Southampton to France ferry

By ferry from Southampton to France: Your travel options

Within the county of Hampshire, Southampton is the city with the highest population along the south coast. As a well-known port city with a significant role in the region, many people assume there is a ferry service from Southampton to France. However, while ferries do operate from Southampton, there are no crossings to France. Instead, the ferry services from Southampton only go to Hythe and the Isle of Wight.

While Southampton is not directly served by international ferries, nearby ports such as Portsmouth or Poole offer convenient options for travellers heading from the Southampton area to France. 

Southampton – Portsmouth – France

Portsmouth, located just over 30 minutes by car from Southampton, is a major international ferry hub with routes to France (Caen, Le Havre, St Malo, and Cherbourg) and Spain (Bilbao and Santander). It plays a much more significant role as a ferry port than Southampton, making it a great choice for travellers heading to France. Public transport from Southampton takes about an hour, involving a journey to Cosham followed by a bus connection to the ferry terminal. From Portsmouth, Brittany Ferries offers both day and night crossings to France, lasting between 5.5 and 11 hours.

Southampton – Poole – France

Another option is to travel from Southampton to the port city of Poole, which is near Bournemouth. Poole also offers ferry services to St Malo and Cherbourg. Since Poole is geographically closer to these destinations, the crossings are slightly shorter. However, Poole is slightly further from Southampton, taking just over an hour by car or train. This extra travel time to Poole is compensated by the shorter ferry crossings.