|
 |
This site uses cookies - see our privacy policy. Ads & links in bold may give us a small payment from the seller, at no cost to the buyer. However, this never affects our views - if we like it, we recommend it.
Saving money on the Hovertravel Hovercraft - 14 Tips, Promos and Discounts (2025)
Bringing your car? See our main ferry discounts page or our beginners' guide to Isle of Wight ferry travel
Our main ferry guide already includes lots of advice on saving money on Hovertravel's hovercraft - but we felt it was deserving of its own guide.
The hovercraft is a bit of an unusual one, as it's technically a flight rather than a ferry crossing (it has a pilot rather than a captain). It also hurtles along at high speed and only takes about 10 minutes to get from Southsea to Ryde Esplanade on the Isle of Wight. Other routes to the Island take about 22 - 60 minutes.
You can't take your car on the hovercraft, but it is wheelchair accessible (with some restrictions) and allows dogs. See our main guides to accessible holidays and dog friendly holidays for more advice.
The hovercraft is a bit of an unusual one, as it's technically a flight rather than a ferry crossing (it has a pilot rather than a captain). It also hurtles along at high speed and only takes about 10 minutes to get from Southsea to Ryde Esplanade on the Isle of Wight. Other routes to the Island take about 22 - 60 minutes.
You can't take your car on the hovercraft, but it is wheelchair accessible (with some restrictions) and allows dogs. See our main guides to accessible holidays and dog friendly holidays for more advice.
"Stop calling me captain, I'm the pilot!"
1. Rummage around for a Hovercraft Promo code or Discount Code
Straightforward discount codes for Hovertravel are not terribly common, but they do appear from time-to-time.
Have a quick look at our main ferry discounts page, where we list all the discount codes that we know about. The best we've seen for Hovertravel's hovercraft recently is 25% off but we've also seen some for 20% off, 15% off or 10% off over the last few years.
Have a quick look at our main ferry discounts page, where we list all the discount codes that we know about. The best we've seen for Hovertravel's hovercraft recently is 25% off but we've also seen some for 20% off, 15% off or 10% off over the last few years.
2. Use a Railcard for 1/3 off
What do you mean the hovercraft isn't a train? Stop nitpicking and help yourself to a hefty discount if you have a railcard. You just need to include at least one stop on a train and then the discount applies to the whole journey.
Here's the cheapest way to do it (that I know of):
When we checked, we could get a day return for about £19 compared to the standard Hovertravel fare of about £33. An overnight return was about £25 compared to about £45 via Hovertravel.
A railcard will cost you about £35, so you'd probably start saving money on your third journey. There are various railcards available. If you don't qualify for one because of your age, disability or years of military service then you still get one of these railcards:
Bear in mind that there are restrictions on when you can use railcards. Generally, that means you can't use it before 9.30am on weekdays. You can use them whenever you want at weekends.
There's also a straightforward discount for students if you book direct with Hovertravel, so the savings with a student railcard are less spectacular.
Here's the cheapest way to do it (that I know of):
- Go to a railway website that doesn't charge booking fees, such as Chiltern Railways.
- Search for a journey from Fratton (FTN) to Ryde Hoverport (XRD) or vice versa.
- Select the e-ticket option.
- (Optional) Fill out this form and tell Hovertravel that you want to book a seat. If you don't, they'll just put you on when they've got space.
When we checked, we could get a day return for about £19 compared to the standard Hovertravel fare of about £33. An overnight return was about £25 compared to about £45 via Hovertravel.
A railcard will cost you about £35, so you'd probably start saving money on your third journey. There are various railcards available. If you don't qualify for one because of your age, disability or years of military service then you still get one of these railcards:
- a Network railcard that works across South East England.
- a Two-Together railcard, which is where two people travel together. This is particularly good as you only need to buy one railcard, but both get a discount.
Bear in mind that there are restrictions on when you can use railcards. Generally, that means you can't use it before 9.30am on weekdays. You can use them whenever you want at weekends.
There's also a straightforward discount for students if you book direct with Hovertravel, so the savings with a student railcard are less spectacular.
3. Get a HoverBlue Card (Islanders and Portsmouth Residents only)
If you've got a PO postcode then you can get a discount of about 30% with a HoverBlue card. It's free to sign up.
You sign up online on this page and then can use it straight away.
A billy bonus is that you can travel with one adult and up to three children using the discount. As far as I'm aware, the extra passengers travelling with you don't need to have a PO postcode.
You sign up online on this page and then can use it straight away.
A billy bonus is that you can travel with one adult and up to three children using the discount. As far as I'm aware, the extra passengers travelling with you don't need to have a PO postcode.
4. Buy a Family ticket
Hovertravel's family tickets are quite a decent saving.
At the time of writing, you pay about £70 for a day return for two adults and three children or about £100 for a period return. From time to time, they also do a discounted version of this (see the Hovertravel offers page).
The family ticket works out cheaper if you are travelling with any of these combinations:
We've rounded the numbers to keep it simple.
The complication is that you can't apply other discounts, such as the railcards or discount codes mentioned earlier.
At the time of writing, you pay about £70 for a day return for two adults and three children or about £100 for a period return. From time to time, they also do a discounted version of this (see the Hovertravel offers page).
The family ticket works out cheaper if you are travelling with any of these combinations:
- two adults, one child (saving of £14)
- two adults, two children (saving of £30 or £36 depending on how long you are staying)
- two adults, three children (saving of £46 or £58 depending on how long you are staying)
- one adult, three children (saving of £12 - we think that the ticket is valid for a lone parent but please get in touch if you know otherwise).
We've rounded the numbers to keep it simple.
The complication is that you can't apply other discounts, such as the railcards or discount codes mentioned earlier.
5. Join the National Trust or English Heritage
You can get 25% off if you're a National Trust member or 20% off if you're an English Heritage member.
That will probably save you about £10 whilst annual membership for a couple or a family will cost you about £140 - £170.
English Heritage membership is not worth it just for the Hovertravel discount, but it is worth getting if you plan to visit Carisbrooke Castle and Osborne House whilst you are on the Isle of Wight. By the time you've paid for entry to both of those, you've almost paid for the annual membership.
That will probably save you about £10 whilst annual membership for a couple or a family will cost you about £140 - £170.
English Heritage membership is not worth it just for the Hovertravel discount, but it is worth getting if you plan to visit Carisbrooke Castle and Osborne House whilst you are on the Isle of Wight. By the time you've paid for entry to both of those, you've almost paid for the annual membership.
Visiting Carisbrooke Castle? English Heritage members also get a hovercraft discount
6. Discounts for NHS, Emergency Services Workers and Armed Forces
Is it worth enlisting in the army to get cheap hovercraft travel?
Perhaps not, but you can get a 25% discount if you already work for the NHS, police, ambulance service or fire service. You need to plan ahead a little as the promo code takes up to a week to arrive once you've signed up here.
The good news is that you can get the discount for up to four other people.
There's a similar offer for people in the armed forces or veterans. If that's you then you need to fill in this form instead.
Perhaps not, but you can get a 25% discount if you already work for the NHS, police, ambulance service or fire service. You need to plan ahead a little as the promo code takes up to a week to arrive once you've signed up here.
The good news is that you can get the discount for up to four other people.
There's a similar offer for people in the armed forces or veterans. If that's you then you need to fill in this form instead.
7. Travel in the afternoon
You can get a modest discount on the hovercraft if you travel after 1pm and come back on the same day. This is an easy one to go for if you're just going on the hovercraft because your grandson has been asking to go on one for the last six weeks.
The saving is about £8 off the standard fare. However, the good news is that you can combine it with the HoverBlue card mentioned earlier (if you have a PO postcode).
The saving is about £8 off the standard fare. However, the good news is that you can combine it with the HoverBlue card mentioned earlier (if you have a PO postcode).
8. Attraction and travel Combos
I've never liked the word 'combo'.
Where has the second 'O' come from? Surely it should be combi, which is how combination is abbreviated when you're talking a boiler? (Ed: stop digressing, no-one else cares).
Anyway, Hovertravel offer a few 'combo deals' (or combi deals) with attractions or with the buses and trains on the Island.
The savings are modest, but are worth considering if you are visiting an attraction or using public transport anyway. The saving tends to be best if you are visiting on peak, as the bundle price doesn't change whilst some attractions put prices up during school holidays.
I looked at one of the bundles on offer and found that a day trip for a family of four to Robin Hill in August 2025 was £157 via Hovertravel, including the hovercraft, bus travel and entry to the park.
Booked separately, you would pay
That gives us a total of £175.96, so a saving of about £19.
Where has the second 'O' come from? Surely it should be combi, which is how combination is abbreviated when you're talking a boiler? (Ed: stop digressing, no-one else cares).
Anyway, Hovertravel offer a few 'combo deals' (or combi deals) with attractions or with the buses and trains on the Island.
The savings are modest, but are worth considering if you are visiting an attraction or using public transport anyway. The saving tends to be best if you are visiting on peak, as the bundle price doesn't change whilst some attractions put prices up during school holidays.
I looked at one of the bundles on offer and found that a day trip for a family of four to Robin Hill in August 2025 was £157 via Hovertravel, including the hovercraft, bus travel and entry to the park.
Booked separately, you would pay
- £91.96 for entry to Robin Hill
- £60 for a family day return hovercraft ticket (they were running an offer when I searched)
- £24 for four return tickets on the bus
That gives us a total of £175.96, so a saving of about £19.
'Combo' deals are available with some attractions, including Robin Hill
9. Compensation
You are entitled to some compensation from Hovertravel if your journey is badly delayed.
The gist of it is:
I can't find a form to fill out for Hovertravel, so I assume you just contact them with your journey details if you're putting in a claim.
The gist of it is:
- You can get 25 - 50% of the ticket price back if you're delayed. You need to be delayed for at least an hour before you get anything back.
- You won't get anything back if it was because of bad weather or 'extraordinary' circumstances
- It won't apply if you've got an open ticket - you need to be booked on a specific crossing/flight
I can't find a form to fill out for Hovertravel, so I assume you just contact them with your journey details if you're putting in a claim.
10. regular travel discounts
Hovertravel sell books of tickets called Flexi Flyers, which will probably save you money if you visit the Island/mainland three or more times in a year.
The smallest bundle you can buy is 10 single tickets for about £100. In other words, you can get a period return for about £20 rather than the standard price of about £45.
So, you'd start saving money on your third journey (assuming you couldn't get any of the other discounts mentioned on this guide). It's less of a saving if you mostly do day returns.
It also comes with some other perks, such as free use of the bus that links the hovercraft with the railway station and city centre.
The smallest bundle you can buy is 10 single tickets for about £100. In other words, you can get a period return for about £20 rather than the standard price of about £45.
So, you'd start saving money on your third journey (assuming you couldn't get any of the other discounts mentioned on this guide). It's less of a saving if you mostly do day returns.
It also comes with some other perks, such as free use of the bus that links the hovercraft with the railway station and city centre.
11. Try Wightlink!
Just in case you didn't realise, there are other options for reaching the Isle of Wight from Portsmouth. Wightlink operate a foot passenger and a car ferry service. You can use the car ferry as a foot passenger if you want to. It's a bit slower but is usually cheaper.
Take a look at our guide to saving money with Wightlink as a foot passenger or our main ferry discounts guide for car ferry advice.
The three options for reaching the Isle of Wight from Portsmouth and Southsea all arrive at different ports:
Take a look at our guide to saving money with Wightlink as a foot passenger or our main ferry discounts guide for car ferry advice.
The three options for reaching the Isle of Wight from Portsmouth and Southsea all arrive at different ports:
- The hovercraft arrives at Ryde Esplanade. This is a convenient location as there's a well-connected bus station and a railway station within a few metres. On the mainland side, Southsea will be less convenient than the Wightlink ferry for some people as it's further from the railway station. There's a shuttle bus you can pay for.
- Wightlink's foot passenger ferry from Portsmouth ends up at Ryde Pier Head. You can either walk down the pier (which is lovely on a sunny day) or catch a train to Ryde Esplanade. The walk is half a mile and takes about 10 minutes. In case you're interested, Ryde Pier is the second longest in the UK, behind Southend.
- Wightlink's car ferry from Portsmouth ends up in Fishbourne. It's fair to say that Fishbourne is less well connected, but you can walk from the ferry to the main road in about 15 minutes. There's a bus stop on the main road that will get you to Newport or Ryde.
Wightlink run ferries from Portsmouth to the Isle of Wight
12. Season tickets
We looked at the cost of season tickets in more detail in our main ferry discounts guide.
Our conclusion was that you would need to be travelling five days a week to make the season ticket better value than the Flexi Flyer tickets.
Our conclusion was that you would need to be travelling five days a week to make the season ticket better value than the Flexi Flyer tickets.
Hovertravel Deals and discounts just for Isle of Wight Residents
13. discounts if you are on a low income
The Isle of Wight Council run a scheme via Hovertravel where Isle of Wight residents get a hefty discount if they are on a low income. You pay about £17, which is about half price for day returns or an even bigger saving on overnight crossings/flights.
What counts as low income? I'll quote Hovertravel directly here to avoid confusion:
To get the discount you go to the standard booking page and then look for the section called 'IW Council Affordable Fares'. You need to provide proof each time you travel.
What counts as low income? I'll quote Hovertravel directly here to avoid confusion:
- Housing benefit, Council Tax Support, Income Support, Job Seekers Allowance (income based only), Employment Support Allowance (Income Related Only)
- Pensioners in receipt of Pension Credit (Guaranteed Credit only)
- Universal credit (but only if the claimant has an established entitlement of Housing Costs in their UC award)
To get the discount you go to the standard booking page and then look for the section called 'IW Council Affordable Fares'. You need to provide proof each time you travel.
14. Discounts for Hospital visits
Hovertravel offer a fixed price ticket if you're travelling to the mainland for a hospital appointment. It's well under half the standard fare and you can also get the same price for someone who is travelling with you.
You need to book via this page and then show proof when you board. To clarify, that needs to be an official appointment letter or text message - you can't just turn up with a limp and point at your leg.
There's an even cheaper price if you were rushed to hospital on the mainland and need to get back home after being discharged!
You need to book via this page and then show proof when you board. To clarify, that needs to be an official appointment letter or text message - you can't just turn up with a limp and point at your leg.
There's an even cheaper price if you were rushed to hospital on the mainland and need to get back home after being discharged!
