ferry to ireland

[gucciman]

i'm off to ireland for the first time in march to watch wales play ireland in the 6 nations rugby. i'm terrified of flying so i'm going by train and ferry. has anyone on here gone to ireland by ferry? which ferry company, port, type of boat did you go on? is it a good experience?

i'm having a nitemare trying to get the info i need off the ferry companies website, stena for instance only seem to let foot passengers use their fast ferry from holyhead to dun laoghaire and not the traditional type of ferry from holyhead to dublin port itself

[Buenchico]

Irish Ferries offer a �20 day return fare for foot passengers. You don't actually have to return on the same day as you travel out. You can return up to 24 hours after arrival (or on the first ferry after the 24 hours expires). You can travel on either the traditional ferry or on the fast ferry service. They both operate from Holyhead to Dublin City port. Timetable here:
http://www.irishferries.com/Timetable/gbr_irl. shtml

However, you shouldn't rule out ferry services to Dun Laoghaire. It's only 6 miles from the centre of Dublin and there are regular DART trains linking the port to the city centre. Stena offer combined rail-ferry-DART tickets on a 24-hour return basis for just �28 from Manchester. Alternatively, a return fare (without the 24 hour time limit) from London to Dun Laoghaire (including DART travel to central Dublin) is just �56. That might well be the most economical way of getting there. (As stated, it's incredibly easy to get from Dun Laoghaire to central Dublin. Even if you take a ferry to Dublin City port, you still have to take a bus into the city centre, so it's not really any quicker).
http://www.stenaline.co.uk/stena_line/stena_li ne_uk/holyhead-d_laoghaire/gb/by_rail.html
(Personally, I much prefer 'fast ferry' services to traditional ones).

Chris

[mushroom25]

Stena's "classic" ferry is for vehicle users only. Options for train passengers are on http://www.seat61.com/Ireland.htm

[mushroom25]

(sorry chris, cross post)

[taliesin238]

I live in N wales on the coast and ferries are going to ireland all the time from Holyhead. People go by ferry all the time and its really cheep.

[gucciman]

ive heard bad stories about the irish sea being one of the roughest crossings in the world and its getting me worried??