Southampton Town Quay ferry terminal

Red Funnel ferries sail between Southampton and Cowes on the Isle of Wight. There are two ferry services: the fast ferry to West Cowes and the slower car ferry to East Cowes. A one-way fare on the faster ferry costs £25 and a one-way fare on the slower boat costs £16. An off-peak day return ticket is cheaper and cheapest of all is a day return with two or more people travelling together after 10.55am.

The Town Quay ferry terminal is also the departure point for ferry services to Hythe on the western side of Southampton Water. Services operate every half hour and the return fare is £8.30.

There are three separate terminals at Town Quay: one for East Cowes, one for West Cowes and another for the Hythe ferry. All terminals are just a short walk from each other and have facilities that include a ticket office, toilets, a coffee shop and a waiting area with free Wi-Fi. Terminal 1 (for East Cowes) is open 24 hours, but the other terminals close at night.

Town Quay is around 800m (½ mile) south of Southampton city centre. It only takes 10 minutes to walk between the city centre and Town Quay; however, you can also take the free Quayconnect bus, which operates a shuttle service between the ferry terminal and Southampton Central railway station.

Cruise ships do not depart from here and instead operate from one of five different cruise ship terminals in Southampton. The Ocean Cruise Terminal is an easy 10-minute walk east of Town Quay and the Queen Elizabeth II Cruise Terminal is perhaps an extra 15-minute walk a little farther east. The City Cruise Terminal, Horizon Cruise Terminal and Mayflower Cruise Terminals are to the west of Town Quay aren’t quite as walkable, although your cruise line will usually operate a shuttle bus to the cruise terminal.

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