We love travelling by ferry. In all honesty, travelling by ferry is pretty straightforward with young kids. It means that we can take our dog with us, and of course, our converted campervan, without worrying about baggage allowance, gates, and the size of my hand luggage! Here is all the information you need for travelling from Portsmouth to Isle of Wight with Wightlink Ferries
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. Should you click to purchase, this is at no extra cost to you, but I receive a small commission.
We having just returned from a week island hopping in the outer Hebrides (you can read about our our outer Hebrides road trip here). Earlier in the year we also travelled by ferry to Guernsey, and if you follow us on Instagram you will know how much we love travelling around the UK with its beautiful beaches (we do love a paddleboard ) and find that there is plenty of amazing campsites with direct access to water in the UK and so much to see and do with kids.
This summer we decided to continue with the island theme, and explore another beautiful island that is easily accessible from England. We decided to visit the Isle of Wight. It has been on our wish list for so long with its beautiful beaches, abundance of campsites and plenty to do for families. We travelled with Wight Link ferries, travelling from Portsmouth to in about 40 minutes and stayed at Adgestone campsite – a great campsite with a swimming pool.
Travelling to Isle of Wight from UK by Ferry
There are a number of option or ferry routes to choose from. You can take the ferry from Lymington to Yarmouth, Portsmouth to Fishbourne and Southampton to East Cowes.
There are a number of crossings a day and the crossings are frequent so there are plenty of options to ensure you find the ideal route and best time to travel to the Isle of Wight from the UK. For Wightlink ferry times, Wightlink ferry timetable, to book ferry tickets to the Isle of Wight, head over to Wightlink.
You can also fly to the Isle of Wight. Visit Isle of Wight has more information on flying to the Isle of Wight.
Can you take a dog on the ferry to Isle of Wight
Yes you can. We were able to bring our golden retriever puppy onto the ferry and there is plenty of designated dog friendly areas to sit inside and out on the deck. Dogs must be kept on a lead and it goes without saying that you must clean up after your dog.
Wightlink Ferry routes to Isle of Wight
There are three Isle of Wight ferry routes with a huge number of sailings each day.
If you are travelling with your vehicle then you can choose;
- Portsmouth – Fishbourne. The Portsmouth to Isle of Wight ferry time is around 45 mins.
- Lymington – Yarmouth. The Lymington to Isle of Wight ferry time is around 40 mins.
If you are travelling on foot or bike, you can take the Wightlink FastCats, travelling form Portsmouth to Ryde (approx 22 mins).
Do I need a passport to travel to the Isle of Wight?
A question I was asked quite a lot in the DMs on Instagram, is do you need a passport for the Isle of Wight? As the Isle of Wight is part of mainland UK you will not need a passport if you are travelling to the Isle of Wight from the UK.
Check in is straightforward. You will be shown to your lane whilst you wait to board. There are drinks and toilets at the port whilst you wait. We allowed plenty of time to travel down to Portsmouth. Once we were in our lane – I popped on my van board and made lunch and a drink whilst we waited.
Wightlink Ferries Facilities
The ferry crossings are great and have good facilities.
There are pet friendly areas, sun decks, and our ferry home (Victoria of Wight) had a children’s play area – great for keeping the kids entertained during the sailing.
You can purchase food and drink on all the ferries.
Travelling to the Isle of Wight with Wightlink – final thoughts
We absolute love travelling by ferry. I find it really quite stress free with young kids, and this was a wonderful smooth crossing from Portsmouth.
The sailing was really quick and the crossing smooth, and all in all it was a very pleasant journey. We sat out on the deck during our crossing out to the Isle of Wight in the hope we may even spot a dolphin. The crossing back was on the Victoria of Wight and had a children’s play area – great for keeping the youngest entertained during the sailing.
For more information and to book a ferry to the Isle of Wight visit Wightlink ferries.
About us | Vanlife for five and a dog!
We are a family of five and love nothing more than travelling around in our converted vw canpervan. You may wonder where we all sleep in a t5 campervan, and we have tried many different sleeping arrangements as the kids have grown up. (You may find this post on how to sleep five in a converted t5 useful) storage can be tight but we have learned a few campervan storage ideas along the way, and also find a campervan packing list helpful to make sure we only take the essential items and don’t take too much. Over the last two years we have welcomed our beloved golden retriever dog into our vanlife family too.
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Disclosure – We were provided with tickets for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links. Should you click to purchase, this is at no extra cost to you, but I receive a small commission