Portsmouth International Port
Portsmouth International Port is your gateway to France, Spain, the Channel Isles and beyond. It's perfectly positioned just off the M275, providing quick and easy access for ferries, cruise and cargo.
The Port is the best-connected in Britain, offering the most routes to France, Spain and the Channel Islands. If you're considering a hop across the English Channel from Portsmouth to France, you can choose to visit Caen, Cherbourg, Le Havre or St Malo. Head a little further on to Spain and you have the choice of Bilbao or Santander.
The port benefits from a modern terminal building which has a light and airy feel. This space and comfort adds to the thrill of the holiday and the overall passenger experience. As you'd expect, the main concourse offers everything you'd need whilst you await departure. Alongside the check in area is a Travel Exchange and shop, while up on the mezzanine floor there is a Costa coffee shop and bar. On warm summer days you can enjoy the relaxing outdoor terrace, where you can look out over the Port before setting sail.
Portsmouth International Port does more than just holiday excursions - it's also a dynamic commercial port which imports many of the bananas and potatoes that make their way to your kitchen!
Cruise travel
Portsmouth International Port is on some of the main cruise routes across Europe, linking the city with numerous others across Germany, the Netherlands, Ireland and Scotland. What's more, extensive work on the channel through the Solent has meant Portsmouth International Port is now able to welcome larger ships than ever before. This has resulted in it securing numerous record-breaking years in quick succession, as cruise operators start including Portsmouth in their itineraries.
Among those cruise companies is Virgin Voyages, which has installed Portsmouth at its home port - making it the only one to have had departures from the entire Virgin fleet.
Isle of Wight ferries
Alongside the International Port, regular ferries also run from the south of the city to the Isle of Wight (car ferry, passenger catamaran and hovercraft) and Gosport (passenger only).
For more information please visit portsmouth-port.co.uk.
Alongside the International Port just off the M275 is the Wightlink car ferry port which makes regular sailings to the Isle of Wight. Departing from a port between Gunwharf Quays and Old Portsmouth, the crossing takes around one hour, and carries some three million passengers every year.
Sustainability
Portsmouth International Port is moving forward with a bold and ambitious programme to reduce carbon emissions - as part of its aim to become one of the UK's first zero-emission ports.
Its current projects include:
- Installation of solar panels, including solar carports (a UK-first for a port).
- Commissioning of a lithium/lead storage battery that uses the latest in artificial intelligence and machine learning.
- Installation of a 1MW lithium-ion battery energy storage systems (BESS), to store renewable energy from the solar arrays, plus shore power facilities to provide this energy to smaller cruise ships. The port has also committed to investigate introducing shore power for larger vessels as well.
- A roll out of new zero emission light vehicles for the port that run on electricity plus electric vehicle charging points for customers at the port.
- Submitting planning applications for land-based wind turbines.
- Creation of a virtual ‘Digital Twin’ of the port, in collaboration with the University of Portsmouth, which will investigate energy management potential for visiting ships.
- Undertaking studies into the use of geo-spatial data for reducing traffic congestion and improving air quality in the area.
More information on the port's sustainability measures and future plans can be found on its website.
