Reading to Penzance runs about 4 times a day, with the first departure around 06:26 and the last around 07:30. One passenger pays €23.99, every fee included. The fastest door to door is 12h 17m over 371 km, on services run by 1 operator across 1 mode.
What one seat costs
Every operator we hold on this corridor starts at €23.99, so there is no spread to show.
Typical fares · Priced for October 5, 2026
€23.99
- 251%Moves across the booking window
When it runs, leaving Reading
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
Brittany Ferries runs this service and does not sell it here. AFerry takes the payment.
Buying this trip
AFerry holds the sailings between these two ports, with the crossing times and the fares.
See Reading to Penzance 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 €63.04Fri18
- about €60.84Sat19
- about €56.44Sun20
- about €41.04Mon21
- about €39.39Tue22
- about €42.69Wed23
- about €44.34Thu24
- about €44.34Fri25
- about €42.69Sat26
- about €33.34Sun27
- about €33.89Mon28
- about €30.59Tue29
- about €32.79Wed30
- about €34.44Thu1
- about €29.49Fri2
- about €32.79Sat3
- about €27.84Sun4
- about €23.99Mon5
- about €24.54Tue6
- about €26.19Wed7
- about €33.33Thu8
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 Penzance. It does not get you a bed, and neither do we.
A room in Penzance for the night the ferry gets in
Sort by distance from Lelant Saltings and you can see which places are ten minutes on foot and which are not.
Search Penzance 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 Reading to Penzance
The same search run across the whole booking window, so the shape of the curve is visible rather than described.
- €29.4990 days
- €17.9460 days
- €23.4445 days
- €25.6430 days
- €33.3321 days
- €34.4414 days
- €44.347 days
- €56.443 days
- €63.041 days
- Cheapest lead time
- Fares bottom out around 60 days ahead, at €17.94.
- How much it moves
- The gap between the cheapest and most expensive lead time is 251 percent. The most expensive point is €63.04, 1 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 Reading to Penzance 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
371 km
354 km as the crow flies, 5% further by the route services take. The bearing runs south-west.
Who lives at each end
318,014 → 19,872
Population at the departure city and at the arrival city, which is usually what decides how often anything runs.
How we know
0/2
2 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
- 20% of the services we sell on this corridor run through without a change. The remaining 80% involve one connection.
- How far it really runs
- The route covers 371 km against 354 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 St Austell, Truro, Exeter, Exmouth. The gap between arriving and leaving is 82 minutes, of which about 5 is walking.
- If the connection is missed
- The tightest connection we sell here has a 12 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
Penzance is small enough to see in an afternoon, which is easier without the luggage. Storing it is not our business.
Baggage storage near Lelant Saltings
Most of the points near Lelant Saltings open before the first train and close after the last one.
Check Penzance 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 Reading to Penzance
The questions people actually ask about this trip, 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 Reading to Penzance?
The fastest journey from Reading to Penzance takes 12h 17m door to door, of which 12h 22m is spent moving, on the ferry. Most services take around 13h 5m, 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 Reading to Penzance?
The cheapest fare from Reading to Penzance is €23.99, as of September 17, 2026. A typical fare across the next three weeks is €39.94. 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 Reading to Penzance?
The cheapest way from Reading to Penzance is by ferry, at €23.99 for one passenger on October 5, 2026. That journey takes 13h 52m 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.
When should I book Reading to Penzance?
Fares from Reading to Penzance bottom out around 60 days before departure, at €17.94. Across the whole booking window the gap between the cheapest and the most expensive lead time is 251 percent, measured on September 17, 2026. Booking inside the last week has consistently cost more on this corridor.
Which day of the week is cheapest for Reading to Penzance?
Tuesday is the cheapest day to depart from Reading to Penzance, at €30.59. That is the median of 21 priced departure days across the next three weeks, as of September 17, 2026. Shifting a departure by one day is usually worth more than shifting the booking by one week.
Which month is cheapest for Reading to Penzance?
February is the cheapest of the next 5 months to travel from Reading to Penzance, at €20.14 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 service from Reading to Penzance?
No operator record names Reading to Penzance directly. Brittany Ferries 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 Reading to Penzance?
20 percent of the services we sell from Reading to Penzance are direct. The rest connect at St Austell, Truro, Exeter, Exmouth, with about 82 minutes between the two services. Both legs are sold on one booking, so a missed connection is rebooked at no charge.
Which station or terminal do services from Reading to Penzance use?
Services from Reading to Penzance by ferry leave from Thames RiverCruise and arrive at Gwelva. Allow about 1h 30m 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 Reading to Penzance?
1 of the 1 operators we sell from Reading to Penzance 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 Reading to Penzance on September 17, 2026: 371 km of route against 354 km in a straight line, 5 services a day, 1 operator a cheapest fare of €23.99, and 12h 17m 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 Penzance a set of days out that do not start at a station. We do not sell those either.
Day trips out of Penzance and across United Kingdom
Day trips that leave Penzance in the morning and cover a good part of United Kingdom by evening.
See Penzance 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
Reading reaches 106 places in 1 countries on services we hold, over distances from 19 to 536 km. Penzance reaches 39 places in 1 countries, from 33 to 425 km.
Other ways to make this journey
Leaving Reading
- 106Places you can leave for
- 1Countries
- 10Operators
Arriving in Penzance
Leaving Penzance
- 39Places you can leave for
- 1Countries
- 1Operators