Sunset Flyer - Wightlink's New £90 Fare For Isle of Wight Residents

2/7/2025

Can you travel early or late? You could save up to 67% on Wightlink's standard fares

Fixed price car ferry fares are few-and-far-between on the Isle of Wight ferries.

Most of the time, the car ferries run like airlines with cheap prices at 3am on a Thursday in February and considerably higher prices at lunchtime on a Saturday in August. Foot passenger ferries are a bit less flexible but if you're bringing your car then the amount you'll pay is hard to predict (a rare exception is the day return car journeys offered by Red Funnel's Big Book of Savings).

And so, I was giddy with excitement when I heard about a 'trial' of a new fixed price ferry fare with Wightlink called the Sunset Flyer.

It is currently only for return journeys starting on the Isle of Wight (i.e. for Isle of Wight residents) but I'm hoping they might offer it to visitors if it proves popular. There was a similar fare a few years ago called a 'Night Flyer' (from memory) that was available to both mainlanders and Islanders but it required you to travel close to midnight. The Sunset Flyer is likely to be workable for more people.

How Does The Sunset Flyer Work?

During the trial, the Sunset Flyer will cost you £90 return for a car and passengers as long as you:

Travel after 8pm or before 9.05am on both legs of the journey
Start your journey on the Isle of Wight (either Yarmouth or Fishbourne)
Return within 30 days
Book by 30 September 2025
Travel by 31 December 2025
Book via this link, rather than via the main booking page

How much will I save?

This is obviously an attempt by Wightlink to spread out demand across the day. Most people want to travel on the car ferry around the middle of the day, so earlier and later ferries do tend to be quieter.

Off peak ferries are also cheaper - so is there really much of a saving to be made?

I searched for a ferry price for a week's holiday from Friday 1 August 2025, leaving Fishbourne at 9am and then returning a week later via Portsmouth on Friday 8 August at 8pm.

With the Sunset Flyer, I would pay £90 return.

Without the Sunset Flyer, I was quoted £278.75. A similar journey on the Yarmouth to Lymington journey was £280.25.

The Portsmouth crossing is a staggering saving of £188.75 or a 67% discount.

I've deliberately picked out a very busy date here but the saving can clearly be significant.

Let's look at an extreme example at the other end of the scale.

I looked at a random Wednesday in November and found that the price without the Sunset Flyer was £101 if I travelled at 9am and returned the next day at 8pm. That's a slightly less exciting saving of £11. If you can find a discount code then the standard fare would likely be cheaper.

What's the catch?

There are a few things to be aware of before you leap to book the Sunset Flyer.

As mentioned, you can only use this for journeys starting from the Isle of Wight. That means it won't be an option for holidaymakers. If that's you, take a look at our main ferry discounts guide or our accommodation + ferry bundles.

We are hoping Wightlink might extend the offer for visitors as well, but don't know if that will happen. Most accommodation on the Isle of Wight will let you check in around 4pm and kick you out around 10am. With this offer, you'd need to arrive around 9pm and leave your accommodation around 8am to get the offer (or arrive early and spend a day on the Island before checking in etc.).
You can't combine it with other offers and discounts. That includes the popular Tesco Clubcard deal or the 15% off that you can get via various clubs and memberships.
Isle of Wight residents with a Multilink pass will pay less than £90 with their book of tickets. The Multilink deal works differently in that you pay about £400 upfront for 10 single tickets that have to be used within 12 months (see the full guide). The Multilink fares can theoretically be used on any crossing, but there's a limited number of spaces.

Will The Sunset Flyer Be Extended Or Offered To Holidaymakers?

We don't know, but we certainly hope so!

It wouldn't work for everyone, but it could be a big money saver for people who are flexible.

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