An Exciting Trip: My Portsmouth To Caen Ferry Review

Wanting to avoid the crazy airport crowds, we opted to take a ferry across the English Channel to France this past summer. Some alternative transport-loving friends of ours recommended Brittany Ferries, and that was enough for us to get tickets from Portsmouth to Caen! And yes, we now also recommend the ferry, especially if you have kids!

Having been in London, we decided to depart from Portsmouth and arrive in Caen. We chose Caen (pronounced something like “Cah”) because it is near the holiday home of our aforementioned friends. We hired a car on arrival to travel across France for the next 2 weeks.

The ferry between Portsmouth and Caen takes approximately 6 hours and departs up to 3 times a day. The last of these is an overnight journey. There are 2 ships operating on this route: Mont Saint Michel and the Guillaume de Normandie. Both ships carry passengers and vehicles. We had planned to drive a hire car on board, however, there was a small miscommunication and we ended up with no hire car. We instead boarded as foot passengers, hiring a car once we arrived in Caen. I have not had great luck with hire cars historically and so continues this tradition!

The Ports

Both ports are easily found and have clear drop off areas. The terminal buildings are also relatively small so it’s quick to check in and then board (once boarding commences!). Don’t arrive too early: while you can check in you can’t go through security until the ferry arrives. Neither terminal is so interesting as to hold your attention for long. That said, you definitely should arrive at least 45 minutes before departure so that you can check in on time.

Portsmouth

The Portsmouth terminal is a large modern building with clear signage. As of July 2025, it was undergoing improvement works and so foot passengers boarded the ferry on a shuttle bus. You’ll exit the bus in the car park area of the ferry.

Security and immigration were quick and fairly painless.

Caen

The ferry terminal on the French side is located in the smaller centre of Ouistreham, about a 20min drive from Caen’s centre. It is a smaller and older terminal than in Portsmouth.

Please note that for anyone travelling WITHOUT a UK passport, the staff at the check-in counter may question whether you have the right to enter the UK. This is probably due to recent (2025) changes to the UK’s entry rules. I have Indefinite Leave to Remain but this status is not a document in my passport. Consequently, I had a small issue when checking in over my right to enter the UK. It wasn’t just me having difficulties – another person was also having to defend his right to board, despite having lived in the UK for the past 20 years. Have your documents/eVisa handy.

There were no renovations at Caen ferry terminal when we were there. However, we still boarded a bus to take us from the terminal building to the entrance of the ferry, and then boarded the actual ship on foot from there.

Outward Journey: Ferry from Portsmouth to Caen

The Portsmouth ferry terminal is near a pub called The Ship and Castle. Please note there is more than one Ship and Castle in Portsmouth, and also more than one wharf! Best to navigate to the Brittany Ferries Terminal itself, and then find the pub on foot from there if that’s what you wish to do.

For our first leg, we chose an overnight journey, departing at 11.30pm. Our children were 7 and 5 at the time, and while this would be a late night for them, we thought they would be excited enough to get to the cabin before fatigue took over. Unfortunately we didn’t count on the ferry being an hour late! We boarded the bus which drove us onto the ferry and dropped us off in the car area. From the car deck we took the lift to deck 8 – there was a bit of a wait for the lift – and found our 4 berth cabin fairly easily. It was quick to bed from there.

The ship we took on this leg was the Mont Saint Michel.

The next morning we were awakened quite early by music over the PA system. Be prepared for a not-quite-full night’s sleep! They wake you about an hour before docking in France so you have time to shower and get ready. My suggestions is to take your time and don’t rush to leave your cabin. You’ll likely have to wait in the foyer for a while before being allowed to disembark. There was a cafeteria on our deck from which we bought a few pastries for breakfast.

The terminal on the French side is in a town called Ouistreham, where the Canal de Caen a la Mer meets the sea. We took an uber into Caen from the terminal entrance.

Leg 2: Caen to Portsmouth ferry

We chose an early evening journey for our return to the UK 2 weeks later. Again we boarded the Mont Saint Michel, this time for a 4.30pm departure. It was a popular ferry and there were many school children in the terminal. We did our best to stay ahead of the children and did manage to board ahead of them.

The port in Caen wasn’t undergoing any renovations like in Portsmouth, however a bus still took us from the terminal building to outside the ferry itself. Once there so we were able to to walk directly onboard.

The trip this time was a bit shorter than the overnight journey. Because we had overpaid by booking a car ticket and that hadn’t worked out Brittany Ferries allowed us to book a complimentary cabin for the return journey, which was actually a great idea – I would recommend a cabin, especially if you have children. The cabin this time was on Deck 7. After taking a 2 hour nap we all wandered up to the restaurant for a light dinner.

We arrived in Portsmouth around 9.30pm and again disembarked via the ferry bus due to the ongoing renovations. We made the mistake of disembarking after the school children and so immigration naturally took a bit longer than expected.

The Ship

While there are 2 ships operating this route we travelled aboard the Mont Saint Michel both ways. She’s a big girl, and apparently can carry more than 800 cars, and up to 2,200 passengers. Thats a lot of people.

The boarding process for foot passengers is not the most seamless I’ve ever seen, and I suspect Mont Saint Michel’s focus is on her car passengers, the system of which appeared to run quite well. Definitely in Portsmouth, the car passengers boarded quickly and before any of the foot passengers. But keep in mind that there were renovations happening at the Portsmouth Terminal when we were there, and perhaps the usual process is a lot less clunky.

Once you are aboard, there is a lift next to the ship’s stairwell so you don’t have to lug your bags up and down the stairs. You may need to wait as it’s a bit slow and lots of passengers will probably use it, especially for the evening voyages when they’re all tired.

The Cabins

Even if you are only undertaking a daytime ferry between Caen and Portsmouth, I strongly encourage you to consider booking a cabin. You can choose between 2 and 4 berth cabins. We, with our 2 children, unsurprisingly chose the 4 berth option. The beds were clean and are freshly made up for every journey. There is a ladder stored behind the door which can allow you to reach the upper bunks. I saw a few online reviews from previous years complaining of a bad smell in some cabins, but I didn’t notice any foul odours in either of the cabins we used. Either we were lucky or Brittany Ferries is paying attention!

Certainly you see the effort they put into the cleaning of the cabins. As you leave your room you will see the cleaning teams swarming the corridors, clearing the laundry and making up the beds for the next passengers.

The beds were comfy and the room was a good temperature. The kids loved the bunk beds. We slept well both times. We weren’t troubled by any ship noises, or noises from fellow passengers.

On our return journey I took a walk to one of the lounges filled with armchairs you can book (for a small fee). I was glad we’d booked ourselves a cabin, particularly for our initial overnight journey. While the armchairs may be comfortable enough, you are sharing the lounge with quite a few other passengers.

The Facilities

While I can only describe the Mont Saint Michel, you can also check the facilities of the other ferry servicing the Portsmouth to Caen route, Guillaume de Normandie. The set up of Mont Saint Michel is pretty good, as you’d expect from a ship carrying passengers for such long journeys. It has a cinema, an arcade room, an entertainment hall running quizzes and bingo, bars and plenty of eating options. We were on a ship with a large school group so it was quite rowdy on the return journey and the cinema rooms were packed.

The arcade hall was on level 10, just above the bar. I’d say it was aimed at slightly older children than ours.

The cinema is on level 7 behind the Duty Free shop. There are two cinemas halls, and you buy your tickets at the desk between them. We didn’t use the cinema on either journey but I did visit the desk to investigate while my family was sleeping. Unfortunately there was no one at the desk. I suspect there was already a movie running so tickets were no longer on sale.

There seemed to be 3 main food options including a kiosk serving burgers and hotdogs, a bustling cafeteria which was very popular, and the more formal and serene restaurant. The bar is also meant to serve snacks though I didn’t actually see anyone ordering or eating food in that area.

The Restaurants

The Mont Saint Michel lists several eating options on their website including the main restaurant serving an a la carte menu, a self service restaurant, vending machines and, naturally, a bar.

The main restaurant is Les Romantiques on Deck 8. It appears to close over the winter period.

The self service restaurant, La Galerie, also found on Deck 8, remains open over the winter period.

The name of the bar is the Blue Note Bar and is on level 9. It’s popular, as you may expect.

The website lists a cafe, Le Cafe du Festival, and says it’s next to the sundeck and promenade. I’m struggling to recall if this place exists. The website doesn’t say what deck it’s on. It’s also purportedly next to a soft play area for kids and I feel like I should definitely have remembered seeing this. I was still rather tired when I was exploring so perhaps I missed it. Maybe the cafe is actually the kiosk which I do recall seeing. Long story short, they might be calling a cafe what I would call a kiosk.

On our first trip across we didn’t use any of the dining options because we chose to use the time to sleep (no regrets!).

On our return journey, we ate dinner at the most formal looking restaurant, Les Romantiques, as it was both open and it did not have a line. The kiosk restaurant had closed by the time my husband and kids woke up, and the cafeteria had a massive line and was unsurprisingly really loud.

Les Romantiques had an a la carte menu and was quiet and chill, with good service. Food was a little pricey.

How to book a ferry

You can easily book your trip between Portsmouth and Caen with Brittany Ferries online. Simply go to their website and choose your route. Passengers with cars can book a car berth too. If you will be hiring a car in the UK to bring along then you need to let the car hire people know that you’ll be taking the car to France. Also note that if you are departing on a Sunday, then NONE of the car hire places in Portsmouth are open. In fact, nothing appears to be open in Portsmouth on a Sunday except the pubs.

To get to the terminal in Portsmouth, navigate to the Brittany Ferries terminal. You will need to catch an uber from the train station, or, if you are driving there direct (and need to board with your car), follow the signs.

If you’re in France and need to get to the Ouistreham terminal, you can take a bus from Caen city centre. However, please note that it doesn’t operate in the evenings, and it appears to not support passengers with disabilities. To pay for the buses on the French side, I found this page on Twisto’s website which suggests you need to buy a contactless Twisto card and load funds onto it. It looks like you can do this on the bus itself, which is useful.

If you’re driving to the terminal in Ouistreham then navigate to the Caen Brittany Ferries Terminal. Yes, you’re allowed to be moderately confused by this naming convention.

My recommendations:

Do

Try the ferry!
Book a cabin (even if its during the daytime)
Arrive at least 45 minutes before departure time for check in
If you hire a car in the UK please do let the company know you will be taking it to France

Don’t

Arrive 3 hours early at either terminal building, as there is little to do in the foyer
Book a hire car in Portsmouth with pick up on a Sunday 🙁

What do I know about air travel alternatives?

Not a whole lot to be fair! But this was a positive experience for us and we’re keen to do more of this kind of travel. Visit my About Me page to understand more about my perspective.