Calais – Dover

The quickest and the most popular ferry connections with the United Kingdom is Calais – Dover route. The crossing is usually chosen by transport companies due to its high departures frequency, short crossing time and larger capacity that ferry operator offer.

Dover – Calais route belongs DFDS Seaways and Irish Ferries ferry networks.

Get to know the details and book ferries from Calais to Dover!

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

1) Schedule
2) Ports
3) Fleet
4) Price
5) Before crossing
6) Booking

Calais – Dover: schedule

How long is the crossing to Dover?

Journey by ferry from Calais to Dover takes about 90 minutes. Ferris cover a distance of 45 kilometres.

How frequent are Calais – Dover ferries?

DFDS Seaways offers from 19 to 23 departures a day in one direction, which gives 46 departures a day on the route. DFDS’ ferries sail all week with once an hour frequency.

Irish Ferries has 14 departures a day, which gives 28 sailings between Calais and Dover during one day. Departures are every 1,5 hour.

How long is a ticket for Calais – Dover crossings valid?

Tickets for Calais – Dover ferry are open. It means that booking on this route cannot be used for specific departure. Vehicle with open ticket arrives at the port and can board the first available ferry.

Open tickets for Dover – Calais ferry with DFDS are valid for 10 day from the day of the booking. If your plans change, the ticket can be also used on DFDS’ route between Dunkirk and Dover, instead of Calais – Dover crossing.

Open tickets from Irish Ferries is valid for 5 days from the day of the booking.

Calais – Dover: ports

Learn how to get to ports of Calais and Dover. Terminal addresses are listed below.

Port of Calais

If you want to get to the port of Calais, choose road:

• A16/E40, if you drive from Benelux or northern Europe,
• A16/E402, if you drive from western France from Boulogne-sur-Mer and Rouen,
• A26/E15, if you drive from central France, Paris included or southern Europe.

DFDS terminal in Calais

Terminal Car Ferry
Gare Maritime Est F-62100
Calais
France

Irish Ferries terminal in Calais

Port Boulogne Calais
62100 Calais, France

Port of Dover

The shortest route to Dover is M20, which starts in London and heads south-east. Near Folkestone, the M20 road changes into the A20 road, which leads directly to the port of Dover.

DFDS terminal in Dover

Eastern Docks, Dover
Kent
CT16 1JA
Great Britain

Irish Ferries terminal in Dover

GPS: 51°07'30.4"N, 1°20'01.7"E

Calais – Dover: fleet

Calais – Dover route is operated by 3 DFDS ferries.

Those three vessels are Côte Des Dunes, Côte Des Flandres oraz Côte d'Opale. Côte Des Dunes and Côte Des Flandres had a comprehensive renovation in 2016. Each one of them can take up to 1500 passengers and 400 cars. Côte d'Opale ferry is the latest addition to DFDS’ fleet while also being the longest ship operating on the English Channel. The vessel has been in service since 2021.

Côte d'Opale ferry. Source: Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 2.0 FR DEED

Irish Ferries has 3 vessels on Calais – Dover route.

The ferries are Isle od Inishmore, Isle of Innisfree and Isle of Inisheer. All three vessels have a number of amenities for passengers and truck drivers.

Ilse of Inisheer ferry. Source: Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 4.0 DEED

Calais – Dover: price

The price of a Calais – Dover ferry ticket includes the base, fuel and environmental allowances. Fuel surcharge is called BAF which stands for Bunker Adjustment Factor. It is calculated based on fuel prices and updated once a month. Environmental surcharge is called ETS which means Emissions Trading System. The surcharge is comes from European system of emissions trading.

BAF and ETS surcharges for DFDS routes are updated on every first day of the month. Irish Ferries updates its surcharges on every fifth day of the month.

Current prices always can be found at PROMY24.COM website. Use our search engine “Your cargo booking” and look for Calais – Dover route and get to know current cost of the ticket.

If you use ferry crossings regularly, contact our Customer Service Office and ask for individual price quotation.

Calais – Dover: before crossing

Prepare MRN and GMR

If you wish to cross via the English Channel, a driver with delivery or heavy goods vehicle must have MRN from export document and GMR reference (Goods Movement Reference).

GMR number is generated in GVMS, which stands for Goods Vehicle Movement Service. It is a British government system. Creating a notification and generating the reference allows trucks to cross the English border with goods meant for the UK.

You can generate GMR with PROMY24.COM. Feel welcome to contact our specialists, who will make the reference for you. Contact information can be found HERE.

MRN and GMR numbers do not have to be noted before the crossing. It is enough that driver has them.

Check disruptions

Ferry crossings at the English Channel are very frequent, which provides flow at the ports. But there may be a situation where the flow is disrupted by weather conditions or strikes.

We inform everyday about situations in the ports of Calais and Dover. Follow “Disruptions” section on our website. Possible changes in ferry traffic can be found in mentioned section. Check disruptions HERE.

Calais – Dover: booking

Book Calais – Dover ferries 24/7!

Thanks to our automatic booking system you can order crossings on the English Channel at any time. Learn how to do it step by step.

1) Log in or set up new account at PROMY24.COM.
2) Go to the main site.
3) Search for Calais – Dover route in “Your cargo booking” search engine.
4) Fill in vehicle’s length and number or drivers.
5) Press “Search” button.
6) Choose crossing with DFDS Seaways.
7) Enter the vehicle's registration number and weight or check that the vehicle is empty.
8) If you are transporting dangerous, refrigerated, oversized cargo, pets or farm animals, be sure to select the appropriate option when ordering.
9) If you have any comments about the crossing, you can enter them in the space provided.
10) Press “Confirm” button”.
11) Follow instructions on next screens in order to get the ticket.

Booking requests for Irish Ferries crossings must be placed within our office working hours. If you are in the need of Calais – Dover ferry outside those hours, we recommend using DFDS automatic bookings.

In order to book ferry crossing with Irish Ferries, you have to choose Irish Ferries operator in step 6. After that follow tips from next steps.

Book ferries with us!