The Isle of Wight is located in the English Channel and about 10 km from the Southern coast of the UK (Hampshire). From Portsmouth, Wight is just across the Solent. The Solent separates the Isle of Wight from the UK mainland. There are a lot of daily ferries sailing to Wight, but what is the best ferry for your crossing?
If you want to travel to Wight you can make the ride by ferry or hovercraft to Wight or the Isle of Wight. The ferry from Portsmouth to Wight crosses a distance of around 7 miles.
There is a busy ferry schedule that will take you across somewhere in between 20 to 45 minutes, covering about 10 km or 7 miles. Combined there are 60 daily ferries from Portsmouth to Ryde and Fishbourne.
The fastest ferry is from Portsmouth to Ryde, a fast ferry; this fast catamaran that takes you across in just 10 minutes is a foot passenger ferry.
If you want to bring your car, you should choose the Portsmouth-Fishbourne route. This is the only ferry crossing from Portsmouth where you can bring your car
Check availability and compare prices
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Travel tip: Book early
The prices for the ferries rise sharply as the boats fill up. Especially during peak season, the ferries and parking decks fill up quickly. Therefore, book far in advance and avoid high costs. The ferries from Portsmouth to Wight are busy most of the season and are commuter ferries.
You can travel back and forth from Portsmouth to the Isle of Wight. From Portsmouth, you can make your way to either Fishbourne or Ryde.
The connection from Portsmouth to Ryde is a foot passenger ferry, while on the crossing to Fishbourne, you can bring your car. There is also a fast catamaran ferry leaving from Southsea to Ryde. This foot passenger ferry is the quickest crossing from Portsmouth to Wight.
The Southsea to Ryde ferry ride is only 10 minutes from Portsmouth to the Island.
Compare prices for the ferries to Wight
Ferry prices are subject to change. That is why it is best to look at the prices as they are the date when you want to make your crossing. Then you can make a good decision about whether a detour can be worthwhile. You can compare prices in a booking engine.
Isle of Wight by ferry from Portsmouth
Hovertravel Hovercraft landing in Ryde – Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is popular among tourists because of its mild climate. The ferries are also in high demand because of the commuters from Wight that work in Portsmouth and vice versa. The connection from Portsmouth is pretty good, and ferries often leave from Portsmouth to Ryde and Fishbourne.
Wight, or ‘the Island' as residents of the Isle of Wight refer to it, is the largest and second most populous Island in England and houses some 140.000 inhabitants. It is one of the most Southern regions of the UK.
WightLink has the most ferry crossings to the Isle of Wight, departing from Portsmouth to Wight. Hovertravel also runs a hovercraft connection to the Isle of Wight.
The quickest ferry is the Hovercraft which brings you to the Isle of Wight in just under 10 minutes. The FastCat ferry between Portsmouth and Ryde takes you just 22 minutes from coast to coast. These however are foot passenger ferries so if you're planning to bring a car then you should look into the other crossings to Wight: Portsmouth – Fishbourne.
