We’re considering going to the Isle of Wight in September. Can anyone recommend any good sites please? Also, best ferry route. We’ve never taken the caravan on the ferry. Doing France next year so thought this would be a good practice. Thankyou
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We have been over there loads of times and there are lots of campsites to choose from, have you looked on the campsite search on here as we don't know what you are looking at for from a site, chances are it will be windy.
There are only 2 ports to travel from Southampton or Portsmouth not sure if you can get to Portsmouth ferry terminal without hitting the emissions zone, best to find where on the island you want to be and pick the ferry that takes you closest, oh and I think it is the most expensive crossing in the world.
Sorry I forgot Lymington but it seems to have a limited service these days, I don't know why I forgot it as it is my favourite crossing although we always ended up on a campsite at the other end of the island as we stay in the New Forest before and after for a few days.
Check out Red Funnel Ferries, they have camping package deals for campsite and ferry in their website. Southampton - East Cowes. A choice of 5 campsites all good.
I can recommend Waverly campsite at Cowes and The Orchards at Yarmouth.
------------- Knowledge is recognising that a tomato is a fruit: experience is not putting it in a fruit salad.
I would suggest if you want to try taking the ferry ahead of a big French trip the best thing to do would be a little French trip! This might get moved to the 'abroad' forum but going Dover-Calais and staying in the Pas de Calais or Seine Maritime is much easier than you think. There is a good choice of campsites both cheap and more expensive within a couple of hours of Calais, nice beaches, pretty towns etc....
Ask if your chosen campsite can book the ferry on your behalf. We stayed at Grange Farm in Brighstone in the summer of 2021 and booking our ferry through them was far, far cheaper than going through the ferry companies.
In recent years we have stayed at the CMC site called Southlands and Waverley Park in East Cowes. We have tended to use the Red Funnel from Southampton as its usually a bit cheaper. Last time we went we used the Lymington to Yarmouth Wight Link crossing. It was a bit different but would be inclined to use Red Funnel in future. The club will book a ferry for you and you get a discount depending on stay. Private sites will also book you a ferry but they tend only to use Red Funnel. Caravanners can sometimes takes advantage of "Caravan goes free offers" The IOW is well worth a visit with plenty to do even if it is going back in time a bit. About time they built a bridge to it!!!
For a camp site, we stayed at Nodes Point which is almost on the beach. Its a Park Dean site so had lots to do for our two children. It was quite a busy site but if you are staying in September it should be quiet.
It all depends on what type of site you are looking for.
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As above. Much easier and probably cheaper to go to France.
Just buy yourself an ACSI book and go. No need to book a camp site: if you don't like the look of a site simply go on to the next. The big advantage of continental sites is that you usually pay when you leave which means you are completely free to tour.
DaveS1
The best ferry route for me would not be the Portsmouth-Fishbourne route simply because you have to go through the LEZ which may or may not be a problem for you.
Our preferred route would be Red Funnel's Southampton-East Cowes route, the Lymington-Yarmouth route may be a good option for you if you want to go to the West Wight.
Waverly Park Campsite at East Cowes is a nice site with good facilities, views of the Solent from some of the upper pitches and is about 1/2 mile from the ferry terminal. As others have mentioned, Red Funnel do deals which combine a ferry booking and campsite at a discount and is well worth considering.
The island is a beautiful place but being a Caulkhead, I'm biased.
the camh discount for the ferry is massive sometimes up to 60%, you will easily recoup the membership fee, best thing is to ring and see which is cheapest, we have used both companies and are both fine.the southland camh site is excellent.the isle of wight is not to be missed its fantastic and worth the ferry cost, i think in 2021 it cost us £120 odd for a return ticket for car and small caravan.