Fromentine to the Île d'Yeu: fast boat in 30 minutes or the car ferry in 70

The choice on this crossing is less about the clock than about the boat. Yeu Continent's two fast catamarans, Le Chatelet and Le Pont d'Yeu, cover the distance from Fromentine to Port-Joinville in 30 minutes and seat up to 430 passengers. The Insula Oya III, a mixed passenger and cargo ship and the only one that takes cars, needs 70 minutes. It is also slightly cheaper: outside July and August an adult return is €40.00 on the Insula Oya III against €43.20 on a catamaran.

In November and December there are usually two or three sailings a day in each direction, with four from Fromentine on 18, 19 and 26 December. The Insula Oya III does not run every day and its slot moves around a great deal: on 7 November it leaves Fromentine at 04:15, on 22 December at 12:15. No weekly pattern repeats, which is why the timetable below has one table per date.

The times come from the 2026 timetable that Yeu Continent publishes as a PDF and have been checked day by day against the line's data released by the Pays de la Loire region for its Aléop network. Compagnie Vendéenne also sails from Fromentine with its own times, tickets and fares, and is not included in the tables.

Every sailing, day by day, from 2 November to 31 December

Yeu Continent 2026 timetable, sailings from 2 November to 31 December 2026 · checked 29 October 2026   Yeu Continent – 2026 sailing timetable (PDF, in French) · 2026-10-29

What a return costs on each boat, and with a bike or car

Yeu Continent prices its two boats separately, and every fare below is a return. On the fast catamarans an adult pays €43.20 outside July and August and €48.00 in high summer; on the Insula Oya III the adult return is €40.00 all year. The company's terms define an adult as 26 to 60 and a senior as 61 or over, with ID. If you change a booking onto the other type of boat, the price is adjusted to that boat's fare.

Bikes travel with a passenger who holds their own ticket, while cars can only go on the Insula Oya III. For both, the fare depends on whether you book more or less than a month ahead. Changing a passenger ticket costs €2.15.

Yeu Continent 2026 passenger, bike and vehicle fares · checked 29 October 2026   Yeu Continent – 2026 passenger fares (in French) · 2026-10-29

Which terminal to use

Yeu Continent leaves only from Fromentine, in the commune of La Barre-de-Monts, so do not head for Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie, where another company sails in season. The coordinates under each terminal come from the regional open data for the line.

An island 18 km off the Vendée coast

Yeu Continent puts the Île d'Yeu 18 km from Notre-Dame-de-Monts, the nearest point of the mainland, and 33 km in a straight line from Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie or from Noirmoutier. At 23 km², it is the island territory of mainland France lying furthest from the coast, after Corsica. The company does not publish the length of the Fromentine to Port-Joinville crossing itself.

Tickets, luggage, cars and bikes: what to sort out before you go

• Paying

  Book online and the ticket arrives by email; show it printed or on your phone. A lost ticket can be reissued at the terminal desk. Every passenger, even a free one, needs a ticket.

• Luggage

  Free, within limits: up to two bags per person in the luggage containers, each no bigger than 75 × 50 × 30 cm and 23 kg, plus one cabin bag up to 55 × 35 × 25 cm and 12 kg and a small item such as a handbag. Every bag must carry a name label.

• Bringing a car

  Only the Insula Oya III takes vehicles. Book by phone on +33 2 51 49 59 69 or with the contact form, arrive 30 minutes early and drive on yourself; you cannot go back to the car during the crossing.

• Bikes

  Bikes go on every boat but must be booked with an accompanying passenger, and the company recommends putting a label on yours.

• Reduced mobility

  Book at least 48 hours ahead on +33 2 51 49 59 69 to explain what help you need. All the boats are accessible, with wheelchair spaces and accessible toilets.

• Weather and late arrivals

  Give a mobile number when booking and the company will text you about any major timetable change. Running late yourself? Text +33 6 44 63 27 32 with your booking number to change, cancel or postpone.

From two-hour steamers to half-hour catamarans

Yeu Continent has run the crossing since 1959 and reports 481,579 passengers in 2025; in 2026 it became a local public company after years as a département-run service. The first steamers, such as the Vendée between 1870 and 1886, took two hours to reach Port-Joinville. The Amporelle cut that to 40 minutes in 1992, and the twin catamarans arrived in 2006. The Insula Oya III, built at Saint-Nazaire, took over from the chartered Insula Oya II in the second half of 2022 and carries up to 15 cars.

Compagnie Vendéenne, a private seasonal operator, also links Fromentine with Port-Joinville and quotes 45 minutes for the trip, and the local tourist office describes its Fromentine service as running from April to November. Its sailing dates, times, tickets and prices are separate from Yeu Continent's and are published on its own site.

Without a car, Fromentine is reached by Aléop coach: line 13 from Nantes station is timed at roughly 1 h 15 and line 571 from Challans around 40 minutes. Yeu Continent recommends allowing at least 30 minutes between the coach and the boat. If you are starting from Nantes, the city's river shuttle across the Loire at Gare Maritime runs on an ordinary transport ticket. Further north on the Atlantic coast, the ferry from Lorient to Groix is another island crossing from the mainland.

Planning the Île d'Yeu crossing: common questions