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Wightlink Foot Passenger Fares To The Isle of Wight - 12 Money Saving Tips (2024)
Bringing your car? See our main ferry discounts page or our beginners' guide to Isle of Wight ferry travel
**Wightlink offers: Kids go free during school holidays + afternoon return from £15.60**
The adult fare for a Wightlink foot passenger return to the Isle of Wight ranges from nearly £40 down to about £12 (or less if you start including season tickets etc.).
Here’s our guide to getting a price which is closer to that magic £12 figure.
Foot passengers travelling with Wightlink to the Isle of Wight have three crossings to choose from. They leave from Portsmouth and Lymington and arrive in Fishbourne, Ryde and Yarmouth.
You can also get to the Isle of Wight with Red Funnel from Southampton and Hovertravel from Southsea but this guide is just focused on Wightlink.
I’ve split this guide into two sections depending on whether you are:
Here’s our guide to getting a price which is closer to that magic £12 figure.
Foot passengers travelling with Wightlink to the Isle of Wight have three crossings to choose from. They leave from Portsmouth and Lymington and arrive in Fishbourne, Ryde and Yarmouth.
You can also get to the Isle of Wight with Red Funnel from Southampton and Hovertravel from Southsea but this guide is just focused on Wightlink.
I’ve split this guide into two sections depending on whether you are:
The price you pay as a foot passenger with Wightlink varies significantly
Part 1: How to save money on Wightlink's Foot passenger ferries to the Isle of Wight for day trips and holidays
Day trippers and holidaymakers have a few tricks up their sleeves to get cheap Isle of Wight ferry travel with Wightlink. My favourites include:
1. Look for a discount code or limited offer
Wightlink occasionally do discount codes for foot passenger travel. They tend to be a discount for people attending a particular event on the Isle of Wight or on the mainland rather than a straightforward percentage discount. Start by looking at the Wightlink offers page.
We include all the discount codes we know about on this guide, which is a beast of a page which also covers car ferry travel and the other two ferry companies. For example, Wightlink often run a Kids Go Free deal during school holidays.
We include all the discount codes we know about on this guide, which is a beast of a page which also covers car ferry travel and the other two ferry companies. For example, Wightlink often run a Kids Go Free deal during school holidays.
2. Use memberships for 20% off Wightlink without much hassle
Various club memberships will get you 20% off Wightlink’s foot passenger fares. Some of these are things you might already have, such as English Heritage membership, Camping and Caravanning Club or AA Members. There are other clubs which are free to sign up for and which have a pretty wide eligibility criteria. For example, if you do any sort of volunteering you can sign up for CharityWorkerDiscounts.com.
There are similar things for carers, teachers or health workers. Read this blog for more advice on whether you might qualify.
There are similar things for carers, teachers or health workers. Read this blog for more advice on whether you might qualify.
3. Get 50% off Wightlink foot passenger fares with Tesco Clubcard
If you have Tesco Clubcard vouchers lying around, you can swap them for Wightlink foot passenger tickets. They are worth double, so the ferry is effectively half price. Back in the day, you got 4x the value but let’s not dwell on that for too long…
4. Travel late in the day
This offer won’t work for everyone but Wightlink offer discounted prices if you travel late in the day. Wightlink’s deal is called the Afternoon Flyer and it costs about £15-£18. You have to wait until noon and you have to come back by 0430 on the following morning. I'm not exactly sure what you would do on the Isle of Wight until 4am, considering that most residents go to bed before Newsnight has started.
5. Use a railcard
If you have a Railcard, you can sometimes get one-third off the foot passenger ferry fares by telling the booking engine that the ferry is a train (no, really). You need to travel one stop on a train so search for Lymington (Town) to Yarmouth or Portsmouth Harbour to Ryde Esplanade
You will usually find that the price including the extra stop is still cheaper than just booking the ferry without a railcard.
You will usually find that the price including the extra stop is still cheaper than just booking the ferry without a railcard.
6. Travel as a foot passenger on a Wightlink car ferry
What’s the rush, eh? Why not sit back and pretend you are on a Solent cruise whilst saving some money?
Wightlink's car ferries are also available to foot passengers and they are cheaper than the speedy foot passenger ferries. For a day return expect to pay somewhere around £20 rather than £30.
On a sunny and calm day, you can sit up on the deck and it genuinely adds something to your holiday. If it’s pouring with rain then it’s less exciting.
The car ferries take 40-45 minutes whilst the Wightlink foot passenger ferry take 22 minutes, so it does gobble up some of your time if it’s a day trip.
It gets a little complicated as all the ferries arrive at different ports and some are better than others for foot passengers.
If you’re planning a day trip then the Wightlink car ferry from Lymington works very well as you can hop on an open top bus near to the port and do a tour of the lovely West Wight.
It doesn't work as neatly if you get the car ferry from Portsmouth. You end up in Fishbourne, which is not well connected and doesn’t have any attractions, apart from a nice tree down by Fishbourne's tiny beach.
Wightlink's car ferries are also available to foot passengers and they are cheaper than the speedy foot passenger ferries. For a day return expect to pay somewhere around £20 rather than £30.
On a sunny and calm day, you can sit up on the deck and it genuinely adds something to your holiday. If it’s pouring with rain then it’s less exciting.
The car ferries take 40-45 minutes whilst the Wightlink foot passenger ferry take 22 minutes, so it does gobble up some of your time if it’s a day trip.
It gets a little complicated as all the ferries arrive at different ports and some are better than others for foot passengers.
If you’re planning a day trip then the Wightlink car ferry from Lymington works very well as you can hop on an open top bus near to the port and do a tour of the lovely West Wight.
It doesn't work as neatly if you get the car ferry from Portsmouth. You end up in Fishbourne, which is not well connected and doesn’t have any attractions, apart from a nice tree down by Fishbourne's tiny beach.
Travelling as a foot passenger works well if you use Wightlink's Lymington to Yarmouth crossing...
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...but it doesn't work as well if you get the car ferry to Fishbourne as there aren't many buses nearby
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7. Buy a Wightlink family ticket
If you are travelling as a family then look up the fares for a family ticket. You probably would have figured that out for yourself, but there you go.
As day return on the Fast Cat from Portsmouth to Ryde Pier Head is £56 for five people including one or two adults. Buying the tickets individually would cost you £78.30 (2023 prices).
It gets more complicated if you are travelling when Wightlink is doing its Kids Go Free deal during school holidays.
I should also mention that a group of five may like to look at the cost of taking a car across. Travelling as a group of foot passengers is usually cheaper, but it's not always the case. The cost of taking a car fluctuates with demand but the price stays the same whether you take a car full or just drive across on your own.
As day return on the Fast Cat from Portsmouth to Ryde Pier Head is £56 for five people including one or two adults. Buying the tickets individually would cost you £78.30 (2023 prices).
It gets more complicated if you are travelling when Wightlink is doing its Kids Go Free deal during school holidays.
I should also mention that a group of five may like to look at the cost of taking a car across. Travelling as a group of foot passengers is usually cheaper, but it's not always the case. The cost of taking a car fluctuates with demand but the price stays the same whether you take a car full or just drive across on your own.
8. Blag a free ride
True money savers head for the Solent Car Share Facebook group. Car ferry passengers offer up spare spaces in their vehicles to anyone who fancies a freebie. Of course, they might be a weirdo who steals your lunch money and gives you a wedgy, so I can’t recommend you try this. Definitely don’t do it.
9. Buy a bundle ticket
All three of the main Isle of Wight ferry companies offer some kind of bundle ticket which either includes an attraction or connecting travel.
Wightlink’s offering is called the West Wight Wanderer. It includes a train from Brockenhurst to Lymington, a day return ferry from Lymington and a hop on, hop off ticket on one of the Isle of Wight’s open top buses. See our blog for more details on how much you will save.
If you can't bothered with reading all that, the gist of it is that it could save you about £13 in the best case scenario.
Wightlink’s offering is called the West Wight Wanderer. It includes a train from Brockenhurst to Lymington, a day return ferry from Lymington and a hop on, hop off ticket on one of the Isle of Wight’s open top buses. See our blog for more details on how much you will save.
If you can't bothered with reading all that, the gist of it is that it could save you about £13 in the best case scenario.
Wightlink's West Wight Wanderer includes an open top bus ticket...
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...which will take you to the Needles and other lovely places
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Part 2: How to save money as a Wightlink foot passenger for regular visitors and residents
In this second thrilling chapter we are going to run through the best deals for Isle of Wight foot passenger ferries for those who travel regularly or live on the Island.
Isle of Wight residents who only occasionally travel to the mainland are best to look at the deals above
Isle of Wight residents who only occasionally travel to the mainland are best to look at the deals above
10. Get a Wightlink Multilink pass
If you travel five times or more in 12 months, get yourself a Multilink foot passenger pass with Wightlink. These are available to anyone, not just Isle of Wight residents (unlike the car equivalent).
In fact, if you are travelling three times of more in 12 months then it will probably be cheaper to get a Multilink foot passenger pass. As of 2023, you get 10 single journeys for £80 which is £16 per return journey.
An adult period return on the Portsmouth Harbour to Ryde Pier Head route will cost you about £38 so you can make a whopping saving.
It gets more complicated when you factor in other discounts, such as discounts for older people or Tesco Clubcard vouchers.
The price of a Multilink ticket drops further if you buy a bigger bundle of tickets. The lowest fare is about £12 return.
Of course, you can also buy season tickets for Wightlink. If you were to travel on the Ryde Pier Head to Portsmouth Harbour crossing five times a week for 48 weeks of the year, then it works out as about £8.60 return per day.
In fact, if you are travelling three times of more in 12 months then it will probably be cheaper to get a Multilink foot passenger pass. As of 2023, you get 10 single journeys for £80 which is £16 per return journey.
An adult period return on the Portsmouth Harbour to Ryde Pier Head route will cost you about £38 so you can make a whopping saving.
It gets more complicated when you factor in other discounts, such as discounts for older people or Tesco Clubcard vouchers.
The price of a Multilink ticket drops further if you buy a bigger bundle of tickets. The lowest fare is about £12 return.
Of course, you can also buy season tickets for Wightlink. If you were to travel on the Ryde Pier Head to Portsmouth Harbour crossing five times a week for 48 weeks of the year, then it works out as about £8.60 return per day.
11. Apply for the discounted fares scheme
Isle of Wight residents who get local council tax support or housing benefit can apply for a scheme for discounted fares. Wightlink don't publish the exact fare but the equivalent tickets with Red Funnel and Hovertravel cost £10-£13 for a return journey - which is a massive discount on the standard fare.
There are about 14,000 people who are eligible but I get the impression that a lot of people don’t even know this scheme exists.
For some reason, the scheme has three different names depending on which ferry company you use. Wightlink call it the Discounted Fares Scheme.
There are about 14,000 people who are eligible but I get the impression that a lot of people don’t even know this scheme exists.
For some reason, the scheme has three different names depending on which ferry company you use. Wightlink call it the Discounted Fares Scheme.
12. Join the Wightlink loyalty scheme
Wightlink’s My Link loyalty scheme is just for Isle of Wight residents and saves you about 10%. You can usually get a better discount with a little bit of hassle but this is the deal I recommend if you are exceedingly lazy.
Read our blog post about My Link.
Read our blog post about My Link.
