Ferry Poole - St Malo

Poole – St Malo with Condor Ferries

This route links Poole with St Malo, operated by Condor Ferries. The two ferry terminals are about 230 kilometres (125 nautical miles) apart in a straight line. Use the search engine above for current timetables and fares, or use the Direct Ferries button at the top of the page to compare the sailings.

Founded in 1964 by two Channel Islands businessmen, Condor Ferries is the main link between the UK, Jersey, Guernsey and Saint-Malo, carrying around a million passengers a year as well as the islands' freight. Since September 2024 it has been majority-owned by Brittany Ferries, which is bringing the services under its own name.

Poole

Poole Harbour is one of the largest natural harbours in the world, and for centuries its merchants made fortunes far from home: in the 1600s and 1700s the town was one of England's main ports in the Newfoundland cod trade, and the handsome Georgian houses around the old quay were built on the proceeds. Ceramics put Poole on the map in a different way: Poole Pottery, founded in 1873, is still synonymous with bright mid-century designs. For a short, characterful detour, take the little chain ferry across the harbour mouth at Sandbanks, in operation since 1926, to reach Studland's beaches and the Isle of Purbeck, where Corfe Castle stands in a gap in the hills. Beneath the Purbeck heath, Wytch Farm is often described as the biggest onshore oil field in western Europe, hidden so well that most visitors never notice it.

St Malo

The Falkland Islands owe their French name, Îles Malouines, to sailors from Saint-Malo who made the voyage there in the early 1700s, and the Spanish "Malvinas" comes from the same root. Another Malouin, Jacques Cartier, sailed from the harbour in April 1534 on the first of his voyages to what is now Canada. The sea is still the town's business: every four years the Route du Rhum, the solo transatlantic race, starts from here, drawing crowds to the pontoons. Inside the granite ramparts the old town is compact enough to explore in an afternoon, and both Cancale, famous for its oysters, and Mont-Saint-Michel are within about an hour's drive.