Hovertravel Reviews 40

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.

I’ve been a loyal Hovertravel customer for years and have always appreciated the reliable service.

However, following the recent restructuring and the publicised £780,000 financial loss and staff redundancies there is a noticeable shift from a customer-focused approach to one driven by cost-cutting.

Unfortunately, this change has significantly impacted my recent experience with a noticeable lack of customer care, it seems the emphasis on efficiency is now affecting the overall quality of service.

I prebooked an experience flight, which was later cancelled and rescheduled by Hovertravel. On the new date, I was surprised to see the same experience being sold at half the original price, alongside newly introduced discounts for senior citizens and students, all of which applied to our entire group.

I reached out to Hovertravel to politely request a review of the pricing I had paid, given the circumstances.
Sadly, I was met with indifference and a complete lack of empathy. I felt dismissed and undervalued as a long-standing customer, which was genuinely upsetting. It was crystal clear that profit had taken precedence over customer experience and fair treatment.

This experience has not only left me disappointed but completely let down by a company I’ve supported for years.
Hovertravel has lost a family of loyal customers who will not be using them again or recommending them to others.

While the flight itself was enjoyable, the way I was treated was inexcusable. I expect better from a public facing company.

As always, very quick and easy service PLUS every single member of staff I interacted with were super helpful and friendly especially those who helped me before the 06:50 this morning from Portsmouth and the crew on board that crossing. Thanks all!!

I take as I find and our trip yesterday was great. Friendly staff, on time, no problems at all. We gave the staff a laugh as we were dressed up to see Abba Voyage, they took it in good part.

Experience the behind the scenes tour which was fascinating. Our guide, Mike, was happy to answer all of our questions and was really friendly and attentive. Would highly recommend a behind the scenes tour!

Shout out to Josh at Southsea Hovercraft Reception!! What a lovely helpful guy. All the staff were so nice and cheerful and the lady at Reception made me laugh. Myself and 3 other friends took the Hovercraft over to Ryde on a day trip - it was a great experience and so quick. I would definitely go that way again.

I had booked a return ticket online to experience the Hovercraft from Ryde to Portsmouth and back as I’ve never been on one.

When I arrived at the terminal I was told that I could not travel due to a technical fault with the craft and that I had to take a normal ferry from Ryde with my hovercraft tickets whereby I was super disappointed!! But the lovely front desk staff contacted me back as I was walking back to the train station, that they have upgraded me to a full hovercraft tour which was absolutely a dream come true !!

I was able to spend a lot of time in the craft, took pictures inside and outside of it ,made friends with the lovely crew and was able to experience it’s manoeuvring abilities plus given a 20% discounts on its souvenirs which was 100% more than what I expected !!

Hats off to the customer service team for going above and beyond to make my dream come true, shall definitely return !!

Although very busy due to the fantastic weather, staff did all they could to give a fast efficient service. I use the hovercraft quite frequently and it is always lovely to see the kids (and some adults too!) excited about their hovercraft ride.
Yes, in the warmer weather there was a stand-by queue for people who hadn’t booked; it is always best to book. However, the staff handled this calmly, despite barking dogs and rudeness from one or two people!
All in all, a great trip. Thank you Hovertravel.

This morning I had most devastating experiences with the service at Southsea Hoverport. I booked my ticket from London to Shanklin via Trip.uk website, the journey schedule was received via email with the time of boarding on Hover as 9.40am. I was there on time. When I arrived to the check in point I been rudely told that I am not booked for that time and have to stand aside waiting if they have any places left. I was showing the time of the booking on my phone, however they said it is not acceptable. At some point, I wanted to call the police, as the service team was so rude. I had to leave, as the whole experience of just getting on the ferry was unbelievable. When I was leaving, they had accepted all passengers to the ferry by the way , and they told me that I can't use their service. I would really appreciate if the management team will look at the customer service manners of the team to review.

Nearly 2 hour delay and you're expected to stay queuing, not come back when the delayed journey is rescheduled to.
Instead of the planned family trip to Southsea and immediately back, myself and children took the Wightlink back (one way) and changed the 2 Family return tickets to 4 adult tickets (obviously far less £s) but they charged the original £60 AS WELL AS admin fee for changing to much cheaper tickets.
I don't care what the T&Cs nobody reads say, that's just wrong AND WASN'T EXPLAINED WHEN I CHANGED BY PHONE.

99% of people that work there look like they're being held hostage.

The impatient, rude and completely incompetent, lying lady on the front desk split our family group up onto different times without telling us! I will reiterate - WITHOUT telling us - and then tried to say she had told us. What a waste of our time and money. We got to the island for a total of an hour, and wasted £69.00. Poor, poor service with each member of staff giving conflicting information. The bumbling team left travellers turning to each other for help and advice.

Booked HoverCare for vulnerable daughter and once again let down by Staff at Ryde terminal, no understanding of request and lack of communication between various parties, they really need some training especially as the cost of travelling is expensive !! You would think they would CARE especially using their HoverCare forms, but makes no difference they just want your money !!!