The Isle of Wight is close enough to see from Southsea beach, and the ferries are famous for costing a fortune to cross it. So we did the sums: what each Portsmouth crossing to the island costs per mile, in winter and at peak, and how that compares with sailing all the way to France.
The short answer
On foot it is around £5 to £6 a mile, whichever way you go. With a car it is anywhere from about £6.50 to more than £20 a mile, depending on when you travel. Our own family crossing from Portsmouth to Saint-Malo, car and four people, came to about £2 a mile. Mile for mile, a summer car crossing to the Isle of Wight costs six to ten times as much as sailing to Brittany.
Cost per mile, crossing by crossing
| Crossing | Distance | Fare | Per mile | Per km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hovercraft, Southsea to Ryde, adult single | about 4.3 miles (7 km) | £25.00 standard, £22.50 booked 48 hours ahead | £5.20 to £5.80 | £3.20 to £3.60 |
| FastCat, Portsmouth Harbour to Ryde Pier, adult single | about 4.7 miles (7.5 km) | £22.40 off peak, up to £23.10 at summer peak fares | £4.80 to £5.00 | £3.00 to £3.10 |
| Car ferry, Gunwharf to Fishbourne, day trip | about 6.2 miles (10 km) | around £40 to £50 per leg | £6.40 to £8 | £4 to £5 |
| Car ferry, weekend away | about 6.2 miles | around £60 to £80 per leg | £9.70 to £12.90 | £6 to £8 |
| Car ferry, week-long holiday | about 6.2 miles | around £80 to £110 per leg | £12.90 to £17.70 | £8 to £11 |
Foot fares are the operators’ published adult fares, Wightlink’s for 1 October to 31 December 2026 and its summer 2026 peak fare, and Hovertravel’s standard fares, which do not change with the season. Car fares are Wightlink’s own published examples for a car with up to seven people; Wightlink also charges an ETS levy of £1.50 per leg for a car. Distances are our estimate from the map: out through the harbour mouth, then straight to the other terminal.
Work out your own crossing
Estimates from the operators’ published fares, checked 2 November 2026. Car fares are Wightlink’s own examples of a dynamic price and cover the car with up to seven people; your quote will differ. The summer Saturday band is based on a 2022 comparison by Isle of Wight Guru. Children under 5 travel free.
Peak season: when it really adds up
Foot fares barely move with the season. Wightlink’s FastCat adult single was £22.40 to £23.10 at summer peak fares and is £22.40 off peak, and Hovertravel charges the same all year. The car ferry is a different story, because Wightlink prices it by demand. Its own examples run from around £40 a leg for an early-morning day trip to £80 to £110 for a week’s holiday, and a mid-August Saturday is where the top of the range lives: a 2022 comparison by Isle of Wight Guru found a lunchtime Saturday return for a family and car at well over £250. That is more than £20 a mile each way.
Per person, a full car is closer than you would think
Car fares cover the vehicle and up to seven people. A family of four on an early day trip, at around £45 a leg, pays about £90 for the return, or £22.50 each. The same four on the hovercraft or the FastCat would pay £70 for a family day return, £17.50 each, but without the car at the other end. So per head the gap is small when it is quiet. It is the busy sailings, at £100 a leg and more, where the car becomes the expensive option.
Compared with crossing to France
We have two real data points of our own, both from August 2025, both for four people and a car. Portsmouth to Saint-Malo by day cost £315.50 for about 155 miles, or roughly £2 a mile. Portsmouth to Cherbourg overnight, with a cabin, cost £408 for about 85 miles, or under £5 a mile, and that includes a bed. A summer week on the Isle of Wight, at £80 to £110 a leg for about six miles, is £13 to £18 a mile. Longer crossings are always cheaper per mile, but not usually by this much.
The world’s most expensive ferry ride?
It is called that a lot, and it is not quite true. Two careful comparisons, by NatureNet in 2016 and Isle of Wight Guru in 2022, both found crossings that cost more per mile, starting with tiny chain ferries like the one at Reedham in Norfolk. Per mile is a measure that always punishes short crossings: any fare spread over a few hundred metres looks dramatic. What does stand out is the Solent car ferry at busy times. For a crossing of about six miles, a fare of £100 or more each way puts it among the dearest car ferries anywhere, mile for mile.
How to pay less
- Travel early or late with the car. Wightlink’s pricing follows demand, so the first and last sailings of the day are where the £40 fares are.
- On foot, book the hovercraft 48 hours ahead, which takes a single from £25 to £22.50, or use a family ticket: £70 for a day return for two adults and up to three children.
- Going over in the afternoon? Both operators sell afternoon fares for a same-day return that cost less than a full day return.
- Look at Southampton too. Red Funnel’s foot fares to Cowes can undercut everything from Portsmouth off peak, and the terminal is only about half an hour along the M27.
Which terminal each crossing leaves from, the postcodes and how long each one takes are on our Isle of Wight ferry guide, and you can watch the boats crossing on the live map on our Solent page. Book with Wightlink or Hovertravel.
Fares checked on the Wightlink and Hovertravel websites on 2 November 2026. Wightlink car fares are dynamic and its examples are illustrations, so your own quote will differ. Our France fares are what we paid in August 2025.
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