Port Time Calculator
We factor in real-world travel times and recommend a safe return time.
We factor in real-world travel times and recommend a safe return time.
From gangway to all aboard, in four steps.
Add your ship, port, arrival & all aboard times.
We factor in real travel times, dwell time & buffer.
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What the calculator actually subtracts
A port call is never as long as the schedule says. Between the printed arrival and the moment you are free to walk away from the terminal, a fixed amount of the day is already spent — and the same happens in reverse at the end. The calculator models those four losses explicitly instead of hiding them in a rule of thumb.
Clearing the ship after it is cleared by the authorities. Minutes, not seconds, and longer on a full ship.
When the ship anchors instead of docking, add the boat ride and the queue for it — both ways.
Face-to-face checks where they apply, mostly outside the Schengen area.
The margin you keep between being back at the gangway and the all-aboard time. One hour by default; you can change it.
Usable time = (all aboard − arrival) − (disembark + tender + immigration) − safe bufferA worked example
A ship calls at a tender port from 08:00 to 17:00. On paper that is nine hours. Take off ten minutes to get off the ship, fifty for the tender and the queue up the cliff, and a one-hour return buffer, and you are left with about seven hours ashore. That difference is not a detail — it is the difference between reaching a village eleven kilometres away and not.
Why the return time matters more than the plan
Missing the ship is not usually caused by an ambitious itinerary. It is caused by an optimistic return. Every plan here is built backwards from the latest safe moment to turn around, and every stop is scored by how far it puts you from the gangway at the moment things go wrong — a late bus, a longer queue, a closed road.
Port day questions
Is the calculator free, and do I need an account?
It is free and there is no account. Everything runs in your browser, so nothing you type is sent to us or stored.
How accurate are the times?
Transport and dwell times are researched estimates with a stated confidence level and update date on every port page. They are honest averages, not guarantees, and real conditions vary.
Why does it recommend such an early return?
Because the cost of being wrong is asymmetric. Losing an hour ashore is an inconvenience; missing the ship means finding your own way to the next port.
Can I change the safety buffer?
Yes. Sixty minutes is the default, but you can set it between thirty minutes and two hours depending on how much risk you are willing to hold.