Getting to Isle Of Wight- A rough and inaccurate guide.
Links here on how to get to the Island. It all depends on how you are coming. Click on the way you are coming on the link below. Ferries is the most poplar way as its the cheapest and they carry people, cars, buses, caravans and lorries. You can fly. There are no regular flights here but if you know someone with a plane or you are Sir Alan Sugar and own your own you can fly into Bembridge or Sandown Airport. If you own your own boat there are plenty of places to moor up. For most people its the ferry. There are three providers. Wightlink operate car ferries between Portsmouth and Fishbourne (near Ryde) and between Lymington and Yarmouth. They also run high speed passenger only ferries between Portsmouth and Ryde. They use to be part of the old Sealink part of British Rail. Red Funnel is the oldest ferry operator (150 years old!!) and operate car ferry between Southampton and East Cowes and high speed ferry between Southampton and Cowes. If you are coming by foot then the best, quickest and more exciting way to travel is by hovercraft. These are operated by Hovertravel They make Hovercrafts too. The car ferries run from early morning to late night. Red Funnel run them all night. In bad weather the hovercraft is cancelled first and then the other passenger services. If the Red Funnel car ferry is cancelled because of the weather then you probably don't want to be travelling on the sea anyway. Its very rare and only in very high winds. Fares are very expensive and if you are coming by train your train journey to the South Coast will most likely be cheaper than your ferry crossing. Travelling off peak will save you a lot. Also if you buy your ferry ticket as part of a train journey (even just a train ticket from Portsmouth Harbour to Brading on the Island) will mean you can use a railcard and save money on the ferry. It is sometimes seeing if adding a train journey on will save you money even if you are not using the train.
Once you are here then Isle Of Wight roads are narrow, bumpy and not very fast. Southern Vectis run buses all over the Island. They are quite expensive for single journeys. They don't do return tickets so two singles can add up. Getting a rover ticket will save you a lot of money. Buses are quite regular and some routes buses run over night at the weekends. Bus drivers are mostly friendly and happy to help you with info and give you a shout when you get to the bus stop. In the summer at busy times buses can get stuck in traffic and be very late or not turn up at all. They are pretty regular though. If you are driving on the Island you may also want to watch out. Small narrow road out in the middle of nowhere and then a huge double decker bus comes thundering at you. If you want to use a taxi then I can recommend Ryde Taxis and they don't just operate in Ryde. The best way to travel (although only if you are travelling between Ryde and Shanklin) is by the Isle Of Wight train system. Island Line is part of Stagecoach owned South West Trains. 1930's ex London Underground trains. They are very bumpy but wheelchair and buggy friendly. Ignore the people going "Does this train stop at Euston?" and enjoy the trip. The trains also stop at Smallbrook Station for the steam railway and meet steam trains that are younger than they are! At busy times if you sit far enough from the train guard you may not have to pay but fares are half of the bus and you can use railcard. I don't think they accept disabled or elderly free bus passes any more though.
