Cowes · Isle of Wight · August · Via Southampton or Portsmouth
Cowes Week: we take you to the ferry
Cowes is on the Isle of Wight, which makes this the only event on our site where the last leg is not ours. The drive to the coast is straightforward and familiar; the crossing is the part that sells out, runs to a timetable and decides everything else about the day.
Is the constraint, not the road. Ferries run to a timetable, they fill during Cowes Week, and missing one is not like missing a turning. We plan the road journey backwards from the sailing you have booked.
How the journey actually works
Two legs, and only the first one is ours.
Kent to the coast
Two to three hours to Southampton or Portsmouth. A route we run weekly for cruises.
To the Island
Book it first, before anything else. Cowes Week fills the sailings.
Then tell us the time
We plan the road journey backwards from it, with time in hand at the port.
Same in reverse
Give us your return sailing and we will be at the port for it.
Kent to the ferry ports
Both routes use roads we drive most weeks for Southampton cruise sailings.
| Pick-up area | To Southampton | To Portsmouth |
|---|---|---|
| Sevenoaks & Tonbridge | 1h 55m – 2h 25m | 1h 45m – 2h 15m |
| Bromley & Orpington | 2h – 2h 30m | 1h 50m – 2h 20m |
| Dartford & Bluewater | 2h 5m – 2h 40m | 1h 55m – 2h 30m |
| Gravesend & Northfleet | 2h 10m – 2h 45m | 2h – 2h 35m |
| Maidstone & Aylesford | 2h 15m – 2h 50m | 2h 5m – 2h 40m |
| Rochester & Chatham | 2h 20m – 2h 55m | 2h 10m – 2h 45m |
| Canterbury & Ashford | 2h 45m – 3h 25m | 2h 35m – 3h 15m |
What Cowes Week involves
Eight days of racing and a town of about ten thousand people hosting a great many more.
| Element | Note |
|---|---|
| Eight days, August | Racing daily, and the evenings are a large part of it |
| Accommodation books very early | On a small island in August. Months ahead, not weeks |
| Ferries fill | Particularly at weekends and for the fireworks night |
| Cars on the Island | Are expensive to bring and often unnecessary in Cowes itself |
| Foot passenger is usually right | Which is why our job is the mainland leg |
Getting to Cowes
Book the crossing before you book us
This is the correct order and it saves a great deal of rearranging. Ferry sailings during Cowes Week fill, particularly at weekends, and the timetable is fixed. Once you have a sailing we plan the road journey backwards from it with proper time in hand at the port, which is how we handle every cruise transfer we run and it works the same way here.
Portsmouth or Southampton, whichever suits your sailing
Both are around two to three hours from Kent on roads we drive constantly for cruise work, and Portsmouth is marginally closer from most of the county. Which you use depends entirely on which crossing you have booked, so tell us the operator and the sailing time rather than the port alone.
Most people are better off as foot passengers
Cowes during the week is compact, busy and not improved by having a car in it, and taking a vehicle across costs considerably more than walking on. That suits our side of the arrangement too: we drop at the terminal, you walk on, and we collect you from the same place when you come back.
August on a small island books out early
Accommodation in and around Cowes during the week goes months ahead, and so do the better sailings. If Cowes Week is a plan rather than an idea, put the ferry and the beds in place first and the road transport is the easy part to arrange afterwards.
Cowes Week questions
Ferries, ports and timings.
Do you take us all the way to Cowes?
No. Cowes is on the Isle of Wight, so we take you to the ferry port at Southampton or Portsmouth and collect you from the same place on your return.
Which port should we use?
Whichever your booked crossing sails from. Portsmouth is marginally closer from most of Kent, but the sailing decides it, so tell us the operator and time.
Should we book the ferry first?
Yes, always. Sailings fill during Cowes Week and the timetable is fixed. Once you have a crossing we plan the road journey backwards from it with time in hand.
How long does the drive take?
Around two to three and a half hours to either port, on roads we drive most weeks for Southampton cruise transfers.
Should we take a car to the Island?
Usually not. Cowes during the week is compact and busy, taking a vehicle across costs considerably more, and most visitors are better off as foot passengers.
When should we book accommodation?
Months ahead. It is a small island in August hosting a great many visitors, and both beds and the better sailings go early.
Can you collect us on the return?
Yes. Give us your return sailing and we will be at the port for it, in the same way we handle cruise arrivals.
Is the fare fixed?
Yes, agreed at booking for both legs, with waiting at the port included as agreed.
Ports, islands and the coast
Where the road journey ends at the water.