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10 Ways To Get Cheap Red Funnel Foot Passenger Fares (2024)
Bringing your car? See our main ferry discounts page or our beginners' guide to Isle of Wight ferry travel
Red Funnel's foot passenger fares for adults vary from about £10 (if you're very lucky) up to £35+.
Here's our guide to getting the lowest price possible. This guide is mostly focused on people planning day trips and holidays to the Isle of Wight but most of it is also relevant to Isle of Wight residents.
For the uninitiated, I will point out that there are four other ferry crossings available to foot passengers wanting to visit the Isle of Wight. You can read more about Wightlink and Hovertravel's crossings in our beginners' guide to Isle of Wight ferry travel. You will sometimes find better deals with those two companies.
Anyway, line up neatly please as we prepare to work through Red Funnel's best deals for foot passengers.
Here's our guide to getting the lowest price possible. This guide is mostly focused on people planning day trips and holidays to the Isle of Wight but most of it is also relevant to Isle of Wight residents.
For the uninitiated, I will point out that there are four other ferry crossings available to foot passengers wanting to visit the Isle of Wight. You can read more about Wightlink and Hovertravel's crossings in our beginners' guide to Isle of Wight ferry travel. You will sometimes find better deals with those two companies.
Anyway, line up neatly please as we prepare to work through Red Funnel's best deals for foot passengers.
Red Funnel runs two crossings which are available to foot passengers
1. Dig out Red Funnel foot passenger discount codes or limited offers
Red Funnel are pretty good at doing discounts on foot passenger ferry travel. The best I've seen recently has been about £12 for a day return to coincide with events on the Isle of Wight, such as Cowes Week. Red Funnel is often one of the sponsors and offers cheap deals to persuade people to come across.
Some deals appear on Red Funnel's offers page. We promote any offers we hear about on our main discount ferries guide, which also covers vehicle travel and the other ferry companies (Wightlink and Hovertravel).
If you are visiting your beloved Aunt Maude on the Isle of Wight, ask her if she's been sent Red Funnel’s Big Book of Savings. It is sent out to every household on the Isle of Wight and often includes a good deal for foot passengers that Aunt Maude can pass on.
Some deals appear on Red Funnel's offers page. We promote any offers we hear about on our main discount ferries guide, which also covers vehicle travel and the other ferry companies (Wightlink and Hovertravel).
If you are visiting your beloved Aunt Maude on the Isle of Wight, ask her if she's been sent Red Funnel’s Big Book of Savings. It is sent out to every household on the Isle of Wight and often includes a good deal for foot passengers that Aunt Maude can pass on.
Red Funnel often does cheap passenger fares for events in yachty Cowes
2. Check if any of you qualify for money off Red Funnel
It's worth checking if you qualify for any long term discount for Red Funnel foot passengers. There are some deals around, although Red Funnel don't offer as many of these as Wightlink.
For example, Red Funnel gives a 15% discount foot passenger travel if you have a military ID. They also do a 25% discount for people with a disability (the Red Funnel page explains the criteria).
Most of the other ongoing deals that I've found only give a discount when you are bringing a car.
For example, Red Funnel gives a 15% discount foot passenger travel if you have a military ID. They also do a 25% discount for people with a disability (the Red Funnel page explains the criteria).
Most of the other ongoing deals that I've found only give a discount when you are bringing a car.
3. Travel late in the day
Red Funnel offer a heavily discounted price if you travel late in the day. It costs about £11 per person and is called the Super Off-Peak Day Return. You need to travel after 10.55am and you need to travel as a couple. My mother would strike up a conversation with a stranger to see if they wanted to buddy up, but I wouldn't recommend that option.
Read our blog for more details on the Super Off Peak Day Return, which lots of people don't know about.
Read our blog for more details on the Super Off Peak Day Return, which lots of people don't know about.
4. Get a third off with a railcard
Railcard holders can do a sneaky little trick of bundling in ferry travel with their train booking. You just need to travel at least one stop on the train and you'll get the full one-third discount off the ferry as well.
Head for a website like Chiltern Railways that doesn't charge booking fees and tell it that you want to travel from Southampton Parkway to Cowes East (the one hour ferry) or Southampton Parkway to Cowes West (the 28 minute ferry).
You have to jump through the usual Railcard hoops to get the discount. That generally means that you can't travel early in the morning on weekdays.
There are similar savings available if you buy a National Express Coachcard and get a through ticket that includes the ferry.
Head for a website like Chiltern Railways that doesn't charge booking fees and tell it that you want to travel from Southampton Parkway to Cowes East (the one hour ferry) or Southampton Parkway to Cowes West (the 28 minute ferry).
You have to jump through the usual Railcard hoops to get the discount. That generally means that you can't travel early in the morning on weekdays.
There are similar savings available if you buy a National Express Coachcard and get a through ticket that includes the ferry.
5. take the slow ferry to save some money
Travelling as a passenger on Red Funnel's car ferry is cheaper than using its quicker and more regular foot passenger Red Jet ferry. A standard foot passenger period return for adults is £24 on the vehicle ferry or about £36 on the Red Jet.
There are a couple of downsides that you have to deal with to save yourself some cash.
Firstly, the car ferry takes about an hour whilst the Red Jet takes just under half an hour. That's not a big deal if the sun is shining and the Solent is sparkling. It can actually add something to a holiday if the weather is spot on. The Solent is usually jam-packed with things to see including yachts, cruise liners and container ships. Spend some of your savings on an I-Spy Isle of Wight book to help pass the time.
Secondly, the car ferry arrives in East Cowes, which has less to see and do than West Cowes (just known as 'Cowes' locally). East Cowes has Osborne House, but the west side of the town is the bit that's famous for yacht racing and men in red trousers.
If you are planning a day trip to the Isle of Wight, have a look at our guide to day trips from Southampton for more advice. You would struggle to entertain yourself for a whole day in East Cowes without visiting Osborne House but there are other things to do if you travel a little further afield.
There are a couple of downsides that you have to deal with to save yourself some cash.
Firstly, the car ferry takes about an hour whilst the Red Jet takes just under half an hour. That's not a big deal if the sun is shining and the Solent is sparkling. It can actually add something to a holiday if the weather is spot on. The Solent is usually jam-packed with things to see including yachts, cruise liners and container ships. Spend some of your savings on an I-Spy Isle of Wight book to help pass the time.
Secondly, the car ferry arrives in East Cowes, which has less to see and do than West Cowes (just known as 'Cowes' locally). East Cowes has Osborne House, but the west side of the town is the bit that's famous for yacht racing and men in red trousers.
If you are planning a day trip to the Isle of Wight, have a look at our guide to day trips from Southampton for more advice. You would struggle to entertain yourself for a whole day in East Cowes without visiting Osborne House but there are other things to do if you travel a little further afield.
The top deck of the Red Funnel car ferry is very pleasant in the sunshine
6. Buy a family or group ticket
Red Funnel do some good deals for groups of four or more people and some other deals for families.
There are strange anomalies with the 'family' deals. For example, you can only get a family deal on a day trip. Families travelling as foot passengers aren't allowed to stay overnight on the Isle of Wight, presumably because they would make too much noise and ruin the tranquillity (Ed: citation needed).
Well, families can stay overnight but they have to start referring to themselves as a 'group' and pay a different price as a result. Also, families are charged the same regardless of which Red Funnel ferry they use - whereas everyone else pays different rates.
Anyway, if you are a family and fancy a day trip then you can get a return to (West) Cowes for up to four people for about £43. That compares very well to the standard day return fares for two adults and two children, which is about £95.
Red Funnel's other group fares work differently, in that you get a lower price per person if there are at least four of you. So, a group of 15 rugby players on a day out would be able to get a cheaper fare. If you don’t have any friends, why not approach some strangers and ask if they’d like a cheap trip to the Isle of Wight? (Ed: please don’t do this).
The price per person that you pay with the group fare ranges from about £16 - £27. The level of discount increases if you travel on a slower ferry and travel later in the day. It's also cheaper to do a day trip compared to a standard period return.
Families and groups may want to check for a day return deal with the car, as a car full of seven people costs the same as a car with just a driver. See our guide to Isle of Wight ferry travel for beginners for advice on saving money if you bring a car on holiday.
There are strange anomalies with the 'family' deals. For example, you can only get a family deal on a day trip. Families travelling as foot passengers aren't allowed to stay overnight on the Isle of Wight, presumably because they would make too much noise and ruin the tranquillity (Ed: citation needed).
Well, families can stay overnight but they have to start referring to themselves as a 'group' and pay a different price as a result. Also, families are charged the same regardless of which Red Funnel ferry they use - whereas everyone else pays different rates.
Anyway, if you are a family and fancy a day trip then you can get a return to (West) Cowes for up to four people for about £43. That compares very well to the standard day return fares for two adults and two children, which is about £95.
Red Funnel's other group fares work differently, in that you get a lower price per person if there are at least four of you. So, a group of 15 rugby players on a day out would be able to get a cheaper fare. If you don’t have any friends, why not approach some strangers and ask if they’d like a cheap trip to the Isle of Wight? (Ed: please don’t do this).
The price per person that you pay with the group fare ranges from about £16 - £27. The level of discount increases if you travel on a slower ferry and travel later in the day. It's also cheaper to do a day trip compared to a standard period return.
Families and groups may want to check for a day return deal with the car, as a car full of seven people costs the same as a car with just a driver. See our guide to Isle of Wight ferry travel for beginners for advice on saving money if you bring a car on holiday.
7. Apply for the assisted fares scheme (Isle of Wight residents only)
All of the Isle of Wight's ferry companies have a cheap ferry deal for people on low incomes. There are about 14,000 people who qualify for this, although I have a feeling that many people don't know about it. As far I can tell, you need to be receiving either Local Council Tax Support, Universal Credit or Housing Benefit to qualify.
Red Funnel call it the Assisted Fares Scheme and it gives you a fixed price of about £12 for a return foot passenger ticket. You have to get it signed off by the Isle of Wight Council when you first use it.
There's also a similar discount if you are travelling for NHS treatment on the mainland.
Red Funnel call it the Assisted Fares Scheme and it gives you a fixed price of about £12 for a return foot passenger ticket. You have to get it signed off by the Isle of Wight Council when you first use it.
There's also a similar discount if you are travelling for NHS treatment on the mainland.
8. Join the Red Funnel Loyalty Scheme
Red Funnel’s loyalty scheme doesn’t give you an upfront discount but it's free to join and you build up points, which effectively saves you about 4%. Read the blog we wrote when it started.
You can join whether you live on the Isle of Wight or are visiting, but it's only really worth it if you plan to travel a few times.
You can join whether you live on the Isle of Wight or are visiting, but it's only really worth it if you plan to travel a few times.
9. Pay upfront for a book of tickets or a saver card (for regular travellers)
Red Funnel do a discounted price if you buy a book of tickets in advance. Roughly speaking, you get about 10% - 30% off for paying for 10 return journeys, which need to be used within 12 months. The percentage varies depending on how old you are and whether you are using the Red Jet or the car ferry as a foot passenger. The discount continues to increases if you are travelling more regularly.
The reduced prices aren't as low as Wightlink's Multilink foot passenger deals, but it may work well for those who need to visit Cowes, East Cowes or Southampton regularly.
Another option is to pay £250 upfront for a Red Funnel Travel Card. The credit doesn't expire on this one and it gives you 10% off foot passenger travel. If you go the whole hog and put £1000 onto the card then you get 20% off journeys with a car, but the foot passenger discount stays stuck rigid at 10% regardless.
The reduced prices aren't as low as Wightlink's Multilink foot passenger deals, but it may work well for those who need to visit Cowes, East Cowes or Southampton regularly.
Another option is to pay £250 upfront for a Red Funnel Travel Card. The credit doesn't expire on this one and it gives you 10% off foot passenger travel. If you go the whole hog and put £1000 onto the card then you get 20% off journeys with a car, but the foot passenger discount stays stuck rigid at 10% regardless.
10. Find a free space in a car
Finally, a mention for the Solent Car Share Facebook group where people going to and from the Isle of Wight offer up spare spaces in their car. Of course, climbing in a stranger's car carries a certain amount of risk so I'm not going to recommend that you do it. I'm just letting you know that it exists...
