On this page...

small bullet point  Useful general travel links

small bullet point  European train operators, A-Z by country

small bullet point  Worldwide train operators, A-Z by country

small bullet point  Ferry operators

small bullet point  Passenger travel by cargo ship

Useful general travel links

Foreign office travel advice

For advice on travelling to countries which might be affected by conflicts, security problems, or other dangers, check the Foreign Office travel advice pages: www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice.  The advice for each country is updated daily as situations change.  It tends to err on the safe (that is to say, paranoid) side, although it is not as paranoid as its US State department equivalent, so bear this in mind.

Passports & visas

For UK passport applications and renewals, the UK Passport Agency website is www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-passport-office

For information on visa requirements for visiting most world countries, and for help in obtaining visas, try http://uk.cibt.com/.

Tourist information & hotels

Many countries have National Tourist Offices in key countries around the world.  There's no central list, so Google to see if there's a National Tourist Office in your home country for the country you want to visit.  They can often be a good source of information & inspiration.

It's worth investing in a good guidebook, and I recommend the Lonely Planet and Rough Guides series.  You can buy Lonely Planets from Amazon.co.uk.

I use booking.com for hotels - they usually allow you to book with free cancellation, and any hotel with a review score over 8.0 is unlikely to disappoint.

www.hostelworld.com for ultra-cheap backpacker hostels worldwide.

Travel insurance, health & vaccinations

Always take out decent travel insurance, it's a necessity not an extra.  If you live in the UK, try www.staysure.co.uk.

If you're travel to Africa, Asia or some other parts of the world, you may need vaccinations and/or to take malaria precautions.  To check on which vaccinations or precautions are required for which countries, see one of two websites, www.fitfortravel.scot.nhs.uk or www.nathnac.org.  Both are publicly-funded, so aren't trying to sell you anything, just make sure people get the right jabs.

Currency converter

www.xe.com is arguably the best online currency converter.

UK agencies selling European Rail tickets

See the train tickets by phone page for a list of UK agencies who sell European train tickets.  To see which website to use to buy tickets online for any given journey, see the how to buy train tickets online page.

Overseas agencies selling European Rail tickets

The train travel to Europe page will also link you to agencies selling European train tickets in the USA, Canada, Australia, NZ, Singapore, South Africa, India, Hong Kong and so on.

European train times online

For up-to-date train times for almost any train journey in Europe, see int.bahn.de.  For more about this system, how to use it and its limitations, see the Train Travel in Europe page.

For UK train times, fares & online booking see the UK train travel page.

For times and fares within individual countries, see the individual country websites listed below.

Rail maps

For online map of the European railway network, see the maps section of the Train Travel in Europe page.

For the best online map of the UK rail network, see the Train Travel in Britain page.

Back to top

European train operators

Country:

Operator:

Remarks:

International

Eurostar, www.eurostar.com

London to Paris & Brussels by high speed train.  Times, fares & online booking.  Also offers online booking from London to major cities in France, any Belgian station, Amsterdam, Basel & Cologne.  Tickets sent to any UK address or can be collected in London, Paris or Brussels.  Also see the London to Paris by Eurostar page.

 

Eurostar (formerly Thalys), www.eurostar.com

Paris to Brussels & Amsterdam / Cologne by high speed train.  See the Eurostar (formerly Thalys) page on this site.

 

TGV-Lyria, www.tgv-lyria.com

Paris to Switzerland by TGV high-speed train.  See the TGV-Lyria page.

 

Stena Line Rail & Sail London to Amsterdam

London to Amsterdam combined train+ferry service via Harwich-Hoek van Holland.  Times, fares and online booking.  See the  Stena Line London to Amsterdam Rail & Sail page.

 

Venice Simplon Orient Express, www.belmond.com/venice-simplon-orient-express

The VSOE runs London-Paris-Venice weekly March-November with restored British Pullmans and Wagons-Lits sleeping-cars.  Times, fares & online booking.  Also see the Venice Simplon Express page on this site.

 

Berlin Night Express

www.snalltaget.se

Swedish sleeper train overnight from Berlin to Malmö with connections to Copenhagen and Stockholm.

Albania

HSH, http://hsh.com.al

For train times, see the train travel in Albania page.

Andorra  

No train service.  Buses www.andorrabus.com & www.autocarsnadal.com.

Austria

ÖBB, www.oebb.at

Austrian Federal Railways.  Times, fares & online booking of train in & from Austria.

 

Westbahn, www.westbahn.at

Private open-access operator Westbahn competes with ÖBB between Salzburg & Vienna.

Belarus

BCh, www.rw.by

Belarus State Railways.

Belgium

SNCB, www.belgiantrain.be

Train times & fares for Belgian domestic trains.  For international trains to & from Belgium see www.b-europe.com.

Bosnia

ŽFBH (Zeljeznice Bosne i Hercegovine), www.zfbh.ba.

ŽRS, https://zrs-rs.com.

ŽRS operates in Republika Srpska, ŽFBH in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Bulgaria

BDZ, www.bdz.bg

Bulgarian State Railways.

Croatia

HZ, ww.hzpp.hr

Croatian National Railways.

Czech Republic

CD, www.cd.cz

Czech Railways.  Online ticket sales at www.cd.cz/eshop.

There's now also a private operator on the Prague-Ostrava route, www.regiojet.cz.

Denmark

DSB, www.dsb.dk

Danish State Railways.  Times, fares & online booking for trains within Denmark.  For trains to Malmo & Gothenburg see www.oresundstag.se.  For trains to Stockholm see www.sj.se.

Estonia

Elron (domestic trains), www.elron.ee

Elron, formerly Edelrautee, runs Estonian domestic trains.

 

GoRail (international trains), www.gorail.ee

GoRail (formerly EVR Ekspress) run sleeper trains between Tallinn and Moscow.

Finland

VR, www.vr.fi

Finnish State Railways.  Times, fares & online booking for trains within Finland.

France

SNCF, www.sncf-connect.com

Train times, fares & online booking for journeys in France and from France to neighbouring countries.  You can also book French trains at (anyone) at www.raileurope.com or www.thetrainline.comFor advice on which website to use to book French trains see here.

For Corscia see http://cf-corse.fr

 

RATP, www.ratp.fr (Paris Métro)

Visit www.ratp.fr and select 'plans' for maps of the Paris Métro and bus routes.

 

Chemins de Fer de la Corse, cf-corse.corsica.

Rail services on Corsica.  Also see Chemins de Fer de la Corse & www.corsicabus.org.

 

Chemins de Fer de Provence, www.trainprovence.com

Nice-Digne scenic local trains.

Georgia

www.railway.ge

Georgian Railways.

Germany

DB, int.bahn.de

See int.bahn.de for the excellent rail timetable providing train times across Europe, also German rail fares & online booking.  The 'English' button is at upper right.

 

Flixtrain, www.flixtrain.com

 

Private operator Flixtrain is now competing with DB on the Cologne-Bremen-Hamburg & Berlin-Stuttgart routes.

Greece

Hellenic Train www.hellenictrain.gr (formerly TrainOSE until 2022)

For train times & fares in Greece, and online booking (in Greek only, but try using Google Chrome with automatic translation).  For Greek island ferries, see www.ferriesingreece.com.

Hungary

MAV, www.mav-start.hu

Hungarian State Railways.

Budapest metro: bkk.hu.

 

Ireland

Irish Rail, www.irishrail.ie

Irish train times, fares & information, plus online booking.

Italy

Trenitalia, www.trenitalia.com.

Train times, fares & online booking for train travel in Italy and out of Italy to neighbouring countries.  See the train travel in Italy page.  You can also book Italian trains at www.italiarail.com.

 

Italo, www.italotreno.it.

Italo's high-speed trains compete with Trenitalia's on the Milan-Florence-Rome-Naples & Venice-Florence-Rome corridors.  See the Italo high-speed train page on this site.

 

Circumvesuviana Railway, www.eavsrl.it

Times & fares for the local electric railway linking Naples, Pompeii & Sorrento.

Kosovo

Kosovo Railway, www.trainkos.com

Kosovo railways:  Internal trains plus Skopje-Priština service.  Most info is only available in the local language version of their site.

Latvia

Vivi, vivi.lv

Latvian Railways.  Passenger company rebranded Vivi in 2023.

Lithuania

LTG Link, ltglink.lt

Lithuanian Railways.

Luxembourg

CFL, www.cfl.lu

Luxembourg National Railways.

Moldova

ZDM/CFM, www.railway.md

Moldovan State Railways.

Montenegro

ZPCG, www.zcg-prevoz.me

Montenegro Railways.

Netherlands

NS, www.ns.nl

Netherlands Railways: Dutch train times & fares.  The site for international trains from the Netherlands is www.nsinternational.nl.

North Macedonia

MZ, mzt.mk

North Macedonian State Railways.

Norway

www.vy.no

www.sj.no

go-aheadnordic.no

Check times & buy tickets for all routes & operators at entur.no.

Norway's train services have been outsourced to 3 private companies:

www.vy.no (rebranded from NSB Norwegian State Railways in 2019), routes include Oslo-Bergen, Oslo-Gothenburg, Oslo-Lillehammer-Dombas.

www.sj.no (a Norwegian subsidiary of Swedish Railways), routes include Oslo-Trondheim-Bodo.

go-aheadnordic.no, routes include Oslo-Kristiansand-Stavanger.

Poland

PKP Intercity, www.intercity.pl

Polish State Railways. For mainline and international trains, see www.intercity.pl.

Portugal

CP, www.cp.pt

Portuguese National Railways:  Times, fares & online booking within Portugal.

Romania

CFR, www.cfrcalatori.ro

Romanian State Railways.

Russia

RZD, www.rzd.ru

To book trains within Russia, including the Trans-Siberian Railway, try www.realrussia.co.uk, UK agency Intourist on 020 8538 8600, on 020 8566 8846 or Russian agencies Svezhy Veter or WaytoRussia.  Luxury private train Moscow-St Petersburg: www.grandexpress.ru (in Russian only).

Serbia

ZS & ZCG, www.serbianrailways.com

Serbian National Railways.

Slovakia

ZSR, www.zssk.sk

Slovakian National Railways.

Slovenia

SZ, potniski.sz.si

Slovenia National Railways.

Spain

RENFE, www.renfe.com

Spanish National Railways.  Train times, fares and online booking for trains within Spain, see the train travel in Spain page.

You can also buy Spanish train tickets at www.thetrainline.com or www.raileurope.com.

 

FEVE, www.renfe.com

Former FEVE metre-gauge routes in Northern Spain Bilbao-Santander-Oviedo-Ferrol have been taken over by Renfe.  Information can now be found on www.renfe.com under Cercanias (suburban trains), look for Cercanias-AM, which stands for Ancho Metrico or metre gauge lines.

 

Euskotren, www.euskotren.eus

Local trains Hendaye-Irun-San Sebastian-Bilbao.

Sweden

SJ, www.sj.se

Swedish State Railways, running most long distance trains in Sweden.  You can check Swedish train times for all train operators (including some privatised ones) at www.resplus.se.  You can book Swedish trains online at www.sj.se or www.snalltaget.se.

 

Öresund link trains, www.oresundstag.se

Local trains linking Copenhagen, Malmö & Gothenburg.

Switzerland

SBB, www.sbb.ch

Swiss Federal Railways. Train times and fares & online tickets for train travel in Switzerland.

 

Rhätische Bahn, www.rhb.ch

Operator of the famous Bernina Express Chur-Tirano and one of the operators of the famous Glacier Express Zermatt-Brig-St Moritz.  There's a specific Glacier Express website, www.glacierexpress.ch.

 

BLS, www.bls.ch

Bern - Lötschberg - Simplon Railway (Bern-Brig)

 

Jungfrau Bahn, www.jungfrau.ch

Turkey

TCDD, www.tcddtasimacilik.gov.tr 

Turkish train times, fares & online booking of trains within Turkey.  See Turkey page for instructions.

Ukraine

UZ, www.uz.gov.ua

For Ukrainian train times, fares & booking.

UK

National Rail Enquiries, www.nationalrail.co.uk

The official site for UK train information, with train times, fares, and links to every UK train operator.  Also see the train travel in the UK page.

UK (Northern Ireland)

Northern Ireland Railways, www.translink.co.uk/Services/NI-Railways

Online journey planner for both buses and trains within Northern Ireland.

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World train operators

Country:

Operator:

Remarks:

Argentina  

Train services in Argentina are experiencing something of a revival.  Try www.sateliteferroviario.com.ar/horarios/ (in Spanish only) for info about all Argentinean train operators.

Australia

Railmaps Australia www.railmaps.com.au.

A good place to start for routes, times, and fares to get around Australia by train.  Also see the train travel in Australia page.

 

Journeys Beyond, formerly Great Southern Railway, www.journeybeyondrail.com.au.

GSR operates the 'Indian Pacific' (Sydney-Adelaide- Perth), 'The Ghan' (Adelaide-Alice Springs-Darwin) and the 'Overland' (Melbourne-Adelaide).  UK agents for GSR: International Rail, 0870 751 5000Also see the train travel in Australia page.

 

NSW TrainLink (formerly CountryLink) www.nswtrainlink.info.

NSW TrainLink operates trains Sydney-Melbourne, Sydney-Brisbane, Sydney-Canberra.  Online booking at www.nswtrainlink.info (but not sleepers).  UK agents for NSW TrainLink:  International Rail, 0870 751 5000Also see the train travel in Australia page.

 

Queensland Railways www.queenslandrailtravel.com.au.

Brisbane-Rockhampton-Townsville-Cairns & other routes in Queensland.  UK agents for QR:  International Rail, 0870 751 5000Also see the train travel in Australia page.

 

V/Line www.vline.com.au

Internal trains in Victoria.

 

Transwa www.transwa.wa.gov.au

Perth to Kalgoorlie & Bunbury.  Formerly Westrail.  Also see the train travel in Australia page.

Bangladesh

Bangladesh railways Corporation www.railway.gov.bd

Also see the seat61 Bangladesh page.

Bolivia  

Bolivian eastern line:  www.fo.com.bo

Bolivian western line:  www.fca.com.bo

Botswana Botswana Railways

See the Train travel in Botswana page.  Online booking for passenger trains at https://brexpress.botrail.bw/botswanarailwaysonline/passengerbooking/bookandpay.aspx

Burma (Myanmar)

Myanmar Railways Corporation

No official website, so see the train travel in Burma page.

Cambodia

Chemin de Fer de Cambodge

No official website - see the Cambodia page.

Canada

VIA Rail www.viarail.ca.

Canada's national rail network.  Times, fares & online booking for VIA Rail Canada's trains.  UK agents for VIA Rail: First Rail, call 0845 644 3553.  See the train travel in Canada page.

 

BC Rail

No longer provides Vancouver-Prince George passenger trains.

 

Ontario Northland ontarionorthland.ca

(Toronto) Cochrane - Northern Ontario trains.

 

Rocky Mountaineer www.rockymountaineer.com.

Rocky Mountaineer tourist train running Calgary-Banff-Vancouver.  See Rocky Mountaineer page.

Chile

Chilean State railways www.efe.cl

Chilean State Railways official website (Spanish only) - www.efe.cl.  Also see www.trencentral.cl.

China

Chinese Railways www.12306.cn

Website in Chinese only.  For train times in English and online booking for Chinese train tickets from outside China, see the seat61 China page.  You can check times, fares & buy tickets for Beijing-Hong Kong, Beijing-Shanghai and Shanghai-Hong Kong trains at www.train-ticket.netwww.kcrc.com is the official site for the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation, with info on local and long-distance through trains from Hong Kong.

Cuba

Ferrocarriles de Cuba

No official website - see the train travel in Cuba page.

Ecuador

Ferrocarriles del Ecuador, trenecuador.com

See the train travel in South America page.
Egypt

Egyptian National Railways

enr.gov.eg

See the train travel in Egypt page.  Sleeping-car trains from Cairo to Luxor & Aswan are run by a private company, Abela Trains, see Abelatrains.com for times, fares & booking.

Ethiopia

Ethio-Djibouti Railway, edr.gov.et.

See the train travel in Ethiopia page.

Hong Kong

Kowloon-Canton Railway Corp. www.kcrc.com.

Runs Hong Kong to Guangzhou trains and (together with Chinese Railways) the Hong Kong to Beijing & Shanghai trains.

India

Indian Railways www.indianrail.gov.in

Also see the train travel in India page.  Online Indian train booking is possible, you need to see the Train travel in India page.  The UK agent for Indian Railways, including Indian rail passes, is the excellent SD Enterprises in Wembley.  Call 020 8903 3411 or visit www.indiarail.co.uk.

Indonesia

Indonesian railways www.kereta-api.co.id.

See the train travel in Indonesia page.

Iran

Iranian Islamic Republic Railways www.raja.ir.

Official site of the Raja Trains passenger department.  Times & fares for Iran and for international trains Tehran-Damascus & Tehran-Istanbul.  Click the 'house' logo then 'English' top right.  Also see English-language site www.iranrail.net.

Iraq

Iraq Republic Railways

 

Train service Baghdad-Mosul, Baghdad-Basra.  The official website was www.iraqrailways.com although this now seems to be a Chinese website!

Israel

Israel Railways www.rail.co.il.

Times and fares for train travel in Israel.  For English, change HE to EN top left.

Japan

Japan National Railways, JR

For a online train times & fares in English see world.jorudan.co.jp/mln/en/ or japantravel.navitime.com/en/area/jp/route.   Agent for Japan rail passes www.jrailpass.com (worldwide).  Also see the train travel in Japan page.

Jordan

Hedjaz Jordan Railway http://jhr.gov.jo.

See the train travel in Jordan page.

Kazakstan

Kazak Railways www.railways.kz.

Official interactive timetable, in Cyrillic script, for Kazakhstan Railways.  Also try www.poezda.net

Kenya

Kenya Railways

Corporation

http://krc.co.ke

See the train travel in Kenya page.

Korea (South)

Korean National Railroad www.korail.go.kr.

Times & fares for South Korea.

Madagascar

FCE, www.fce-madagascar.net

There is just one (tourist-orientated) rail route on Madagascar.

Malaysia & Singapore

Keratapi Tanah Melayu (KTM) www.ktmb.com.my

Train times, fares & online booking for intercity trains within Malaysia & Singapore.  Also see the train travel in Singapore & Malaysia page.

Mali  

See the train travel in Senegal page.

Mexico  

The Mexican government discontinued virtually all long-distance passenger trains some years ago.  For a summary of what's left, see www.mexlist.com/pass.htm.  For the famous 'Copper Canyon' train see www.chepe.com.mx.

Morocco

ONCF www.oncf-voyages.ma

Train times and fares for Morocco.  Also see the train travel in Morocco page.

Mozambique

CFM www.cfm.co.mz

Train times and fares for Mozambique.  Also see the train travel in Mozambique page.

Namibia

Transnamib www.transnamib.com.na

Select 'Services' then 'StarLine' for passenger services. 

For the tourist cruise train Desert Express see www.desert.express

New Zealand

KiwiRail Scenic Journeys www.greatjourneysofnz.co.nz

Passenger trains in New Zealand, with online booking.  For the inter-island ferry see www.interislandline.co.nz.  See also the train travel in New Zealand page.

Nigeria

Nigerian Railways Corporation, formerly www.nrc-ng.org, now no known website.

Pakistan

Pakistan Railways www.pakrail.com.

Official site, with trains times and availability check - See how many AC sleepers are still available on tonight's Khyber Mail from Karachi!  Also see the train travel in Pakistan page.

Peru

Peru Rail Corp. www.perurail.com.

Peruvian passenger trains, including trains to Machu Picchu.

Philippines

Philippine National Railroad.  No website.

Philippine passenger trains, also see the train travel in the Philippines page.

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Government Railways www.saudirailways.org 

Saudi train times & fares Dammam - Riyadh.

South Africa

Shosholoza Meyl www.shosholozameyl.co.za.

Train times for long distance passenger trains in South AfricaAlso see the train travel in South Africa page.  You'll actually get better info and easier booking if you use agency website www.southafricanrailways.co.za.

 

Premier Classe www.premierclasse.co.za

Affordable deluxe long distance passenger trains in South AfricaAlso see the train travel in South Africa page.  You can also check times, prices and buy tickets through agency website www.southafricanrailways.co.za

 

The Blue Train www.bluetrain.co.za.

South Africa's luxurious Blue Train, Cape Town-Pretoria.  Also see the train travel in South Africa page.

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka Railways Corp. www.railway.gov.lk.

Sri Lanka Railways Corporation, www.railway.gov.lk for times & fares.  Also see the train travel in Sri Lanka page.

Sudan

Sudan Railways Corporation www.sudanrailways.gov.sd

Also see the train travel in Sudan page.

Syria

Syrian Railways www.cfssyria.org

Also see the train travel in Syria page.

Taiwan

Taiwan Railway Administration www.railway.gov.tw.

Train times and fares for rail travel in Taiwan.  Also see the train travel in Taiwan page.

Tanzania

Tanzania Railway Corporation www.trc.co.tz

Train services from Dar es Salaam to Kigoma/Mwanza.  Also see the train travel in Tanzania page.

 

Tanzania & Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA), www.tazarasite.com.

Train service between Zambia & Tanzania, Dar es Salaam-Mbeya-Kapiri Mposhi.  Also see the train travel in Tanzania & Zambia page.

Thailand

State Railways of Thailand www.railway.co.th

Train times & fares for Thailand.  Also see the train travel in Thailand page.

Tunisia

SNCFT, www.sncft.com.tn.

Tunisian Railways official site, www.sncft.com.tnAlso see the Train travel in Tunisia page.

Turkey

TCDD, www.tcdd.gov.tr.

For Turkish train times & fares.  Also see the train travel in Turkey page.

United States

Amtrak www.amtrak.com.

Train times & fares for rail travel in the USA.  You can book online at www.amtrak.com.  To buy Amtrak tickets in the UK, go to www.internationalrail.comAlso see the train travel in the USA page.

 

Alaska Railroad, www.alaskarailroad.com.

Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan State Railways www.uzrailway.uz.

The official site is only in Uzbek & Russian.  For train times, try www.poezda.net.  For Moscow-Uzbekistan trains, also see the seat61 Central Asia page.

Vietnam

DSVN

dsvn.vn

Official website with train times for the Hanoi-Saigon line.  Also see the seat61 Vietnam page.

Zambia

Tanzania & Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA), www.tazarasite.com.

Train service between Zambia & Tanzania.  Also see the train travel in Tanzania & Zambia page.

 

Zambia Railways

Train service Livingstone, Lusaka, Kapiri Mposhi.  No official website, but see the train travel in Tanzania & Zambia page.

Zimbabwe

National Railways of Zimbabwe, www.nrz.co.zw

www.planet.nu/sunshinecity/nrz/railinfo.html has one page of information on train times for the National Railways of Zimbabwe (including Bulawayo-Harare, Bulawayo-Victoria Falls).  Also see the train travel in Zimbabwe page.

Ferry services from the UK

Most of these UK-based ferry services can be booked online at the Seat61 Ferry Shop:

From To

Operator

Route

UK Channel Islands

www.condorferries.co.uk

Poole, Portsmouth - Jersey & Guernsey

Call 0845 609 1024

UK Isle of Man

Isle of Man SP Co.

Liverpool or Heysham - Isle of Man.  See the Isle of Man page for SailRail tickets

Call 08722 992 992

UK Scottish Islands

Caledonian MacBrayne

Various routes to Skye & Hebrides

UK Orkney & the Shetland Islands 

www.northlinkferries.co.uk

Scrabster - Stromness

Aberdeen - Lerwick

Call 0845 6000 449

UK Northern Ireland

Stena Line

Liverpool (Birkenhead) - Belfast.  Previously Norse Merchant Ferries, then Norfolkline, now Stena.

Call 08447 70 70 70

UK Northern Ireland

Stena Line

Cairnryan-Belfast

Call 08447 70 70 70

UK Ireland

Irish Ferries

Holyhead - Dublin

Pembroke - Rosslare

Call 08717 300 400 (in Ireland call 0818 300 400)

UK Ireland

Stena Line

Holyhead - Dublin

Fishguard - Rosslare

Call 08447 70 70 70

UK Ireland

P&O ferries

Liverpool (Birkenhead) - Dublin.  Previously Norse Merchant Ferries.  Doesn't take foot passengers.

Call 08716 64 20 20 

UK France

DFDS Seaways

Dover - Dunkirk, Dover-Calais (no foot passengers). Formerly Norfolkline.

Call 0871 522 9955

UK France

P&O ferries

Dover - Calais & other Channel routes

Call 08716 645 645

UK France

Brittany Ferries

Ferries to Normandy & Brittany: Portsmouth/Plymouth to St Malo, Caen, Cherbourg, Roscoff...

Call 0871 244 0744

UK France

DFDS Seaways

Newhaven - Dieppe

UK Netherlands

Stena Line

Harwich - Hoek van Holland

Call 08447 70 70 70

UK Netherlands

DFDS Seaways

Newcastle - IJmuiden (Amsterdam)

Call 0871 522 9955

UK Netherlands

P&O ferries

Hull - Rotterdam

Call 08716 645 645

UK Spain

Brittany Ferries

Plymouth - Santander, Portsmouth - Santander, Portsmouth - Bilbao.

See the ferry to Spain page

Call 0871 244 0744

UK Denmark 

Harwich - Esbjerg. 

DFDS discontinued their 140-year-old ferry route to Denmark in September 2014, leaving no ferries to anywhere in Scandinavia.

-

UK Norway 

DFDS Seaways

Newcastle - Bergen (previously Fjord Line)  Service withdrawn in Sept 2008, there are now NO FERRIES UK-NORWAY.

Call 0871 522 9955

UK Sweden 

DFDS Seaways

Newcastle - Gothenburg.  Service withdrawn in October 2006, Service withdrawn in Sept 2008, there are now NO FERRIES UK-SWEDEN

Call 0871 522 9955

UK United States

Cunard Line

Southampton to New York  see the QM2 transatlantic page.

Call 01703 716500

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Other European ferry services

Many of these European ferry services can be booked online at the Seat61 Ferry Shop.

From To Operator

Route

Denmark Norway DFDS Seaways

Copenhagen - Oslo

In UK call 0871 522 9955

Denmark Iceland en.smyrilline.fo

Hirtshals - Seydisfjördur

-

Finland Estonia Tallink-Silja

Helsinki - Tallinn

UK agents DFDS Seaways, call 0871 522 9955

Finland Sweden Silja Line

Stockholm - Helsinki

Stockholm - Turku

UK agents DFDS Seaways, call 0871 522 9955

Finland Sweden Viking Line

Stockholm - Helsinki

Stockholm - Turku

UK agents Emagine UK Ltd 01942 262662

France Corsica / Sardinia Corsica Ferries

Marseille / Toulon / Nice to

Corsica / Sardinia

France Corsica / Sardinia Corsica Linea

Marseille / Toulon / Nice to

Corsica / Sardinia

UK agents Southern Ferries, 0844 815 7785

France Morocco www.gnv.it

Sète - Tangier

France Tunisia, Algeria Corsica Linea

(for Tunisia, also see CTN)

Marseille - Tunis

Marseille - Algiers

Marseille - Oran

UK agents Southern Ferries, 0844 815 7785

Germany Finland, Estonia Superfast ferries

Rostock to Helsinki & Tallinn (operated by Tallink)

UK agents Viamare Travel 020 8343 5810

Greece Greek Islands www.ferriesingreece.com or www.ferries.gr, www.openseas.gr 

Guides to all Greek Island ferry operators

Greece Crete ANEK Lines

Piraeus - Heraklion

Greece Crete Minoan Lines

Piraeus - Heraklion

Greece Rhodes www.bluestarferries.com

Piraeus - Rhodos

Greece Rhodes www.lane.gr

Piraeus - Rhodos

Greece Rhodes www.ferries.gr/gaferries

Piraeus - Rhodos

Greece Cyprus Salamis Lines, Poseidon Lines

Service suspended since 2001

UK agents Viamare Travel 020 8343 5810

Greece Israel Salamis Lines, Poseidon Lines

Service suspended since 2001

UK agents Viamare Travel 020 8343 5810

Greece Egypt Salamis Lines

Service suspended since 2001

UK agents Viamare Travel 020 8343 5810

Iceland Norway, UK Smyril Line

Iceland - Shetland Islands - Norway

Ireland France Irish Ferries

Rosslare - Roscoff (Brittany)

Call 08717 300 400 (ROI 0818 300 400)

Italy Albania Tirrenia Line

Bari - Durrës (formerly Adriatica)

Ancona - Durrës (formerly Adriatica)

UK agents SMS Travel & Tourism, 020 7244 8422

Italy Albania Agoudimos Lines

Bari - Durres

Italy Croatia Tirrenia Line

Ancona - Split

UK agents SMS Travel & Tourism, 020 7244 8422

Italy Croatia Jadrolinija

Ancona - Split

Bari - Dubrovnik

Italy Greece Superfast Ferries

Bari - Patras (run jointly with Blue Star Ferries)

UK agents Viamare Travel 020 8343 5810

Italy Greece Minoan Lines

Ancona, Brindisi

- Corfu - Patras

UK agents Viamare Travel 020 8343 5810

Italy   Greece Blue Star ferries

Venice, Ancona, Brindisi

- Corfu - Patras

UK agents Viamare Travel 020 8343 5810

Italy Greece Hellenic Mediterranean Lines

Brindisi - Corfu - Kefalonia - Patras

Italy Malta Virtu Ferries

Sicily (Catania, Pozzallo) - Valletta

UK agents Viamare Travel 020 8343 5810

Italy Malta Grimaldi Lines

Weekly Salerno - Valletta

 
Italy Sardinia Corsica Ferries

Livorno / Civitavecchia -

Sardinia

 
Italy Sardinia Tirrenia Lines

Livorno / Genoa -

Sardinia

UK agents SMS Travel & Tourism, 020 7244 8422

Italy Tunisia  Corsica Linea

also see CTN

Genoa - Tunis

UK agents Southern Ferries, 0844 815 7785

Italy Tunisia Grandi Navi Veloci 

Genoa - Palermo - Tunis

Italy Morocco Grimaldi Lines

Genoa-Tangier

 

Italy Morocco Grandi Navi Veloci

Genoa-Tangier

 
Italy Turkey Marmara Lines

Brindisi - Cesme

Norway Norwegian Coast Hurtigruten Line

Norwegian coastal steamers

Russia Sweden, Finland www.stpeterline.com

Stockholm & Helsinki to St Petersburg

Spain Majorca, Ibiza, Minorca www.trasmed.com

Barcelona - Palma

Barcelona - Minorca

Barcelona - Ibiza

UK agents Southern Ferries, 0844 815 7785

Spain Majorca, Ibiza, Minorca Balearia

Barcelona - Palma

Barcelona - Minorca

Barcelona - Ibiza

 

Spain Canary Islands Trasmediterranea

Cadiz - Las Palmas & Tenerife

UK agents Southern Ferries, 0844 815 7785

Spain Morocco Trasmediterranea

Algeciras - Tangier

Spain Morocco Balearia

Algeciras - Tangier

Spain Morocco FRS

Tarifa - Tangier

Spain Morocco Grimaldi Lines

Barcelona-Tangier

 

Spain Morocco Grandi Navi Veloci

Barcelona-Tangier

 
Sweden Estonia Tallink

Stockholm - Tallinn

UK agents DFDS Seaways, call 0871 522 9955

Sweden Latvia Tallink

Stockholm - Riga

Turkey Egypt www.sisashipping.com

Iskenderun - Port Said (service suspended)

UK agents +44 20 7241 0551

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Other worldwide shipping & ferry services

Between.. ...and

Operator

Route

United States UK

Cunard Line

Southampton -New York

Call 01703 716500

United States Canada

www.clippervacations.com

Victoria BC to Seattle

 
Russia Japan, South Korea

www.dbsferry.com

Vladivostok - South Korea - Japan

Suspended
China Macau

www.turbocat.com

Hong Kong - Macau

China Japan

Several operators,

see the China page

Shanghai - Kobe

Shanghai - Osaka

Tianjin - Kobe

China South Korea

Several operators,

see the South Korea page

Qingdao - Incheon

Tianjin - Incheon

Japan South Korea

Several operators,

see the South Korea page

Fukuoka - Busan

Shimonoseki - Busan

Australia Tasmania

www.spiritoftasmania.com.au 

Melbourne - Devonport

New Zealand Inter-Island ferry

www.interislandline.co.nz

Wellington - Picton

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Passenger travel by freighter

Air travel has more or less destroyed long distance passenger shipping, except for irregular cruises and some regular cargo ship lines that carry a limited number of passengers - usually 12 or less per voyage, as more than this requires the vessel to carry a ship's doctor.  Freighter travel can be very civilised and comfortable, but it's usually expensive.  At perhaps £70 a day it may be good value as it includes travel, board and lodging, but if a voyage takes 10-20 days it will soon cost a lot more than the air fare!


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