There is a direct ferry from Portsmouth to Jersey. DFDS has run it since March 2025, when it took over the sea link for Jersey, and it sails most days of the week. The crossing takes between about eight and ten hours on a conventional car ferry, depending on the tide. If you have read elsewhere that you need to go via Guernsey, that advice is out of date.
Research-based guideLast checked November 2026
Researched, not sailed. We have not been on this crossing ourselves. Our own Portsmouth experience is on the Brittany Ferries France routes, Cherbourg and Saint-Malo. Everything below comes from current operator information.
What changed, and why the old advice is still everywhere
For years the Channel Islands were served from Portsmouth by Condor, and Condor ran to Guernsey. Jersey passengers leaving from Portsmouth genuinely did have to island hop. Then Jersey put its sea link out to tender and awarded it to DFDS, who began operating on 28 March 2025 with routes from Jersey to Portsmouth, Poole and Saint-Malo.
Plenty of pages online still describe the old arrangement, including, until recently, this one. If a site tells you there is no direct Portsmouth to Jersey ferry, check the date on it.
We have seen it on the board ourselves. Waiting in the terminal on 19 August 2025 we photographed the departures screen, and it lists two DFDS Jersey sailings that day, at 10:00 and 17:45, alongside the Brittany Ferries France departures. The photo is on our timetable page.
Sailings and frequency
DFDS runs the round trip roughly once a day, Monday to Saturday, so about six sailings a week in each direction, and usually nothing on a Sunday. Exact times shift with the season, so check the dates you actually want at DFDS rather than trusting a timetable copied onto a third party site.
DFDS only publishes the current week, and the times move with the tide: in mid-October the sailing left Portsmouth at 09:00 and arrived in St Helier at 19:00, in early November it was 07:45 arriving at 16:00. So eight to ten hours. That is a long time for a Channel Islands hop and it is the main thing to weigh up, because flying from the south coast takes under an hour. The ferry wins if you want your own car on the island, if you are carrying more than you can check in, or if you would simply rather not fly.
Winter 2026/27 sailing times
| Direction | Days | Departs | Arrives |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portsmouth to Jersey | Monday to Saturday | Varies with the tide: 07:45 in early November, 09:00 in mid-October | 8 to 10 hours later: 16:00 and 19:00 |
The regular pattern from 1 November 2026 to 21 March 2027, in local time. A few dates differ, so check yours when you book. Every route on one page: Portsmouth ferry times, winter 2026/27.
The ship
Stena Vinga works the Portsmouth to Jersey run. She is a conventional ro-pax ferry rather than a high speed catamaran, carrying up to around 400 passengers alongside freight, which makes her a small ship next to the Brittany Ferries vessels covered elsewhere on this site.
There are seating lounges, a shop, food and drink, and lounge upgrades, but nothing here on what the seats are actually like, because we have not sat in them. See our ships from Portsmouth page for the vessels we can describe first hand.
She is changing name. DFDS has been chartering her from Stena Line, completes the purchase in November 2026, and renames her Corbière Seaways after a public vote in Jersey. Same ship, same route. If you see both names while booking, that is why. More on our ships page.
Leaving Portsmouth
This sails from Portsmouth International Port, the same terminal as the France and Spain routes. It is not Portsmouth Harbour by Gunwharf, and it is not the Southsea hoverport. Our Portsmouth ferry port guide covers getting there, parking and what the wait is actually like.
Check in windows and passport requirements are set by the operator and they are not the same as the Brittany Ferries ones, so follow what DFDS put on your booking confirmation rather than anything you read here.
Arriving in Jersey
You arrive at St Helier, the island’s main town rather than an out of town terminal, so you are roughly where you want to be as soon as you drive off. Jersey is about nine miles across, so a car is a convenience rather than a necessity, and plenty of people cross as foot passengers and use the buses.
Where you actually land. You arrive at the Elizabeth Terminal at St Helier, on the edge of the island’s main town rather than out in the countryside. The centre is close enough to reach easily, and the bus station is the hub for the island network.
Jersey is about nine miles across, so nothing is far. A car makes a week easier, particularly with luggage or children, but foot passengers manage on buses without much trouble. If you are heading straight for a hotel in St Helier, you barely need either.
Jersey to Portsmouth: the way back
The same service runs in the other direction: roughly once a day from Monday to Saturday, from the Elizabeth Terminal in St Helier to Portsmouth International Port. Jersey keeps UK time, so unlike the France routes there is no clock change to work out on the way.
We cannot give you a confirmed winter timetable for this direction. DFDS only publishes the current week and does not show the return times far enough ahead for us to copy them, which is why the winter table above lists the Portsmouth departure only. Several booking sites list the St Helier departure in the evening, around 20:00 or a little later, arriving in Portsmouth early the next morning. We could not confirm that on DFDS’s own timetable, so treat it as the likely pattern rather than a fact. If it holds, the way out is a daytime crossing and the way back is an overnight one.
DFDS says the crossing takes about nine hours on average, and that the real time varies with the tide in Jersey and the berth slot, with weather making it shorter or longer. The times it lists out of Portsmouth have worked out at between eight and a quarter and ten hours, so allow for that gap when you arrange a lift, and do not book a tight onward connection for the morning you land. You arrive at Portsmouth International Port, not Portsmouth Harbour or Southsea, where the Isle of Wight boats go. Our Portsmouth port guide covers getting away from the terminal.
Overnight and cabins
At eight to ten hours this is a substantial crossing and DFDS sells cabin and lounge upgrades. Whether one is worth paying for depends on whether your particular sailing runs through the night or across the day, which varies, so look at your specific departure before deciding. On the timetable we can see, the sailing out of Portsmouth runs by day, which makes the way back the one to think about: see Jersey to Portsmouth above.
Cost and booking
We are not quoting a headline fare, because Channel Islands prices move a lot with season and vehicle and any number printed here would be wrong within weeks. Book direct with DFDS.
The obvious alternative: Guernsey
Portsmouth now has two direct Channel Islands routes run by two different companies: DFDS to Jersey, and Brittany Ferries to Guernsey. They are booked separately, and they are not really alternatives to each other the way two routes into France are, because they land you on different islands. Pick the island first, then the route.
If you want both islands in one trip there are inter island sailings between Jersey and Guernsey. The Channel Islands from Portsmouth guide explains how the pieces fit together, or compare everything leaving Portsmouth on the route overview.
Common questions
Is there a direct ferry from Portsmouth to Jersey?
Yes. DFDS has run a direct Portsmouth to Jersey service since 28 March 2025. Older advice telling you to sail to Guernsey and change is out of date, as our Channel Islands guide explains.
How long is the Portsmouth to Jersey ferry?
Between about eight and ten hours, depending on the tide. In early November DFDS listed 07:45 from Portsmouth, arriving 16:00; in mid-October it was 09:00 to 19:00. Flying from the south coast takes under an hour, so the ferry is the choice when you want your own car on the island or would rather not fly.
Is there a ferry from Jersey to Portsmouth?
Yes. DFDS sails the same direct service in the other direction, from the Elizabeth Terminal in St Helier to Portsmouth International Port, roughly once a day from Monday to Saturday. We go through it in Jersey to Portsmouth: the way back.
How long is the ferry from Jersey to Portsmouth?
DFDS says about nine hours on average, varying with the tide in Jersey and the berth slot. Booking sites list an evening departure from St Helier arriving early the next morning, which we could not confirm on DFDS’s own timetable, so check your sailing before you plan the other end.
Is there a fast ferry from Portsmouth to Jersey?
No. The Portsmouth sailing is a conventional car ferry and takes eight to ten hours. DFDS’s faster crossings to Jersey leave from Poole, not Portsmouth, so if speed matters more than the drive to the port, compare the two.
Can I take my car from Portsmouth to Jersey?
Yes. Stena Vinga is a ro-pax ship, so cars, vans and motorhomes go on the vehicle deck, alongside freight. You cannot go back to the car during the crossing, so take what you need for the day with you.
How much is the Portsmouth to Jersey ferry?
It depends heavily on the date, the vehicle and whether you add a lounge or cabin, which is why we do not print a headline fare that would be wrong within weeks. Summer weekends and school holidays cost the most; a car and two people midweek out of season the least. The quickest way to a real number is to put your own dates into the booking page.
How often does it sail?
Roughly once a day Monday to Saturday, so about six sailings a week in each direction. There is usually no Sunday departure. Times move with the season, so check with DFDS for your dates.
Which ship sails Portsmouth to Jersey?
Stena Vinga, a conventional ro-pax ferry carrying up to around 400 passengers. DFDS completes its purchase of her in November 2026 and renames her Corbière Seaways, so you may see either name. She is covered on our ships page.
Which Portsmouth terminal does it leave from?
Portsmouth International Port, the same terminal as the Brittany Ferries France and Spain routes. It is not Portsmouth Harbour by Gunwharf, and not the Southsea hoverport: see the port guide for check-in and parking.
Route, ship and frequency verified against DFDS in September 2026, the crossing time and the way back checked again on 26 October 2026, and the sailing times on 2 November 2026. Ferry networks change, and this page is proof of it. If something here has gone out of date, tell us on the contact page.
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