Direct Ferries Reviews 10,146

TrustScore 4 out of 5

4.0

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Review summary

Based on reviews, created with AI

Reviewers had a great experience with this company. They appreciate the user-friendly website, which allows them to easily find and fill in the necessary parameters. People highlight that the platform offers a comprehensive overview of available options, including comparisons between different providers, often resulting in cheaper prices than booking directly. Consumers also praise the efficient booking process and the ability to save progress and continue later. However, some consumers have reported issues with contacting customer service and some unfulfilled services. A few reviewers mentioned that the booking process can be confusing, and it's not always clear if the payment and booking have been successful. Some people have also reported issues with changes to bookings, finding the process inconvenient and confusing.

Based on these reviews

Rated 4 out of 5 stars
Verified

OK good oversight of the possibilities so booking proces is good. But the final price is higher than expected. Disappointing. One hour before departure is a long time when you have to drive over fr... See more

Rated 4 out of 5 stars
Verified

Hello, Maybe i'm a little early with this response. We still have to take the ferry from Hirthals to Kristiansand, and 3 weeks later back to Hirthals. As it is our first time going to Norway, it too... See more

Rated 4 out of 5 stars
Verified

We’ve used the service many times, we find it to be our finest choice when travelling to England. We board in holland in the evening and after a normal night’s sleep we leave the boat feeling fresh an... See more

Rated 4 out of 5 stars
Verified

Many facilities - also for children - but I think we could have also used one quiet area ;)

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

Avoid this company – they’re an unworkable middle-man. I booked a ferry through them and needed to make a small change. After days of delays, I was told to pay a £24 change fee, which I did. Minutes... See more

Company replied

Rated 2 out of 5 stars
Verified

De overtocht betrof een traject van LA PALMA S/C naar LAS PALMAS. Er werd voorgesteld dat het om een directe verbinding ging, maar dat bleek geenszins correct. Eerst werd gevaren van LA PALMA S/C na... See more

Company replied

Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Verified

I ordered tickets online but I didn't receive them on time, Then I bought tickets at the ferry desk and so I paid twice for the same tickets. After a complaint at Direct Ferries they returned my m... See more

Company replied

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

Direct Ferries is fine until something goes wrong and then you're in trouble. We had one leg of a return ferry trip from Sardinia to Corsica delayed because of the weather. At this point Direct Ferr... See more

Company replied

Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Verified

Amazing customer service, rarely have I come across a company who goes the extra mile for the customer. We had an issue regarding our passports and weren't able to board the ferry. They were able to n... See more

Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Verified

We had a top experience using the ferry service from Spain to Morocco! Booking online was super easy, and check-in felt just like an airport—fast and smooth, with no need to print extra documents. Pe... See more

Rated 3 out of 5 stars
Verified

Quite good, but to change the booking gave some inconveniences. Not so clear with the app and following emails etc… bit confusing

Company replied

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

Update: Direct ferries have now refunded us for the service which is appreciated. Direct Ferries sold us tickets for a company that does not exist - we turned up to find the ticket collection sit... See more

Company replied

Rated 2 out of 5 stars
Verified

We booked a ticket via Direct Ferries - everything went smooth - payment, process even the changes 1 hour later. Problem is we paid for the ticket voor de Øresund Bridge Pass (Malmo to Copenhagen) b... See more

Company replied

Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Verified

Direct Ferries shows the available ferries from a specific port, but also the alternatives from ports nearby. Most useful to have all options in a single view.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Verified

Easy to book, however seems not all classes are available to book. only normal and business class. For buquebus ferry colonia-buenos aires there is also a special class available (first class)

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

I recently used Direct Ferries to purchase over 15 ferry vouchers while touring in Italy. My last day in Italy I purchased vouchers for Caremar Ferry and the Caremar Rep refused to accept my voucher... See more

Company replied

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

My experience with Direct Ferries so far has been excellent. Made multiple bookings for a family motorhome trip to Sicily via Sardinia in August 2025. Needed to add a passenger to several crossings fo... See more

Rated 3 out of 5 stars
Verified

Rating: ★★★☆☆ We recently traveled with Direct Ferries for the first time from Puttgarden to Rødby Havn and back. Overall, the experience was decent, but there are a few points... See more

Company replied

Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Verified

Snel en efficient I booked at 10 but on the document I received via mail is 11 indictaed. Suppose it is local time. For us 10:00.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Verified

Bought tickets on line for Liberty Line from Milazzo to Lipari and back. Received tickets via email and everything went very well

Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Verified

Service en app is top en de after service is geweldig. Vooral gericht ook op 1 medewerker Marl… ze is top. Dank!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Verified

Very good and clear booking system, extra service options are pushed a bit to hard, very quick and adequate booking confirmation!

Rated 2 out of 5 stars
Verified

No phone number available after a mistake while booking. Mistake because of strange behavior of the website

Company replied

Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Verified

They compare with different providers. And were even some 10% cheaper than when booking directly through the actual ferry line. They did however book the breakfast buffet on the following day. Accordi... See more

Company replied

Rated 4 out of 5 stars
Verified

DFDS is a very convenient way to cross over to the UK. It is a ferry - not a luxury cruise liner. That being said, I have to compliment the staff for their politeness and friendliness. We had lunch at... See more

Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Verified

Clear website. Acceptable prices, though they increased by the day and even at the moment when we were booking. Made a mistake with the return date. Called immediately and they could help we to un... See more

Rated 4 out of 5 stars
Verified

Very fast booking process, and unless some negative messages/reviews as well on internet, I am very satisfied in the way I was helped. Next morning I had an email yet, and had some extra questions, an... See more

Rated 4 out of 5 stars
Verified

I am pretty loyal sailing pretty much each year with DFDS to the UK and back. I love to spend two hours on the ship, to have a rest after 300 km drive and up to another 400. I'd love to sleep on the v... See more

Rated 3 out of 5 stars
Verified

It is all difficult to realise the boardingpass and There is Nothing to find about the location of the depart and how how to handle the car when you are earlier, parking? Where is The entrance? Give... See more

Company replied

Rated 3 out of 5 stars
Verified

Tickets are cheaper than when purchased from the carrier. One word of caution however; in theory you can change your tickets, but it is not possible to do so online. You will need to phone customer ca... See more

Rated 3 out of 5 stars
Verified

Booking the ferry took a lot of time, and at the end it was not clear whether payment and booking had succeeded or not. The next day on my creditcardaccount I could see that payment had been accepted... See more

Rated 4 out of 5 stars
Verified

use Direct ferries all the time, have no problems with the service, just find the extra charge for using my mastercard a bit off.This I, find in this day and age not very user friendly, costs are hig... See more

Rated 3 out of 5 stars
Verified

Finding the right ferry can be complicated if you don't know the port's name. Also the fact, that direct ferries represents different companies can lead to discussions. I booked a roundtrip to Cors... See more

Company replied

Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Verified

Quick and reliable booking. Only frustration is that cancelation option is expensive (for 2 persons more than 50 EUR for a booking of EUR 315) and still has a 48 hour before departure time limit.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars
Verified

Comparing price and options was just OK. But the pop-ups trying to push you to book instantly, opt for unwanted services and insurance were very annoying up to the level of deceitful

Rated 4 out of 5 stars
Verified

Easy to book from Rotterdam to Hull. Actually wanted to check to coming back via a different route, perhaps via Zeeburg or Calais. Same price as P&O direct - what are the advantages?

Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Verified

We booked various crossings via Direct Ferries. Their offer is complete and up to date, the payment and ticketing work without any hesitation and the prices are OK. [

Rated 3 out of 5 stars
Invited

Could become better. Booked priority, getting worked fine, getting off not! No priority getting off while paid for it. Second chance saturday at 4 in the afternoon.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Verified

Perfect booking tool! The result was much better than booking at the actual ferry service's own website. Curious to see how the trip turns out!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Verified

Easy to use, all options are shown even combining different companies. List is ascending in price. Cheaper than the company’s own website.

Company replied

Rated 3 out of 5 stars
Verified

I tried to book a ferry on Monday from Hirsthals to Kristiansand for 180 euro in stead of a confirmed booking i got a reservation acknowledgement and a 48h wait period. After a while I received an e... See more

Company replied

Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Verified

This is a transparant reservation system. The added benefit is that you can stop and continue at a later time.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Verified

Website is goed en alle parameters zijn makkelijk te vinden en in te vullen. Snelle communicatie via email.

Company replied

Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Verified

Boeking Ferry Barcelona ->Palma prima verlopen, en straks nog eentje Rostock->Trelleborg !

Company replied

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Company details

  1. Ferry Service
  2. Travel Aggregator

Written by the company

Direct Ferries is 's werelds grootste onafhankelijke verkoper van veerboottickets. Met een keuze uit meer dan 4412 veerbootovertochten en meer dan 901 havens wereldwijd, gebruiken we realtime prijzen en beschikbaarheid zodat je altijd en overal veerboten kunt vergelijken en boeken via onze website of app. Bij Direct Ferries bieden wij je de beste waar voor je geld. Wij bieden tickets van de grootste veermaatschappijen voor de populairste bestemmingen wereldwijd tegen concurrerende prijzen. Verken onze website en ontdek havens, routes en een schat aan nuttige informatie om je te helpen bij het plannen van je reis. Onze eenvoudige zoekfunctie voor het boeken van overtochten zorgt ervoor dat je de perfecte overtocht vindt, voor de beste prijs. Voor reizigers die op zoek zijn naar de populairste bestemmingen en oversteekroutes, heeft Direct Ferries de oplossing. Van iconische routes zoals Dover naar Calais, die Groot-Brittannië met Frankrijk verbinden, tot pittoreske reizen over de Griekse eilanden, ons platform biedt een breed scala aan opties. Verken de schilderachtige Noorse fjorden of vaar naar de betoverende Balearen voor de kust van Spanje. Of het nu gaat om de zonovergoten stranden van de Middellandse Zee of de ruige charme van de Schotse Hooglanden, Direct Ferries biedt naadloze boekingservaringen voor je droombestemmingen. Met onze gebruiksvriendelijke website en app is het plannen van je volgende avontuur net zo eenvoudig als een paar klikken. We controleren dagelijks tot 1 miljoen prijzen en helpen jaarlijks meer dan een miljoen overtochten voor onze klanten te regelen. Dat is de reden waarom meer dan 7 miljoen klanten ons vertrouwen.


Contact info

  • 2-3 Three Rivers Business Centre, Felixstowe Road, IP10 0BF, Ipswich, United Kingdom

  • www.directferries.nl

4.0

Great

TrustScore 4 out of 5

10K reviews

5-star
4-star
3-star
2-star
1-star

Replied to 97% of negative reviews

Typically replies within 24 hours


Rated 1 out of 5 stars

No ticket

No ticket, have taken money and now have to book through the ferry company directly as we cannot travel, no person to ring or email to contact just a bot which raises a ticket that no one responds to, my advice go through the company directly

October 25, 2025
Unprompted review
Direct Ferries logo

Reply from Direct Ferries

Hi

Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. 

We are truly sorry to learn that your experience did not meet expectations, both yours and ours. However, we can see that you entered a wrong email address and our colleague has already updated it and sent you the tickets to travel.

Kind regards, 
Direct Ferries

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Absolutely Horrible Customer Service – Avoid Direct Ferries!

I am extremely disappointed with Direct Ferries and their complete lack of customer service. My ferry was cancelled a week ago, and I was never informed. I showed up today ready to travel, only to find out at the terminal that my booking was invalid because of a cancellation I knew nothing about.

To make matters worse, Direct Ferries has no contact number – there’s no way to speak to a real person when things go wrong. Their customer support system is a joke, and their communication is nonexistent.

Thankfully, P&O Ferries stepped up, acknowledged the issue (even though it wasn’t their fault), and kindly helped me get on the next available ferry. But now I have to wait over 8 hours because of Direct Ferries’ incompetence and failure to notify me.

This experience has been stressful, frustrating, and completely unacceptable. I’ll never book through Direct Ferries again, and I strongly advise everyone else to book directly with the ferry company instead. They’ll actually help you when things go wrong — unlike Direct Ferries.

October 25, 2025
Unprompted review
Direct Ferries logo

Reply from Direct Ferries

Hello Abdullah.

Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback - I’m really sorry to hear about your experience.

I’d really like to look into this further for you, but unfortunately, you haven’t included your booking reference number with your review. Please update your review to include your booking reference number, and we’ll be able to investigate this for you right away.

Kind regards,
Direct Ferries.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Do not use them - Awful

Made a booking to go to Stewart Island with bus tour which I paid for but they never provided any ticket and said I had not booked (it shows on their confirmation). Numerous message to what appears to be either not a person or someone who really did not understand. Awful service, expensive (book direct its cheaper) and then really difficult to get a refund

October 4, 2025
Unprompted review
Direct Ferries logo

Reply from Direct Ferries

Hello Gordon,

Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We truly appreciate it, as it helps us identify areas where we can improve.

We’re very sorry to hear that your experience did not meet expectations — both yours and ours. Our goal is always to provide the highest level of customer service, and we regret that we fell short on this occasion.

I can see that you have successfully reached out to us via Messenger, and I’ve replied to you there. We’re currently awaiting your response so we can assist you further.

Please accept our sincere apologies once again. Your feedback will be carefully reviewed by our Customer Service team and used as an opportunity to ensure we deliver a better experience moving forward.

Kind regards,
Direct Ferries

Rated 4 out of 5 stars
Verified

OK good oversight of the possibilities…

OK good oversight of the possibilities so booking proces is good.
But the final price is higher than expected. Disappointing.
One hour before departure is a long time when you have to drive over from the netherlands.

October 15, 2025
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
Verified

De overtocht betrof een traject van LA…

De overtocht betrof een traject van LA PALMA S/C naar LAS PALMAS. Er werd voorgesteld dat het om een directe verbinding ging, maar dat bleek geenszins correct. Eerst werd gevaren van LA PALMA S/C naar LOS CRISTIANOS (Tenerife), waar we dienden af te rijden en het kantoor van ARMAS op te zoeken voor bijkomende informatie. Vervolgens moesten we met de auto – die we gelukkig ter beschikking hadden – naar de haven van Santa Cruz rijden, wat reeds een vertraging van anderhalf uur met zich meebracht. Daar volgde een nieuwe inscheping met als eindbestemming Las Palmas. Dit strookt niet met de oorspronkelijke intentie en werd ook niet op die manier gecommuniceerd.

The crossing was intended to be a route from LA PALMA S/C to LAS PALMAS. It was presented as a direct connection, but this turned out to be entirely inaccurate. The journey first took us from LA PALMA S/C to LOS CRISTIANOS (Tenerife), where we had to disembark and visit the ARMAS office for further information. We then had to drive – fortunately we had a car available – to the port of Santa Cruz, which already caused a delay of one and a half hours. A second boarding followed there, with Las Palmas as the final destination. This did not align with the original intention and was certainly not communicated as such.

October 12, 2025
Direct Ferries logo

Reply from Direct Ferries

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Rated 2 out of 5 stars

Avoid this company

Avoid this company – they’re an unworkable middle-man.
I booked a ferry through them and needed to make a small change. After days of delays, I was told to pay a £24 change fee, which I did. Minutes later, I received another demand for £49 more — all while the ferry operator confirmed they had no record of my name on the booking.
You can’t contact a real person; everything goes through bots and scripted responses. They also aren’t part of any seafaring agency or ABTA-style scheme, so you have no formal complaints route. My advice: book directly with the ferry company — it might cost a few pounds more, but at least you’ll deal with a human who can actually resolve issues.

October 10, 2025
Unprompted review
Direct Ferries logo

Reply from Direct Ferries

Hello Barry.

Thank you for taking the time to leave a review — we truly appreciate all feedback from our customers.

We’re sorry that the price changed while you were making your amendment. We understand how frustrating this can be. Ticket prices are set by the ferry operators and depend on availability, which means they can sometimes change at short notice.

During the amendment process, we check live prices several times to ensure you’re informed of any changes as early as possible. Prices can also go down, and we always aim to provide the lowest available fare.

I can see that you’ve already contacted us via Messenger regarding this amendment — thank you for reaching out. If there’s anything else you need or further assistance with your booking, please don’t hesitate to let us know.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Verified

Good service…

Bought tickets on line for Liberty Line from Milazzo to Lipari and back. Received tickets via email and
everything went very well

October 9, 2025
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

IT’S A RIP OFF DON’T USE THEM!

Very poor communication we are in st.lucia at the moment meant to take the ferry to Martinique on Sunday and when we mentioned this to the hotel receptionist she told us there is no ferry to Martinique on Sunday 12/10/2025 we received no email to let us know that there would no ferries leaving St Lucia BUT the worst thing was they book the ferry for August which we never ask but send us confirmation for the correct dates we wanted, that’s a bit messed up and had the cheek to hold back £37.08 plus we paid for travel insurance. IT’s A RIP OFF DON’T USE THEM!

October 7, 2025
Unprompted review
Direct Ferries logo

Reply from Direct Ferries

Hello Fleur,

Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We sincerely appreciate your input, as it helps us identify areas for improvement.

We are truly sorry to hear that your experience did not meet your expectations.

Unfortunately, as you have not provided a booking reference beginning with DFP, we are unable to locate your booking. Please provide your booking reference, or contact us via our Messenger for further assistance.

Kind regards,
Direct Ferries

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

My advice - avoid Direct Ferries

Direct Ferries is fine until something goes wrong and then you're in trouble. We had one leg of a return ferry trip from Sardinia to Corsica delayed because of the weather. At this point Direct Ferries cancelled the entire booking leaving us having to re-book the return leg and then try to recoup the cost from them later. After a lengthy process which involved dealing with 10 different people by email we finally got a refund weeks later. Direct Ferries also failed to recoup any money from the ferry company even though they had failed to provide food and drink to passengers during the delay despite the law being quite clear on this matter. Direct Ferries is based in the UK but we notice it isn't a member of ABTA so we can't complain to them. We definitely won't be using DF again. Our advice is avoid Direct Ferries (and all third party booking agents) and book directly with ferry companies.

ADD: As you can see from the reply below they have not addressed the issue of why DF cancelled the bookings for both legs of the journey - not just the one effected by the weather and why no refreshments were provided to passengers by the ferry operator during the delay. They have instead given a standard bland response about the weather which is not what the complaint was about. As I said - avoid!

August 30, 2025
Unprompted review
Direct Ferries logo

Reply from Direct Ferries

Hello,

Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We sincerely appreciate your input as it helps us identify areas for improvement.

We are truly sorry to learn that your experience did not meet expectations, both yours and ours. However, as booking agents we don't have control over the operator's decision, reschedule, cancellations and refund.
We cannot see any reference number to check this issue, however, refreshments can only be provided by the operator, we also don't have control over it.

Kind regards, 
Direct Ferries

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Payment keeps failing - no human assistance..

Payment keeps failing. Spoken to bank, no issues my side.
Chat bot just sends you around in circles, with no way to actually speak to a human - very frustrating when I am trying to give you my money, yet it's being made impossible to book?!

October 2, 2025
Unprompted review
Direct Ferries logo

Reply from Direct Ferries

Hello,

Thank you for taking the time to leave your review, we really appreciate all feedback. 

We are sorry that you experienced issues on our website, we have passed on your feedback to our technology team to investigate the issue and make improvements so your next experience with our website will be much smoother.

Please don't hesitate to get in touch with us and we will be happy to assist you with this booking. 

Kind regards, 
Direct Ferries

Rated 4 out of 5 stars
Verified

Travelling to England.

We’ve used the service many times, we find it to be our finest choice when travelling to England. We board in holland in the evening and after a normal night’s sleep we leave the boat feeling fresh and ready to drive to our destination.

September 23, 2025
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
Verified

Quite good

Quite good, but to change the booking gave some inconveniences. Not so clear with the app and following emails etc… bit confusing

August 9, 2025
Direct Ferries logo

Reply from Direct Ferries

Hello,

Thank you for taking the time to leave your review, we really appreciate all feedback. 

We are sorry that you experienced issues on our app, we have passed on your feedback to our technology team to investigate the issue and make improvements so your next experience with our website will be much smoother.

If there is anything else that we can help with, please don't hesitate to get in touch with us. 

Kind regards, 
Direct Ferries

Rated 4 out of 5 stars
Verified

Hello

Hello, Maybe i'm a little early with this response.
We still have to take the ferry from Hirthals to Kristiansand, and 3 weeks later back to Hirthals.
As it is our first time going to Norway, it took a little effort to figure out who is offering the ferryservice but the common site is verry helpfull.

August 28, 2025

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