Caen to Portsmouth by ferry, then hotel

I would recommend the Premier Inn Portsmouth Dockyards (link below). Five minute walk.

https://www.premierinn.com/gb/en/hotels/england/hampshire/portsmouth/portsmouth-dockyard.html?cid=GLBC_PORQUE

I'd recommend researching alternative ways to get to Southampton in case your ferry gets canceled. I've tried to take Channel ferries five times; two of the ferries were canceled, one of them for three days running. And I was traveling between May and August. I'm not saying such cancellations are necessarily frequent (I have no clue about that), but you'll have a cruise departure hanging in the balance.

Good thought. Our backup plan would be train from Bayeux to St Pancras, I think. But thanks for mentioning it!

Harry

I only booked the ferry once (Poole to Cherbourg) and it was cancelled. Fortunately they taxied me to Portsmouth where they put me on ferry to Caen. Still, it was a major disruption and delay.

The Holiday Inn Express was our “go to” hotel on several visits to Portsmouth. The location was excellent, the rooms were serviceable and the breakfast was fine. We walked from the hotel to the Historic Dockyard and the train station. However, it’s been a few years since we stayed there, so I would recommend checking the reviews on Booking.com for the most current informations. Also, if you have to use the train please remember that Portsmouth has two stations ( Portsmouth & Southsea and Portsmouth Harbor), so make sure you have the one you need.

The ferries that dock near the Victory are the smaller passenger ferries that go to Gosport or the Isle of Wight. The cross-channel ferries use a terminal furher into the harbour, and you would need to get a taxi to reach the area where you will find hotels and the Historic Dockyard.

Although there are two principal stations in Portsmouth, any train leaving from Portsmouth Harbour station will pass through Portsmouth & Southsea station. When you check the timetable, you need to check which station the train departs from, and if you will need to change trains en route. It is too early to check times for October, but you can get an idea of frequency and journey time by looking now on the National Rail website, which shows all operators.

Whilst ferries do sometimes get cancelled I've travelled to France from Portsmouth on them many times without cancellation, even on one occasion when it was very rough and it seemed half the passengers were being sick. I can see the ferries leaving and returning from my house and they're pretty much sailing on time.

As mentioned the cross channel ferries dock at a different port to the ones between the Isle of Wight which is the one close to the Historic Dockyard. Whilst it is feasible to walk from that port it's a busy route which would take up to 1/2 hour to walk, more so with heavy luggage so I would recommend a taxi.

Portsmouth Harbour Station is adjacent to the Historic Dockyard so it's ideally situated to take the train to Southampton. Either the Premier Inn or the Holiday Inn in Gunwharf would be your best choices for an overnight stay due to the proximity of the dockyard and the train station.

The Poole to Cherbourg ferry, referred to above, is a 'fast' ferry that is more prone to cancellation than the Caen-Southampton route. I would not worry too much about a cancellation - the train provides a workable backup plan if a storm is announced.

When I was scheduled, the Poole to Cherbourg ferry was not a high-speed ferry. Regardless, the cancellation was due to a strike in Cherbourg, and not due to any technical or weather issues.

I double-checked and it does look like I am out of date - thanks for the clarification!