The Solent is the strait between Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight, and every ferry on this site sails through part of it on the way out to open water. It’s one of the busiest stretches of water in the world for leisure and commercial traffic combined, worth knowing about even if you never set foot on the Isle of Wight itself.
What you’ll see from the deck
Heading out of Portsmouth on a Brittany Ferries or Condor sailing, the Solent is where the views actually happen: the Spinnaker Tower and Old Portsmouth behind you, Isle of Wight ferries and the Hovertravel hovercraft crossing paths with you, yachts out of one of the many marinas, and Royal Navy and merchant shipping using the same channel. It’s worth being up on deck for this bit rather than below.
Why it’s sheltered
The Isle of Wight sits between the Solent and the open Channel, which is why the water here tends to be calmer than the crossing itself, useful to know if you’re prone to seasickness and want to make the most of the smooth section before things pick up further out.
What is on the water right now
The Solent is one of the busiest stretches of water in the country, and you can watch it happen. Every ship of any size broadcasts its position, so the map below shows what is moving out there at this moment: the Brittany Ferries sailings, the Wightlink boats criss-crossing to Fishbourne and Ryde, a cruise ship on the way in, and whatever the navy has out that day. It is also the easiest way to see how a crossing actually leaves Portsmouth, down the harbour and out past the forts.
Live map: what is out there now
Ships broadcast their own position over AIS, and this map from VesselFinder shows it. On a good afternoon you will catch a Brittany Ferries departure, a cruise call and something grey from the naval base in the same frame.
Follow one ship, with the line of its recent track:
A ferry sitting in port shows no track until it sails, and a ship out of range can lag by a few minutes.
AIS data by VesselFinder. Positions come from the ships themselves and can lag or drop out, so treat this as a look at the water, not as a timetable.
Also in the Solent
If the Isle of Wight itself is on your list, see our Isle of Wight ferry guide for the Wightlink and Hovertravel options. For the France and Spain routes that also start with this same stretch of water, see the Portsmouth ferries overview.