Travel by ferry from Rosslare in Ireland to Cardiff in Wales with Stena Line

I recently travelled from Dublin to Cardiff by bus, ferry and train. I found out that there is a very cheap ferry followed by two trains that will take you from Rosslare to Cardiff for just 36 euros.

My story starts after getting off a Ryanair plane from Tenerife to Dublin which arrived at around 3.15 pm. I needed to get to Cardiff by the next day and couldn't afford the flight that was going later on and didn't fancy a long journey via Holyhead in North Wales and then down to South Wales by train.

I knew there was a ferry and train service from Rosslare in the south of the island and went to find out what bus I needed to take me to the departure point. Fortunately a girl at an information desk told me that there was one going at 4pm so I decided to take it.

I found the number 2 bus stop and an Eireann bus arrived in due course. I asked the driver how much a single to Rosslare was and was surprised to find it was as much as 19.50€ but paid it all the same.

I found out why it was so much later because the bus took nearly four hours to get to Rosslare although the journey through the beautiful lush greenery of the Irish countryside was a pleasure to behold. I had never been to Ireland before but could see why it is such a popular place and would like to go back to visit properly one day.

I confess I was worried we wouldn't reach Rosslare in time to buy a ticket for the ferry which was sailing at 21.15 and needed an hour check-in time beforehand. The bus driver stopped at one point to go and smoke a cigarette and invited fellow smokers outside the bus to join him.

I was amazed and wondered if this sort of thing happened a lot in Ireland. I was even more surprised when he stopped the bus again later on to go to a shop.

Anyway my fears were groundless and we reached Rosslare in time for me to buy a ticket. I was very pleased to find that it only cost 36€ and would take me all the way to Cardiff which is well over 100 miles past Fishguard where the ferry was sailing for.

The Stena Line ferry is massive and you don't feel you are on a boat at all. I get seasick so was a bit concerned I would get ill when we were out on the ocean but it really wasn't like being aboard a ship at all.

The ferry had a huge café bar and a separate restaurant as well as a TV lounge, play areas for children and a big shop. It was my first experience of being on a Stena Line ferry and I was very impressed. I treated myself to fish and chips and a cold beer.

The ferry reached Fishguard at around 10 to one in the morning but at the price paid I think it is very cheap even though there is the disadvantage of travelling late at night.

From Fishguard Stena Line ferries offer very reasonable rates for travelling to and from Ireland. The Stena Express Fastcraft gets you across the sea to Rosslare in just 120 minutes. A day trip to Rosslare is just £26 for an adult and £13 for a child. 24 hour return is only £32 for adults and £14 for children.

To take a car over costs £120 and includes the fare for the driver. Stena Line also offer trips to Wexford Town, Wexford races and Kilkenny Castle.

There was a wait at the Fishguard station for a train at 1.50 am that took you as far as Swansea where instead of another train to Cardiff we had to board a bus to Neath where we found another train. This was a bit inconvenient but still very good value for money.

The second train from Neath reached Cardiff at 5.25 in the morning. I was very tired but happy to have reached my destination after an interesting journey and at a very cheap price.

Copyright © 2010 Steve Andrews. All Rights Reserved.