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SS Great Britain tickets cost £22 for an adult and £14.50 for a child (4-17) when you book online, rising to £25 and £16.50 if you pay on the door. Every full-price general admission ticket includes free unlimited return visits for a full year from your first visit date, so a single ticket covers as many trips as you want over the next twelve months. Children under 5 get in free regardless of how you book.
Current SS Great Britain ticket prices
These prices are confirmed current against the official Bristol Dockyards site:
| Ticket | Online | On the door |
|---|---|---|
| Adult general admission (annual, unlimited returns) | £22 | £25 |
| Child general admission, 4-17 (annual, unlimited returns) | £14.50 | £16.50 |
| Afternoon Saver (entry from 2.30pm) | £13 | £15 |
| Islanders Pass (Spike Island residents, annual) | £13 | £15 |
| Group adult, 15+ people | £18pp | - |
| Group student (18+), 15+ people | £15.50pp | - |
| Group youth/school/FE, 5-18, 15+ people | £11pp | - |
Booking online saves you up to 15% over paying at the gate, and the saving applies to every ticket type. The Afternoon Saver and Islanders Pass are flat-rate tickets rather than adult/child splits. If you want to add the Go Aloft! rig-climbing experience, a bundle with a day pass currently costs £35 for an adult; it can also be added to an existing annual ticket.
Opening hours, including the change coming this winter
Through spring and summer 2026 (14 February to 3 November), SS Great Britain is open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm, and closed on Mondays except bank holidays and school holidays, when it opens as usual. From 4 November 2026 to 13 February 2027, winter hours apply: Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 4pm, with the same Monday closure rule. If you're planning a visit for late autumn or winter, build the earlier 4pm last entry into your plans rather than assuming the summer 5pm close still applies.
Parking
The nearest car park is the council-run Maritime Heritage Centre short stay car park on Gasferry Road, right next to the dockyard. Visitors get a discounted rate of £5.60 to stay up to five hours, paid at the ticket desks rather than at the machine (the discount doesn't apply to separately ticketed after-hours events). Note that Bristol's Clean Air Zone covers this area, and some older vehicles may be charged to drive in; check your vehicle before you travel. If you'd rather avoid the Clean Air Zone and city-centre parking altogether, the Long Ashton Park & Ride, linked by the M2 metrobus, is a useful alternative, and the Clean Air Zone guide has the full detail on which vehicles pay.
Getting there without a car
SS Great Britain sits on the Great Western Dockyard on Gas Ferry Road, a flat 25-minute walk from Temple Meads along the Floating Harbour, and about 15 minutes from the city centre around Broad Quay. The Bristol Ferry Boat service and the Cross Harbour Ferry both stop at the SS Great Britain landing stage, which is a pleasant way to arrive if you're coming from the Harbourside or Wapping Wharf side of the water. If you're coming by train, National Rail's Days Out Guide gets you 2-for-1 on adult day passes when booked online.
What's included and what's new in 2026
Your ticket covers the ship itself, the Being Brunel museum, the Brunel Institute and the Historic Dockyards, plus a new museum that opened on 18 July 2026 as part of an expanded SS Great Britain Experience, built around the Brunel Institute's archive of more than 75,000 drawings, letters and artefacts. Because general admission includes a year of free returns, it's genuinely worth buying the full ticket rather than the Afternoon Saver if there's any chance you'll be back in Bristol within the next twelve months. A festive light trail, Sailing The Stars, is scheduled to run from 25 November 2026 to 10 January 2027 if you're planning a winter visit.
Is it worth the money?
For a family or a couple likely to return even once more within the year, the standard adult and child tickets work out cheaper than almost any other paid attraction in Bristol on a per-visit basis, simply because the return visits are free. If you only want a quick look and won't be back, the Afternoon Saver at £13 online is the better value option, though you'll have less time on site with entry from 2.30pm.