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Day Trips From Portsmouth To The Isle Of Wight – Ferry Advice And What To Do (2024 Guide)
**Wightlink offers: Kids go free during 2024 school holidays + afternoon return from £15.60**
Obviously, I would recommend visiting the Isle of Wight for several days or weeks (Ed: or months?) but you can still get a good feel for the Island if you're a day tripper. If so, a ticket to Ryde from Portsmouth may be the answer. I've got a feeling you will want to get back so you can rent a cottage on the Isle of Wight.
Here’s our guide to getting the ferry, getting around on the Isle of Wight and which activities you should prioritise on a day trip.
We’ve split it into different waffle-filled sections with advice depending on whether you’re bringing a car or arriving as a foot passenger.
Here’s our guide to getting the ferry, getting around on the Isle of Wight and which activities you should prioritise on a day trip.
We’ve split it into different waffle-filled sections with advice depending on whether you’re bringing a car or arriving as a foot passenger.
Should I bring my car to the Isle of Wight for a day trip from Portsmouth?
The Isle of Wight ferries require an A-level in maths to figure out the best deal but here's what I think:
Day trips as a foot passenger
Travelling as a foot passenger for a day trip from Portsmouth is usually cheaper than bringing a car. I would either get Wightlink’s FastCat from Portsmouth Harbour (20 minutes) or the Hovercraft from Southsea (10 minutes).
The third option is to travel as a foot passenger on Wightlink's car ferry but that burps you out in Fishbourne on the Isle of Wight, which isn’t exactly a tourist hotspot and isn't well connected with public transport.
Hovertravel's hovercraft is a nice novelty (apparently 'the last remaining commercial hovercraft service in the world') whilst Wightlink's Fastcat arrives at the end of a long pier so you can have a nice stroll along when you arrive.
Hovertravel and Wightlink both charge about £20-£25 for a day trip but there are various deals which come and go. For example, Wightlink sometimes offer a ‘kids go free’ deal during school holidays so a single parent with two kids is laughing all the way to the terminal. Check out our 12 ways to save money as a Wightlink foot passenger for the list of tricks and loopholes.
Hovertravel sometimes offer a 20% discount or a bundled deal for a family travelling together. All the discounts that we know of are on our discount ferries page.
Travelling as a foot passenger means you waste less time on the ferry and can enjoy the warm glow of not choking the planet. However, it will limit you to seeing one side of the Island unless you want to spend a big chunk of the day on the bus.
If you're planning to bring across bicycles for a bottom-wiggling day out, then read our guide to Isle of Wight cycling holidays.
The third option is to travel as a foot passenger on Wightlink's car ferry but that burps you out in Fishbourne on the Isle of Wight, which isn’t exactly a tourist hotspot and isn't well connected with public transport.
Hovertravel's hovercraft is a nice novelty (apparently 'the last remaining commercial hovercraft service in the world') whilst Wightlink's Fastcat arrives at the end of a long pier so you can have a nice stroll along when you arrive.
Hovertravel and Wightlink both charge about £20-£25 for a day trip but there are various deals which come and go. For example, Wightlink sometimes offer a ‘kids go free’ deal during school holidays so a single parent with two kids is laughing all the way to the terminal. Check out our 12 ways to save money as a Wightlink foot passenger for the list of tricks and loopholes.
Hovertravel sometimes offer a 20% discount or a bundled deal for a family travelling together. All the discounts that we know of are on our discount ferries page.
Travelling as a foot passenger means you waste less time on the ferry and can enjoy the warm glow of not choking the planet. However, it will limit you to seeing one side of the Island unless you want to spend a big chunk of the day on the bus.
If you're planning to bring across bicycles for a bottom-wiggling day out, then read our guide to Isle of Wight cycling holidays.
Hovertravel's hovercraft only takes 10 minutes from Southsea
Day trips with a car
Bringing a car to the Isle of Wight will occasionally be cheaper than travelling as a foot passenger. Car ferry prices fluctuate depending on the time of year and which way the wind is blowing whilst passenger prices are more-or-less fixed. If you're travelling off-season then it's a bit more likely that taking a car will be cheaper.
Car ferry prices cost the same regardless of the number of passengers. Very roughly, a day return with a car costs about £50 - £100 with Wightlink (check Wightlink fares here). It can be a lot more if you leave it late, travel on peak and don't use an offer.
So, if you’re travelling alone or as a couple it will be cheaper to travel as foot passengers unless Wightlink are offering some super-dooper day return special deal on the car ferry. If you’re travelling with six other members of your water polo team crammed into the back of a VW Touran then the car ferry will almost certainly be cheaper regardless of the time of year.
Car ferry prices cost the same regardless of the number of passengers. Very roughly, a day return with a car costs about £50 - £100 with Wightlink (check Wightlink fares here). It can be a lot more if you leave it late, travel on peak and don't use an offer.
So, if you’re travelling alone or as a couple it will be cheaper to travel as foot passengers unless Wightlink are offering some super-dooper day return special deal on the car ferry. If you’re travelling with six other members of your water polo team crammed into the back of a VW Touran then the car ferry will almost certainly be cheaper regardless of the time of year.
The car ferry from Portsmouth to the Isle of Wight takes about 40 minutes
Hiring a car on the Isle of Wight
A third option is to hire a car on the Isle of Wight. That can work out as a good value option for a lone traveller who doesn't mind a bit of faff.
For example:
There are other car hire companies, so you might find one which is closer to the ferry (see our public transport guide).
For example:
- A foot passenger day return ticket will cost you about £20.
- I checked the cost of hiring a car from Enterprise in Newport on a Friday in August. The cheapest car was only about £23 for the day. The snag is that you have to return it by 5pm and that you need to pick it up and drop it off from Newport.
- A return on the bus from the ferry in Ryde to Newport will cost you about £9.
- The total cost would be about £52 which is likely to be cheaper than a return with a car and one passenger in August.
There are other car hire companies, so you might find one which is closer to the ferry (see our public transport guide).
Of course, another factor is what is most convenient for you. Parking near the ferry terminal in Portsmouth is expensive. Advance booking with Your Parking Space or Just Park tends to be cheaper than just turning up and using a car park on the day.
You’ll certainly see more of the Island by car, but you might feel more relaxed if you aren’t getting lost on the Isle of Wight’s roads.
You’ll certainly see more of the Island by car, but you might feel more relaxed if you aren’t getting lost on the Isle of Wight’s roads.
What should I do on a day trip to the Isle of Wight from Portsmouth without a car?
1. Catch a train
For foot passengers, one option is to use the Isle of Wight’s only modern trainline which connects with the two foot passenger ferries from Portsmouth. It travels from Ryde Pierhead down towards Sandown and Shanklin which are both busy seaside resorts with sandy beaches.
If you fancy a pleasant walk of a couple of miles, I would get the train from Ryde to Sandown and then walk along the seawall to Shanklin for lunch as there’s a good choice of places to eat on the seafront.
It’s a walk of about 3 miles each way but you can get the train from Shanklin back to Ryde. It's probably not one to do with young children unless you don't mind carrying them for the last 2.5 miles.
If you fancy a pleasant walk of a couple of miles, I would get the train from Ryde to Sandown and then walk along the seawall to Shanklin for lunch as there’s a good choice of places to eat on the seafront.
It’s a walk of about 3 miles each way but you can get the train from Shanklin back to Ryde. It's probably not one to do with young children unless you don't mind carrying them for the last 2.5 miles.
These 1930s Northern Line trains were finally replaced in 2021 with newer Island Line trains
There are several attractions on the seafront in Sandown and Shanklin to break up the journey including:
- Dinosaur Isle (medium-sized museum with whopping bones)
- Sandown Pier (kiss-me-quick attractions, fruit machines and minigolf)
- Wildheart Animal Sanctuary (tigers, lions and meerkats - previously known as Isle of Wight Zoo)
- Sandham Gardens (impressive minigolf, good-sized playground, bouncy net things)
- Shanklin arcade and seafront minigolf (noisy machines which chuck out yellow tickets, three good quality minigolf courses)
- Shanklin Chine (a pretty walkway with lights)
- Shanklin Olde Village (inland a little bit, but people like the twee thatched buildings and tearooms)
- If you’ve bought your trunks, you can hire a kayak, build a sandcastle or have a paddle. Sandown and Shanklin are two of the Isle of Wight's best beaches for swimming.
The walk from Sandown and Shanklin follows a long sandy beach
2. Go for a walk from Ryde
Alternatively, you could avoid the train altogether and explore Ryde. It's a nice enough town with a big sandy beach and plenty to do, but it doesn't have stunning cliffs or an undeveloped coastline that you get in other parts of the Isle of Wight.
Personally, I would walk east along the coastal path from Ryde to Seaview. It’s about two miles each way and there are a few places to stop for food enroute. I quite like the Dell Café that is along the route.
If a four-mile walk sounds about as much fun as a punch in the face, then I would consider:
You can also have a paddle at Ryde although I personally prefer swimming in Sandown or Shanklin.
Personally, I would walk east along the coastal path from Ryde to Seaview. It’s about two miles each way and there are a few places to stop for food enroute. I quite like the Dell Café that is along the route.
If a four-mile walk sounds about as much fun as a punch in the face, then I would consider:
- a short walk to Puckpool Park (former military battery with playground, minigolf and café)
- chasing a child around the two seafront playgrounds (please only consider this option if you've brought a child with you)
- a wander along the UK’s oldest pier
- shopping in the steep high street (similar to mainland shopping but at a 45-degree angle. There are also some quirky independent shops)
You can also have a paddle at Ryde although I personally prefer swimming in Sandown or Shanklin.
This odd building sits next to Appley Beach at Ryde
3. catch a bus
A third option if you’re travelling as a foot passenger from Portsmouth is to hop on an open top bus called the Downs Breezer. These only operate in the warmer months but they’re a whole heap more fun than a usual bus ride and allow you to see a bit more of the Island. You get a recorded commentary onboard and they stop off at various attractions. A word of warning though – the top deck of a moving bus feels about 10 degrees cooler than the bottom deck. Bring a jumper or choose a really warm day.
The most scenic part of the route is along Brading Down, but it also stops at a number of attractions and some seaside spots including:
It leaves from Ryde bus station and costs about £12 for a 24-hour ticket or about £30 for a group of five.
The most scenic part of the route is along Brading Down, but it also stops at a number of attractions and some seaside spots including:
- Sandown, which has a sandy beach, minigolf, a dinosaur museum, Wildheart Animal Sanctuary, an old-fashioned pier, bouncy nets, a decent playground and plenty of cafes. We prefer Shanklin to Sandown but contrary opinions are also available from other gurus.
- Bembridge, which is a posh village with a lifeboat station and dog friendly beach but less seaside attractions
- Quarr Abbey, which is a monastery with a café, tours and walks
- the Isle of Wight Steam Railway. You may have had enough of sitting down after the bus ride, but perhaps your rear end is more resilient than mine.
It leaves from Ryde bus station and costs about £12 for a 24-hour ticket or about £30 for a group of five.
Bring a jumper on the Isle of Wight's open top buses (yes, I know this is the wrong open top bus)
What should I do on a day trip to the Isle of Wight from Portsmouth if I bring my car?
If you’re bringing the car, you can drive to anywhere on the Island from Ryde so you can take your pick from our days out guides for toddlers, children, teenagers, adults or even romantic couples.
I’m a bit reluctant to say there is a perfect day out for everyone as it depends on what you’re interested in, but we have written a guide to 10 things that the Isle of Wight is famous for. For a whistlestop tour, try the Wighty 90 driving route. It covers many of the Isle of Wight's most scenic spots in 90km, with suggestions of places to stop for an ice cream.
The three most famous attractions on the Isle of Wight are probably The Needles/Alum Bay (multicoloured sands, chairlift and lighthouse), Osborne House (Queen Victoria’s deathbed and a more cheerful beach) and Carisbrooke Castle (King Charles I’s former prison with good views).
I’m a bit reluctant to say there is a perfect day out for everyone as it depends on what you’re interested in, but we have written a guide to 10 things that the Isle of Wight is famous for. For a whistlestop tour, try the Wighty 90 driving route. It covers many of the Isle of Wight's most scenic spots in 90km, with suggestions of places to stop for an ice cream.
The three most famous attractions on the Isle of Wight are probably The Needles/Alum Bay (multicoloured sands, chairlift and lighthouse), Osborne House (Queen Victoria’s deathbed and a more cheerful beach) and Carisbrooke Castle (King Charles I’s former prison with good views).
However, they are all busy places and you might be more interested in seeing the quieter side of the Island.
Some of my favourite days out on the Isle of Wight include:
Some of my favourite days out on the Isle of Wight include:
- bodyboarding or swimming at Compton Bay on the unspoilt south west coastline, followed by a drive along the Military Road to Freshwater Bay for a picnic or a walk up to the Tennyson Monument for fantastic views
- a meal on the seafront at Ventnor, followed by a walk along the coastal path to Steephill Cove or to Ventnor Botanics if you’re into flowery things (see #7 on our circular walks guide for a five-mile route which covers this part of the Island)
- watching the yachts sail past in Cowes, along with a walk along the seafront to Gurnard for an ice cream
- rockpooling in Bembridge followed by a walk to the lifeboat station and then along the coast to the beach at St Helen’s
- paddleboarding at Colwell Bay followed by lunch at a local café or restaurant in Colwell or nearby Totland Bay
- Blackgang Chine, which is one of the UK’s oddest (Ed: surely you mean ‘oldest’?) theme parks. It’s got terrific sea views as well as all the dinosaurs, pirates and fairies you visited on a school trip when you were 11.
- Tapnell Farm Park which is a newer attraction with distant sea views and pedal go karts
A couple of old romantics at Compton Bay...
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...and Freshwater Bay, which is a short walk from the Tennyson Monument
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The walk from Cowes to Gurnard is a nice simple one with plenty to see
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Blackgang Chine is still going after 180 years
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