Ferries from Ireland to Belgium
In the past, Belgium had its own ferry port in Zeebrugge, but nowadays you’ll need to rely on ports in France or the Netherlands. Belgium can be reached easily via an overnight ferry to France, or in two steps via the Netherlands.
Ferry to Belgium via France
If travelling via France fits well with your plans, you can either take an overnight ferry to Dunkirk or cross from Dover to the French coast. These ports are located in the far north of France, just a short distance from the Belgian border.
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Options for reaching the UK
To reach Dover, you first need to get to the United Kingdom. This can be done via the following well-known routes from Ireland:
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Ferry to Belgium via the Netherlands
Besides travelling via France, it is also possible to reach Belgium via the Netherlands. One advantage here is that you can board an overnight ferry in the evening and treat it as a floating hotel, arriving early the next morning close to Belgium. Rotterdam is not far at all, Antwerp is only about a two-hour drive away. These are the most logical routes when travelling from England to the Netherlands:
Useful ferry tips for travelling to Belgium
- Dunkirk is the most Belgium-like arrival without actually arriving in Belgium, especially handy for West Flanders and the Belgian coast.
- Rosslare-Cherbourg is worth adding here: it is the cleaner mainland option if you want to stay out of the UK and do the rest by road through France and Belgium. Visit our Ireland to France page for more information on this route.
- The old Hull-Zeebrugge route is now history: P&O ended that passenger service in 2021, so Hull-Rotterdam is now the relevant overnight North Sea option to mention.
