Strangford ferry timetable
The Strangford Lough ferry sails between Portaferry and Strangford in County Down every day of the year, except Christmas Day.
Ferry service updates
The normal ferry service is suspended from Monday 14 October for five weeks, due to essential health and safety works at the Portaferry and Strangford slipways.
If you travel by vehicle, you are advised to use the alternative route via Newtownards.
Alternative arrangements for passengers
Assumption Grammar School pupils
Bus substitution services are in place for pupils who go to Assumption Grammar School.
The bus will leave each morning from the Square in Portaferry at 7.45 am, with a further stop at 8.00 am on Kircubbin's Main Street.
The afternoon return service will be expected back at the Square in Portaferry around 4.45 pm.
Other school pupils who get a bus from Strangford
All other school pupils who normally use the ferry service to connect with their bus in Strangford should use the passenger-only ferry.
The passenger sailings will leave from 7.45 am to 8.15 am off schedule if necessary.
Buses will be waiting to meet pupils from these sailings in Strangford and will leave at 8.30 am.
Due to limited capacity on each passenger ferry crossing, all pupils will not be able to use the same crossing. Pupils are therefore advised to make sure they leave enough time to complete their journey.
For the return journey home, buses will bring pupils to the ferry terminal in Strangford as usual to use the passenger crossing to Portaferry.
Pupils who then connect to an Education Authority (EA) bus service in Portaferry for onward travel will get on the EA bus outside Blaney’s Shop.
The passenger-only ferry will operate a reduced timetable (with last sailing from Portaferry at 6.45 pm daily) shown below.
Temporary passenger-only timetable from 14 October
From Strangford
The ferry departs on the hour and on the half hour.
| Day | Early sailing period | Late sailing period | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weekdays | 7.30 am to 11.30 am | Break | 2.00 pm to 6.30 pm |
| Saturday | 8.00 am to 11.30 am | Break | 2.00 pm to 6.30 pm |
| Sunday | 9.30 am to 11.30 am | Break | 2.00 pm to 6.30 pm |
From Portaferry
The ferry departs on the quarter past and quarter to the hour.
| Day | Early sailing period | Late sailing period | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weekdays | 7.45 am to 11.45 am | Break | 2.15 pm to 6.45 pm |
| Saturday | 8.15 am to 11.45 am | Break | 2.15 pm to 6.45 pm |
| Sunday | 9.45 am to 11.45 am | Break | 2.15 pm to 6.45 pm |
For information on disruptions to normal service, check the TrafficwatchNI website.
SMS text message alert service
Passengers can register to get SMS alerts about delays and service suspensions and so on. Simply:
- text 'FERRY' to 07984 406004 to register
- text 'STOP' to 07984 406004 to stop
Receiving SMS alerts is free when in the UK.
A registration/ stop text is charged at your network operator’s standard rate.
Queries
If you have any queries, you can send them by email to the ferry manager address at the link below:
Where to buy tickets
You can find information about fares and where to buy tickets at this link:
Access for vehicles at Strangford and Portaferry harbours
Only authorised users are allowed to bring a vehicle into areas of Strangford and Portaferry harbours controlled and maintained by the Department for Infrastructure.
To get authorised access for a vehicle to these areas, you must make arrangements in advance by contacting the Harbour Master in the ferry terminal during normal office hours.
Events, large group travel, and oversized loads
If you're aware of any events in the area, or intend to travel on the ferry as a large group (more than 10 vehicles), contact the Strangford ferry terminal in advance to prevent traffic congestion.
This includes:
- sporting and show events
- funerals
- weddings
and
- transporting of oversized loads
Who to contact
You should either contact the ferry manager or the ferry operations manager at Strangford ferry terminal.
Complaints
The Department for Infrastructure aims to investigate complaints thoroughly and it would be helpful if as much detail as possible about date and time of travel and circumstances is given.
Written complaints will be responded to within 15 working days.
A written reply will not normally be sent to a verbal complaint.
You may also email your comments on the Strangford ferry operation directly to DfI Roads staff using the contact details at this link:
If you would like to get a written response you will need to provide your name and postcode.
Conditions of carriage
You can find the full Strangford ferry service conditions of carriage at the following link: