Exploring Ferry Crossings in Motorcycle Travel: Essential Tips and Resources
When embarking on a motorcycle journey, whether it’s a short adventure nearby or a long-distance expedition, it’s rarely confined to just paved roads and dirt tracks. Often, riders must navigate across bodies of water, which means ferry crossings become a crucial part of the trip. Not only can ferries save you significant time, but they also provide essential connections where overland travel isn’t possible.
With roughly 70% of Earth’s surface covered in water, it’s easy to understand how essential ferries are. They connect cities, regions, and even continents, helping move goods and passengers over oceans, lakes, and rivers. If your motorcycle journey includes island stops or water-bound destinations, ferries are unavoidable. That’s why planning for them is crucial.
In this article, we explore some of the best ferry portals that provide detailed route information, pricing, and booking options. These resources can save you time and ensure your trip runs smoothly. We also examine a few official company websites for those who prefer direct contact.
Ferry Booking Resources:
Ferrylines
Ferrylines claims to be “the most complete ferry portal in the world.” Available in eight languages, it offers various options to search routes, compare prices, and view ferry operators. Its world map feature is a unique advantage, making it easy to plan trips visually.
Testing the site’s booking functionality revealed some interesting results. For example, a one-way ticket from Frederikshavn, Denmark, to Gothenburg, Sweden, listed the best price at €24.50 for two people and a motorcycle. The site’s advantage lies in its comparison feature, but when we tried booking directly through Stena Line, the ferry operator, the price was nearly identical.
We also simulated a Spain-to-Morocco route (Algeciras to Tangiers), with the best rate offered by Trasmediterranea at €104 for two passengers and a motorcycle. Interestingly, booking directly through Moroccan Intershipping resulted in a lower price of €70, showing that cross-checking multiple sources can reveal savings.
Aferry
Aferry brands itself as “the world’s largest ferry booking site” and partners with over 200 companies. The site is easy to navigate and adjusts its listings based on language. For example, selecting French shows popular routes to destinations like Corsica and Tunisia, while Italian features routes to Sardinia and Greece.
Though the portal doesn’t have an interactive map like Ferrylines, it does offer a comprehensive list of ports arranged alphabetically by country. Similar to Ferrylines, it compares different companies for the best price.
Directferries
Directferries offers an impressive 2,880 routes and 692 ports worldwide. While it doesn’t significantly differ from the previous portals, it has a feature for booking the transport of goods, which isn’t available on the other two.
From Portals to Official Websites
For those who prefer booking directly, many ferry companies have their own websites. These can provide additional flexibility, though prices are often comparable to what’s available on booking portals. Popular options for specific regions include sites like greeka.com for the Greek islands and go-ferry.com for routes throughout Europe.
Wikipedia is also a handy resource for finding ferry companies. By typing “list of ferry operators” into any search engine, you’ll be directed to a comprehensive page featuring links to hundreds of ferry services across the globe.
Ferries are a key part of many motorcycle adventures, connecting destinations that roads cannot. By using specialized ferry booking portals, you can compare prices, check routes, and ensure that your trip is seamless, even when the road ends and the water begins.
| Region | Operator | Routes |
|---|---|---|
| AFRICA | Algerie Ferries / ENTMV | Algeria – Spain, France |
| CNAN | Algeria – Spain, France | |
| Comarit | Morocco – Spain, France, Italy | |
| Comanav | Morocco – Spain, France | |
| Cotunav | Tunisia – France | |
| El Salam Maritime | Egypt – Saudi Arabia | |
| ASIA | Philippine Ferries Archipelago Corporation | Visayas, Mindanao, Luzon, Batangas, Philippines |
| Jomalia Shipping Corporation | Philippines, Camotes Island, Cebu | |
| Montenegro Shipping Lines | Visayas, Mindanao, Luzon, Philippines | |
| Roble Shipping INC | Visayas, Leyte | |
| Weesam Express | Visayas, Mindanao, Philippines | |
| Cokaliong Shipping Lines | Visayas, Mindanao, Philippines | |
| EUROPE | Brittany Ferries | United Kingdom – France, Spain |
| P&O Ferries | United Kingdom – France, Ireland, Netherlands | |
| DFDS | United Kingdom – France, Netherlands; Denmark – Norway | |
| Color Line | Norway – Denmark, Germany | |
| Stena Line | United Kingdom – Ireland; Sweden – Denmark, Germany, Poland | |
| Superfast Ferries | Italy – Greece | |
| NORTH AMERICA | Alaska Marine Highway | Alaska, United States |
| Washington State Ferries | Washington State, United States | |
| BC Ferries | British Columbia, Canada | |
| Lake Champlain Transportation Company | United States – Canada | |
| SOUTH AMERICA | Buquebus | Argentina – Uruguay |
| Colonia Express | Argentina – Uruguay | |
| Naviera Austral | Chile | |
| Transbordadora Austral Broom | Chile | |
| AUSTRALIA & OCEANIA | SeaLink | Australia |
| Interislander | New Zealand | |
| Bluebridge | New Zealand |
Also view the list of Japanese ferry companies at this link: Japanese Ferry Companies