Yes, there are five overnight ferries to France: Brittany Ferries from Portsmouth to St Malo, Caen and Cherbourg and from Plymouth to Roscoff, and DFDS from Newhaven to Dieppe. But they’re very different nights. St Malo gives you about 11½ hours on board and arrives after breakfast; Dieppe arrives at about 4am. Here’s when each one leaves and arrives, how much sleep you’ll actually get, the cabins on every ship, and which one to choose.
Every overnight ferry to France
| Route | Leaves | Arrives | How often | Ships |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portsmouth to St Malo | 20:15 | Usually 08:45 | Most nights; four nights a week from November 2026 to mid-March 2027 | Saint-Malo |
| Portsmouth to Caen | 23:00 | 06:45, or 07:30 one night a week | Nightly, with fewer sailings over Christmas and New Year | Mont St Michel, Guillaume de Normandie |
| Portsmouth to Cherbourg | 23:15 (Wednesday), 22:30 (Thursday) | 08:00 | Up to 2 a week, most of the year | Galicia, Santoña |
| Plymouth to Roscoff | 22:00 (Armorique); 20:30 Thursday (Pont-Aven) | 08:00 | Some nights, in season | Armorique, Pont-Aven |
| Newhaven to Dieppe | 23:00 | Usually 04:00, sometimes 05:00 | Most days | Seven Sisters, Côte d’Albâtre |
France is an hour ahead of the UK, and timetables use local times. Sailing times change through the year and with the tides, so check live times for your date.
Check overnight ferry times and prices
How much sleep will you get?
This is the biggest difference between the overnight ferries, and the timetables don’t make it obvious, because they mix UK and French time. Here’s the actual time on board for each sailing above:
| Route | Time on board | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Portsmouth to St Malo | About 11 hours 30 minutes | The longest night: board at 20:15, arrive at 08:45 French time |
| Plymouth to Roscoff | 9 hours (Armorique) or 10 hours 30 minutes (Pont-Aven, Thursday) | A full night’s sleep |
| Portsmouth to Cherbourg | 7 hours 45 minutes (Wednesday) or 8 hours 30 minutes (Thursday) | A full night’s sleep |
| Portsmouth to Caen | About 6 hours 45 minutes, or 7 hours 30 minutes one night a week | A good night if you go straight to your cabin, with an early start |
| Newhaven to Dieppe | About 4 hours, sometimes 5 | A short night: you arrive around 4am French time |
Our experience
We’ve taken three of these overnight crossings ourselves: Newhaven to Dieppe, Portsmouth to Caen and Plymouth to Roscoff. Plymouth to Roscoff and Portsmouth to Caen both gave us a proper night’s sleep. Newhaven to Dieppe is a different thing: it gets you into France really early, and you don’t get anything like a full night. It’s still useful if you want to be on the road in France at first light, but if sleep is the point of sailing overnight, choose Caen, Roscoff, Cherbourg or St Malo.
Why sail overnight?
Convenience: travel while you sleep
You leave in the evening, after work or school, and wake up in France. The hours you’d spend driving to Dover and then across northern France are spent asleep instead, so you lose no holiday time.
Comfort: a cabin instead of a car seat
Every cabin on the Saint-Malo, Guillaume de Normandie, Mont St Michel, Pont-Aven and Armorique is en-suite, so you can shower before you drive off. Children can go to bed at their usual time, and with a pet-friendly cabin your dog sleeps with you instead of on the car deck.
Cost: save a hotel night, fuel and tolls
Your cabin replaces a night in a hotel, and landing further west means far fewer miles in France, with less fuel and fewer tolls. For example:
| Going to | From the overnight port | From Calais | Driving saved |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rennes | St Malo: 55 minutes, 43 miles | 5 hours 35 minutes, 329 miles | About 4 hours 40 minutes, 286 miles |
| Quimper | Roscoff: 1 hour 35 minutes, 62 miles | 8 hours, 443 miles | About 6 hours 25 minutes, 381 miles |
| Bayeux | Caen: 40 minutes, 27 miles | 4 hours, 233 miles | About 3 hours 20 minutes, 206 miles |
| Bergerac (Dordogne) | St Malo: 6 hours 45 minutes, 376 miles | 9 hours 20 minutes, 554 miles | About 2 hours 35 minutes, 178 miles |
Calais to Paris alone cost €25.20 in motorway tolls for a car in 2026, while the A84 from Caen towards Rennes is toll-free. See our toll guide.
Road trips: arrive early and start fresh
Arriving between 06:45 and 08:45 (or 04:00 at Dieppe) gives you the whole day to drive, and you start it rested. From St Malo or Caen you can reach the Loire by lunchtime, and from St Malo the Dordogne the same day.
See how much driving each crossing saves for your destination in our best ferry guides.
See how much driving each crossing saves for your destination in our best ferry guides.
Which overnight ferry is best?
| Route | Best for | Highlights | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portsmouth to St Malo | Brittany, the Loire, the south-west | The most sleep; the Saint-Malo is Brittany Ferries’ first hybrid-LNG ferry, with 28 pet-friendly cabins and the Admiral suite | Fewer nights in winter |
| Portsmouth to Caen | Normandy, Paris, the Loire | Sails every night; up to 3 sailings a day in total | Early arrival; no pet-friendly cabins on the Mont St Michel |
| Portsmouth to Cherbourg | The Cotentin, Utah Beach | A full night; pet cabins and kennels | Only up to 2 a week; pets can’t stay in your vehicle on the Galicia |
| Plymouth to Roscoff | Finistère, western Brittany, the South West of England | A full night; 650 cabins on the Pont-Aven | Seasonal; no sailings in winter |
| Newhaven to Dieppe | Paris, Rouen, eastern Normandy, a budget trip | Reclining seat included; pet-friendly cabins and kennels | Short night: arrives around 4am |
- For the best night’s sleep: Portsmouth to St Malo, with about 11½ hours on board, or Plymouth to Roscoff if you’re in the South West.
- For the most choice of nights: Portsmouth to Caen, every night at 23:00. Bayeux is about 40 minutes from Ouistreham and Paris about 2 hours 55 minutes.
- For Brittany: St Malo for the east and south of Brittany, Roscoff for Finistère.
- For the Cotentin and the D-Day beaches: Portsmouth to Cherbourg, on Wednesday and Thursday nights, or Caen.
- For dog owners: any ship with pet-friendly cabins, so your dog sleeps with you. On Portsmouth to Caen, choose a Guillaume de Normandie sailing: the Mont St Michel has no pet-friendly cabins.
- On a budget: Newhaven to Dieppe includes a reclining seat for everyone, or book a reserved seat instead of a cabin on the Mont St Michel or Armorique.
- To get to Paris or the east early: Newhaven to Dieppe, accepting a short night.
Lowest fares on the overnight routes
| Route | Car fare from | Foot fare from |
|---|---|---|
| Portsmouth to Caen | £63, car and 2 people | £34 |
| Newhaven to Dieppe | £73, car and 4 people | £31 |
| Portsmouth to Cherbourg | £83, car and 2 people | £34 |
| Portsmouth to St Malo | £112, car and 2 people | £34 |
| Plymouth to Roscoff | £137, car and 2 people | £44 |
These are the lowest prices on each route, not necessarily on the overnight sailing, and cabins cost extra. See our cheapest ferry guide.
Compare overnight ferry prices
Cabins and seats on each ship
| Ship | Cabins | Top cabin | Without a cabin | Pet-friendly cabins |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Malo (St Malo) | 387, all en-suite | 2-berth Admiral suite, the largest on any Brittany Ferries ship | Cabins only, no reserved seats | Yes, 28 |
| Guillaume de Normandie (Caen) | 220, all en-suite | 2-berth Commodore | Couchette Plus lounges | Yes, 4-berth inside and outside |
| Mont St Michel (Caen) | 224, all en-suite | 4-berth Commodore, with breakfast or hot drinks served in your cabin | 419 reserved lounge seats | No (pets stay in your vehicle) |
| Pont-Aven (Roscoff) | 650, all en-suite and air-conditioned | 4-berth Commodore with a balcony | Check when booking | Yes, 4-berth inside and outside |
| Armorique (Roscoff) | 247, all en-suite and air-conditioned | 4-berth Club Plus, with continental breakfast | 336 reserved lounge seats | Yes, 4-berth and 2-berth |
| Seven Sisters and Côte d’Albâtre (Dieppe) | Yes, for an extra charge | Check when booking | A reclining lounge seat for every passenger, included | Yes, 4-berth sea-view |
The Galicia and Santoña, on Portsmouth to Cherbourg, have cabins and pet-friendly cabins; the Santoña has 22 pet-friendly cabins. Brittany Ferries’ cabin choice also includes allergy-friendly and wheelchair-accessible cabins on some ships, and cots in cabins for babies up to 24 months on the Mont St Michel and Armorique, pre-booked. See our ship comparison for more.
What happens on the night
- Check in at least 45 minutes before departure with Brittany Ferries (90 minutes with a pet), or 45 minutes before with DFDS at Newhaven.
- Park on the car deck and take your overnight bag with you. With a pet in a cabin or kennel, crew take you and your muzzled dog straight there after you park.
- Find your cabin or seat. On the bigger Brittany Ferries ships you can eat in the restaurant or have a drink in the bar before bed, but opening times change through the year and some facilities close overnight (the CClub Lounge on the Guillaume de Normandie, for example), so check on board.
- Sleep. Pets left in vehicles can’t be visited on the overnight sailings on the Mont St Michel and Armorique.
- Before arrival, you’ll be called back to your vehicle. If your pet is in a cabin or kennel, you’re called back earlier: about 30 minutes before arrival on the Saint-Malo and Guillaume de Normandie, and an hour before on the Pont-Aven.
Arriving in France
- Set your watch: France is an hour ahead, so the arrival times are already French time.
- Border checks: on these routes the French border and EES checks happen as you arrive in France. Have passports ready. See our travel rules.
- Drive on the right: after a short night it’s easy to forget. Our driving in France guide covers the kit you must carry and speed limits.
- Foot passengers leave through the car deck on some ships, which can take 30 minutes after arrival. See our foot passenger guide.
Driving times from the arrival ports
| Arrival port | Driving times |
|---|---|
| St Malo | Rennes 55 minutes; Mont-Saint-Michel 1 hour 15 minutes; Nantes 2 hours 15 minutes; Bordeaux 5 hours 45 minutes |
| Caen (Ouistreham) | Bayeux 40 minutes; Honfleur 1 hour; Paris 2 hours 55 minutes; Tours 3 hours |
| Cherbourg | Bayeux 1 hour 15 minutes; Mont-Saint-Michel 2 hours 40 minutes; Rennes 2 hours 45 minutes |
| Roscoff | Brest 1 hour; Quimper 1 hour 35 minutes; Vannes 2 hours 50 minutes |
| Dieppe | Rouen 55 minutes; Paris 2 hours 30 minutes; Disneyland Paris 3 hours |
What to pack for an overnight ferry
- An overnight bag with what you need for the night and the morning, so you don’t have to unpack the car on the car deck.
- Passports and booking details, easy to reach.
- Chargers for phones and tablets.
- Earplugs and an eye mask, especially in a reserved seat or lounge.
- Snacks and drinks for the cabin, and something for breakfast if you’re arriving early.
- Games, books and downloaded films for children, so you’re not relying on a signal at sea.
- Toiletries and a change of clothes, so you can freshen up in your en-suite before you drive off.
- For a baby: pre-book a cot in your cabin where it’s offered.
- For a dog: a muzzle (compulsory outside your vehicle or cabin with Brittany Ferries), the pet’s documents, water and bedding.
Seasickness on the overnight ferry
If you’re prone to seasickness:
- book a cabin low down and towards the middle of the ship, where the motion is least;
- lie down and close your eyes, or get fresh air on deck and look at the horizon;
- ask a pharmacist about travel sickness remedies before you go, and take them as directed.
In bad weather Brittany Ferries closes the pet exercise areas, and pets in cabins must stay there.
Our verdict
For a proper night’s sleep, the western Channel ferries are hard to beat: Portsmouth to St Malo gives you the longest night, Plymouth to Roscoff is the one to pick from the South West, and Portsmouth to Caen sails every night of the week. From our own crossings, Roscoff and Caen both gave us a full night. Newhaven to Dieppe is cheaper and handy for Paris, but at about 4 hours it’s an early start rather than a night’s sleep. Whichever you choose, book a cabin, and book early if you need a pet-friendly one.
Book an overnight ferry to France
Overnight Ferries to France FAQs
Are there overnight ferries to France?
Yes, five: Brittany Ferries' Portsmouth to St Malo, Portsmouth to Caen and Portsmouth to Cherbourg, Brittany Ferries' Plymouth to Roscoff on some nights in season, and DFDS's Newhaven to Dieppe.
Which overnight ferry to France gives you the most sleep?
Portsmouth to St Malo: it leaves at 20:15 and usually arrives at 08:45 French time, about 11 hours 30 minutes on board. Plymouth to Roscoff (9 to 10 hours 30 minutes) and Portsmouth to Caen (about 6 hours 45 minutes to 7 hours 30 minutes) also give you a proper night. Newhaven to Dieppe arrives at about 04:00 French time, after about 4 hours.
What time does the overnight ferry to Dieppe arrive?
The 23:00 sailing from Newhaven usually arrives in Dieppe at 04:00 French time (05:00 on some nights), which is 03:00 or 04:00 UK time. It's the shortest overnight crossing, so you won't get a full night's sleep.
What time does the overnight ferry to Caen leave and arrive?
It leaves Portsmouth at 23:00 UK time and arrives in Ouistreham at 06:45 French time, or 07:30 one night a week.
What time does the overnight ferry to St Malo leave?
Almost every Portsmouth to St Malo sailing in the 2026 to 2027 timetable leaves Portsmouth at 20:15 UK time and arrives the next morning, usually at 08:45 French time.
How long are the overnight ferries to France?
From about 4 hours (Newhaven to Dieppe) to about 11 hours 30 minutes (Portsmouth to St Malo). Portsmouth to Caen is about 6 hours 45 minutes to 7 hours 30 minutes overnight, Portsmouth to Cherbourg 7 hours 45 minutes to 8 hours 30 minutes, and Plymouth to Roscoff 9 to 10 hours 30 minutes.
Can I stay in my car on the overnight ferry?
No. Once you've parked, you leave your vehicle and go up to the passenger decks for the crossing. DFDS says you can't stay in your vehicle, and Brittany Ferries only lets you go back to the car deck briefly to check on a pet on some daytime sailings, never overnight.
What is the cheapest overnight ferry to France?
Newhaven to Dieppe, where a reclining seat is included for every passenger and car fares started at £73 for a car and 4 people in October 2026. Portsmouth to Caen started at £63 for a car and 2 people, but you'll probably want a cabin overnight, at extra cost.
Do I need a cabin on the overnight ferry?
It's the most comfortable way to sleep. Cheaper alternatives are reserved lounge seats on the Mont St Michel (419) and Armorique (336), or, on Newhaven to Dieppe, the reclining seat every passenger gets.
Can my dog stay in my cabin overnight?
Yes, in a pet-friendly cabin, which Brittany Ferries has on the Saint-Malo, Guillaume de Normandie, Pont-Aven, Armorique, Galicia and Santoña, and DFDS has on Newhaven to Dieppe. The Mont St Michel has none, and there are no visits to pets left in vehicles on its overnight sailings.
Is an overnight ferry to France worth it?
Usually, if you're heading west or south. You save a night in a hotel, start driving fresh in the morning, and land much closer to Brittany, the Loire or the south-west than you would at Calais.