Ferry Routes
Which of our three great routes is best for you? If you are on foot, Portsmouth to Ryde is a quick and convenient crossing for foot passengers, and has great rail and coach connections. The Lymington route is the faster of the two car ferry routes, and drops you on the doorstep of the New Forest or the Island’s wild, rugged west. Portsmouth to Fishbourne boasts excellent road connections to the rest of the UK and the east of the Island. All three routes are quick and comfortable.
Portsmouth to Fishbourne
The 40 minute crossing between our Gunwharf terminal in Portsmouth and Fishbourne is served by five purpose built vessels: St Faith, St Cecilia, St Helen, St Catherine and our 2001 built flagship, St Clare. These ships provide the only 24 hour connection to the Island for cars, passengers, coaches and freight vehicles with sailings every 30 minutes at peak times.
On board there are spacious lounges, observation decks, bar and café facilities. Portsmouth is one of the UK's busiest ports so there is always something to see - from world famous historic ships to the modern warships of the Royal Navy.
Our Portsmouth terminal is well located in Old Portsmouth, next to the new Gunwharf Quays shopping and leisure development. Portsmouth is served by fast motorways and dual carriageways connecting it to London, the Midlands, the M25 and cities beyond.
View timetables for this route
Ships:
St Clare, St Faith, St Cecilia, St Helen & St Catherine
Portsmouth to Ryde Pier Head
Our fastest passenger connection is provided by our high speed FastCat catamarans which run the route between Portsmouth Harbour and Ryde Pier Head.
The comfortable FastCats connect the railway stations at either end of the service in around 18 minutes. With direct mainline connections to London Waterloo, Brighton, Bristol and Southampton from Portsmouth and onward Island Line services to Brading, Sandown and Shanklin from Ryde Pier Head this is the best connected service to the Island.
National Express coaches and local buses also serve our Portsmouth Harbour terminal.
View timetables for this route
Ships:
FastCat Ryde , FastCat Shanklin & Our Lady Pamela
Lymington to Yarmouth
The shortest and fastest vehicle route to the Island is between Lymington, in the New Forest, and Yarmouth in West Wight.
This 30 minute route is served by three ferries, Caedmon, Cenwulf and Cenred. You can sit back in the lounges, with bar and café facilities, or relax on the observation decks as you cruise the most picturesque route to the Island.
On the mainland there is easy access to Lymington from London, Southampton, Bournemouth and the West Country by road and by rail, with Lymington Pier station being within our terminal complex.
View the timetables for this route
Ships:
Caedmon, Cenwulf , Cenred , Wight Light (Coming 2008), Wight Sky (Coming 2008) & Wight Sun (Coming 2009)