Getting to the Isle of the Wight is part of the adventure of these nuptials. Or at least that's the best way to see it. Avast ye and shiver your own timbers, you'll be getting the boat over from the mainland to the Wight Isle. There are several points of departure and various ways of getting there.

One thing we are dreadfully aware of is the cost of the ferry to the Isle of Wight. Unless you're a foot passenger, it can be pretty pricey.  Some say that, per mile, it's the most expensive ferry crossing in the world. Who knows.

Scroll immediately down to enjoy some more words arranged in a certain order that conveys information about saving money on seagoing vessels between the island of Great Britain and the island of the Isle of Wight.

Otherwise, get there in a timely manner by observing the below information regarding those seagoing vessels.

Getting to the Island

From Portsmouth

Portsmouth is a great city. Not only "a". It is actually billed as "The Great Waterfront City". There are several methods of Isle of Wight-bound transport that trundle the briny depths of the Solent.

Ferry
The most normie way of getting across. It's a passenger and car ferry, so bring your car for the ride as well (don't forget to bring games and colouring books and crayons in case your car gets bored). The journey is approx. 45 minutes in duration from A (Gunwharf Ferry Terminal) to B (Fishbourne). There's a cafe and stuff to eat on board.

⛵ See schedules and book your ticket

FastCat
So good they named it once, the FastCat is certainly a Fast Cat. It leaves from Portsmouth Harbour. It's well integrated into the railway (it is located within Portsmouth Harbour railway station), meaning you could catch the train from wherever, end up in Portsmouth Harbour and jump on the FastCat lickety split. The journey takes a mind-melting 22 minutes. Spits you out at Ryde Pier.

⛵ See schedules and book your ticket

Hovercraft
If you thought the FastCat sounded fast, prepare to alter your opinion. The hovercraft leaves Southsea (that's in Portsmouth) and whizzes you over to Ryde in literally 10 minutes. It's the worlds only commercial hovercraft crossing (does a winter-only service to Piirissaar island in Estonia count). Transport maniacs and others dabbling in geekery will love it. (I mean, they call their departures "flights", isn't that cool? Right?) Operated by Hovertravel.

⛵ See schedules and book your ticket

From Southampton

Yeah, you can get it from here too. And a different ferry company. Red Funnel. That's the one. The weird thing is that despite being a longer distance, the boatular options from Southampton to Isle of Wight are cheaper. That's something to consider, I guess.

Ferry
The company states their facilities have improved since they started their ferry service in 1861, but you can be the judge of that. The car ferry wiggles down Southampton Water (a big ol' estuary at the meeting point of two rivers, the Test and the Itchen). It bobs around on the Solent. Then it arrives at East Cowes. How long does it take? Sixty flippin' minutes. Some say 55, but where's the drama in that?

⛵ See schedules and book your ticket

RedJet
So like the FastCat that they also named it once, the RedJet must be fast because it only takes 28 minutes to do all of the stuff the regular Red Funnel ferry does. No cars, just pure speed.

⛵ See schedules and book your ticket

From Lymington

Yes, Lymington. People seem to think it's nice. One reviewer, Anne, gave it a glowing 5-star review: "Easier, more scenic and shorter crossing than other ferry routes to the island. Friendly and efficient staff at both ports and on ferry." So there you go.

Ferry
Operated by WightLink. Leaves Lymington with you, your car, and whatever or whoever else you might be stowing away, and takes 2,400 seconds (40 minutes) to arrive in the rather nice town of Yarmouth. Yarmouth is some distance from Appuldurcombe, but whatever, right?

⛵ See schedules and book your ticket

Money is a sort of token that you exchange for stuff. It's just round bits of metal or bits of paper with scribbles on about some sort of value being promised or owed. These days, however, money is mostly made out of computer souls. Good news for metal and paper, bad news for computers.

Anyway, the point is you can use this "money" to create a method of conveyance across the Solent for you and your loved ones this July. But sometimes the numbers are high and horrible.

So, in the words of Rod Stewart (originally the Sutherland Brothers though), we are saving, we are saving. Now, he didn't write those exact words, and nor did Gavin Sutherland, but the idea is simple. Save, save and save some more, if you can. Here's how (maybe).

Ways to make those darn ferries cheaper
There are some ways to make it cheaper.  You can Google "isle of wight ferry" and "discount code" or "voucher codes" or "promo codes",  which may throw up nice results.

Hey, actually, let's do it right now. 

...

Ok, done. One example is this. Another example is this (from a site called dontpayfull.com). You get the idea.

Secondly you can actually use your Tesco Clubcard points to pay for all/part of your WightLink ferry crossing. So cool and great. Every £2.50 in Clubcard Points is equivalent to £7.50 of ferry ticket. Wow and brilliant. More about that here.

Thirdly, see more of the WightLink savings and stuff by clicking right here (includes Blue Badge discount, among other things).

Fourthly, Red Funnel (see below) have a bunch of deals and money-off incentives that may help your plight.

Fifthly, book in advance. That might (?) help.

Sixthly, well, if you can face it, the more insane time you decide to cross, the cheaper it is.  That means if you feel like catching a Red Funnel ferry at 7 a.m., for example, it'll be way cheaper than later in the day.

Seventhly, speaking of Red Funnel, they offer two different fares, "saver" and "flexi", the former being much cheaper than the other. The difference is that the "saver" option has "Standard Amendments" and "Standard Cancellation Fees" as opposed to the presumably preferable "Free Amendments" and "Reduced Cancellation Fees". To be honest, "saver" sounds ideal. That's if you want to go from Southampton anyway.

Once you're on the Island of Wight, unless you have a car, you'll be almost totally stranded. "I'm here," you may be thinking, the wind tousling your hair, suitcase heavy in your hand. "But why?" (Reminder: you're here for The Wedding of Rebecca Saunders and Russell Thomas Part I).

Luckily the sparkling little Solent island has some actual ways you can move your body and everything within it from one place to another.

Train
What the huh? Yes, there are trains on this island. Once upon a time, until the 1950s, there were actually 55 miles of railway on the island, stretching from Bembridge to Freshwater, from Cowes to Ventor, and from Ryde also to Ventnor, and stopping off at a bunch of places in between. No longer. 

Today it goes from Ryde Pier Head to Shanklin. Only. One cool thing about the trains on the Isle of Wight: they are old London Underground trains. Or at least they used to be. Now they're new, mostly, but have that same general TfL vibe.

Anyway if you get the FastCat from Portsmouth Harbour, you'll connect right up with Ryde Pier Head and then you can jump on the train immediately. If you get the hovercraft, this connects with Ryde Esplanade, also a train station, so the same convenience applies. 

You can even buy combined train and ferry tickets. Amazingly cool. South Western Railway can tell you more than I can.

🚂 See schedules and book tickets

Bus
Isle of Wight buses are green. They're double-deckers too. The company is called Southern Vectis. It's cheap, I think it's £2 for all fares. Anyway, the bus route you want to get to Appuldurcombe House is number 3. It goes from Newport to Ryde (and vice versa) in a roundabout sort of way.

For example, if you were to get the train, Shanklin Station would be the nearest station to Appuldurcombe. From there jump on the bus (number 3) and get off at the stop called Appuldurcombe. The bus takes 13 minutes. Then you walk. Google Maps is suggesting that walks takes 12 minutes; I'm not so sure. 

From Yarmouth, if you come that way, catch the number 7 from Sixpenny Corner bus stop and have a jolly time for 35 minutes until you reach Newport Bus Station, changing for the number 3 which will deliver you to Appuldurcombe bus stop in 24 minutes.

From West Cowes? Get on the number 1 at Park Gates bus stop until you reach Newport Bus Station (25 minutes). Then hop on the trusty number 3 and follow the above.

East Cowes? Number 5 from Well Road bus stop. You'll be at Newport Bus Station in 20 minutes. Then the number 3. You know the drill by now.

Fishbourne? The number 9 from Fishbourne Lane bus station. It's a 17-minute ride from here to Newport Bus Station. Change for the number 3 to Appuldurcombe.

And, hey, get the Southern Vectis app if you want.

🚌 Learn more about buses on the Isle of Wight

Taxis
Unlike ghosts, taxis exist. Contrary to popular belief, there are actually taxis on the Isle of Wight. They are not extinct. Anyway, if you like the idea of paying a human being to drive you and your brainful of thoughts and whatever to the exact destination you desire, then a taxi is probably the mode of transport for you.

And after the "wedding" you may need to use a taxi anyway. Unless you want to walk back to wherever you are staying. It is your choice. 

There are several taxi companies that haunt the island. They are as follows:

🚕 Charlie's Taxis (07515 853698)
Ventnor-based taxi company

🚕 Ryde Taxis (01983 811111)
Isle of Wight's "largest taxi company"

🚕 Vectis Taxis (01983 777007)
Ryde-based but boasting "island-wide coverage"

🚕 B&B Taxis (07712 721181)
They don't have a website

🚕 A CABS (01983 866772)
Nothing to do with ACAB. Seems legit

🚕 Bembridge Taxis (01983 873873)
Based in Bembridge. Not nearby but could work

"It is advisable to book any taxis in advance as availability is limited," says Isle of Wight-based wedding planner, Carrie. So maybe do that.

Wondering about Uber? Well, stop. Stop wondering because Uber does not operate on the island. According to Red Funnel, that is, anyway.

Parking

Last but definitely not least, that all-important thing: parking. For those wishing to drive their own vehicle to Appuldurcombe House, you will be pleased to know that there is a car park around 150 metres from the entrance to the house grounds. Parking is, of course, free of charge. And the house is closed to the public this day.

Ok that's enough now. Thank you.