Is Aferry Cheaper Than Booking The Isle of Wight Ferry Direct?

**Wightlink's latest foot passenger deals: Kids Go Free during holidays + Afternoon return for £15.60**

We didn't find discounts via Aferry - but there are other offers available

I saw a claim on a Facebook group that Aferry was offering a cheaper price than Wightlink for Isle of Wight ferry travel.

This wasn't my experience when I checked Aferry about five years ago, but I couldn't resist a price comparison to see if things have changed.

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Peak time from Portsmouth, Southampton or Lymington

I started with a peak time crossing from Portsmouth to Fishbourne with Wightlink for a car and passengers from August 11th - 18th 2023.

The Aferry price was £282.75 whilst the Wightlink price was...also £282.75. Both fares were the 'economy' option and they were the same time of day. 

Lymington to Yarmouth with AFerry at the same time was £276.25 or...£276.25 direct with Wightlink.

I then looked at the same dates and similar crossing times with Red Funnel and found that it was £238.50 whether I booked with Aferry or Red Funnel direct.

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Off peak from Portsmouth or Southampton

I was losing interest in this price comparison by this point. All three comparisons between Wightlink and Aferry had been identical and it felt like a pointless exercise.

Nonetheless, for the good of humanity I searched for a short break from October 10th - 13th 2023. 

This time, the Wightlink fare was £110.25 whilst the Aferry fare was...also £110.25.

A similar crossing with Red Funnel was £99.75 whether I went direct or via Aferry.

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Running out of steam

My enthusiasm ran out at this point, so I gave up on my plan to compare at least 10 prices. 

If you have found a fare on Aferry which was cheaper than going direct then I would be delighted to hear about it. However, the five fares I looked at were all the same. 

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Money saving advice

Fear not, there are several other options which will save you money on the Isle of Wight ferry.

These are explored in ridiculous levels of detail in our guide to discount Isle of Wight ferry travel.

Some highlights include:

• Book via your accommodation provider. In some cases this can save you a whopping 50%. See our guide to holidays including the ferry for some suggestions. Big name ones include Away Resorts, Parkdean Resorts, Warner Leisure or HolidayCottages.co.uk.
• Use a discount code. We have an ongoing 10% off Red Funnel or 20% off Hovertravel but better deals turn up sometimes (see this page).
• Get yourself a Multilink pass if you have an Isle of Wight address, either as a resident or a second homeowner.
• Exploit your membership to various bodies and clubs to get a discount. Some of these require signing up for paid subscriptions (e.g. English Heritage, The AA) but others are free. For example, if you do any voluntary work you can sign up for CharityWorkerDiscounts.com.

There are plenty of other suggestions, including advice on cheap foot passenger travel to the Isle of Wight on our discount ferries guide.