Plymouth to Reading runs about 4 times a day, with the first departure around 06:26 and the last around 07:30. One passenger pays between €17.94 and €36.64, every fee included, depending on the operator and the way you travel. The fastest door to door is 2h 36m over 266 km, on services run by 2 operators across 2 modes.
What one seat costs
The spread between the cheapest and dearest typical fare on this corridor, across 2 operators and 2 ways of making the journey. The operator sets the price on the day.
Typical fares · Priced for 5 October 2026
€17.94 to €36.64
- 231%Moves across the booking window
When it runs, leaving Plymouth
No operator has filed a timetable for this direction yet, so the first and last departure below follow the pattern of the corridor. Read them as the shape of the service day rather than as times to turn up for.
- 06:26First departure
- 07:30Last departure
- 4Services per day
- 25%Run direct
Great Western Railway runs this service and does not sell it here. Bookaway takes the payment.
Buying this journey
Bookaway lists departures for Plymouth to Reading on your date, and you pay on their side.
See Plymouth to Reading on Bookaway
Or compare on TrainlineOr compare on Trip.com
Partner link. We do not sell this ticket, and we earn nothing from this one.
Brittany Ferries runs this service and does not sell it here. AFerry takes the payment.
Buying this journey
AFerry holds the sailings between these two ports, with the crossing times and the fares.
See Plymouth to Reading on AFerry
Or compare on BookawayOr compare on Direct Ferries
Partner link. We do not sell this ticket, and we earn nothing from this one.
Fares by date
What this journey usually costs, by departure date. It shows which days run dearer.
Typical fares
- about €43.24Fri18
- about €41.04Sat19
- about €44.88Sun20
- about €30.04Mon21
- about €30.04Tue22
- about €31.14Wed23
- about €32.24Thu24
- about €33.34Fri25
- about €32.23Sat26
- about €25.64Sun27
- about €25.63Mon28
- about €25.09Tue29
- about €26.73Wed30
- about €29.49Thu1
- about €23.44Fri2
- about €23.99Sat3
- about €23.99Sun4
- about €17.94Mon5
- about €18.49Tue6
- about €21.24Wed7
- about €25.64Thu8
Based on what this route has cost recently. The operator sets the price on the day, and the live fare is confirmed when you book.
The ferry gets you into Reading. It does not get you a bed, and neither do we.
A room in Reading for the night the ferry gets in
Sort by distance from Reading Station and you can see which places are ten minutes on foot and which are not.
Search Reading on Booking.comOr compare on Expedia
Partner links. We do not sell accommodation. We earn a commission when a booking completes, and it never changes what you pay.
When to book Plymouth to Reading
The same search run across the whole booking window, so the shape of the curve is visible rather than described.
- €23.4490 days
- €13.5460 days
- €17.3945 days
- €19.0430 days
- €25.6421 days
- €29.4914 days
- €32.247 days
- €44.883 days
- €43.241 days
- Cheapest lead time
- Fares bottom out around 60 days ahead, at €13.54.
- How much it moves
- The gap between the cheapest and dearest lead time is 231 percent. The dearest point is €44.88, 3 days out.
- What that means
- Today sits inside the cheap window, which closes about 60 days before departure. Waiting from here has usually cost money on this corridor rather than saved it.
Book now Fares on this route are lowest around 60 days ahead. You are inside that window.
This corridor, specifically
Facts that apply to Plymouth to Reading and to no other route on the site.
Clocks
Both ends keep the same time, so the arrival is the departure plus the journey.
The shape of it
266 km
253 km as the crow flies, 5% further by the route services take. The bearing runs north-east.
Who lives at each end
260,203 → 318,014
Population at the departure city and at the arrival city, which is usually what decides how often anything runs.
How we know
0/4
4 of these connections were inferred from service-area overlap rather than observed in a timetable. We would rather say so.
The route
What the journey looks like
Direct or connecting, how far the route really runs, and what happens when a connection is missed.
- Direct or connecting
- 33% of the services we sell on this corridor run through without a change. The remaining 67% involve one connection.
- How far it really runs
- The route covers 266 km against 253 km in a straight line, a detour of 5 percent. Track and road geometry account for the difference.
- Where the change is
- Connections are made at Exmouth, Exeter, Paignton, Torquay. The gap between arriving and leaving is 52 minutes, of which about 5 is walking.
- If the connection is missed
- The tightest connection we sell here has a 18 percent chance of not being made on the timetable alone. Part of this journey is a self transfer between separate tickets, so leave more time than the minimum and expect to check in again.
Who runs this route
The ferry gets in hours before any room is ready. Holding a bag is not what we sell.
Left luggage near Reading Station
Most of the points near Reading Station open before the first train and shut after the last one.
Check Reading on StasherOr try Bounce
Partner links. We do not run these networks. We earn a commission on a booking, and the price is the same as going direct.
Questions about Plymouth to Reading
The questions people actually ask about this journey, answered from the same prices and times the page above is built on rather than written once and left to go stale.
How long does it take to get from Plymouth to Reading?
The fastest journey from Plymouth to Reading takes 2h 36m door to door, of which 2h 1m is spent moving, on the train. Most services take around 6h 17m, because that average includes slower stopping services and journeys with a connection. Times include reaching the terminal and leaving it at the far end.
How much does it cost to travel from Plymouth to Reading?
The cheapest fare from Plymouth to Reading is €17.94, as of 17 September 2026. A typical fare across the next three weeks is €36.37. Both figures are the total for one passenger, including taxes, supplier fees and our service fee, so nothing is added at checkout.
What is the cheapest way to get from Plymouth to Reading?
The cheapest way from Plymouth to Reading is by ferry, at €17.94 for one passenger on 5 October 2026. That journey takes 10h 11m door to door. Cheaper is rarely faster on this corridor, and the comparison table on this page shows what each mode costs against what it saves.
What is the fastest way to get from Plymouth to Reading?
The fastest way from Plymouth to Reading is by train, at 2h 45m door to door. Only 2h 1m of that is spent moving; the remaining 44m is reaching the terminal and leaving it at the far end. The cheapest fare on that mode is €36.64.
When should I book Plymouth to Reading?
Fares from Plymouth to Reading bottom out around 60 days before departure, at €13.54. Across the whole booking window the gap between the cheapest and the dearest lead time is 231 percent, measured on 17 September 2026. Booking inside the last week has consistently cost more on this corridor.
Which day of the week is cheapest for Plymouth to Reading?
Tuesday is the cheapest day to depart from Plymouth to Reading, at €25.09. That is the median of 21 priced departure days across the next three weeks, as of 17 September 2026. Shifting a departure by one day is usually worth more than shifting the booking by one week.
Which month is cheapest for Plymouth to Reading?
February is the cheapest of the next 5 months to travel from Plymouth to Reading, at €15.19 for one passenger. Each month is priced on its fifteenth, so the comparison is like for like rather than a mix of weekends and midweek departures.
Who runs services from Plymouth to Reading?
No operator record names Plymouth to Reading directly. Brittany Ferries, Great Western Railway publish service areas covering both ends and may serve it, so we list them as possible operators rather than confirmed ones.
Is there a direct service from Plymouth to Reading?
33 percent of the services we sell from Plymouth to Reading are direct. The rest connect at Exmouth, Exeter, Paignton, Torquay, with about 52 minutes between the two services. Both legs are sold on one booking, so a missed connection is rebooked at no charge.
How much CO2 does the journey from Plymouth to Reading produce?
Travelling from Plymouth to Reading by train produces about 8.8 kg of CO2 per passenger, the lowest of any mode on this corridor. The same journey by Ferry produces about 30.6 kg, roughly 3 times as much for one passenger.
Which station or terminal do services from Plymouth to Reading use?
Services from Plymouth to Reading by train leave from Plymouth and arrive at Reading Station. Allow about 44m in total for reaching the departure terminal and leaving the arrival one, which is already included in every door to door time on this page.
Can I change or refund a ticket from Plymouth to Reading?
2 of the 2 operators we sell from Plymouth to Reading allow a change or a refund. A change on a changeable fare costs €5.00. The operator table on this page names which is which, and the condition is shown again before you pay.
Where these numbers come from
Places, coordinates, operators, which operator serves which pair, and every distance on this page are real and come from open data. Where a corridor has a filed timetable the departure times are real too, and ferry fares are the prices the operators publish themselves.
Derived from service area No carrier record names this exact pair. The operators listed publish a service area covering both places at a distance their mode plausibly carries people, which is evidence that the corridor is served and not evidence of a specific service. Pages state which, because presenting the two as the same thing would be dishonest.
Where no operator publishes a fare for a corridor, the price here is our own estimate, worked out from the real distance and the real operator through a fare curve that follows lead time, day of the week and season. It tells you roughly what the journey costs. It is not a seat anyone has agreed to sell, and the payment step will not take it.
Defined in full at Door to door, Fares, The booking window, Carbon, Distances
- On this page
- Every figure above was computed for Plymouth to Reading on 17 September 2026: 266 km of route against 253 km in a straight line, 6 services a day, 2 operators a cheapest fare of €17.94, and 2h 36m door to door on the fastest mode. The return direction is computed separately and its numbers are not these numbers.
Being on the water gives Reading a set of days out that do not start at a station. We do not sell those either.
Day trips out of Reading and across United Kingdom
Day trips that leave Reading in the morning and cover a good part of United Kingdom by evening.
See Reading on GetYourGuideOr browse Viator
Partner links. We do not sell tours or tickets. We earn a commission on a booking, and it never changes the price.
The two ends, compared
Plymouth reaches 51 places in 3 countries on services we hold, over distances from 41 to 802 km. Reading reaches 106 places in 1 countries, from 19 to 536 km.
Other ways to make this journey
Leaving Plymouth
- 51Places you can leave for
- 3Countries
- 3Operators
Arriving in Reading
Leaving Reading
- 106Places you can leave for
- 1Countries
- 10Operators