Fixed fares across Portsea Island and beyond, 24/7 pre-booking, ferry port meet-and-greet and live driver tracking from Southsea to Cosham.
Portsmouth is a compact but busy naval city, and getting around it — or getting out of it — is rarely as simple as it looks on a map. Portsea Island sits behind three narrow road bridges, the seafront traffic backs up in summer, and the ferry terminals run to their own tight schedules. A reliable local taxi is often the difference between catching a sailing and watching it leave without you. CabsOn provides pre-booked taxis across Portsmouth and the wider Hampshire coast, with drivers who know the shortcuts around Fratton, the queue systems at the International Port, and the awkward one-way streets around Old Portsmouth. You can book instantly through the CabsOn app or website, get a fixed fare up front before you confirm, and track your driver on a live map from the moment your ride is accepted.
Whether you need a five-minute hop from Portsmouth Harbour station to Gunwharf Quays, a Sunday-morning run out to Queen Alexandra Hospital, or a pre-dawn saloon car to Heathrow, you can book online 24/7 for any time, with at least three hours' notice. Corporate accounts, child seats and larger MPVs are all bookable through the same journey flow, and payment is card, Apple Pay or invoiced to a business account.
Most of Portsmouth's population lives on Portsea Island, which is joined to the mainland by the M275, the A3 at Portsbridge, and the Eastern Road at Milton. That geography matters when you're booking a taxi, because it dictates almost every journey out of the city. Local drivers know when to route through Copnor and Hilsea to skirt the Rudmore roundabout, when to duck onto the Eastern Road to avoid Commercial Road, and when the M275 is the only sensible option. Short hops around the city — Southsea to Fratton, Gunwharf Quays to the Historic Dockyard, Somerstown to Portsmouth & Southsea rail station — are typically five to ten minutes off-peak; book them in the app at least three hours ahead.
Traffic patterns are worth knowing before you book. Weekday mornings bring queues at the Portsbridge roundabout and along London Road heading south; late afternoons are worst around Cosham and the QA Hospital exit. On matchday at Fratton Park, expect Frogmore Road and Milton Road to slow noticeably in the two hours before kick-off. If your journey is time-critical — a train, a ferry, an airport transfer — pre-booking with a fixed pickup time is always safer than hailing on the day.
The city has a small handful of pickup points that account for a large share of taxi trips. Portsmouth Harbour station is the busiest, sitting right next to the Wightlink Isle of Wight ferry and a short walk from HMS Warrior, HMS Victory and the Mary Rose Museum inside Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. Portsmouth & Southsea station, in the middle of the city, is the usual choice for arrivals heading to the university, the Guildhall or Commercial Road shopping area. Gunwharf Quays — home to the Spinnaker Tower and the designer outlets — has a signed taxi rank near the main entrance, though at peak times a pre-booked pickup on the app is faster than joining the queue.
Southsea, on the south coast of Portsea Island, generates steady taxi demand year-round. The seafront, Southsea Castle, the D-Day Story and the pier draw visitors in summer, while Albert Road and Palmerston Road stay busy in the evenings. Old Portsmouth, with its cobbled streets around Broad Street and the Camber, is easiest reached by taxi rather than car — parking is very limited. Fratton Park, home of Portsmouth FC, generates surges around matches; drivers can usually drop close to Frogmore Road and pick up from Goldsmith Avenue after full time.
Portsmouth sits at the eastern end of the M27 and on the A27 corridor, which makes several regional trips very manageable by taxi. Southampton is roughly 20 miles west and typically takes around 40 minutes via the M27, longer in the Friday rush. Chichester is about 30 minutes east along the A27, useful for the Festival Theatre, Goodwood and Chichester Cathedral. Winchester is about 40 minutes north via the A3(M) and M27, and Havant, Emsworth and Waterlooville are all inside 20 minutes for local runs.
Longer transfers are common too. London journeys go via the A3 to the M25 and are usually two hours off-peak. Bournemouth and Poole are around an hour and a quarter west via the M27 and M271. Fares are fixed when you book, with no night or peak surcharges; the only surcharge is 50% over Christmas and New Year.
Portsmouth International Port sits at Whale Island, off the M275, and handles Brittany Ferries and Condor sailings to Caen, Cherbourg, St Malo, Le Havre, Bilbao and Santander. Check-in typically closes 45 to 60 minutes before departure for passengers with vehicles and around 30 minutes for foot passengers, so a taxi with meet-and-greet is a straightforward way to arrive on time. CabsOn drivers monitor sailing schedules and will hold at the foot passenger drop-off if your booking is timed to a specific departure.
The Isle of Wight ferries have three separate departure points and it's worth being precise when you book. Wightlink car and passenger ferries to Fishbourne leave from Gunwharf Road; Wightlink FastCat passenger services to Ryde run from Portsmouth Harbour beside the rail station; Hovertravel to Ryde departs from the seafront at Clarence Esplanade in Southsea. Selecting the correct terminal in the app avoids a stressful walk with luggage at the wrong end of the seafront.
Southampton Airport is the nearest and easiest option — around 30 to 40 minutes via the M27, junction 5 — and is often chosen for domestic and short-haul European flights. Gatwick is roughly an hour and a quarter east on the A27 and M23. Heathrow is typically one hour and 45 minutes via the A3, though this can extend to over two hours in evening traffic on the M25. Bournemouth Airport is around an hour west along the M27. Stansted and Luton are usually booked as pre-arranged longer runs of two to two and a half hours.
For airport transfers, meet-and-greet is included on pre-booked arrivals: the driver monitors your flight number, adjusts for delays or early landings, and meets you inside the terminal with your name displayed. Fixed fares are quoted at the time of booking so there are no surprises after a long-haul flight.
The Portsmouth fleet includes saloon cars for one to four passengers with standard luggage, estate cars for those needing extra boot space, six-seater MPVs for families and small groups, and eight-seater minibuses for larger parties or airport groups. Executive vehicles — typically Mercedes E-Class or equivalent — are available for corporate transfers and are worth booking a little earlier at peak times.
Beyond the city centre, we cover the full Portsmouth area: Southsea, Fratton, North End, Copnor, Baffins, Milton, Eastney, Hilsea and Cosham on the island itself, and Paulsgrove, Portchester, Farlington, Drayton, Widley and Purbrook on the mainland side. Neighbouring towns — Havant, Waterlooville, Emsworth, Hayling Island, Fareham and Gosport — are all bookable through the same flow, with fixed fares shown before you confirm.
Standard saloon cars comfortably take two medium suitcases plus hand luggage. If you are heading to Portsmouth International Port with a full cabin's worth of bags, or arriving at Southampton Airport from a fortnight abroad, an estate or six-seater MPV gives you a more comfortable boot capacity — flag it in the booking flow and the correct vehicle is dispatched.
Child seats and booster seats are available on request; please add the child's approximate age at the time of booking so the right seat is fitted before pickup. Bulky items such as musical instruments, prams, sports kit and mobility scooters can usually be accommodated with advance notice.
Payment is taken online when you book (card, Apple Pay or Google Pay) or billed monthly to a corporate account; we don't take cash. For businesses, invoiced corporate accounts are available with monthly billing and downloadable statements — useful for expenses, VAT reclaim and centralised booking across multiple staff or departments. Tipping is optional and can be added through the app after the trip, either as a percentage or a fixed amount.
Cancel more than 24 hours before pickup for a refund minus £7 or 10% of the fare, whichever is higher; within 24 hours of pickup there is no refund. Full cancellation terms are shown in the app before you confirm any booking so there are no surprises. Assistance dogs are welcome in every CabsOn vehicle without exception.
Every CabsOn driver in Portsmouth holds a current private hire licence from the relevant local authority, an enhanced DBS check and a valid MOT and insurance certificate for the vehicle they drive. Journey details — driver name, vehicle registration and live GPS location — are shown in the app from the moment your ride is accepted, and can be shared with a friend or family member through the built-in trip-share feature. If anything about a journey isn't right, in-app support is available around the clock.
Fixed fares from Portsmouth to the nearest airports, from our live price list — the price you see when you book is the price you pay.
| Airport | Distance | Drive time | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southampton Airport | 20.7 miles | about 27 minutes | £48 Saloon |
| Gatwick Airport | 68.1 miles | about 1 hr 27 min | £106 Saloon |
| Heathrow Airport | 67.7 miles | about 1 hr 23 min | £106 Saloon |
Drive times are with clear roads; allow longer at rush hour. Larger vehicles (MPV, people carrier, 8-seater) are priced on the quote page. Airport pickups include 60 minutes' free waiting from landing.
Get an exact quotePickup time auto-adjusts to actual landing. No driver-side panic if your flight runs late.
Counted from when your flight actually lands, with airport parking included. Plenty of buffer for immigration, baggage claim and customs. After that, waiting is £9 per 15 minutes in a saloon.
The airport drop-off fee is included in the quote, not added at the kerb. So is any congestion or road charge on your route.
Driver waits at the terminal arrivals exit with a name board. Add it when you book; the price is shown in your quote.
Pay securely by card when you book. Corporate accounts get monthly invoicing with PO numbers and itemised receipts.
£20 per seat, fitted before pickup. Confirm the seat type at booking so we match the right vehicle.
You can book through the CabsOn app or website in under a minute. Enter your pickup and destination, choose your vehicle type, and confirm — you will see a fixed fare before you book and can track your driver live once the ride is accepted. WhatsApp bookings are also welcome.
All CabsOn journeys booked in advance are quoted as fixed fares, shown before you confirm the booking. The price already includes any airport fee that applies, and there is no night surcharge, so there are no surprises at the end of the trip.
Yes. We handle regular transfers to Portsmouth International Port for Brittany Ferries and Condor sailings to Caen, Cherbourg, St Malo, Le Havre, Bilbao and Santander. Meet-and-greet is included on return trips, and drivers monitor sailing schedules to allow for delays.
Yes. Southampton Airport is around 30 to 40 minutes from Portsmouth via the M27 and is one of our most common transfer routes. Fares are fixed at the time of booking, and pre-booked arrivals include flight tracking so your driver adjusts to your actual landing time.
Payment is taken online when you book (card, Apple Pay or Google Pay) or billed monthly to a corporate account; we don't take cash. Businesses can also open a corporate account with monthly invoicing, which is useful for expenses and VAT reclaim across multiple staff.
Yes, but please pick the correct terminal in the app. Wightlink FastCat runs from Portsmouth Harbour, Wightlink car ferry from Gunwharf Road to Fishbourne, and Hovertravel from Clarence Esplanade in Southsea. Selecting the right one avoids an awkward walk with luggage.
For weekend fixtures at Fratton Park, aim to book at least a couple of hours before kick-off, especially if you are travelling from outside the city. Roads around Milton Road and Frogmore Road get busy from about two hours before the match starts.
