Hovertravel Avis 

The new website is a disaster, cannot update pass.
Have to top up pass in person. The staff know is disaster but not be fixed.

Purchased tickets for a day return and near returning realised lost ticket . Had the receipt on phone so thought this would be sufficient. OH NO this is not ‘Come Fly With Us ‘ this is ‘Come Spend Money With Us’
Disgusting that after a day out in Isle Of Wight they make you pay a fortune again to get home .
I wouldn’t mind if no proof but I have it. The staff are horrible and apparently on the ferry they don’t even check tickets . So take my advice take the ferry. .

I used the hover service to go to the Isle of Wight on the 20th of June, there was 3 of us. Unfortunately, due to their system being updated as advised by a manager in Ryde, I got charged twice and they refuse to refund me even though the manager at ryde said I would be refunded, it’s £65 which is a lot of money. I was emailing back and forth but now they are ignoring my emails. Very unprofessional and dam right theft. I have reported them and waiting a response

This is the second time I have travelled with a week. Both times, the hover was delayed, the first by 10 minutes- today by 17 minutes. No announcement, no apology. This lack of sticking to a timetable, or even caring about it, seems to be the new norm.

Only one craft working. Big delays. Staff said delays on website this was a lie. No mention. Delay of 90 minutes, queuing in hot tunnel with no amenities.People told despite weddings, 90th birthday celebrations, no priority could be made so had to queue with rest, but in fact no tickets checked for booking time and first come first served. Absolute shambles, only wanting money with no customer service. NEVER use these guys, take the fast craft to Ryde instead!

I was delayed by 15 minutes this morning & over half an hour on the way back. Despite booking online there was no email notifications of the delay. The staff were obviously stressed but there was no explanation or apologies. Both the coffee machine in Ryde & in Southsea were out of order.

Was charged 3 times for one service, when I showed them they charged me 3 times I was told “ nothing we can do sorry “

Triwd to book family return ticket, there is some glitch on the website wbere despite selecting same date for return it pushes me to next day making price go up to 90£ instead 70£. Fix your webiste money grabbers.

Taken it 3 times. Each was late. The bus connecting to the train doesn’t wait so you miss your train. The Wightlink ferry is always punctual in my experience and goes directly to the train station. This service is not suitable for train connections.

Big shout out to all the Hovertravel staff who make travelling to the Isle of Wight festival such fun and deal with all the extra luggage with a smile on their faces. Thank you 😃

Staff at hovercraft on the IOW and porstmouth need training in customer service first task to complete is smile. Very abrupt manner and unable to give advice and basically get of and get out

I write this as an IOW resident. The customer service is shocking, as is their pricing policy. Today I've tried to call them many times. Each time it went straight to answerphone and told me to leave a message and they'd get back, which they didn't. I tried to call again later, but the message informed me that they shut at 2pm....what the hell. Since when do businesses close at that time?? I was trying to book Saturday 29th August for Victorious for my 2 friends. It was telling me online that the 23.30 is full, so I tried for the next available crossing at 0.00. Whoa behold the price jumped from £44.40 to £68.40. How can that be legitimate? I am absolutely disgusted at how they hold us to ransom. Also the terminal building is a disgrace. There is only ONE toilet for EVERYONE to use. What a complete disgrace they are.

Hovertravel provides a consistently good service, even in the face of disruption. My first trip with them was cancelled due to high winds, but I had positive interactions with several members of their team, who were incredibly helpful when explaining my options as a first-time customer. Since then I have used the hovercraft on multiple occasions and find them to be much more comfortable (and more exciting!) than the traditional ferries.

We booked the hovercraft the other day for a return which fitted in for us to return and catch our coach we went one way then to be told we could not stop on to return even though it was booked meaning we missed our coach and had to pay for other travel costing extra. The staff were not helpful at all and if I was there boss I would tell them that there face won’t crack if they smiled dis gusting. Do yourself a favour and find another way to travel

Lovely trip to see family . Thank you Rebecca and Emily for keeping me updated with any changes . And helping my nan with her luggage . Always smiling polite and helpful , thank you girls .

I followed the process for the Hovertravel parcel service from their website and even confirmed it directly with staff in person. Each time the delivery was attempted, the staff rejected it costing me time and money. The service is totally unreliable and should not be used.

Feb 24th 2026 the website stated hover services cancelled in afternoon and evening due to bad weather. Next update would be 7.45am Sunday. I had booked 2 tickets for 10.30am on Sunday and as I don't live nearby I would have to leave my home at 8.45am. 7.45am came and went with no change to website. 8.15am still no update. I tried phoning the update line. There was no message at all. The chatbot wasn't any help, it stated 'we're away right now, please check back later.' I did find one number but that was open from 9 to 2 Mon to Fri. 8.30am came and website was still indicating the same 7.45am update. Still no message on the telephone update line.
What appalling customer service in fact I'll rephrase that No Customer Service.

What a truly appalling web page .... Why bother!!!!!!

Quickest way to get between Portsmouth and Ryde.
Having to take a bus from Portsmouth train station to Southsea does put people off.
But in terms of time it's still quicker than the Wight Link not so fast cat.
Wight link leave you at the end of Ryde pier so a long walk or having to take the train.
Hover Travel drop you off right on the Ryde seafront, in the town..

Great for a normal day travel. However, their Hover Days day trips are badly organised. The coach driver had no information about the tickets needed for the show. The venue couldn’t find the booking and we almost didn’t get to see the show in London, which was the whole purpose of the trip. The staff at Southsea terminal didn’t even know about the coach trip booking and were rude to some of the people on our trip.