Ferries from Portsmouth to France are run by Brittany Ferries to three French ports: Caen (Ouistreham), up to 3 times a day in about 6 hours; Cherbourg, overnight up to twice a week; and St Malo in Brittany, overnight most nights. Portsmouth to Le Havre closed in September 2026. Here’s how the routes compare, their sailing times, fares and ships, and how to get to Portsmouth’s ferry port.
Where do ferries from Portsmouth go in France?
| Route | Crossing | Sailings | Car fare from | Ships |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portsmouth to Caen | About 6h by day; 7 to 8h overnight | Up to 3 a day, all year | £63, car and 2 people | Mont St Michel, Guillaume de Normandie |
| Portsmouth to Cherbourg | 7h45 to 8h30 overnight | Up to 2 a week each way, all year | £83, car and 2 people | Galicia, Santoña |
| Portsmouth to St Malo | About 11h30 overnight | Most nights; 4 a week in winter | £112, car and 2 people | Saint-Malo |
| Portsmouth to Le Havre | Closed in September 2026 | |||
Fares are the lowest one-way prices we found on Brittany Ferries’ website in October 2026; most dates cost more. Timetables use local times, and France is an hour ahead. Sailing times can change with the tides, so check live times for your date.
Check Portsmouth to France times and prices
Caen, Cherbourg or St Malo?
- Caen for Normandy, the D-Day beaches, Paris and the Loire, and whenever you want a daytime crossing or the most choice of sailings. Bayeux is about 40 minutes from Ouistreham, and Paris about 2 hours 55 minutes.
- Cherbourg for the Cotentin peninsula and Utah Beach. It only sails up to twice a week, overnight, so it suits a week away more than a short break.
- St Malo for Brittany, Mont-Saint-Michel and the west coast. It’s the longest crossing, overnight, but lands you 55 minutes from Rennes and 35 miles from Mont-Saint-Michel.
| Going to | From Caen | From Cherbourg | From St Malo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bayeux | 40 min | 1h 15 | 2h 05 |
| Paris | 2h 55 | 4h 15 | 4h 35 |
| Mont-Saint-Michel | 2h 10 | 2h 40 | 1h 15 |
| Rennes | 2h 15 | 2h 45 | 55 min |
| Quimper | 4h 40 | 5h 10 | 2h 55 |
| Nantes | 3h 30 | 4h 00 | 2h 15 |
| Tours (Loire) | 3h 00 | 4h 15 | 3h 35 |
| La Rochelle | 5h 05 | 5h 50 | 4h 00 |
| Bordeaux | 6h 25 | 7h 35 | 5h 45 |
The quickest port for each destination is in bold. For more destinations, see our best ferry guides.
Portsmouth to Caen
The route with the most sailings from Portsmouth, and the only one with daytime crossings to France all year. Ferries arrive at Ouistreham, on the coast; Caen station is about 18 km away.
| Sailing | Leaves Portsmouth | Arrives Ouistreham |
|---|---|---|
| Morning | 08:00, or 07:45 one day a week | 15:00, or 14:45 |
| Afternoon | 15:00 | 22:00 |
| Overnight | 23:00 | 06:45, or 07:30 one night a week |
- One day a week there’s no morning sailing: usually Wednesday, or Friday from November 2026 to mid-March 2027.
- No sailings on Christmas Day or New Year’s Day.
- The ships are the Mont St Michel and the hybrid Guillaume de Normandie, which has pet-friendly cabins and kennels; the Mont St Michel has 419 reserved lounge seats but no pet cabins.
Full timetable, ships and port guide: Portsmouth to Caen ferry.
Portsmouth to Cherbourg
- For most of the year it sails overnight on Wednesdays at 23:15 and Thursdays at 22:30, both arriving in Cherbourg at 08:00 French time.
- Coming back, sailings leave Cherbourg at 12:00 on Thursdays and Fridays, taking 5 to 6 hours.
- In winter there’s a Sunday 22:30 sailing and a Tuesday 08:45 daytime sailing instead.
- The ships are mostly the Galicia and Santoña, with pet-friendly cabins and kennels; pets can’t stay in your vehicle on the Galicia.
Full details: Portsmouth to Cherbourg ferry. Poole to Cherbourg ends in October 2026, so Portsmouth is now the only English port with ferries to Cherbourg.
Portsmouth to St Malo
- Almost every sailing leaves Portsmouth at 20:15 and arrives in St Malo at about 08:45 French time.
- For most of the year it sails every night except Tuesday, and every night from late June to the end of August 2027. From November 2026 to mid-March 2027 it sails on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.
- Most return sailings are by day, leaving St Malo at 10:45 and arriving in Portsmouth at 18:20.
- The ship is Brittany Ferries’ Saint-Malo, its first hybrid-LNG ferry, with 387 cabins, including 28 pet-friendly and the Admiral suite.
- St Malo’s walled town is about 10 minutes’ walk from the ferry terminal.
Full details: Portsmouth to St Malo ferry.
Portsmouth to Le Havre
There’s no longer a ferry from Portsmouth to Le Havre. Brittany Ferries closed the route in September 2026; the last sailing was planned for 28 September, but the final crossings were cancelled early when the Commodore Clipper developed a technical fault. DFDS had already stopped sailing it, and now points its former Portsmouth passengers to Newhaven to Dieppe.
For Le Havre and the Seine valley, sail Portsmouth to Caen: Le Havre is about 1 hour 20 minutes from Ouistreham across the Pont de Normandie toll bridge. See our Le Havre page.
Driving from your town
Choose where you’re starting and where you’re going, and compare the Portsmouth crossings with every other route to France, LeShuttle included.
| Crossing to France | Drive to the UK port | Crossing | Drive in France | Total driving | Journey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Folkestone to Calais by LeShuttleLeShuttle (Eurotunnel) car train | 1h 40, 68 mi | 35 minutes | 3h 20, 182 mi | 5h 00 | 5h 35 quickest |
| Dover to CalaisP&O Ferries, DFDS, Irish Ferries | 1h 50, 78 mi | 1h30 to 1h40 | 3h 10, 180 mi | 5h 00 | 6h 30 |
| Dover to DunkirkDFDS | 1h 50, 78 mi | 2h | 3h 25, 181 mi | 5h 15 | 7h 15 |
| Newhaven to DieppeDFDS | 1h 45, 65 mi | About 4h | 2h 30, 123 mi | 4h 15 | 8h 15 |
| Portsmouth to CaenBrittany Ferries | 1h 45, 74 mi | Around 6h by day; 7–8h overnight | 2h 55, 153 mi | 4h 40 | 10h 40 |
| Portsmouth to CherbourgBrittany Ferries | 1h 45, 74 mi | Around 7h45–8h30 overnight; 5–6h by day back | 4h 15, 223 mi | 6h 00 | 13h 45 |
| Plymouth to RoscoffBrittany Ferries | 4h 25, 217 mi | Around 5h15 by day; 9–10h overnight | 6h 30, 349 mi | 10h 55 | 16h 10 |
| Portsmouth to St MaloBrittany Ferries | 1h 45, 74 mi | Around 11h30 overnight; about 9h by day back | 4h 35, 250 mi | 6h 20 | 17h 50 |
Portsmouth or Dover?
From London, Portsmouth and Dover are about the same drive (1 hour 45 minutes and 1 hour 50 minutes). From the west and the Midlands, Portsmouth is much closer:
| From | To Portsmouth | To Dover |
|---|---|---|
| London | 1h 45, 74 miles | 1h 50, 78 miles |
| Southampton | 30 min, 19 miles | 2h 50, 152 miles |
| Oxford | 1h 40, 82 miles | 2h 50, 147 miles |
| Bristol | 2h 15, 93 miles | 3h 40, 196 miles |
| Birmingham | 3h 00, 158 miles | 3h 40, 199 miles |
| Exeter | 2h 45, 128 miles | 4h 45, 244 miles |
Dover has the shortest and cheapest crossings, with P&O offers from £48 for a car and up to 9 people, but you land in Calais, a long drive from Normandy, Brittany and western France. Sailing from Portsmouth costs more and takes longer at sea, but can save hundreds of miles in France. See our cheapest ferry guide and overnight ferries guide.
Portsmouth ferry port
- Address: Portsmouth International Port, Wharf Road, Portsmouth PO2 8RU (Brittany Ferries).
- Check-in: at least 45 minutes before departure with a vehicle or on foot, 90 minutes with a pet.
- Parking: the port car park costs £5.50 for up to 1 hour, £7.50 for up to 3 hours, £9.50 for up to 5 hours and £15.00 for up to 24 hours.
- By train: trains from London Waterloo take about 85 minutes; Portsmouth & Southsea and Portsmouth Harbour stations are both close, and a taxi costs around £5.
- By coach: National Express runs to the terminal from London Victoria and Heathrow.
Directions, parking and facilities: Portsmouth ferry port guide.
On foot, with pets, and other routes from Portsmouth
- Foot passengers can sail on all three routes, from £34 one way. Arriving back in Portsmouth, foot passengers currently leave through the car deck while renovation work goes on, which can take 30 minutes. See our foot passenger guide.
- Pets: pet-friendly cabins on the Saint-Malo, Guillaume de Normandie, Galicia and Santoña, and kennels on some ships. See our guide to taking a dog to France.
- Border checks: on the Portsmouth routes the French border and EES checks happen when you arrive in France. See our travel rules.
- Other routes: from Portsmouth, Brittany Ferries also sails to Spain (Santander and Bilbao) and Guernsey, and DFDS sails to Jersey.
Book your ferry from Portsmouth to France
Ferry from Portsmouth to France FAQs
Where do ferries from Portsmouth go to in France?
Brittany Ferries sails from Portsmouth to three French ports: Caen (Ouistreham) in Normandy, Cherbourg on the Cotentin peninsula in Normandy, and St Malo in Brittany. Portsmouth to Le Havre closed in September 2026.
How long is the ferry from Portsmouth to France?
Portsmouth to Caen takes about 6 hours by day and 7 to 8 hours overnight. Portsmouth to Cherbourg is around 7 hours 45 minutes to 8 hours 30 minutes overnight. Portsmouth to St Malo is about 11 hours 30 minutes overnight.
Are ferries running from Portsmouth to France?
Yes. Brittany Ferries runs Portsmouth to Caen up to 3 times a day, Portsmouth to Cherbourg up to twice a week, and Portsmouth to St Malo most nights, all year. Only Portsmouth to Le Havre has stopped, in September 2026.
Can you get a ferry from Portsmouth to France as a foot passenger?
Yes, on all three routes, from £34 one way in October 2026. Trains from London Waterloo to Portsmouth take about 85 minutes.
What is the quickest ferry from Portsmouth to France?
Portsmouth to Caen: about 6 hours on the morning or afternoon sailing.
Is there still a ferry from Portsmouth to Le Havre?
No. Brittany Ferries closed Portsmouth to Le Havre in September 2026, and DFDS stopped sailing it before that. The closest alternative is Portsmouth to Caen, about 1 hour 20 minutes' drive from Le Havre.
What time does the Portsmouth to Caen ferry leave?
In the 2026 to 2027 timetable, at 08:00 (or 07:45 one day a week), 15:00 and 23:00 UK time. One day a week there's no morning sailing.
How much is the ferry from Portsmouth to France?
The lowest one-way car fares we found in October 2026 were £63 to Caen, £83 to Cherbourg and £112 to St Malo, each for a car and 2 people. Foot fares started at £34.
How early should I get to Portsmouth for the ferry?
Brittany Ferries asks you to check in at least 45 minutes before departure with a vehicle or on foot, and 90 minutes with a pet.