There are two different harbour ferries in Bristol, and they do different jobs. The Bristol Ferry waterbus is the yellow sightseeing boat that hops between stops from Temple Meads to the Cottage, with fares from £3 for a short hop up to £14 for a day ticket. The separate Number Seven cross-harbour ferry is a straightforward £1.30 shuttle between Hanover Quay and SS Great Britain, and it's the one to use if you just need to cross the water quickly.
Bristol Ferry waterbus: fares and stops
This is the boat most visitors mean when they say "the Bristol ferry". It runs a set route along the harbour calling at stops including Temple Quay, Castle Park, the City Centre, Wapping Wharf, SS Great Britain, Mardyke and the Cottage near Hotwells. It's not a bookable service, it's turn-up-and-go, first come first served.
| Fare | Adult | Child (4 to 16) |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 10 minutes on board | £3 | £2 |
| Up to 20 minutes on board | £5 | £4 |
| Up to 30 minutes on board | £8 | £6 |
| Up to 40 minutes on board | £10 | £8 |
| Day ticket (hop on and off, or an 80-minute full tour) | £14 | £10 |
Fares are based on how long you're actually on board rather than a flat single price, so a short hop between two nearby stops costs less than riding the whole route. It's a cashless service, so you'll need a card to pay the crew. Children under 3 travel free. The full route runs a daily summer timetable, with a reduced service outside the summer months, so check the current timetable on the operator's site before you plan a trip in autumn or winter.
The Number Seven cross-harbour ferry
If all you want to do is get from one side of the harbour to the other, the Number Seven ferry, the Mary Brunel, is usually the quicker and cheaper option. It runs on demand, not to a timetable, between Hanover Quay and SS Great Britain, seven days a week. It operates Monday to Friday from 7.30am to 6.15pm and Saturday and Sunday from 10.30am to 5.30pm. The fare is £1.30 per adult, children five and under travel free, and there's a £22 monthly ticket if you're using it regularly, for example as part of a commute.
Which one should you use
If you're sightseeing and want to see the harbour from the water, take the yellow Bristol Ferry waterbus and either pay for a single hop between two stops or get the day ticket if you plan to hop on and off more than a couple of times. If you're simply trying to cross from one bank to the other, for example to reach SS Great Britain from Wapping Wharf or Hanover Quay, the Number Seven cross-harbour ferry is usually faster and noticeably cheaper for that single job.
Whether the ferry beats walking depends on where you're going. Bristol's harbour loops around, so a crossing that takes two minutes on the water can be a fifteen or twenty minute walk around the edge. For a short trip between opposite banks, the ferry is genuinely worth the small fare. For journeys along one side of the harbour that don't need a crossing, walking is often just as quick and free, and lets you take in the Bristol Harbourside sights at your own pace.
Getting the most from a harbour ferry trip
Both ferries connect naturally with the harbourside's main attractions. SS Great Britain, M Shed and Wapping Wharf's bars and restaurants all sit on or near a ferry stop, so it's easy to build a loop: walk one way along the water and take a ferry back, or use the waterbus to reach a stop further out than you'd want to walk to and explore from there. If you're planning a full day out, our guide to things to do in Bristol has more on how the harbourside fits into a wider visit, and our guide to Bristol with kids covers the ferry as a genuinely popular activity in its own right for younger children, not just transport.
If you're arriving from outside Bristol and need to get to the harbourside first, see our guide to getting around Bristol for how the ferries fit alongside buses, park and ride and taxis.
Practical tips
Both services are weather dependent to some extent, and can be paused in high winds or very low water, so if your trip absolutely depends on the ferry running, it's worth having a walking route in mind as a backup. The waterbus operator says its historic boats were not designed for wheelchair users, with steps down from the landing stage onto a moving vessel, though crew can carry a lightweight folding wheelchair aboard. If accessibility affects your visit, check directly with whichever operator you plan to use before you travel.