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Travelling to the Isle of Wight

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The Isle of Wight sits approximately 2 miles off the south coast of Britain separated by possibly one of the most famous stretches of water in the British Isles "The Solent". 

Travel to and on the Isle of Wight  inevitably centres around the Islands main ferry hubs being East Cowes and Fishbourne if travelling by car and Ryde if arriving by foot.


There are several entry points for ferries to the Isle of Wight -

Portsmouth to Isle of Wight ferry run by Wightlink docks at Fishbourne & takes around 40 minutes to cross. Primarily a car ferry service it is also used by foot passengers.  As it leaves the historic docks in Portsmouth where the British Naval fleet is stationed you can very often see a British Naval Ship in dock as well as Portsmouth's old land fortifications and the sea forts at Spit Head.    

The Lymington to Isle of Wight ferry docks at Yarmouth also run by Wightlink is a car & foot passenger service which takes 40 minutes to cross. This is the only service on the west side of the Isle of Wight & offers fascinating views of the wildlife found in the protected Lymington estuary.

The ferry from Southampton to the Isle of Wight docks in East Cowes and is a car and passenger service run by Red Funnel with just under a one hour crossing time. This leisurely crossing allows you time to enjoy the views of Southampton waters. 

The hovercraft from Southsea to Ryde is the fastest way to cross to the Isle of Wight, skimming over the water the journey takes around 12 minutes, if your kids have never been on a hovercraft before they will love the feeling of flying over the waves.

The fast cat service run by Wightlink operates from Portsmouth Harbour to Ryde Pier and is another quick way of crossing the Solent taking 17 minutes in total.  The advantage with this crossing is the availability to make a train connection at both Ryde and Portsmouth  terminals linking the Isle of Wight to London and the rest of the country. The Island train line runs regular services from Ryde Pier Head to Brading, Sandown & Shanklin.

The Red Jet service from Southampton to the Isle of Wight arriving in the centre of  Cowes takes only 23 minutes to cross the Solent & is a foot passenger only service.

The most leisurely way to cross to the Isle of Wight is via the car ferry which can take from 40 minutes to one hour depending on which crossing point you use. The big advantage with these crossings is the time you have to enjoy the views of the Solent and the beautiful scenery as you approach the Island. You can sit up on deck on both the Wightlink and Red Funnel car ferries and enjoy the passing  shipping & cruise liners that use this very busy stretch of water.


So why not start your vacation with a relaxing trip over the Solent using one of the Isle of Wight ferry Services

Look at our travel information for Isle of Wight ferries  where you can view and print off the latest Timetable


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