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  1. How to book accessible travel assistance
  2. Travelling with a companion
  3. What to expect when you travel
  4. Discounts for people with disabilities – up to 25% off
  5. Accessible travel requirements - how we can help
  6. Our accessible travel facilities
  7. Port guides for people with visual impairments

Accessible travel

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Accessible
travel and customer assistance

We’re here to help when you need it. If you have a disability, reduced mobility, a medical condition or just need some extra help, you can rely on us to make sure your journey meets your needs.

Dedicated Assisted Travel line

Looking for help with your accessible travel requirements, Blue Badge discounts or NHS hospital appointment bookings? Call our dedicated Assisted Travel Line on 0800 093 8236 and our team will be on hand to make sure you can travel confidently when you need it most.

Opening hours:

  • Monday to Friday

    09:00 - 18:00

  • Saturday - Sunday

    09:00 - 17:00

How to book accessible travel assistance

After booking your ferry, please let us know how we can help as soon as possible and at least 48 hours before you travel. We will then assess your needs and ensure that we can meet them on your chosen sailing – this includes bringing any specialist equipment on board.

We’ll assess your needs to ensure we can meet them, such as providing extra space to exit your vehicle, removing wheelchairs or mobility aids, offering assistance reaching lifts or accommodating specialist equipment.

If we’re unable to help, we’ll clearly explain why and may suggest an alternative sailing.

Without prior notice, we’ll do our best to assist you promptly at the port but your travel may be delayed and assistance can’t be guaranteed.

Please note: Priority Boarding cannot be booked alongside accessible travel requirements.

You can book your accessible travel and assistance needs by using this form on our Contact Us page or by calling our team on 0800 093 8236, Monday – Friday 09:00 – 18:00 and Saturday and Sunday, 09:00 – 17:00.

Book accessible travel requirements

On this page

How to book accessible travel assistanceTravelling with a companionWhat to expect when you travelDiscounts for people with disabilities – up to 25% offAccessible travel requirements - how we can helpOur accessible travel facilitiesPort guides for people with visual impairments

Travelling with a companion

If personal care is required, we may ask you to bring a companion with you to provide the assistance.

If you are travelling by foot, companions can be booked to travel for free if you require assistance with using the toilet, breathing equipment, feeding or are blind or visually impaired.

Travelling in a car? We don’t charge per passenger, so your price will stay the same with up to seven people in your vehicle.

What to expect when you travel

We know it can be quite a daunting and unique experience travelling by ferry, especially if you’re doing it for the first time. Below, we’ve rounded up what you can expect to happen when you book accessible travel assistance for a journey with us – expand each section to see the detail.

Discounts for people with disabilities – up to 25% off

If you have a Blue Badge, ENCTS Card or Disabled Persons Railcard, you can benefit from money off your ferry crossing with us.

Blue Badge holders can get 25% off foot passenger prices and up to 20% off vehicle fares, while ENCTS and Disabled Persons Railcard holders are able to get 25% off foot crossings.

Book with your Blue Badge discount
A Wightlink member of staff helps a customer using a wheelchair at Portsmouth Harbour port

Accessible travel requirements - how we can help

We will try our best to help with any assistance you may need. Below, you’ll find a list of things we can offer assistance with and some things that we, unfortunately, are unable to help with:

We will do our best to help with:

  • A wider or longer space on board our ferries, with more room to get in and out of your vehicle or remove wheelchairs from the rear of your vehicle. You will also be situated close to the lift.

  • Assistance to and from the car deck or FastCat (please note we are only able to provide assistance at our ports).

  • Loan of a wheelchair while you are travelling on board.

  • Transportation of equipment that is safe and authorised to take on board.

  • Providing ramps on the ship so you can access the deck with a wheelchair or pram more easily.

  • Information for passengers who cannot leave the vehicle (subject to authorisation by the ship’s captain on the day of travel. Unfortunately, this can’t be guaranteed).

We're unable to help with:

  • Transportation of equipment that is not safe to take on board, such as some oxygen refrigeration systems (other than refrigerated flasks).

  • Requests that are impossible to accommodate due to the design of our ship or port infrastructure.

  • Requests to remain in your vehicle during the crossing, except in exceptional circumstances such as mobility restrictions that make it unfeasible or unsafe to leave the vehicle during the crossing. This can only be done with the express authorisation of the ship’s Captain on the day of travel.

  • Assistance with personal care such as feeding, breathing or using the toilet.

  • If you have accessible travel requirements, you will be unable to book Priority Boarding.

Book your accessible travel requirements

Our accessible travel facilities

Across our ports and ferries, we have a range of facilities designed to make your journey more comfortable.

Interior of the Calm Room on Wightlink's St Clare ferry, showing soft lighting, comfortable seating and sensory equipment designed for relaxation.

Quiet spaces

If you or someone you’re travelling with needs a break from noise or sensory stimulation, we’ve created calming spaces to help.

With a Quiet Room at our Portsmouth Gunwharf port and a Calm Room on board St Clare, you’ll find peaceful spaces designed to offer soft lighting and comfortable seating . They’re here to help ease anxiety and offer extra support for those who need it most.

Changing Places toilets

If you have limited mobility and you can’t use standard accessible toilets, we have Changing Places toilets at our Portsmouth Gunwharf and Ryde Pier Head ports.

The toilets are much larger than a standard room and come equipped with a changing bench, hoist, peninsular toilet, height-adjustable washbasin, accessible shower and grab rails.

Port guides for people with visual impairments

Sight for Wight, an Isle of Wight charity dedicated to supporting people with visual impairments, have created a series of video and audio guides for each of our ferry ports.

If you have a visual impairment, the guides are designed to give you the confidence to visit our ports and use our facilities. Use the links below to tour the port you’ll be visiting.

Portsmouth Gunwharf visual guide

A Wight Class ferry waits at the Wightlink ferry port in Fishbourne

Fishbourne visual guide

Wightlink's ferry at the port in Lymington

Lymington visual guide

Yarmouth visual guide

Portsmouth Harbour visual guide

Ryde Pier Head visual guide

Onward travel - bus routes

All of our ports, both on the Isle of Wight and the mainland, are well connected to the public transport network.

If you’ve travelled across the Solent as a foot passenger, you’ll be able to make onward travel by bus to a variety of destinations. See the bus routes that link up with our ports below.

Mainland routes

Portsmouth bus routes

Both our Portsmouth Gunwharf and Portsmouth Harbour ports are located close to The Hard Interchange, a major bus and coach station run by the city council.

Stagecoach operate services out of the Hard, connecting Portsmouth with Havant, Leigh Park, Hayling Island and Chichester.

First Bus also run a selection of routes from here, heading to Paulsgrove, Southampton and Clanfield.

Wightlink ferry departs Lymington port, Hampshire

Lymington bus routes

There are no bus routes that link directly to our Lymington port but Lymington Pier Train Station is found only moments from where our ferry docks and departs and comes with excellent connections to a variety of locations.

The train can drop you off in Lymington town centre, from where Bluestar run bus services connecting the town with Brockenhurst, Lyndhurst, Ashurst, Totton and Southampton.

Isle of Wight routes

Ryde bus routes

At the dry end of Ryde Pier you’ll find the Ryde Transport Interchange, with a number of bus routes linking you to the Island.

You can catch a Southern Vectis bus to the Island’s capital, Newport, as well as East Cowes and the seaside towns of Sandown, Shanklin, Ventnor, Seaview and Bembridge.

There is also a circular Ryde route that takes you from the Interchange, through Ryde, Haylands and Binstead.

Yarmouth bus routes

As you alight our ferry in Yarmouth, you’ll find Yarmouth Bus Station.

From here, Southern Vectis run services that connect West Wight with the centre of the Island, with routes going to Newport, Freshwater, Totland and The Needles.

A Wight Class ferry waits at the Wightlink ferry port in Fishbourne

Fishbourne bus routes

There are no bus stops directly outside our port in Fishbourne but at the end of Fishbourne Lane – around a 20 minute walk away – you’ll find bus stops that can take you to Ryde or Newport.

Both of these destinations are Island transport hubs, with onward travel to both and west and east coasts through the Southern Vectis network.

Website accessibility

Find out more about this website’s accessibility functions and compliance as specified by the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).

  • Website accessibility

    • See travel information in large print, braille and audio formats

    We’re able to provide large print, braille and audio versions of both our ‘Accessible Travel and Customer Assistance’ leaflet and your ‘Passenger Rights information’. If you require these documents, please download the relevant files below or fill in this form to have them sent to you in the post.

    If you’re unable to fill in the form, please give us a call on 0333 999 7333.

    Download Accessible Travel and Customer Assistance information | Large print (pdf - 158 kB)

    Download Passenger Rights Information | Large Print (pdf - 135 kB)

    Tell us about your experience

    We’re always looking to improve the service we offer you, so if you booked accessible travel assistance with us, please do let us know how we did. Have a read of our Feedback Guarantee and get in touch with us.

    If you feel our service wasn’t up to standard, you can submit a complaint on our Contact Us page.

    Quality standards for assistance (pdf - 127 kB)