Cheapest€11.88
- Brittany Ferries BF467506:032h 50m08:53Thames RiverCruisePortsmouth International Port
Door to door 4h 20mCO2 8.9 kgChanges 0Changeable for a fee
Traveling from Reading to Portsmouth costs €11.88 at the cheapest and takes 1h 21m door to door at the fastest, across 2 modes and 4 operators. The route covers 77 km. Cheapest is by ferry, fastest is by train.
At a glance
- Distance
- 77 km
- Fastest
- 1h 21m
- Average
- 2h 5m
- Services per day
- 12
- Cheapest
- €11.88
- CO2 per passenger
- 4.1 kg
Every way to make this journey
Journey times below are door to door, so they include getting to the terminal and away from it at the other end. Fares are the cheapest we currently sell on September 14, 2026.
| Mode | Door to door | Moving | At the ends | From | CO2 | Per day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Train | 1h 22m | 38m | 44m | €11.88 | 2.5 kg | 7 |
| Ferry | 4h 12m | 2h 42m | 1h 30m | €11.88 | 8.9 kg | 5 |
- 1h 22mFastest, by Train
- €11.88Cheapest, by Ferry
- 2.5 kgLowest CO2, by Train
- 77 kmDistance traveled
The cheapest and the fastest on September 14, 2026
Two journeys we can sell today, with the service number each operator files them under.
Fastest€20.69
- Great Western Railway GW850714:2838m15:06Reading StationPortsmouth Harbour
Door to door 1h 22mCO2 2.5 kgChanges 0Refundable
Today's real departures
Live from the operators' own published timetables, through the open transit feeds they publish. Times and services are real. Fares are modeled until our booking connectors are live.
Checking the live timetables.
Live from the operators' own published timetables, through the open transit feeds they publish. Times and services are real. Fares are modeled until our booking connectors are live.
Prices over the next three weeks
Live from our own engine, refreshed on every request. The cheapest days for each way of traveling are marked.
| Cheapest fare by mode and day for Reading to Portsmouth | SunSep 13 | MonSep 14 | TueSep 15 | WedSep 16 | ThuSep 17 | FriSep 18 | SatSep 19 | SunSep 20 | MonSep 21 | TueSep 22 | WedSep 23 | ThuSep 24 | FriSep 25 | SatSep 26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ferry | €16.29 | €11.88 | €11.89 | €11.88 | €11.89 | €11.88 | €11.88 | €11.88 | €11.88 | €11.88 | €11.88 | €11.88 | €11.88 | €11.88 |
| Train | €25.64 | €19.04 | €19.59 | €14.64 | €17.94 | €18.49 | €17.94 | €12.99 | €11.88 | €11.89 | €13.54 | €14.64 | €14.09 | €15.19 |
Cheapest day: 2026-09-14 · €11.88
Arriving in September changes what you want from a room in Portsmouth. It is not a thing we sell, so here is who does.
A room in Portsmouth for the night the ferry gets in
Sort by distance from Portsmouth Harbour and you can see which places are ten minutes on foot and which are not.
Search Portsmouth on Booking.comOr compare on Expedia
Partner links. We do not sell accommodation. We earn a commission when a booking completes, and it never changes what you pay.
When to book Reading to Portsmouth
The same search run across the whole booking window, so the shape of the curve is visible rather than described.
- €11.8890 days
- €11.8860 days
- €11.8845 days
- €11.8830 days
- €11.8821 days
- €11.8814 days
- €11.887 days
- €11.893 days
- €16.291 days
- Cheapest lead time
- Fares bottom out around 90 days ahead, at €11.88.
- How much it moves
- The gap between the cheapest and most expensive lead time is 37 percent. The most expensive point is €16.29, 1 days out.
- What that means
- Today sits outside the cheap window, which opens around 90 days before departure. There is no advantage to booking this minute.
Book now Fares on this route are lowest around 7 days ahead, so there is no rush yet.
Which departure day costs least
Median cheapest fare for each weekday, taken across the next three weeks of real prices.
- €11.88Sun
- €11.88Mon
- €11.88Tue
- €11.88Wed
- €11.88Thu
- €11.88Fri
- €11.88Sat
How the fare moves month by month
The same journey priced on the fifteenth of each of the next six months.
- €11.89Sep
- €11.88Oct
- €11.88Nov
- €11.88Dec
- €11.88Jan
- €11.88Feb
The route
What the journey actually looks like
Direct or connecting, how far the route really runs, and what happens when a connection is missed.
- Direct or connecting
- 67% of the services we sell on this corridor run through without a change. The remaining 33% involve one connection.
- How far it really runs
- The route covers 77 km against 74 km in a straight line, a detour of 4 percent. Track and road geometry account for the difference.
- Where the change is
- Connections are made at Cowes, Southampton, Slough, Chichester. The gap between arriving and leaving is 56 minutes, of which about 5 is walking.
- If the connection is missed
- The tightest connection we sell here has a 17 percent chance of not being made on the timetable alone. Part of this journey is a self transfer between separate tickets, so leave more time than the minimum and expect to check in again.
- First and last departure
- The first service of the day leaves Reading at 06:15 and the last at 14:47, across 7 departures. The return direction keeps its own timetable, so the times back are not these times reversed.
Where you leave from and where you arrive
The stations, airports and ports each mode on this corridor actually uses.
Reading
Rail
- Reading Station
- Winnersh Station
- Reading West
Ferry
- Thames RiverCruise
Portsmouth
Rail
- Portsmouth Harbour
- Portsmouth Harbour railway station
- Portsmouth and Southsea railway station
Bus
- Portsmouth Hard Interchange
- Newport Bus Station
Ferry
- Portsmouth International Port
- Portsmouth Harbour
Who runs this route
Speed, flexibility and what is on board. Nothing here is a rating, because we have not earned one.
| Operator | Fastest | Typical speed | Flexibility | On board |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Brittany Ferries | 4h | 33 km/h | Changeable | Bar, , Cabins, Cafe, Restaurant, Restrooms |
| Cross Country | 1h 21m | 140 km/h | Refundable | Power outlets, Wi-Fi |
| Great Western Railway | 1h 21m | 140 km/h | Refundable | Power outlets, Wi-Fi |
 South Western Railway | 1h 21m | 140 km/h | Refundable | Power outlets, Wi-Fi |
What the fare is made of
Every part of the total, so the number at checkout is the number here.
| Part | Amount | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Operator fare | €8.99 | 76% |
| Taxes | €0.90 | 8% |
| Our service fee | €1.99 | 17% |
| Total you pay | €11.88 | 100% |
We cannot promise Portsmouth Harbour still has a baggage check, because plenty of stations closed theirs.
Baggage storage near Portsmouth Harbour
Most of the points near Portsmouth Harbour open before the first train and close after the last one.
Check Portsmouth on StasherOr try Bounce
Partner links. We do not run these networks. We earn a commission on a booking, and the price is the same as going direct.
Questions about Reading to Portsmouth
The questions people actually ask about this trip, answered from the same prices and times the page above is built on rather than written once and left to go stale.
How long does it take to get from Reading to Portsmouth?
The fastest journey from Reading to Portsmouth takes 1h 21m door to door, of which 38m is spent moving, on the train. Most services take around 2h 5m, because that average includes slower stopping services and journeys with a connection. Times include reaching the terminal and leaving it at the far end.
How much does it cost to travel from Reading to Portsmouth?
The cheapest fare from Reading to Portsmouth is €11.88, checked on September 12, 2026. A typical fare across the next three weeks is €14.09. Both figures are the total for one passenger, including taxes, supplier fees and our service fee, so nothing is added at checkout.
What is the cheapest way to get from Reading to Portsmouth?
The cheapest way from Reading to Portsmouth is by ferry, at €11.88 for one passenger on September 14, 2026. That journey takes 4h 12m door to door. Cheaper is rarely faster on this corridor, and the comparison table on this page shows what each mode costs against what it saves.
What is the fastest way to get from Reading to Portsmouth?
The fastest way from Reading to Portsmouth is by train, at 1h 22m door to door. Only 38m of that is spent moving; the remaining 44m is reaching the terminal and leaving it at the far end. The cheapest fare on that mode is €11.88.
When should I book Reading to Portsmouth?
Fares from Reading to Portsmouth bottom out around 90 days before departure, at €11.88. Across the whole booking window the gap between the cheapest and the most expensive lead time is 37 percent, measured on September 12, 2026. Booking inside the last week has consistently cost more on this corridor.
Which day of the week is cheapest for Reading to Portsmouth?
Sunday is the cheapest day to depart from Reading to Portsmouth, at €11.88. That is the median of 21 priced departure days across the next three weeks, checked on September 12, 2026. Shifting a departure by one day is usually worth more than shifting the booking by one week.
Which month is cheapest for Reading to Portsmouth?
October is the cheapest of the next 6 months to travel from Reading to Portsmouth, at €11.88 for one passenger. Each month is priced on its fifteenth, so the comparison is like for like rather than a mix of weekends and midweek departures.
Who runs service from Reading to Portsmouth?
4 operators sell services from Reading to Portsmouth across 2 modes: Brittany Ferries, Cross Country, Great Western Railway, South Western Railway. Journey times, fares and fare conditions differ between them, and the operator table on this page compares all of them on speed, flexibility and what is provided on board.
Is there a direct service from Reading to Portsmouth?
67 percent of the services we sell from Reading to Portsmouth are direct. The rest connect at Cowes, Southampton, Slough, Chichester, with about 56 minutes between the two services. Both legs are sold on one booking, so a missed connection is rebooked at no charge.
How much CO2 does the journey from Reading to Portsmouth produce?
Traveling from Reading to Portsmouth by train produces about 2.5 kg of CO2 per passenger, the lowest of any mode on this corridor. The same journey by Ferry produces about 8.9 kg, roughly 3 times as much for one passenger.
Which station or terminal do services from Reading to Portsmouth use?
Services from Reading to Portsmouth by train leave from Reading Station and arrive at Portsmouth Harbour. Allow about 44m in total for reaching the departure terminal and leaving the arrival one, which is already included in every door to door time on this page.
Can I change or refund a ticket from Reading to Portsmouth?
4 of the 4 operators we sell from Reading to Portsmouth allow a change or a refund. A change on a changeable fare costs €5.00. The operator table on this page names which is which, and the condition is shown again before you pay.
Where these numbers come from
Derived from service area No carrier record names this exact pair. The operators listed publish a service area covering both places at a distance their mode plausibly carries people, which is evidence that the corridor is served and not evidence of a specific service. Pages state which, because presenting the two as the same thing would be dishonest.
Schedules, seat counts and fares are generated by our own model until the supplier contracts are signed. Places, coordinates, operators, which operator serves which pair, and every distance are real. We would rather say that on every page than let a modeled number pass for a filed one.
Defined in full at Door to door, Fares, The booking window, Carbon, Distances
- On this page
- Every figure above was computed for Reading to Portsmouth on September 12, 2026: 77 km of route against 74 km in a straight line, 12 services a day, 4 operators, a cheapest fare of €11.88, and 1h 21m door to door on the fastest mode. The return direction is computed separately and its numbers are not these numbers.
Plenty of what is worth seeing sits outside Portsmouth and elsewhere in United Kingdom. None of it is ours to sell.
Day trips out of Portsmouth and across United Kingdom
The tickets worth having in advance, because the line at the door is usually the whole morning.
See Portsmouth on GetYourGuideOr browse Viator
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Other ways to make this journey
Leaving Reading
Arriving in Portsmouth
Leaving Portsmouth
- 76Places you can leave for
- 3Countries
- 7Operators
Plan a trip from here
Ask Ori for the same corridor under a different constraint, or for a longer trip that starts on it.