How to get to Southampton (England) from France?

Hi there, I found a cruise on the Queen Victoria departing from Southampton, but the trickiest part is getting to Southampton. We’re leaving from Marseille or Paris if that’s easier. Thanks for your tips, have a great day!

Hi Nicom,

We’re leaving from Southampton in June with Princess and will take the ferry to meet the Emerald Princess. Brittany Ferries offers connections to Portsmouth from Caen (Ouistreham).

The ferry leaves Ouistreham at 8:30 AM and arrives in Portsmouth at 1:30 PM, so you’ll need to plan an overnight stay before boarding. For the return trip, the ferry departs at 3:00 PM, which gives you plenty of time to reach it after disembarking in the morning—the arrival in Caen (Ouistreham) is at 10:00 PM.

We did this in July 2023, and it was really nice. There are parking lots and hotels in Southampton where you can leave your car for the duration of the cruise. The round-trip ferry for two passengers and the car costs us 334 € this year.

It’s an off-the-beaten-path solution, and we chose it after the airline Flybe, with which we had booked Avignon-Southampton tickets, went bankrupt 15 days after we reserved the tickets and kept our 800 €.

Thanks Catherine, this solution works well for you—enjoy! We’re looking for a flight that’s not too long, so I’ll keep searching....

When we did it in 2023, we were living between Nîmes and Avignon. 😉

I remember you changed regions.... My husband (78) doesn’t like driving anymore, and neither do I, which is why we’re looking for flights....

Have you checked Google Flights? With random dates in July from Marseille to Southampton, I found this:

Hi there! One day I took a flight to London and then the bus to Southampton—about 2 hours by bus. Mich74

Thanks! I don’t know this site—I’ll check it out.

Thanks so much

If you find a flight that works for you on Google Flights, check which airline is offering it, and go directly to the airline’s website to book it. It’s always best to avoid middlemen. In case of changes or cancellations, it’s easier to handle.

Yeah, that's usually what I do for hotels too. Have a good Sunday!