Isle of Wight Festival Information

Q. Can I buy a day ticket?

A. No, there are only two types of tickets available; IOW CAMPING and IOW NON-CAMPING, both are valid for the entire weekend. Children aged 6 and under as at 21 June 2012, will have access to the Festival free of charge. Children aged 7 to 12 years will pay a reduced rate.

Q. When will I receive my festival tickets?

A. Festival wristbands (security coded) will be posted by Red Funnel using secure mail to the delivery address provided as soon as they are received from the Promoter. To help prevent fraud this is usually towards the end of May. As tickets need a signature on delivery please ensure they are sent to an occupied address (e.g. work). If nobody is at home you will be left details of how to arrange redelivery. Although we can accept no liability for lost or mislaid tickets we will do our best to help, please call us on the number below ASAP.

If you move house or wish to change your ticket delivery address please call Red Funnel on 0844 844 9988 and quote your booking reference.

If you buy tickets from us a few days before the festival you will be able to collect them from Red Funnel's Terminal 1 Ticket Office, Royal Pier Dock Gate 7, Town Quay Road, Southampton SO14 2AQ.

Q. I have bought a staged payment ticket, how do I pay the balance?

A.If you have purchased a festival ticket and ferry travel through our new stage payment scheme and have paid the 50% in advance you have to ensure that you pay the remaining balance on or before 30 January 2012. You can pay this at any time before this date simply by calling 0844 844 9988 and quoting your booking reference number that is shown on your confirmation email. 

Please Note. Reminder emails will be sent prior to 30 January 2012, but is your responsibility and contractual obligation to ensure that this balance is paid on or before this date. This scheme is non-refundable (except for the ferry element, admin fees apply, see T&C's).

Q. What is a Red Funnel eTicket?

A. Festival tickets can be purchased with or without ferry travel in the same transaction. If you only purchased festival tickets, the email that you receive is your confirmation (festival tickets will be posted to you in May). If you also made a ferry booking the confirmation acts as your travel eTicket and must be shown at check-in for each leg of your ferry journey. It will not grant you admission to the festival; festival tickets will be posted to you at the end of May.

If you wish to amend or cancel your ferry booking please call us on 0844 844 9988 and quote your booking reference number. Charges apply to non-Premium ticket holders.

Q. What are the festival opening times?

A. Main arena opens: 2pm Fri 22 June.  Campsite: open from noon Thu 21 June until noon Mon 25 June.

Q. Can I get a bus to the festival from East or West Cowes?

A. Festival shuttle buses operate between East & West Cowes ferry terminals and the bus terminal at the festival (adjacent to the campsites). Return shuttle bus tickets can be purchased with your festival ticket or with ferry travel from Red Funnel. They can be used to get the festival from either East or West Cowes on Thu, Fri & Sat, returning on Sun or Mon.

• If you are camping, we recommend that you take the ferry service to East Cowes, as the bus journey is quicker.
• If you are not camping it is quicker to take the Red Jet Hi-Speed service to West Cowes and catch the connecting festival shuttle bus. Please ensure you alight from the bus at Newport rather than continue on to the festival terminus, which is quite a walk from the main arena. The main festival entrance is just a short walk from the Newport bus stop.

Q. What arrangements are in place for the Disabled?

A. For festival tickets for the Disabled and special access arrangements please call Ticketzone on 08705 321 321.

Q. Where can I stay on the Isle of Wight?

A. The festival has large camping areas (and adjacent car parks) on farmland a short walk from the main arena. The campsites are colour coded and have basic washing facilities, toilets, rubbish bins, a bar, food stalls, a chemist and motorhome/camper van area. Fires, BBQs, glass & candles are prohibited and vehicles are not allowed in the campsite area. Please remember where you pitched your tent to avoid late-night confusion!

There is a wide range of other places to stay from quieter camping/touring parks through to boutique hotels with four star luxury but it is best to book as far ahead as possible. Red Funnel Holidays offer a wide selection, please call 0844 844 2690 for further details and look out for our new accommodation website later this year.

Q. Do I need a permit to stay in a camper/motorhome at the festival?

A. There is a dedicated area but admission requires a separate permit. Each occupant must purchase an IOW CAMPING ticket to gain admission. These must be purchased at the same time as the permit, if not, you must quote a booking reference in order to buy a permit. Campervan/Motorhome permits are NOT available online and can only be purchased from Ticketzone on 08705 321 321. Permits are extremely limited and we also recommend that you book your ferry crossing ASAP to get the best prices and your preferred sailing times.

Q. What do I need to bring?

A. Sunscreen, sunglasses, waterproof clothing, a hat, your ticket/camper van voucher, money (there will be ATMs on site), warm clothing (its never rained!), camping equipment.

Q. What should I not bring?

A. Pets (or any kind of animal), glass containers of any kind, alcohol can not be brought into the main arena, gazebos, tables, deckchairs, BBQ's, laser pens.

Q. Is there anything special for children?

A. There is a dedicated Kids Zone and lots of stalls and rides suitable for all the family. Any Parent accompanied by a person aged 16 or under is responsible entirely for the safety and welfare of that person and must exercise their discretion as to where to take them and the bands or acts that they may see.

Q. Can I enter and leave the festival during the weekend?

A. Yes you can. All ticket holders (you must wear your wristband at all times) are allowed to enter and leave the festival site at will. Holders of non-camping wristbands are not allowed access to the campsites.

Q. How safe is the festival?

A. The campsite will be lit at night and security staff patrol the area, however, please don't leave anything valuable in your tent or vehicle. Fires, BBQs, glass & candles are prohibited. Cars will be parked away from the campsites in allocated zones. The campsite is for festival go-ers only; it is not open to the general public at any time.

Please do not crowd surf - you may be evicted from the festival. Work out where the nearest emergency exit point is. Always follow the instructions and warnings of security personnel & police. If you are distressed please ask to be taken to the welfare tent, try not to panic. If you feel ill, please ask to be taken to the medical tent.

Lost and found & welfare services will be located in the camp site and the festival arena.

Q. What will there be to eat and drink?

A. You won't go hungry! Red Funnel offers a wide range of hot and cold food as well as fresh coffee, soft drinks (smoothies/juices etc) beer, wines and spirits on its service to East Cowes.

Once at the festival you will find a huge choice of outlets serving hot dogs, burgers, chips, fish n' chips, baked potatoes, noodles, ice-cream, sweets etc. The bars and stalls will be serving a variety of alcoholic and soft drinks, including cappuccino, latte, tea, smoothies and juices, hot chocolate, fizzy drinks, water, wine & beer. You have to be 18 years old to drink & purchase alcohol, please bring proof of age as you may be asked for this at the bar. Please note, no glass bottles, cans, containers, alcohol or food should be brought into the festival. Only water and non-alcoholic drinks in plastic bottles with unbroken seals up to 500ml are permitted.

Q. What's the policy on drugs?

A. Illegal drugs don't become legal or acceptable because you are at a festival. The same penalties and risks apply. There are police on site throughout the weekend.