it is still online.
“Is there a ferry from Southampton to Spain?”
No. Southampton doesn’t have a direct ferry to Spain. The nearest option is Portsmouth to Santander or Portsmouth to Bilbao, both under an hour’s drive from Southampton along the M27.
“Is there a Plymouth to Bilbao ferry?”
No. Plymouth only sails to Santander, not Bilbao. If Bilbao is specifically where you’re headed, Portsmouth to Bilbao is the direct option, further to drive to than Plymouth if you’re in the south west, but it’s the only direct route.
“Ferry from London to France or Spain?”
London isn’t a sea port, there’s no direct ferry from London itself. Portsmouth is a realistic drive from London (around two hours) and covers France and Spain both, see our full route comparison.
“Ferry to San Sebastián / Barcelona / Gibraltar from the UK?”
None of these are direct ferry destinations from the UK. The closest real option for San Sebastián is Portsmouth to Bilbao (about an hour’s drive from Bilbao) or Portsmouth to Santander. Barcelona and Gibraltar aren’t within reasonable driving distance of either Spanish port Brittany Ferries actually serves, for those you’re looking at flying or a much longer drive through France and Spain.
“Does P&O Ferries sail to Spain?”
Not any more. P&O ran a Portsmouth to Bilbao route until 2010, but stopped it. Brittany Ferries is the only operator running direct UK to Spain crossings now, from Portsmouth and Plymouth.
How long does a ferry to Spain actually take?
There’s no short crossing to Spain from the UK, every direct route is at least a full day at sea. From Portsmouth, count on around 30 hours to Santander or around 36 hours to Bilbao. If you were hoping for something Dover-Calais length, it doesn’t exist for Spain.
Routes that used to exist
Different category, and worth keeping separate. These are not misconceptions: people remember these crossings because they were real. They just are not running now.
P&O Portsmouth to Bilbao
Ran until 2010, then stopped. If you sailed Portsmouth to Bilbao years ago and cannot find it now, this is why. Brittany Ferries runs Portsmouth to Bilbao today, so the route exists, just not the operator you remember.
Portsmouth to Le Havre
Closing in October 2026. This one is in the odd position of being current as we write and historical by the time many people read it. Brittany Ferries closed it in September 2026, earlier than planned, and no direct replacement has been announced. See the Le Havre page for what to book instead, and our 2026 changes rundown.
Poole to Cherbourg
Not a Portsmouth route, but it matters here: it closes in November 2026 and its traffic moves to Portsmouth to Cherbourg, which goes daily as a result. If you used to sail from Poole, Portsmouth is now the crossing.
Four states, and they get muddled constantly. A route can never have existed, have existed and stopped, be running now, or be brand new. Most bad ferry advice online comes from treating one of those as another. We try to say which is which.
Checked against current Brittany Ferries and DFDS routes, September 2026. Ferry networks do change, if you know of a route we’ve got wrong here, see our contact page.