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Wightlink's Tesco Clubcard deal – is it the best Isle of Wight ferry discount?
**Wightlink offers: Kids go free 2024 during school holidays + afternoon return from £15.60**
Tesco Clubcard’s deal with Wightlink is one of our favourite ways to save money on Isle of Wight ferry travel.
Potentially, you can book a return car ferry journey or foot passenger journey for half of the normal price. However, there are a few caveats to that so don’t quite leap to the booking form yet.
Here’s our guide to squeezing every penny out of the Tesco Clubcard/Wightlink deal.
Potentially, you can book a return car ferry journey or foot passenger journey for half of the normal price. However, there are a few caveats to that so don’t quite leap to the booking form yet.
Here’s our guide to squeezing every penny out of the Tesco Clubcard/Wightlink deal.
Wightlink's Clubcard deal can be a good way to have a cheap holiday on the Isle of Wight
How does the Tesco Clubcard and Wightlink deal work?
Firstly, you need to collect points by shopping at somewhere that offers Tesco Clubcard points. You'll be stunned to hear that Tesco is the first place to look, but you can collect them at Esso petrol stations and get them from some other arms of the Tesco empire such as Tesco Mobile. You can also recycle ink cartridges, join a Halfords loyalty scheme and the like to earn a few more Tesco Clubcard points.
You then swap your points for Wightlink vouchers on the Tesco Clubcard website before making your booking on this page on the Wightlink website. When I checked there was a box to tick to say that you're using Tesco Clubcard vouchers.
You can use the vouchers on all three Wightlink routes:
On the vehicle ferries, you can use Tesco Clubcard points for most vehicles including cars, motorbikes and motorhomes. Check this page on the Wightlink website first though. The deal doesn't seem to be valid for caravans I'm afraid. We've got a separate guide to outstanding pitch + ferry deals for tourers and campers.
As far as I can tell, you can use Tesco Clubcard vouchers on any of the Wightlink ferries as a foot passenger.
You then swap your points for Wightlink vouchers on the Tesco Clubcard website before making your booking on this page on the Wightlink website. When I checked there was a box to tick to say that you're using Tesco Clubcard vouchers.
You can use the vouchers on all three Wightlink routes:
- The vehicle ferry from Portsmouth to Fishbourne, which takes about 45 minutes (you can also travel as a foot passenger if you don't have a car)
- The vehicle ferry from Lymington to Yarmouth, which takes about 40 minutes (again, you can travel as a foot passenger if you don't have a car).
- The foot passenger ferry from Portsmouth Harbour to Ryde Pier Head, which takes about 20 minutes. This one links up with trains at Portsmouth Harbour which travel into London in about 90 minutes. It also links up with a train on the Isle of Wight, which connects with Sandown and Shanklin.
On the vehicle ferries, you can use Tesco Clubcard points for most vehicles including cars, motorbikes and motorhomes. Check this page on the Wightlink website first though. The deal doesn't seem to be valid for caravans I'm afraid. We've got a separate guide to outstanding pitch + ferry deals for tourers and campers.
As far as I can tell, you can use Tesco Clubcard vouchers on any of the Wightlink ferries as a foot passenger.
How many Tesco Clubcard points will I need to pay for a Wightlink ferry crossing?
At the time of writing, £2.50 in Tesco Clubcard vouchers is worth £5 of Wightlink vouchers. Many years ago £2.50 in Clubcard vouchers was worth £10 in vouchers, but let's not dwell on the past. To be fair, there were some annoying restrictions in place that they get rid of.
Wightlink car ferry prices fluctuate depending on demand, so the exact amount of vouchers you’ll need will vary. During winter you might get a day return on the car ferry for £60-£100 (£30-£50 in Tesco Clubcard vouchers) whilst in summer you could pay an eye-watering £300 for a week's holiday for a car and passengers (£150 in Tesco Clubcard vouchers).
My advice is to get a quote from Wightlink’s website and then order the exact number of vouchers you need. Obviously, you need to divide the quote by two to come up with the number of vouchers you’ll need (Ed: you don't say?).
You don’t get any change from Tesco Clubcard, so don’t order more than you need. You can pay the extra if you don’t have enough vouchers.
There are several ways to lower the price of the Isle of Wight car ferry, such as:
See our discount ferries guide for more of this sort of advice.
For foot passengers, things are a lot simpler as Wightlink foot passenger prices don't fluctuate in the same way as vehicle fares.
Day returns are cheaper than period returns and there are some off peak deals but generally the prices stay the same all year round. If you want to squeeze extra value out of your Tesco Clubcard vouchers, travel on one of the car ferries as a foot passenger. They are slightly cheaper than the catamaran ferry (Portsmouth Harbour to Ryde Pier Head), which is just for foot passengers. Expect to pay about £20 - £40 for a foot passenger return, which will cost you about £10-£20 in Tesco Clubcard vouchers.
Here's our full guide to cheap foot passenger ferry travel on Wightlink ferries.
Wightlink car ferry prices fluctuate depending on demand, so the exact amount of vouchers you’ll need will vary. During winter you might get a day return on the car ferry for £60-£100 (£30-£50 in Tesco Clubcard vouchers) whilst in summer you could pay an eye-watering £300 for a week's holiday for a car and passengers (£150 in Tesco Clubcard vouchers).
My advice is to get a quote from Wightlink’s website and then order the exact number of vouchers you need. Obviously, you need to divide the quote by two to come up with the number of vouchers you’ll need (Ed: you don't say?).
You don’t get any change from Tesco Clubcard, so don’t order more than you need. You can pay the extra if you don’t have enough vouchers.
There are several ways to lower the price of the Isle of Wight car ferry, such as:
- travelling late at night/early in the morning (lunchtime is usually the most expensive)
- staying for 4 nights instead of 5. No idea why Wightlink don't want people to stay for a whole week.
- avoiding Saturdays, as they are the most expensive day to travel.
- checking the price on both Wightlink car ferry crossings, although they are usually around the same price.
- avoiding school holidays. I appreciate that's an annoying thing to say if you have children.
- visiting during the middle of winter. Sure, the sea water is almost frozen and some of the attractions are shut, but you'll have the place to yourself...
- fill up your car with passengers. You pay the same regardless of whether you are travelling alone or with a car full. Bring along Aunt Maude and Uncle Brian and ask them to pay their share of the ferry cost. You don't even have to tell them that you got a discount...
See our discount ferries guide for more of this sort of advice.
For foot passengers, things are a lot simpler as Wightlink foot passenger prices don't fluctuate in the same way as vehicle fares.
Day returns are cheaper than period returns and there are some off peak deals but generally the prices stay the same all year round. If you want to squeeze extra value out of your Tesco Clubcard vouchers, travel on one of the car ferries as a foot passenger. They are slightly cheaper than the catamaran ferry (Portsmouth Harbour to Ryde Pier Head), which is just for foot passengers. Expect to pay about £20 - £40 for a foot passenger return, which will cost you about £10-£20 in Tesco Clubcard vouchers.
Here's our full guide to cheap foot passenger ferry travel on Wightlink ferries.
Is the Wightlink/Tesco Clubcard offer the best deal around for Isle of Wight ferry travel?
The Wightlink/Tesco Clubcard offer is a great discount...but it isn’t always the best deal around. For example:
1. Book an accommodation + ferry bundle
If you’re paying for accommodation on the Isle of Wight, you can often get a very good deal on the ferry by asking your accommodation provider to book it for you.
Discounts vary but I’ve found some places offering 50-70% off standard fares (e.g. Away Resorts or Parkdean Resorts) or fixed price ferry travel as part of an accommodation bundle (e.g. Warner Leisure Hotel).
For example, you could expect to pay £250-£300 for a week's holiday in August 2024 with Wightlink. The same crossing was only £92 (with Red Funnel) when booked alongside a holiday at Whitecliff Bay Holiday Park near Bembridge. So, the Tesco Clubcard deal would would cost me £125 - £150 in vouchers. Personally, I’d pay the £92 and keep my Tesco Clubcard vouchers for another occasion.
Meanwhile, Warner Leisure Hotels - which has two resorts on the Isle of Wight - offers a fixed price ferry fare with Wightlink (£80 last time I checked). In summer, you might choose to take up that offer rather than booking it with Tesco Clubcard points.
It isn’t just big-name accommodation providers that get a discount, many of the guest houses have a trade account with the ferry companies so you just need to call them up and ask. Just tell them The Guru sent you and they'll look after you (that's a joke, you will just get an awkward silence if you try this line).
Discounts vary but I’ve found some places offering 50-70% off standard fares (e.g. Away Resorts or Parkdean Resorts) or fixed price ferry travel as part of an accommodation bundle (e.g. Warner Leisure Hotel).
For example, you could expect to pay £250-£300 for a week's holiday in August 2024 with Wightlink. The same crossing was only £92 (with Red Funnel) when booked alongside a holiday at Whitecliff Bay Holiday Park near Bembridge. So, the Tesco Clubcard deal would would cost me £125 - £150 in vouchers. Personally, I’d pay the £92 and keep my Tesco Clubcard vouchers for another occasion.
Meanwhile, Warner Leisure Hotels - which has two resorts on the Isle of Wight - offers a fixed price ferry fare with Wightlink (£80 last time I checked). In summer, you might choose to take up that offer rather than booking it with Tesco Clubcard points.
It isn’t just big-name accommodation providers that get a discount, many of the guest houses have a trade account with the ferry companies so you just need to call them up and ask. Just tell them The Guru sent you and they'll look after you (that's a joke, you will just get an awkward silence if you try this line).
It may be cheaper to book your ferry via accommodation such as Whitecliff Bay Holiday Park
2. Compare prices with Red Funnel
It’s also worth checking the ferry price with Red Funnel, which is the other Isle of Wight car ferry company. Full price tickets at the two companies are usually in the same ballpark. However, Red Funnel frequently offer decent discount codes of 20% off or occasionally more and they sometimes offer fixed price deals.
You might - for example - find a deal for a £50 day return. The standard Wightlink fare might have been double that price, so you'd have used up £50 of your Clubcard vouchers to save yourself £50. I’d hang on to your precious vouchers for another holiday or use them on another Tesco Clubcard deal.
We publicise the deals we know about on our ferry travel page or you can get a quick and easy 10% off Red Funnel via this page.
You might - for example - find a deal for a £50 day return. The standard Wightlink fare might have been double that price, so you'd have used up £50 of your Clubcard vouchers to save yourself £50. I’d hang on to your precious vouchers for another holiday or use them on another Tesco Clubcard deal.
We publicise the deals we know about on our ferry travel page or you can get a quick and easy 10% off Red Funnel via this page.
Red Funnel will sometimes out-price Wightlink - even if you use Clubcard vouchers
3. Exploit your memberships
It's relatively easy to get 15% off with Wightlink's standard car ferry fares if you have a trawl through our discount ferry guide. At the time of typing, there are discounts for English Heritage members, teachers, carers, charity workers, charity volunteers, AA members and so on. Some of the discount schemes are free to sign up for.
You won't be able to apply that discount if you are paying with Tesco Clubcard vouchers.
If a ferry costs £200 then it would cost you £100 in Tesco Clubcard vouchers. However, if you qualify for one of the many discounts available then the £200 ferry would actually be reduced to £170. In this case, you Tesco Clubcard vouchers are only really worth 1.7x rather than double.
You won't be able to apply that discount if you are paying with Tesco Clubcard vouchers.
If a ferry costs £200 then it would cost you £100 in Tesco Clubcard vouchers. However, if you qualify for one of the many discounts available then the £200 ferry would actually be reduced to £170. In this case, you Tesco Clubcard vouchers are only really worth 1.7x rather than double.
4. Look for festival discounts
Reduced price ferry travel to the Isle of Wight is also sometimes available if you’re travelling to an event or festival. For example, Wightlink, Red Funnel and Hovertravel often do good deals for the Isle of Wight Festival. Once again, using the Tesco Clubcard deal might not be as good value as it would be on a normal weekend.
Here's the Wightlink page where they publicise their discounts for big events.
Here's the Wightlink page where they publicise their discounts for big events.
You will occasionally find special deals for cheap travel for the Isle of Wight Festival
5. Foot passengers might qualify for other discounts
For foot passengers, the Wightlink/Tesco Clubcard deal is often the best deal around. However...
- if you've got a Railcard you can get a third off the ferry crossing by booking it as a train. You can't combine that deal with the Wightlink/Tesco Clubcard deal so you might be best to hold on to your Clubcard points.
- if you are travelling to or from the Isle of Wight on a semi-regular basis - such as every two or three months - then you would be better to buy a Wightlink Multilink book of tickets.
- there are often special deals for big events (as mentioned earlier). For example, I've seen fixed price foot passenger travel for just £12 to get to the Isle of Wight Festival. Check the Wightlink events page before booking.
The-Isle-of-Wight-Guru-Don't-Blame-Us-Disclaimer™ All the information on this website is correct, as far as we know, but please do check details directly - and please contact us if you find anything inaccurate. Here's our full disclaimer.
