So, is it possible to holiday on the Isle of Wight without a car ? The answer is yes but there are some things to take note of.

There are two high speed passenger ferries to the island - Portsmouth to Ryde Pier and Southampton to West Cowes as well as the ten minute hovercraft service from Southsea to Ryde. Once on the island at Ryde you can take a train ( it starts on the pier ) to Shanklin but that’s as far as it goes, the rest of the rail network disappeared in the 1960’s. So public transport across the island is now only by bus, operated by Southern Vectis. Their routes cover the whole of the island and there are special scenic journeys along the south coast to the Needles and Alum Bay.

As an alternative there are plenty of excellent cycle routes across the island so bringing your own bike or hiring one on arrival is a good option.