Want to "collect" ferries of Europe -- prettiest? rockiest? smoothest? longest?
 

Hi,<BR><BR>I've embarked (pun, yup) on "collecting" trips on all the ferries of Europe. My wife is willing to go except on the ones that will have her hanging over the rail. <BR><BR>So how about some help in compiling the list, with nominations for certain categories like costliest, quickest, longest, rockiest, smoothest, most beautiful, most difficult to get to, most pointless, etc. etc.

Good luck....<BR><BR>A candidate for the shortest trip is the King Harry ferry.<BR><BR>A week or more could be spent catching ferries between the various Scilly Islands. Then there is Lundy Island, and Padstow to Rock, and this is only Cornwall, UK (and not all of that)!<BR><BR>I think you have a lifetime's work ahead.

I was going to mention King Harry's ferry but Ruth beat me to the punch!<BR>(It was awhile ago we traveled on it tho, and I can't remember WHERE it was!<BR>Cornwall????)<BR>If you want to party on a ferry, take the trip from Stockholm to Helsinki!

Hi<BR><BR>a nice ferry is Kiel - Gothenburg.<BR>It is a 14 hr trip and leaves at 19.00 each night, both ways.<BR><BR>The voyage across the sheltered waters is generally smooth. The boat has good food available, and a nightclub with live music.<BR><BR>The "so called " duty free shop has few bargains !<BR><BR>Peter<BR>http://tlp.netfirms.com/<BR>

Scariest (by happenstance, usually it's smooth or so I gather)and smallest: ferry from Rathlin Island to Ballycastle (Northern Ireland). You know the phrase "small craft warnings"? Well, it was meant for this craft. My apartment is bigger than this boat. Coming back, hit a storm (we are talking six miles of open sea) that sloshed water into the passenger deck, waves that the boat had to crest - looking aft, sometimes we saw sky, sometimes we saw Rathlin Island, sometimes we saw sea. I'm not Catholic, but have attended enough Masses to know Hail Marys and I was sayin' 'em. The four of us traveling together spotted the lifevest cabinet, and slid along the bench toward it.<BR><BR>We arrived in Ballycastle without having to avail ourselves of the aforementioned cabinet. The next day, at Giant's Causeway, we met some folks who'd been on the boat with us who said "oh yeah our landlady couldn't believe they set out in that weather. She expected we'd spend the night on the island".

I'll report on the Kennecraig-Islay one when I get back :)

.. how about the Isle of Wight ferry, from Southampton? might be one of the shortest. The Gozo ferry in Malta/Gozo must also be one of the shortest journeys. (about 20-25 mins)

My friend Helen believes that any Caledonian MacbRayne ferry journey is the most romantic thing in the world.<BR><BR>I think I posted a long time ago on the "takes your breath away" thread that sailing from Oban to Tiree up the Sound on Mull at 6am on the 1st of May with a golden pink sky was absolutely stunning.<BR><BR>Take one of Calmac's Rover tickets and see what you think when you've sampled a bunch of them

We were very lucky to recently inherit a trip on The Lord of the Glens, a reconverted ferry boat that cruises the waterways of of the Caledonian Canal. It has to rank up there as the most fabulous ferry. I have been meaning to do a trip report, and haven't had time, but this ferry post caught my eye.<BR><BR>Sheila, we too recently witnessed a magical pink sunrise at Tobermorry after a passage through the Loch Linnhe and the Sound of Mull. On our way back to Fort William we crossed the Firth of Loin to the delighful harbor town of Oban, where we witnessed yet another incredible pink sunrise. And the Isle of Iona, which we reached by commercial ferry....what a marvel! <BR><BR>The ferry crossing from Fionnphort to Iona has to rank as one of the shortest. Since we were totally fogged in and the water was perfecly smooth, it felt as if we hadn't moved at all! No sooner we got on than we got off. <BR><BR>Lucky the fog lifted in Iona. Within the span of a five minute fog-shrouded ferry crossing, we were transported across centuries.<BR><BR>Scotland is absolutely beautiful, and I look forward to many more visits (and ferry trips) there. Sheila, might you be able to direct us to the web site for the Scotland ferry system? <BR><BR>Mahalo,<BR>k

Sheila, found it under Caledonian MacbRayne:<BR><BR>http://www.calmac.co.uk/<BR><BR>(Thanks for the correct name!) <BR><BR>

ttt

There are some ferries where you would not expect them at all: Between the Basque towns of Hondarribia (Fuenterabbia on older maps) in Spain and Hendaye-Plage in France. You can also go by ferry across the river Guadiana between Portuguese town Vila Real at Algarve and the Spanish town Ayamonte.<BR><BR>Sweden has lots of free car ferries, because they are considered to be part of the road.

The ferry between Kylerhea on Skye and Glenelg is one of my favourites. It only takes 6 cars and the scenery is wonderful. We've seen seals and otters playing in the sea when we've crossed. There's supposed to be a pair of golden eagles nesting around there but I've never seen them.<BR>I also love the ferry between Southwold and Walberswick in Suffolk. It is just a rowing boat and for years was operated by a very old man. It is now rowed by a young woman.

Try the ones between Sweden and Finland. Huge ships like floating hotels, and beautiful archipelago almost all the way.

Check the website www.silja.com

I just realised you want bad experiences too.<BR><BR>The short ferry crossing from Scrabster on the north coast of mainland Scotland to Stromness in Orkney over the Pentland Firth has a shocking reputation. I've only ever done it once. <BR><BR>I was sick, literally:(

For a short ferry crossing try the chain ferry from Poole to Sandbanks in Dorset. Further afield how about the trip from Bonafacio in Corsica to Sardinia, the views are just wonderful.

How about the "Ferry 'Cross the Mersey'? There really is such a thing! Liverpool now offers a one hour cruise several times a day, to augment the usual commuter runs. There's an audio history of the river, a fine view of Pier Head, and a snippet of Gerry and the Pacemakers as you leave. How about "most nostalgic" ferry? I've been listening to that song since I was ten!

Stena Line's Harwich(London) - Hook of Holland, when you get on they let you know how smooth the passage will be for your overnight trip.

Since this stuff was up first, I've come across and read a book called &quot;Away with the Ferries&quot; which is a personal memoire of a Glasgow dentists who, not so much island hops as, ferry hops on Calmac ferries in the Hebrides for a long weekend every spring. Now THAT is sad.

Every Hebredean ancestor I possess (and thats a lot) just rose up from those rocky shores and took offence at Sheila's comment about the &quot;sad&quot; Glaswegian dentist!!! But I will recover quickly and play the game with this suggestion for most beautiful (and smoothest)...

In Italy, you can take a ferry from Termoli on the Adriatic coast to the Tremiti Islands. On a clear day (and there are more here than in Scotland, I can promise that...), the views of the Gargano are breathtaking and the Tremiti themselves have much to offer.

This is a bit of a cheat for shortest trip.

I live in South West London. We have several ferries across the Thames which are for foot passengers and bikes.

My favourite links Ham House (near Richmond) and Marble Hill House (near Twickenham). Both houses are worth visiting if you are in the area. Ham House is owned and run by the National Trust and Marble Hill by English Heritage (rival heritage bodies).

I'll vote for the roughest ferry trip - the overnght ferry from Oslo to copenhagen through the Skaggerack (sp?). We did this in September and the water was so rough that you had to hold onto the wall of the ferry with both hands to be able to walk. They even shut down the elevators - said it was too rough to use them safely - so folks on lower levels were forced to use the stairs. The dining room began to clear out as soon as we hit the rough water - and some folks still had not recoverd when we got to Copenhagen in the morning.!

I agree with the earlier posts that the CalMac system is the best and most beautiful way to commute the Scottish Islands.

Here are a couple of other contenders:
- Venice's northern lagoon, including Burano (not Murano and Torcello)
- The Sausalito to San Fran ferry
- The Chicago RiverBus -- at $1.50 this pedestrian ferry is the best and cheapest way to see the city.

Haven't done many ferries in Europe, but here's one that's quite enjoyable.

Haifa - Limassol - Rhodos - Piraeus &amp;
Piraeus - Crete - Rhodos - Limassol - Haifa

Nice thing is that the ferry takes long stops during the day at Limassol and Rhodos. Enough time to walk around town. Unfortunately, this service has been discontinued.

Sorry to have given offence:) As an afficionada of Cal-mac ferries, I concur that they're wonderful. But I wouldn't want to spend a week at a stretch on them.

The book, incidentally is terrific.

There's a short ferry ride across the Mosel at Beilstein. Seems to mostly carry people camping on north bank back and forth to Beilstein on the south bank.

One of the more interesting and shortest ferry rides is across the Russian River on the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska--it is powered by the river and carries fishermen across the river. Interesting as much for people watching as anything else.

The most pointless ferry trips are the ones that leave from Belfast, but never actually arrive anywhere. People pay to take day trips. My old office organised one. I've traveled the Belfast/Larne-Stranraer/Troon routes often enough to know that the less time spent on those ferries the better. Of course, it's always fun to watch people drinking at 7 a.m. But not so fun when you get stuck on one with Rangers/Celtic fans. They're bad enough on their own. But together, it's quite spectacular.

Oh what a lovely thread! It's bringing me back wonderful (and not so) memories of travels by ferry.

Sheila, I remember the Scrabster-Stromness Ferry! I must've been very lucky that day, because I did NOT get ill. And if anyone will get sick on a ferry, I will. It was a clear and cool day, and the water was surprisingly still.

Now, moving over to Brittany, France, the ferry between Quiberon and Belle Isle was one of those memorably bad experiences. It was, I think, all of an hour, but I was so ill after that trip that I spent the day lying on a bench in the port town while my then-boyfriend biked around the island. Yes, I lay sick while he went off on his own (reader, I did not marry him!).
Paule

Is Stoclholm Finland generally rocky?

Very rocky: ferry to any Cycladic island from Mykonos when the meltemi is at full force. The cigar smoke added to the nausea!

Beautiful: same ferry as it got nearer Santorini, and the winds calmed down. Approaching Santorini at sunset by ferry is a sight to remember.

As said above, Stockholm to/fro Helsinki is a great overnight ride in big beautiful ships. It's a good party ship and the food is great.

Roughest ride I've had was Calais to Dover. There was barf all over and the ship was stinking of it. Ride in the aft end because it doesn't heave as much back there. Another rough ride was from France around to Ireland.

Best party boat was from Ancona to Patras. It's more upscale than the Brindisi to Patras ferry.

One of my shortest

Oops, got cut off. . .

One of my shortest was from Vila Deal de Santo Antonio to Ayamonte. It's just a flat barge crossing the river.

The most beautiful and serene rides were a couple of ferries in Norway, part of a bus trip from Bodo to Narvik. The fjords are magnificent.

A few years ago I was in Oban (on the West coast of Scotland) on business. An unexpectedly cancelled appointment left me with a few hours to spare and I wandered down to the bustling ferry terminal to find that the ferry to the Isle of Lismore would be leaving shortly. As it was a scorching hot afternoon &amp; the return trip only took around a couple of hours, I thought it would be a very pleasant way to pass the time.

What I didn't realise until I got on the ferry, was that it was Oban's market day &amp; that I had to share the relatively small ship with quite a substantial number of cattle making their way over to Lismore with the local farmers. Well, the cattle did what cattle do &amp; by the time we got halfway across Loch Linnie the smell was unbelievable. It was one of those still, breathless days you get from time to time on the West coast, but I would have been very happy for a gale to have blown up to &quot;freshen us up&quot; a little.

When we got to Lismore the cattle disembarked &amp; I was treated to the charming sight of the crew desperately hosing the deck clear of all the &quot;keepsakes&quot; the cattle had left on board to remember them by.

At least I was able to enjoy the magnificent scenery on the way back!

Jim

I once took the postferry from Stavanger to Bergen, Norway.
Very (ferry fast) over the sea and in the fjords. Stops at small isles where people came and went with chicken, radio's and whatever they needes, like on an Indian train.

I am remembering (a few years back) a smooth and relaxing ferry ride on a sunny afternoon from Piraeus to Patmos ... it didn't get &quot;rough&quot; until evening with the frantic rushing &amp; pushing to disembark along with cars, produce trucks and carts, goats and motorcylcles. It was a memorable arrival to the beautiful, friendly island.