Getting there

The Isle of Wight is located off the coast of Southern England and is linked to the mainland ports of Lymington, Southampton and Portsmouth by vehicle ferries, high-speed passenger catamarans and hovercraft. Also check out our essential guide to getting the best value ferry crossings, information on saver fares and the best times to travel.

Ferries

Red Funnel ferries are based in Southampton and operate a car ferry service from Southampton to East Cowes, and a high-speed passenger service from Southampton to West Cowes.

Website: www.redfunnel.co.uk

Wightlink ferries operate a passenger ferry service between Portsmouth and Ryde, a vehicle ferry service between Portsmouth and Fishbourne near Ryde, and a vehicle service between Lymington and Yarmouth.

Website: www.wightlink.co.uk

Hovertravel operatre the only high-speed hovercraft service to the Island. It's the world's longest established commercial hovercraft operator. Two modern ninety-eight-seat hovercraft run between Ryde and Southsea with a journey time of only ten minutes.

Website: www.hovertravel.co.uk

Getting there by car

Southampton, Portsmouth and Lymington are all easily accessible for motorists with motorways and trunk roads providing fast routes to the ports from all parts of the country. Several online route planners are available to help plan your route to the ferry ports from anywhere in the UK if visiting by car, including: www.theaa.com and www.rac.co.uk.

Getting there by train

There are frequent train services which operate from many parts of the United Kingdom to all three mainland ferry ports, either direct or with cross-London connections. For rail travel information, call the National rail enquiries service on 08457 484950 or go to www.nationalrail.co.uk.

Coach services

National Express coaches have over 1200 departure points throughout the UK and offer relaxing seats, panoramic windows and a toilet and washroom on all of their coaches to help get your holiday off to comfortable start. For more information call the travel enquiry centre on 0870 580 8080 or go to www.nationalexpress.com.

Travelling from abroad

If you're visiting the Island from abroad, the London airports of Heathrow and Gatwick are both about one and a half hours by road from the ferry terminals. Competitive long haul taxis can be arranged, these are likely to be less expensive than public transport if there are two or more passengers. Travellers from Europe can fly directly to Southampton airport, twenty minutes by taxi from the Southampton ferry terminal.