Travelling to The Isle of Wight

So you’ve selected the perfect accommodation on the Isle of Wight and the time has come to arrange your travel. Getting to the Isle of Wight doesn’t have to be a chore and taking a ferry is the perfect way to relax and slow down to the Island’s pace of life. There are only a few options for travel and all involve a ferry at some point! First you need to decide if you want to bring a car over to the Island.

Travelling on foot will be cheaper and with the Island’s excellent public transport system getting around will be no problem. All of the ferry ports on the mainland are well connected to transport links. Southampton and Portsmouth are both on mainline train routes and have stations close to the ferries. Most ports also have long-stay parking available. Travelling on foot also means a quicker crossing over the Solent via Red Funnel’s Red Jet service, Wightlink’s Catamarans or for a unique start to a holiday why not try the Hovercraft departing from Southsea. If you do come by hover or catamaran to Ryde you can easily take the train to travel to hotels in Sandown or Shanklin.

For those coming by car your choice is limited to either the Wightlink or Red Funnel car ferry. Although there are a choice of routes, departing from Lymington, Portsmouth or Southampton. Cheaper tickets are available if you are prepared to travel outside of peak times. Unlike many Isle of Wight Hotels Garden Isle Hotels often have special offers on car ferry travel.

If you are booked on a particular ferry it is worth allowing plenty of time to get to the port as if you miss the boat you may have to wait for a space on the next available crossing. At peak times, such as bank holidays, this can result in quite a wait and a stressful start to your Isle of Wight Holiday.

Once on board you will have the chance to purchase refreshments and take in the views. On a good day the best place to do this is on the sun deck when you can catch some rays and enjoy the fresh sea air!

Loading and unloading is always done swiftly and efficiently and you’ll soon find yourself let loose on the Island, speeding towards your Isle of Wight accommodation and a holiday of discovery.