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Isle of Wight Guru

Is the Isle of Wight Weekly Tourist Parking Permit Worth Buying?

28/6/2021

4 Comments

 
Shanklin seafront parking
The precious parking spaces outside our apartment in Shanklin
**See bottom of page for 2022 update**

​We spent a few days in an apartment on Shanklin Esplanade recently. It had glorious views and was close enough to the seafront to hear the waves and eavesdrop on the runners jogging past. 

The downside was that the apartment didn't have parking. Rather irritatingly, there were several empty spaces in the parking area below the flats which remained empty all week but none which were allocated to the flat we had rented.

On the plus side, it was a chance to test out my claim that the Isle of Wight Council's Weekly Tourist Permit for visitors is poor value for money.

The seven day pass was advertised on the parking sign as £52.90 when I arrived, although when I went into the parking app it actually wanted more than £60. Presumably it had added on an extra day for the remainder of the evening, even though it was past 6pm and should have only added £1 (by the way, this blog post is really quite tedious if you aren't interested in penny pinching - feel free to leave immediately and do something more interesting).

It's worth noting that the price of the weekly pass has increased in the last few years. In 2014, the price of the tourist permit was £39.25 so it should have been £44.65 by 2020 and only slightly more by 2021 once we take inflation into account (Bank of England inflation calculator).

The pay as go option is about £8-9 a day, so to save any money with the weekly pass you'd need to use it pretty much non stop. 

I was convinced we wouldn't get value from it or at the very least I could kid myself that paying a few pounds a day is better than coughing up £60 in one go.

And the result?

In total, we spent £39.20 on pay as you go parking, so a saving of about £21 compared to the £60 which we would have paid for the parking permit. The reasons were:
  • we spent a couple of days at Robin Hill, where parking is included for free in the ticket price
  • we spent a morning at Compton Bay which didn't cost anything as we have National Trust membership
  • we spent a morning at the Pepperpot, which currently has a free car park
  • we found some free on street parking during a trip to Yaverland beach
  • we parked for free on a street near Rylstone Gardens whilst playing minigolf
  • finally, on one sunny day there weren't any spaces on Shanklin Esplanade so I went up and down between the Esplanade and the clifftop for 40 minutes before finally finding a precious space on the clifftop. It only gave me two hours but it was free. I'd have been spitting feathers if I'd paid £60 and then couldn't find a space

The parking app wasn't perfect. In some car parks the evening rate lasted until 10am whilst in others it expired at 4.30am, even though that's not what it said on the signs. I ended up overpaying instead of setting an alarm to wake me up in the middle of the night. You also pay 20p every time you use the app, which I've included in my calculations.

So, my conclusion is that you are better to pay as you go as long as a) you don't mind a little bit of hassle to save a few pounds b) you're organised enough to not forget to keep topping up and c) you don't mind paying for parking on your phone. A couple of times, the car ended up 200m from the flat because the nearest spaces were taken. I could extend it from a distance rather than walking to the car and searching under the seat for more change.
Shanklin beach towards Luccombe
Update December 2022: This blog post is now 18 months old, so I felt it was worth an update. My view has shifted a little, but not significantly. The price of permit has stayed the same, whilst parking charges have gone up a little. Most notably, it now costs £2 to leave in a council car park overnight.

​The weekly permit is still at £52.90 which is good news when everything else in the UK has leapt up in price. However, you'd still need to be using the permit a lot to make it worthwhile. The Isle of Wight Council's long stay car parks are now £9.40 for 6-10 hours plus a £2 overnight charge during the peak months of April to October. 

That means that leaving a car in a long stay car park for 24 hours would cost you £11.40. If you used it non-stop then a week's parking would be more than £70. 

However, the reality is that you are going to be out and about with your car, plus there are quite a few car parks which aren't owned by the council.

We've also written a new guide to cheap and free parking which has some useful alternatives to paying the council car park prices.
4 Comments
Sara link
21/2/2022 01:21:52 pm

We parked here a while back when visited the place, there were no visible signs for parking but a few weeks later received a parking charge demanding to pay £100 PCN.

Reply
mark link
25/8/2023 04:56:18 pm

If you read the online Isle Of Wight parking review/ policy. the first thing it mentions is getting as much revenue as possible from people,
In my experience, booking parking on the Isle Of Wight is so horrific that it is best to get it done in advance, or it can spoil your visit to the island.
There are 2 companies, that i know of, involved in the parking process (the Isle Of Wight council & pay by phone).
both companies appear to be in a state of inept confusion, & neither talk to each other effectively.
All the phone systems ask for information you don't have...block the users from achieving anything,,,,& cut them off.
I wonder if the Isle Of Wight just want to block everybody from parking & fine them all,,,,,,,it must be either that or staggering incompetence.
They must be putting loads of people off visiting the island (they put me off).
If you still want to go, then its complex.
You need to set up an account, which is really hard to do & is attached to your registration plate (if you ever want to add another vehicle then thats difficult as well).
Once that is done then you need to call to arrange the parking in advance (the numbers are changed sometimes, to make things even harder).
You have to keep on trying numbers, until you get a number with a real person on.
Allow several hours to complete all this & ideally take tranquilisers beforehand.
You can download an app to your phone but i wouldn't trust these people to put software on my phone in a million years & i've seen crowds of people with the app, grouped around the pay stations, shrugging at each other, because they can't get it to work.
The multi day multi car park passes are pretty expensive, but once you have got one arranged its a lot less hassle.
Best of luck.

Reply
Paul Jennings
1/6/2022 08:52:01 pm

I am convinced that the IOW does not want visitors. Reasons:-
- ridiculously expensive ferry
- very poor value hotels
- expensive parking
- stay on the mainland for a much better choice and experience. It is a relic from the past.

Reply
Isle of Wight Guru
1/6/2022 10:09:22 pm

Hi Paul,

- Regarding ferries, I would suggest looking at our discount ferry guide if you haven't already. (https://www.isleofwightguru.co.uk/discount-isle-of-wight-ferry-travel.html). Prices certainly can be headache inducing, with the worst being going direct to the ferry companies and booking a lunchtime on a Saturday in summer. However, more reasonable prices can be found by booking via accommodation providers (sometimes as much as 50% off) or jumping through some hoops (Tesco Clubcard, discount codes etc, travelling at odd times). Plan B is coming as a foot passenger and buying a weekly pass for the bus, but whether that will save you money depends largely on the size of your group.

- I haven't done a comparison of hotel prices between mainland and Isle of Wight so not sure about this one. Most relevant guide we have written is either this one (https://www.isleofwightguru.co.uk/where-is-the-cheapest-place-to-stay.html). Other options are booking a big chain very early (Premier Inn and Travelodge both do early deals at bargain prices) or a coach trip with hotel included. The latter is not for everyone admittedly, but there are some good deals which also include the ferry (https://www.isleofwightguru.co.uk/best-isle-of-wight-coach-tour-holidays-trips.html).

- I feel nauseous every time I pay for parking, but I wouldn't say that the Isle of Wight is more expensive than other coastal towns in England. The last comparison we did was in 2018, so things may have changed since then (https://www.isleofwightguru.co.uk/blog/is-car-parking-on-the-isle-of-wight-overpriced) but at the time it was cheaper than Newquay, Blackpool, Bournemouth, Weymouth etc. I have been thinking for a long time about writing a guide to cheap parking (e.g. Sandown railway station is much cheaper than Sandown seafront for a whole day's parking). I haven't done this guide yet but perhaps I will get around to it one day.

- Yes, the Isle of Wight is a relic from the past to an extent. There are only three escalators, things happen a bit slowly, much of it is undeveloped and there are only two branches of McDonalds. It's not for everyone but I like it!

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Days out

Adults
Beaches
Bembridge
​Benches
Blackgang Chine
Carnivals
​Churches
​Cowes
​Cycling
Dinosaurs
​Disabled
Dog friendly
​Driving
Eight wonders
Families
Festivals
Golf
​Hidden
Historic
​IOW Festival
Needles
Newport
Osborne
​Playgrounds
​Quirky
​Rainy days
​Romantic
Ryde
​Shanklin
Stag-dos
Toddlers
Teenagers
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Toilets
Ventnor
​Viewpoints​
Watersports
Winter
​Yarmouth
​
Zoos
​

Forecasts

Surf
Tides
​Weather

Saving money

Accommodation
​Attraction discounts
​
Big Book of Savings
​Blackgang
​Car hire
Ferry discount codes
​
Foot passengers (Wightlink)
Foot passengers (Red Funnel)
Foot passengers (Hovercraft)
​Free attractions
​Free parking
Holiday park discounts
​Low income discounts
Multilink
Public transport
Residents' ferry fares
​Tesco Clubcard
​

Eating out

​Allergies
​
Beach cafes
​Cheap pubs
​Food tour
Posh restaurants
Pub playgrounds
Seaside restaurants
​

Walking

1 mile walks
​
3-9 mile walks
Accessible
Coastal path
​Themed walks
​
Treasure hunts
​
​

Cycling

Cycling summary
Red Squirrel Trail (families)
Tennyson Trail (mountain bikes)
​

Day Trips

From Lymington
From Portsmouth
From Southampton
From London​
​

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