Transport

Stena Ferry From Dublin To Holyhead in Wales For Just €10!

Darragh

28 Jun 2025 — 9 min read

Dublin to Holyhead Ferry

I'm writing this from my home office where I am fortunate enough to look out at Dublin Bay and see the endless flotilla of ships passing that remind me that we live on an island. So yesterday, I did a day trip to Holyhead and it cost just €10!

Where is Holyhead?

Holyhead is in northern Wales and is the main port for ferries leaving Dublin. It's 59 nautical miles and the ferry takes just 3 hours.

From Holyhead, you can take the train or bus to anywhere in England or beyond.

Irish Ferries or Stena Line

Irish Ferries and Stena Line sail between Dublin Port & Holyhead. They both have a fleet of roll-on, roll-off type ferries which can take trucks, cars and passengers.

Irish Ferries also have the fast ferry, the Dublin Swift which takes just two hours.

Irish Ferries have six sailings from Dublin to Holyhead tomorrow while Stena Line has four sailing each way.

I went with Stena Line because they had a €10 roundtrip day ticket for foot passengers! That's the only reason, no preference on companies.

Check Sailing Times & fares

We passed Irish Ferries Ulysses in Holyhead Port

Getting to Dublin Port

I parked right outside the ferry terminal but there are buses from the city that connect to the ferry.

9:30am: Check-In
Check-in took less than a minute and the waiting area was nearly full when I got through so I waited outside and watched the cars driving onto the ferry.

9:45am: Bus to Ship
Foot passengers are brought onto the ship by a bus. It took less than five minutes until we were on deck 5 next to the cars already parked.

10:15am: Departure From Dublin
We left time. The ship reverses out of its tight parking spot. I loved watching the intricacies of it. There's not much room for error.

Then we sailed out under the Poolbeg Chimneys and along the Great South Wall. Fantastic views all over the south side of Dublin and the Wicklow Mountains.

Out of the thousand or so people on board, only 10 of us were on deck enjoying the views. Everyone else preferred Sky News in the lounge. Strange.

11:00am: Howth
It took 45 minutes to travel the short distance to Howth where we had a close up of the Howth Cliffs. I stayed on deck the whole time. Absolutely loved seeing Dublin from this perspective. I'm on the water a lot in Dublin and lead a coastal walking tour, I can never get enough of the sea.

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Leaving Dublin Port

Onboard The Stena Adventurer

Once land was out of sight, I went to explore the ship. For a 22 year old ship, it was very comfortable. Decks 7 & 8 had a variety of seating areas, cafes, restaurants and duty free. The cabins were on deck 9.

It was late June and it was busy. Because I spent so long on deck, the prime seats were gone. There were seats available in the middle of the ship but without sea views.

It wasn't noisy in the sense that people were being loud, but you put hundreds of people in a confined space and there's just a level of noise that is louder than my living room. I was grateful that I had my noise cancelling headphones with me and I kept exploring the ship rather than sit down.

Food & Drink on Board

The restaurants were doing a roaring trade. You'd swear they were Michelin-starred restaurants the way people were queuing up for them. I've eaten on board before and it's fine. Nothing more. The prices are a little higher than on shore, but not outrageous considering they have a captive audience.

Duty Free

The duty free had everything you want to save paying duty on. Cigarettes, alcohol, perfume. I was planning on getting a bottle of Irish whiskey but the selection was disappointing. I'm too used to the Whiskey Shop in Dublin Airport.

A Hidden Quiet Spot

Stena Adventurer Seating The Family Hub on Stena Adventurer — The Family Hub

I did find a quiet spot though in the least expected of places, in the Family Hub. It's hidden away on Deck 8 and the kids weren't off school yet so I sat up against the windows and watched the Irish Sea sail by until Wales came into view.

Arrival in Holyhead

Just like in Dublin, we had to reverse into the dock. This makes the Dublin to Holyhead journey 3:30 hours, while the return journey is only 3 hours because the ship goes straight in and out.

1:45pm. We docked right on time. Foot passengers were told to stay where we were. They had to unload the cars and trucks first.

2:15pm: We boarded the bus to the terminal, then went through border control.

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Arriving in Holyhead

Lunch in Holyhead

A Sad Welcome To Wales

I hadn't heard good things about Holyhead and the first thing you see coming across the Celtic Bridge is this vacant bargain shop. A polite suggestion to Holyhead city council to do something here. It's not a good first impression of Wales for thousands of visitors.

Cuffed-In Coffee

I had googled in advance and read that Cuffed-In Coffee was the spot to go. I only had 45 minutes before check-in closed so I had to be quick. It was a bright spot in a desolate main street.

The spicy chicken sandwich was decent, although it's a shame the eager young lad ruined the coffee art by ungracefully slamming my cappuccino on to my table. It was teen awkwardness rather than rude service. But A+ for effort and trying much harder than most other places in Holyhead.

Holyhead To Dublin

I actually had to rush back to check-in. Went through passport control and security. There was no security in Dublin Port and got back on the ship.

There was a much lighter passenger load for this afternoon sailing, but we were late departing due to a high freight load.

I was getting a little tired at this stage and had already decided to splash the cash on a lounge for the return journey.

Stena Plus or Hygge Lounge?

First I had to decide which lounge to select. Stena have two lounges. Stena Plus which is like business class and Hygge Lounge which is more like Premium Economy.

Stena Plus Lounge

It's at the front of the ship, has its own entrance and it separated from the riff-raff by glass. It includes snacks, crisps, biscuits, fruit, tea, coffee and even wine. You can order a meal from the server for an additional charge. The Stena Plus lounge cost €27 on board. It was €30 online when I bought the ferry ticket, so wait until you're on board to buy.

Hygge Lounge

The Hygge Lounge cost €15 but only has tea & coffee included, no food. It is at the front of the ship with same views as Stena Plus and the seating is more comfortable. There are few rows of recliners.

I had used Stena Plus last year and there were only a few of these recliners, the rest of the seats were restaurant style and armchairs. Not as comfy for dozing off. Plus I had noticed on the outbound journey that the Stena Plus lounge was very busy while Hygge wasn't. And I had to drive so couldn't enjoy any wine. I went for Hygge.

There were only 8 people in the approx 50 seater lounge, so it was very quiet. I stuck on the headphones, pulled out a book and enjoyed a very peaceful three hours. It was nearly spa like, ok, not quite, but I was disconnected from everything and just chilled out.

Note. I saw in the front row for the views, but moved to the back after a while because the sun made it very warm in the front row.

I also made sure that I drank enough of the included coffee and tea to recover my €15 lounge fee.

Note: The Hygge Lounge is about to be rebranded to the Hwyl Lounge "to underline the connections between Scandinavia and Wales and celebrate the Welsh Year of Croeso (welcome)". It's the same lounge though which an even more difficult name to pronounce.

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View from the Stena Hygge Lounge Approaching Dublin

SOS

We actually had to search for a missing yacht which added an hour onto our return journey. I wasn't bothered, I was in Hyggeland. We docked in Dublin an hour later but the views approaching Howth and Dublin City were excellent on approach.

Arrival in Dublin Port

Respect to the captain and crew for their ability to maneuver the ship better than I can parallel park. Foot passengers had to wait again and thirty minutes after docking, we were on the bus to the terminal, where Irish immigration checked our papers and I walked to my car that was parked right on front of the terminal.

There was a bus waiting to bring other passengers into the city

Traveling with Pets

I'm a big dog lover so even though I wasn't with a dog, I checked out the kennels on the Adventure. I had already done the same on the Estrid last year. I would only bring a dog on the Estrid. You can access the kennels during the sailing and they are much nicer. I wouldn't like to leave my dog in the Adventurer kennels on the car deck.

Total Cost For The Day

€10 - Ferry Roundtrip
€9 - Car Parking At Dublin Port
€15 - Hygge Lounge Holyhead to Dublin
€20 - Food and drink
€54 - Total

Final Verdict

That was a fun day out! I would definitely do it again. I might even take the later ferry home and do the walking trails near Holyhead because they looked beautiful.

I was concerned the Adventurer would feel old but it didn't. I sailed the Estrid last year & it is definitely nicer, but the Adventurer was fine for such a short sailing.