Stena Line vs Irish Ferries: Which Has Better Discounts?

If both Stena Line and Irish Ferries work for the journey you are planning, the discounts can make the choice look easier than it really is. One operator may advertise the bigger percentage while the other starts with the lower fare, and it is the amount left to pay that matters. On the headline vouchers available when I researched this comparison on 18 August 2026, Stena Line had the larger discount at 30% off selected crossings, compared with 25% off bookings at Irish Ferries. You can check the latest Stena Line Voucher Codes and Irish Ferries Voucher Codes before booking, but do not choose on percentage alone. A slightly cheaper starting fare, Kids Go Free promotion, Tesco Clubcard booking or loyalty benefit can change which operator leaves you with the lower final price.

What does 30% off versus 25% off actually save?

The difference between the two headline discounts at the time of this comparison was five percentage points. In cash terms, the 30% offer saves an additional £5 for every £100 of fare that qualifies for the reduction.

If both companies started with exactly the same qualifying £200 fare, Stena's 30% reduction would leave you £10 better off than Irish Ferries at 25%. The difference is small enough, though, for the underlying ferry price to overturn it.

Take a £300 Stena Line fare. A 30% reduction would bring it down to £210. Irish Ferries would only need to start at £280 for its 25% discount to produce the same £210 final fare:

£300 less 30% = £210
£280 less 25% = £210

In this example, a £20 difference in the original fare completely removes Stena's larger percentage advantage. Price the journey first, then compare the discounts.

How to compare the discounts fairly on Holyhead to Dublin

Holyhead to Dublin is one of the clearest routes for a direct comparison because both Stena Line and Irish Ferries operate the crossing. That does not mean one is permanently cheaper; it simply gives you a much fairer basis than comparing unrelated routes.

Keep as much as possible the same when checking the two:

• travel date and direction;
• a similar departure time;
• the same number and ages of passengers;
• the same car or other vehicle type;
• roughly comparable fare flexibility;
• the same essential extras.

Only then apply the available discounts. Comparing an Economy fare with a much more flexible ticket, or an overnight sailing with a completely different daytime departure, can make the voucher percentage look more important than it really is.

The starting fares can move independently of the promotions attached to them, which is why there is no reliable permanent answer to which ferry company will be cheaper on every date.

Families should compare Kids Go Free with the percentage discounts

For families, the most valuable offer may not be 30% or 25% at all. Both operators have Kids Go Free promotions, but the routes and qualifying fares are not identical.

Stena Line's Kids Go Free terms cover qualifying Economy and Flexi motorist bookings on Belfast–Cairnryan, Belfast–Liverpool, Dublin–Holyhead and Rosslare–Fishguard. Children aged 0–15 can travel without the child fare when the booking meets the promotion's conditions.

Irish Ferries' Kids Go Free offer applies to qualifying new Economy, Flexi and Shortbreak motorist bookings on Dublin–Holyhead and Rosslare–Pembroke. Irish Ferries states that eligible children and infants aged 0–15 have no travel fare, Admin Dues or Environmental charges under that promotion. Its terms also state that the offer cannot be combined with another promotional discount or Tesco Clubcard.

A family should therefore compare at least two totals for each suitable operator:

• the normal fare with the applicable percentage discount;
• the qualifying Kids Go Free fare without assuming another promotion can be stacked on top.

There is no safe rule that says Kids Go Free will always beat 25% or 30% off. Its value depends on the qualifying fare, the number of children and how much of the normal booking relates to child charges. Compare the resulting totals rather than choosing from the promotion name.

Tesco Clubcard is a separate price comparison, not a stacking trick

Both Stena Line and Irish Ferries accept Tesco Clubcard Reward Partner codes on eligible bookings. For Clubcard users, this creates another route to compare rather than an extra discount that can automatically be added after a ferry voucher.

Stena's Tesco Clubcard terms say Reward Partner codes are applied to a special Tesco fare and cannot be used with another promotion or offer, including a sale fare, discount or Kids Go Free. Route restrictions also apply, with Liverpool–Belfast excluded and maximum Reward Partner code values on some other routes.

Irish Ferries states in its Tesco Clubcard guidance that one Tesco code can be used per booking and cannot be combined with another promotion or special offer. Eligible Tesco codes can be used as full or part payment on qualifying motorist travel, subject to availability and route conditions.

For a Clubcard household, compare:

• Stena Line's normal fare after its strongest eligible promotion;
• the Stena Line Tesco fare after the Reward Partner code;
• Irish Ferries' normal fare after its strongest eligible promotion;
• the Irish Ferries fare using the Tesco Reward Partner route.

Do not compare the nominal value of your Tesco reward with the headline 25% or 30% and assume the larger-looking number wins. Compare what remains to pay.

Stena MORE vs Irish Ferries Club for repeat travellers

For someone making one ferry trip, today's fare matters much more than points they might use later. Repeat travellers have another factor to include.

Stena MORE is free to join. Members can earn points on eligible trips and onboard purchases, use points towards future ferry travel and pre-booked products such as cabins and food, access selected member prices and receive early access to some sales.

Irish Ferries Club works differently. Members collect points on bookings made directly with Irish Ferries and, once they have travelled, those points become available in £/€ value towards a later booking. The programme has Green, Silver and Gold tiers, with benefits increasing through the tiers.

There is not enough like-for-like redemption evidence here to call either loyalty programme the outright winner. If you regularly use one operator, the future value of its rewards belongs in the comparison. For a one-off journey, do not pay substantially more today simply to collect points for another trip.

The two ferry companies structure their offers differently

The wider promotions also show why a blanket winner would be misleading.

When I checked Stena Line's special-offers page, its savings included offers linked to short stays, day trips, caravans, motorhomes and cabins on selected routes. The useful discount can therefore depend on what you are taking, how long you are travelling for and which route you need.

Irish Ferries has its own mix of family, short-break, day-trip, Tesco and loyalty savings. Some promotional fares have specific booking windows, sailing restrictions and no-stacking rules, while charges or administrative dues can sometimes sit outside the headline discount calculation.

A motorhome traveller, family, day-tripper and regular passenger may therefore find that completely different offers matter most. Neither company should be judged only by the largest percentage appearing on its voucher page.

Which has better discounts for your type of ferry booking?

There is no single winner across every row. A family promotion can outweigh a percentage voucher, a lower starting fare can neutralise a larger discount, Clubcard changes the amount you need to pay in cash, and loyalty rewards become more relevant when you travel repeatedly.

So, which has better discounts: Stena Line or Irish Ferries?

On the headline offers supplied for this comparison, Stena Line wins the percentage contest: 30% off selected crossings versus 25% off bookings with Irish Ferries. At a £200 qualifying fare, that five-point difference is worth £10.

It is a narrow win rather than proof that Stena Line will always cost less. The earlier calculation shows how easily a lower Irish Ferries starting fare can reverse the result, while Kids Go Free, Tesco Clubcard and loyalty rewards can all change which saving is strongest for a particular booking.

Once you know the route and dates you want, price the comparable crossing with both operators and then check the latest Stena Line voucher codes and offers and Irish Ferries discount codes and offers. Current codes and promotions can change, so the live merchant pages are the better place to confirm what is available when you actually book.

If Stena's larger discount applies to a fare that is already competitive, it has a clear advantage. If Irish Ferries starts cheaper, or its family, Clubcard or loyalty option suits your booking better, the lower final price can easily sit on the other side.

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