I'll be travelling to Ireland in May. After Ireland I want to go to England and then to Holland.I'd like to get some thoughts on taking the ferries. How much? Reservations required? Any info I can get would be appreciated.

I'm not sure on prices, but is there a reason to take the ferry instead of a cheap flight? Its only an hour flight and you can get very cheap airfares on www.ryanair.com (watch for additional charges and luggage restrictions) or www.aerlingus.com - the ferry is long and not that interesting. Plus - where in the UK are you trying to get to? It doesnt make sense to take the ferry if you are trying to get to London for example.

If you are just interested in trying a ferry you can take the overnight ferry from London to Holland and its quite cheap and saves a nights hotel room. We did it in Sept: http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-adventure.cfm

Agree with the above and if you are taking a hired car from Ireland to England there will be a huge drop off fee. Better to rent in Ireland, take a flight and then depending on what you want to do in England hire another car.

There are various ferry routes from Cork, Rosslare, Dun Laoghaire, Dublin, Belfast and Larne to ports in England, Wales and Scotland.
www.fastnetline.co.uk
www.irishferries.ie
www.norfolkline-ferries.co.uk
www.poferries.com
www.stenaline.com
Fares for a car vary greatly according to the season. Fares for a passenger without a car are cheap. Both Irish Ferries and Stena Line have fares combining the ferry crossing with the train journey to or from the British port.

Thanks for the info.

Stena Line runs some very good fast ferries, with free WiFi.

Unless you have a car, it sounds like you may be better off using the amazing cheap 'RailSail' fares that cover both the ferry and connecting onward train on one ticket for one inclusive price:

1. Dublin to London or any station in Britain costs £30.50 or less.

£30.50 is the fare from Dublin Ferryport to London or any railway station in SE England, SW England or East Anglia, and that's not a 'from' price, that's a fixed price that you pay even on the day of travel (but I'd recommend buying a few days ahead as it does require a reservation on the ferry). The price between Dublin & Manchester or Liverpool or Birmingham etc. is a pound or two less. If you buy in Dublin at the ticket window at Connolly station, the fare at the Irish end is about 40 euros, don't ask me why it seems a bit more expensive bought in Ireland, it just is.

Details of these amazing well-kept secret RailSail tickets can be found at www.seat61.com/Ireland.htm, along with the timetable.

An Irish Ferries ship laves Dublin Ferryport at 08:05 daily for Holyhead, a fast Holyhead to London train gets you to Euston at 17:20 or thereabouts.

Top tip: Pay the £16 surcharge to access the Martello VIP Lounge on board the Irish Ferries ship, this gets you free red and white wine, coffee, tea, smoked salmon canapees, cheese, fruit & crackers. Very civilised! You pay at the door to the lounge.

2. London to Amsterdam or any Dutch station.

You can buy a special RailSail ticket from London to Any Dutch railway station from £35 which includes the train from central London (Liverpool St Station, depart 21:00 daily) to Harwich, the overnight Stena Line superferry to Hoek van Holland (sails at 23:45, arrives 07:45 next morning Dutch time) and the train to Amsterdam (arrives Amsterdam Centraal 10:03). You need to pay for a private cabin in addition to the fare, this costs only £24 for a private single-bed cabin with free WiFi, satellite TV, top-quality 'Dux' swedish mattresses and private shower and toilet. The cabins on the brand-new 63,000 ton Stena Hollandica (only introduced in May this year) are better than many hotels I've stayed in!! She's and her sister ship Stena Britannica are the largest RoPax ferries in the world. A rock steady crossing!

Top Tip: Take the earlier 19:00 train from London (the ticket is valid on any train) and you can board the ship much earlier at 21:00 and have a late dinner in the a la carte or self-service restaurant on board before retiring to your cabin.

Detils for this RailSail 'Dutch Flyer' service (another well-kept secret) are at www.seat61.com/Netherlands.htm