FERRY BOOKING
DRIVERS MANAGEMENT
VAT & EXCISE DUTY REFUND
English
FERRY BOOKING
DRIVERS MANAGEMENT
VAT & EXCISE DUTY REFUND
English
Book your Holyhead to Dublin ferry, or the return Dublin to Holyhead crossing, for trucks and HGVs with Stena Line and Irish Ferries. Get an instant quote, and manage your GMR, ENS GB, Ireland’s Pre-Boarding Notification (PBN) and the HGV Road User Levy from the same account as your ferry ticket.
If you’re not a transport company but just a traveler, you can book your Holyhead to Dublin ferry ticket with smartferry.com.
| Crossing time | Approximately 3h15 – 3h30 |
|---|---|
| Frequency | Up to 8 sailings a day, combined |
| Operator | Stena Line, Irish Ferries |
| Distance | 56 nautical miles (104 km) |
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Yes. Stena Line and Irish Ferries both run a full return service on this crossing, so whether you’re searching for a Holyhead to Dublin ferry or a Dublin to Holyhead ferry, it’s the same link, the same two operators, and the same booking process, just loaded in whichever direction your delivery is running. Sailing times and crossing durations are broadly the same in both directions, though check the live timetable for your specific slot, as departure times aren’t identical outbound and inbound.
The Holyhead Dublin crossing is the busiest freight link across the Irish Sea, and the paperwork on this route trips up more hauliers than the crossing itself, largely because it works differently from a Channel crossing. Move Expert handles the booking and the Ireland-specific customs steps together, so nothing gets missed between the UK side and the Irish side.
Compare Stena Line and Irish Ferries crossings together instead of checking each carrier separately, and pick whichever fits your delivery window.
Your quote reflects vehicle size and sailing time, laid out clearly rather than bundled into one opaque number.
Ireland doesn't use the same customs system as France. We generate your Pre-Boarding Notification correctly the first time, alongside your GMR and ENS GB filing, so your truck isn't one of the ones turned back at the port.
Multilingual help for drivers and dispatchers, seven days a week, whichever direction you're travelling.
| Crossing time | Approximately 3 hours 15 minutes to 3 hours 30 minutes |
| Distance | Around 56 nautical miles (104 km), the shortest crossing of the Irish Sea |
| Frequency | Up to 8 sailings a day between the two operators, around 52–55 a week |
| Operators | Stena Line and Irish Ferries |
| Vessel type | Ro-Pax ferries built for both freight and passenger vehicles |
| UK terminal | Holyhead, Anglesey, North Wales |
| Irish terminal | Dublin Port |
| Key document specific to this route | Pre-Boarding Notification (PBN), required by Irish Revenue, separate from GMR |
Holyhead sits on Anglesey, at the far north-west corner of Wales, with the terminal built to handle both Stena Line and Irish Ferries freight traffic. It's the UK's principal gateway for goods heading into the Republic of Ireland, and the terminal connects directly to the A55 expressway across North Wales.
Dublin Port sits close to the city centre, on the north side of the River Liffey, and handles the highest volume of ferry freight of any Irish port. Trucks arriving here clear Irish customs checks based on the channel assigned through the Customs RoRo Service, green, orange or red, checked shortly before or on arrival.
| Operator | Daily sailings | Crossing time | Notable for freight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stena Line | Up to 4 a day | ≈ 3h15–3h30 | Runs the Stena Adventurer and Stena Estrid on this route, both offering strong freight capacity. |
| Irish Ferries | Up to 4–5 a day | ≈ 2h15–3h30 depending on vessel | Operates the Ulysses and W.B. Yeats, with faster crossings available on some sailings. |
Between the two operators, there’s a sailing roughly every two to three hours across most of the day, which gives more flexibility than a single-operator route if your schedule shifts at short notice.
Choose Holyhead → Dublin or Dublin → Holyhead, then enter your truck's length, height and width, plus the number of people travelling.
See departures from both Stena Line and Irish Ferries side by side, with a clear breakdown of what makes up your fare.
Your booking reference arrives by email immediately, keep it to hand alongside your PBN and GMR for check-in.
Tip: book earlier than you might for a Channel crossing. With only two operators and sailings roughly every two to three hours, the slots either side of a missed booking fill up faster than on a higher-frequency route.
Fares here are shaped by a slightly different mix than a short Channel hop:
This is the part of the Holyhead to Dublin ferry crossing that catches out hauliers used to French routes. Ireland runs its own customs system, separate from the French “Smart Border” process used at Calais or Coquelles, and missing the Irish-specific step is one of the most common reasons trucks get held at Holyhead.
Still required on the UK side through GVMS, exactly as it would be for a Dover crossing. Generate your GMR.
The safety and security declaration matching your direction of travel between GB and the EU. File your ENS/ICS2.
Needed to drive a heavy goods vehicle legally on UK roads, same requirement as any Dover route. Check your HGV levy.
This is specific to Ireland and has no direct equivalent on the French routes. Irish Revenue requires every haulier moving goods to or from Great Britain by ferry to create a PBN, a single reference gathering the MRNs of every customs declaration on board, before the vehicle leaves for the ferry terminal. Get this wrong or skip it, and Irish Revenue's own figures showed as many as 20% of trucks turned away from Holyhead in the weeks after new border rules began, a risk that hasn't gone away since.
Your company's customs registration, and the reference numbers that tie your PBN to valid declarations.
Your consignment note, plus anything specific to your cargo, ADR declarations for dangerous goods, or SPS pre-notification for products of animal or plant origin.
For hauliers based on the continent, Holyhead Dublin is often the final leg of the “UK landbridge”, crossing the Channel first (typically via Calais-Dover, Dunkirk-Dover or Eurotunnel Le Shuttle), driving across Great Britain, then sailing Holyhead to Dublin.
It’s usually faster than a direct sea crossing from France to Ireland, which can run close to 18-20 hours.
However, it means your load passes through UK customs twice. Once entering GB, and once leaving for Ireland.
Both legs need their own declarations. Goods moving under transit can often use the Common Transit Convention to simplify the paperwork across the whole journey.
If you’re routing freight this way regularly, it’s worth planning the GMR, ENS and PBN for both crossings together. This is better than booking each leg separately.
Looking for a different corridor? See every freight ferry route we cover, sorted by region.
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Prices depend on your vehicle’s dimensions, the operator, and the sailing time you choose. Get an instant, itemised quote through our booking tool, comparing both Stena Line and Irish Ferries, before you commit.
The process is identical in either direction: enter your route, truck dimensions and traveller numbers, compare sailings from both operators, then pay online and receive your booking reference immediately.
Yes. A PBN is Ireland’s own customs requirement, created on Irish Revenue’s Customs RoRo Service before your goods leave for the ferry terminal. It’s separate from your UK-side GMR, and vehicles without a valid PBN aren’t allowed to board.
No. The ELO applies to French “Smart Border” crossings such as Calais and Coquelles. Ireland uses its own system, the PBN, managed by Irish Revenue rather than French customs, and the two aren’t interchangeable.
Around 3 hours 15 minutes to 3 hours 30 minutes on a conventional crossing, with a faster service also available on some Irish Ferries sailings.
Combined, Stena Line and Irish Ferries run up to 8 sailings a day, roughly one every two to three hours.
Yes. Move Expert lets you compare and book both Stena Line and Irish Ferries from one account, in either direction.
A confirmed ferry booking, a GMR through GVMS, an ENS GB or ICS2 filing, a valid PBN through Irish Revenue, your EORI number and MRN, and HGV Road User Levy payment where applicable.
Earlier than you might for a Channel crossing. With only two operators and a sailing roughly every two to three hours, popular slots fill up faster relative to overall capacity.
Yes, though hauliers established outside the UK and EU may need additional permits alongside the standard GMR, ENS and PBN requirements. Check your specific situation with our compliance team.
Occasionally, more so than on the Dover Strait, since the Irish Sea is more exposed. Winter sailings can be delayed in heavy weather; operators will generally rebook you onto the next available crossing.
For many continental hauliers, yes. Goods travelling from mainland Europe to Ireland often cross the Channel first, then drive across Great Britain to Holyhead, rather than taking a much longer direct sea route to Ireland.
Your vehicle will not be allowed to board. Irish Revenue’s own figures showed roughly one in five trucks turned away from Holyhead in the weeks after this requirement began, and it remains a common cause of delay.
Yes, subject to Border Control Post arrangements and SPS pre-notification requirements on arrival in Ireland. These need to be arranged in advance, not at check-in.
Yes. Transport companies running this lane regularly can set up consolidated invoicing and, often, negotiated rates. Contact our freight team to arrange it.
It can, under certain EU/UK drivers’ hours rules, given the crossing is long enough (over 3 hours) for a driver to take a genuine break with access to a bunk or reclining seat. Confirm current rules for your fleet’s home country.
Standard articulated combinations up to around 16.5m are accepted as a matter of course; longer or abnormal loads need prior approval from your chosen operator.
Neither is universally better, Stena Line and Irish Ferries both run modern Ro-Pax vessels with solid freight capacity. The better choice usually comes down to which sailing time fits your delivery window.
Compare Stena Line and Irish Ferries, get an instant quote, and manage your GMR, ENS and Pre-Boarding Notification in one place, whichever direction you’re sailing, trusted by 14,000+ transport companies across 35+ countries.