Ferries to Portsmouth Harbour

The ferry port of Portsmouth Harbour lies in the Portsea district on England's south coast. From here you can reach Ryde on the Isle of Wight. Ferries leave up to 76 times a day. The port is served by Hovertravel and Wightlink. It is a passenger-only route across the Solent: cars go via other berths.

Getting there and the terminal

Wightlink runs the FastCat, a passenger catamaran, from Portsmouth Harbour to Ryde Pier Head; the crossing takes 22 minutes. For the transfer between train and FastCat the operator reckons on at least ten minutes. If you want to take a car, you book the route to Fishbourne instead, which starts from a different Portsmouth berth.

The Hovertravel hovercraft does not start at Portsmouth Harbour but at Southsea, and runs from there to Ryde. Check which of the two departure points is on your ticket before you set off, or you will be standing at the wrong berth.

Check-in

Wightlink asks foot passengers to be at the berth at least 15 minutes before the scheduled departure. On some sailings foot passengers also have to book in advance.