Ferries can provide glorious worth for cash.
As the tip of the yr approaches, ideas start to show to plans for subsequent summer season and a welcome getaway to a different nation. Travelling by ferry is a well-liked possibility, with the European ferry sector transporting some 794 million passengers a yr.
Ferry route-finding website FerryGoGo has crunched the numbers to seek out out what we may very well be paying for our ferry journeys in 2025. On common, a crossing with two folks and a automotive within the excessive season will set travellers again €1,017, barely lower than the €1,097 evaluated in 2024.
A part of that is all the way down to the inclusion of eight new routes within the research this yr, a few of that are shorter and subsequently cheaper. Co-founder of FerryGoGo, Jan Willem van Tilburg, famous that, though the general common value has diminished, worth for cash is getting worse.
He tells Euronews Journey, “The worth per mile has elevated by seven cents per mile, doubtless as a consequence of inflation and the inclusion of shorter routes. As an illustration, routes equivalent to Portsmouth to Caen and Portsmouth to Jersey are cheaper total as a result of they cowl fewer miles, however they’re much less environment friendly and subsequently dearer per mile. The same sample is seen with routes like Barcelona to the Balearic Islands.”
What are the most costly ferry crossing in Europe?
In line with the research, the most costly ferry crossing in Europe in 2025 is from Denmark to Iceland. Priced at €2,222 for 2 folks, a cabin and a automotive on a round-trip itinerary in excessive season.
Crusing simply as soon as per week, Smyril line sails the M/S Norrona from the Danish fishing city of Hirtshals, passing the Shetland Islands and docking briefly in Torshavn on the Faroe Islands. The ultimate leg sees the ship arriving within the small Icelandic city of Seydisfjordur an entire 66 hours after leaving Denmark.
Onboard are the standard ferry facilities, equivalent to cinemas, a kids’s playroom and a gymnasium. As well as, the Norrona provides an indoor pool, open deck sizzling tubs and a soccer pitch, in addition to a large number of respectable eating places to select from.
Though the fee for this crossing continues to be the very best in Europe, on a per kilometre foundation, it’s truly superb worth. FerryGoGo identified that, per hour, this mini-cruise prices below €17 per particular person, or €0.73 per kilometre.
In comparison with 2024, the price of the Hirtshals-Seydisfjordur crossing has decreased by 19.7 per cent – down €546 from this yr’s worth of €2,768.
One of the best and worst worth ferry crossings in 2025
When it comes to bang in your buck, the perfect worth available for the gap travelled is the 854 km route from Barcelona to Rome. Costing €755 return for 2 and a automotive, it really works out at simply €0.44 per kilometre.
Different crossings that are available in at nice worth, all below €0.70 per kilometre, embody the 40-hour journey from Sete in southern France to Nador in Morocco, Germany’s Travemunde to Helsinki and Bilbao in France to Rosslare in Eire. All three of these crossings are over 1,000 kilometres lengthy, requiring one, possibly two nights on board too.
“Normally, we’ve noticed that the longer the crossing, the cheaper it’s per mile,” explains van Tilburg.
“For instance, crossings from Eire and the UK to Spain are comparatively low cost when you think about the fee per mile. Equally, the crossing from Barcelona to Civitavecchia-Rome is among the most cost-effective crossings per mile.”
When it comes to the worst-value crossings, the most costly per kilometre is the favored route from Barcelona to Palma, Mallorca. Overlaying simply 270 km and costing over €1,000, it really works out to a price of €1.89 per particular person, per kilometre. Up there with the costly journeys can be Barcelona-Ibiza and the shortest route on the checklist, the six-hour hop from Rostock in Germany to Trelleborg in Sweden.
The Harwich to Hook of Holland ferry has seen the largest worth enhance
Throughout the surveyed routes, some providers had largely remained at an identical worth to 2024, however many didn’t. Almeria to Nador was the service with the largest fall in worth, dropping 29 per cent to €586 this yr.
Travemunde-Helsinki and IJmuiden-Newcastle additionally dropped in worth by round 20 per cent, whereas Hirtshals-Seydisfjordur and Bilbao-Rosslare are round 15 per cent cheaper this yr.
Of the routes the place worth rises have been seen, probably the most dramatic enhance is on the Harwich to Hoek van Holland service, the place costs are up nearly 60 per cent. From a value of below €400 final yr, this yr’s report places the fare at €620.
The Liverpool to Belfast ferry additionally elevated in worth considerably, going from €500 to €768. Different routes had average rises of round 20 per cent, though van Tilburg famous that using dynamic pricing means costs should still go up.
Dynamic pricing is extensively utilized in transportation and works by growing the fares on explicit providers as extra of the seats promote out. January is a key month for ferry bookings, subsequently the costs quoted within the report might properly change within the new yr, says van Tilburg.
“Should you’re travelling with a automotive, it’s finest to ebook early,” he notes. “Parking decks on ferries are likely to replenish shortly because the season approaches, resulting in speedy worth will increase. Reserving earlier than January may also enable you save – Stena Line, for instance, typically provides low cost codes.”