Travellers from Munster heading to the continent for holidays are choosing the ferry option in increasing numbers – as the recent inauguration of a new year-round Cork-to-France route is proving.
Operator Hiberia Line launched a new route between Ringaskiddy in Cork and Boulogne-sur-Mer in northern France, which has opened a new direct link between Ireland and mainland Europe.
The French port is very close to the Belgian border and is a gateway to the motorway network for Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Germany. It's also handy for those visiting France, of course, with six scheduled sailings a week in both directions served by two ferries. Passage times vary from around 21.5 up to 24 hours. It's a huge boost to passenger and freight connectivity for Cork Harbour and the region.
Competing in the same market is the much more established operator, Brittany Ferries, which has opened its bookings for 2027, months early. The move is to enable coping with what the French company says is fast-growing demand from holidaymakers who want to avoid aviation travel and take their cars (or motorhomes) along with all of the gear they require.
This season, Irish holidaymakers have more choice and now can also book ferry travel to France and Spain through to November 2027, as Brittany Ferries sees growing demand from Ireland. The ferry firm has reported passenger numbers up by 7% on the France (Roscoff/Cherbourg routes) and 12% on the Spain (Bilbao) routes last year. They also say that 23% of passengers now travel as family groups and 15% bring pets, while the same figure of 15% applies to those accompanied by motorhomes.
CorkBeo continues the story.
