Go west in ’26 for more ships, more choice, and more comfort on the Channel

10th July 2025

Guillaume de Normandie leaving Portsmouth
Woof woof - we are pet friendly
Brittany Ferries Barfleur
Route map - Brittany Ferries and Condor
Armorique in Plymouth - image Tony Brown
Monty off Southsea
"That's not a drift (car people) THAT'S a drift
Ruben the dog on deck

Holidaymakers can now book their ferry to France up until November 2026
Sail direct from three convenient ports in central south and southwest UK plus two in south Ireland to five destinations along the coasts of Normandy and Brittany
2026 brings more sailings linking Ireland to France…
…and more winter sailings from UK to France, including Plymouth to St Malo
Sailing schedules now include routes to Guernsey
‘Scooby-Dooby-Doo, where are you?’ – how to get your paws on that all-important pet-friendly cabin

Western Channel ferry operator Brittany Ferries today launches its latest timetables for journeys to France up until November 2026, allowing holidaymakers to plan for French holidays and breaks this winter, and into next spring, summer and autumn.

The newly-published schedule covers 12 months from Monday 3^rd November 2025 to Sunday 1^st November 2026. Overall, in peak season, it opens the door to 120 weekly cross-Channel sailings linking 11 ports in UK, Ireland, France and Guernsey.

New this winter and next year

The new timetables have been crafted following extensive customer feedback and analysis of demand patterns over the last 12 months. Novelties include a more robust winter schedule, with a service on Brittany Ferries shortest, fastest route to France from Poole in Dorset to Cherbourg in Normandy from November to March. Plymouth will also benefit from winter sailings linking the city directly with St Malo in Brittany.

Overnight services from Rosslare in Ireland to Cherbourg in Normandy increase from five per week in each direction to a daily, year-round service, adding myriad holiday and short break options for Irish holidaymakers heading south. As well, of course, as French holidaymakers heading north.

And now that Condor Ferries is part of the Brittany Ferries family, routes from Portsmouth and Poole to the beautiful island of Guernsey and St Malo also feature in the timetable.

Book now for the best choice

With tickets on sale for travel over the next 15 months, Brittany Ferries recommends booking early. This brings many benefits, including access to the best choice of sailings especially over the popular school holiday periods, the ability to make holiday plans and book accommodation, peace of mind, and crucially: the first pick of cabins. The most sought-after types like luxury, accessible and pet-friendly are always the first cabins to sell out. Which brings us to:

The ‘Scooby Scramble’

For many years now, a recurring fixture of every Brittany Ferries timetable launch is the so-called ‘Scooby Scramble’.

Brittany Ferries carries over 100,000 dogs every year, and demand for its pet-friendly cabins is soaring. It first introduced this cabin type in 2010 and today offers 162 pet-friendly cabins across seven ships – in addition to kennels on some ships, and the possibility for dogs to sleep in their owner’s car on most sailings.

But despite this additional canine capacity, demand for pet-friendly cabins still outstrips supply, leading to a phenomenon which Brittany Ferries colleagues have for many years dubbed the ‘Scooby Scramble’, as dog owners rush to secure their first choice of pet cabin as soon as bookings open.

But fear not. The ferry company’s IT engineers and naval architects are working hard to make the Scooby Scramble a thing of the past, thanks to the recent introduction of a handy online pet-friendly cabin availability search tool, along with adding more dog cabins across the fleet. The number has almost tripled over the last five years, with plans to roll out even more in the years ahead.

Every pet-friendly cabin sports a range of features to make life easier and more comfortable for pooch and pal, including easy step-free access from the car decks, a pet treat pack, a hygienic laminate floor, enhanced deep cleaning, and convenient access to a dedicated open-air pet promenade area up on deck.

New timetables and new ships boost forward reservations

Another invariable consequence of the timetable launch is an annual surge in bookings. Last year on the first day of new season bookings, 7,000 customers reserved a ticket making it the busiest day for reservations in Brittany Ferries’ history.

The positive trend continued and overall bookings over the last year are 1.8 per cent up on the previous year, and 6.5 per cent up on 2019 – the last non-Covid year. The company attributes much of this growth to the modern, greener additions to the fleet including Saint-Malo (serving the Portsmouth/St Malo route where bookings are up 4.4 per cent in 2025) and Guillaume de Normandie (serving Portsmouth/Caen, up 3.6 per cent, on the back of a 10 per cent rise in 2024). Another 2024 star performer is Rosslare to Cherbourg (up 39.7 per cent in 2025), making it an easy decision to increase the service frequency on this route in 2026.

How to book for 2026

Customers can now book their UK/France and Ireland/France ferry sailings for travel dates until Sunday 1^st November 2026. They can book online at www.brittany-ferries.co.uk, over the phone with Brittany Ferries’ Plymouth- and Cork-based contact centre on 0330 159 7000 (UK) and 021 427 7801 (Ireland), or via all good travel agents.

And customers looking to book Brittany Ferries’ 2026 direct long-haul sailings from UK and Ireland to northern Spain don’t have too long to wait: these will go on sale later in July and more details will follow shortly.

Paul Acheson, Brittany Ferries’ director sales and marketing says:

“As we launch our 2026 sailings, our message is clear: whether you sail with us for holidays, business or maybe to get to your second home in France, whether you travel once a year, or every month; you travel alone, with family, friends, as part of a group, or with your dog—Brittany Ferries is here to serve you.

“Year-round, we offer the widest choice of routes and sailings anywhere on the Channel –with the biggest and best fleet.

“This modern, green and comfortable flotilla of ships allows us to respond to customers’ varied and changing requirements throughout the year, ensuring we always have the right ship, in the right port, on the right route and at the right time – and never will this be truer than in 2026.”

—Ends—

About Brittany Ferries:

Brittany Ferries was conceived in 1972, starting life as a freight-only ferry-service on 2nd January the following year. The first vessel (Kerisnel) linked Roscoff in Brittany with Plymouth on the southwest of England and carried a cargo of cauliflowers and cognac. Since then, the company has progressively launched, then strengthened its shipping routes. In more than 52 years of service, millions of passengers and businesses have travelled by sea across the so-called Atlantic Arc (France, UK, Spain and Ireland). They rely on the links forged by more than five decades of experience. In addition to cutting congestion and emissions on busy roads, Brittany Ferries’ motorways-of the sea have helped enrich local communities, creating jobs, nurturing international tourism and boosting cross-border trade. Five new vessels joined the fleet between 2019 and 2025. Two LNG-electric-hybrids (Saint-Malo in February 2025 and Guillaume de Normandie in April 2025) complete the largest fleet renewal programme in the company’s history.

More details, and images here:

Key figures:

Turnover: €516 million in 2024 compared with €484.7 million 2023 and 444.7 million in 2022.
Employment: Around 2,707 employees, including 1,818 seafarers (full-time equivalent)
Passengers: 1,99 m compared with 1.84 million in 2022
Freight: 162,000 compared with 155,592 in 2023
13 ships connecting France, the United Kingdom, Spain and Ireland, via 13 maritime routes
12 ports: Roscoff, Saint-Malo, Cherbourg, Caen, Le Havre, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Poole, Cork, Rosslare, Santander, Bilbao.
New for summer 2025: rail-freight ‘ro-ro-rail’ service connecting Cherbourg with Bayonne (Mouguerre)

Go west in ’26 for more ships, more choice, and more comfort on the Channel

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