Getting to the Island
- Freshwater Bay
Getting to the Isle of Wight has never been easier, with fast and reliable service every day. There is no fixed link, so the only way over is by boat, hovercraft or may seaplane!
Getting here is very easy, once you have travelled to Portsmouth, Southampton or Lymington in the New Forest, your short break to the Isle of Wight has practically started. As you leave the harbour, the Island is already in view from deck.
Crossing the Solent is all part of the experience of travelling to the Isle of Wight. Fast passenger services from Portsmouth and Southampton can take less than 20 minutes, whilst car ferries can complete the journey in just 40 minutes.
For anyone living in or around Greater London, the Isle of Wight is the Island destination for a stylish and relaxing getaway weekend or short break. The Island has the beauty and tranquillity of more distant parts of the UK, like Cornwall or Devon. However, you can start your break with a short sea crossing that’s around an hour from the M25! Saving hours of wasted time and delay on trains or the motorway queueing further westward.
London to the Isle of Wight by Train
Depending on where you are starting your journey in London, either London Victoria or London Waterloo are likely to be your most convenient railway station. Both offer fast and regular journeys to the Isle of Wight via Portsmouth Harbour and Southampton, you are also able to change trains at Brockenhurst in the New Forest to travel to Lymington as well.
London Waterloo – South Western Railway offer direct services from London Waterloo to:
- Portsmouth Harbour (not Portsmouth & Southsea) – For Wightlink services to Ryde. Journey times range from 1h 39mins and four departures per hour at peak times. The train takes you right to Wightlink’s passenger terminal for the Fast Cat service to Ryde and a short walk (10 mins) to the Wightlink car service, which sails from Gunwharf Quays to Fishbourne. If you prefer a hovercraft experience, then you can take the Hoverbus from Portsmouth & Southsea station or Portsmouth Hard to the Hovertravel terminal at Southsea.
- Southampton Central – For Red Funnel services to Cowes and East Cowes. Journey times are from 1hr 11mins and three departures an hour at peak times. There is a free connecting bus service from the railway station to the Town Quay for fast Red Jet connections to Cowes and regular Red Funnel car ferry services to East Cowes.
- Brockenhurst – Change for Lymington Pier (not Lymington Town) for Wightlink service to Yarmouth. There are 2 connecting services per hour at peak times, and journey times are 1h 54 mins, which includes a change at Brockenhurst for Lymington Pier, where the Wightlink ferry departs for Yarmouth.
View the South Western Railway’s network map here for services to the Isle of Wight.
London Victoria – Southern services to:
- Portsmouth Harbour (not Portsmouth & Southsea) – For Wightlink services to Ryde. There are a few direct services a day from London Victoria to Portsmouth Harbour, approximately every two hours during the day. The journey takes around 2h 3mins. At other times you will either need to take the Tube to Waterloo or change down the line, most likely at Clapham Junction, to pick up the fast South West Trains service (as above).
- Southampton Central – For Red Funnel services to Cowes and East Cowes. The direct trains are once an hour, but it makes a long journey of about 2h 30mins. The faster services involve a change at Clapham Junction for the fast South West Trains service. There is a free connecting bus service from Southampton Central railway station to the Town Quay for fast Red Jet connections to Cowes and regular Red Funnel car ferry service to East Cowes.
- Brockenhurst – Change for Lymington Pier (not Lymington Town) for Wightlink service to Yarmouth. There are several services per hour at peak times but all require at least 2 changes. The fastest route (approximately 2hrs) is to change at Clapham Junction for the fast South West Train service. Change at Brockenhurst for Lymington Pier, where the Wightlink ferry departs for Yarmouth.
View the Southern service network map here for services to the Isle of Wight.
London to the Isle of Wight by Car
Your best route will depend on your location in London as well as how you intend on crossing the Solent to the Island, i.e. via Wightlink, Red Funnel. Assuming you can make your own way to the M25 it all gets a lot easier from there. The 2 main routes are via the A3 and M3, both offer fast and direct routes to the south coast.
M3 to the Isle of Wight
Anyone living in North or West London will probably decide to take the M3, which will be signposted to Southampton, especially if travelling via Southampton or Lymington in the New Forest. However, if you are taking the car ferry from Portsmouth, you would probably still be better travelling a bit further round the M25 and taking the A3 (see below).
- M25 junction 12 to Southampton Town Quay – 56 miles or 1 hour* for Red Funnel.
- M25 junction 12 to Lymington Pier – 74 miles 1 hr 24 mins* for Wightlink.
- M25 junction 12 to Portsmouth Gunwharf – 74 miles 1 hr 14 mins* for Wightlink.
A3 to the Isle of Wight
From South and East London, the A3 might well offer the best route, especially since the opening of the Hindhead tunnel, which dramatically reduced congestion and journey times from this popular route.
- M25 junction 10 to Portsmouth Gunwharf – 54 miles 1 hr* for Wightlink.
- M25 junction 10 to Southampton Town Quay – 57.7 miles or 1 hour 15 mins* for Red Funnel (via A31 and M3).
- M25 junction 10 to Lymington Pier – 75 miles 1 hr 36 mins* for Wightlink (via A31, M3, M27 & A337).
Car parking near mainland terminals to the Isle of Wight
If you are looking for car parking on the mainland, then the following are recommended by the relevant operators:
Brighton might well be London-on-Sea, but it’s still great to get away for some total relaxation and a change of scenery. The Isle of Wight is close and also a world away in terms of pace of life. Whether driving, taking a coach or travelling by train is only about an hour before you are sailing across the Solent and your short break to the Island has started.
Brighton to the Isle of Wight by Train
The main operator is Southern, which operates services to both Portsmouth Harbour and Southampton Central:
- Portsmouth Harbour (not Portsmouth & Southsea) – For Wightlink services to Ryde. Journey times range from 1h 18 mins and two direct departures per hour at peak times. The train takes you right to Wightlink’s passenger terminal for the Fast Cat service to Ryde and a short walk (10 mins) to the Wightlink car service, which sails from Gunwharf Quays to Fishbourne. If you prefer a hovercraft experience, then you can take the Hoverbus from Portsmouth & Southsea station or Portsmouth Hard to the Hovertravel terminal at Southsea.
- Southampton Central – For Red Funnel services to Cowes and East Cowes. Journey times are from 1hr 46 mins and two departures an hour at peak times. There is a free connecting bus service from the railway station to the Town Quay for fast Red Jet connections to Cowes and regular Red Funnel car ferry services to East Cowes.
Brighton to the Isle of Wight by Car
There really is only one main road which takes you from Brighton and Hove to the Isle of Wight, so it could not be easier. Pick up the A27 outside of Brighton and head west via Worthing, Arundel and Chichester and you will be approaching Portsmouth in about an hour, depending on traffic which can be quite busy at peak times. It takes between 15-20 minutes to drive through Portsmouth to the Wightlink ferry terminal at Gunwharf Quays.
If you are travelling to the Isle of Wight via Southampton then simply continue on the A27 until it becomes the M27 at the junction with the A3 just outside of Portsmouth. Then follow directions from the M27 to Southampton Docks. If you are travelling via Lymington then continue on the M27 past Southampton west towards Bournemouth and take the A337 from the Cadnam Roundabout, signposted to Lymington via Brockenhurst. This journey is at least 2 hours so if you are heading to the West Wight it can be far more pleasant to travel via Portsmouth and continue your journey on the Island.
Guildford to the Isle of Wight is a very easy journey either by car or by public transport. It’s just 47 miles to Wightlink’s Portsmouth Gunwharf terminal or 57 miles to the Red Funnel’s terminal in Southampton. So you can be sailing across the Solent to the Isle of Wight just an hour after leaving your home. On a good day, that’s over 200 miles and more than four hours, quicker than your journey time to St Ives in Cornwall, so you will gain a whole day of your holiday and save yourself a world of pain sitting in traffic. In fact if you decide to take the Hovertravel service you potentially could be on the Isle of Wight just an hour and a half after leaving central Guildford.
Guildford to the Isle of Wight by Train
Trains are just as simple. Journey times are almost the same as the car so if you don’t really need the car or fancy using your bikes for a short break, you can make the trip from Guildford station to Portsmouth Harbour in 59 minutes. Trains to Southampton Central take just an extra 15 minutes on average.
Guildford to the Isle of Wight by Coach
National Express operates regular direct services to Portsmouth and quotes a ‘fastest’ journey time of 55 minutes, which is a few minutes quicker than Google Maps predicts for driving a car!The route is so straightforward there’s no reason to think that it’s not right. National Express takes you to The Hard in Portsmouth which is outside of the Wightlink passenger terminal and only a 5 minute walk to the car ferry at Gunwharf. As coaches to Southampton go via Portsmouth it is a longer journey and typically takes around 2 hours and 30 minutes, although there are some fast services that take 2 hours 10 minutes.
There are very good connecting routes via the M3 from Reading to all three of the mainland ports serving the Isle of Wight in Southampton, Lymington in the New Forest and Portsmouth.
Driving will take under 1 hour 15 minutes to Southampton Docks for the red Funnel services; just over 1 hour and 20 minutes for Portsmouth, and a little more than 1 hour 30 minutes to Lymington Pier where the Wightlink car ferry services depart. Hovertravel also leaves from Southsea, which is the same journey time as Portsmouth. So the right service for you will probably be dictated by where you are travelling to on the Isle of Wight. Whichever route you choose, you will be pleased to know that it will be more than 3 hours quicker than the fastest journey time by car to St Ives in Cornwall. So you gain almost another full day that would normally be lost in travelling time and you can be boarding your ferry before you would have passed Salisbury heading to the West Country.
Reading to the Isle of Wight by Train
Direct trains are even quicker and just as easy. Journey times are under an hour so if you don’t need the car or fancy using your bikes for a short beak, you can make the trip from Reading station to Southampton Central in only 56 minutes. Journeys to Portsmouth are just under 2 hours as you are required to change at Basingstoke.
Reading to the Isle of Wight by Coach
National Express operate regular direct services to Southampton and quote a ‘fastest’ journey time of 1 hour and 20 minutes 55 minutes to Southampton coach station and 1 hour and 40 minutes to The Hard at Portsmouth.