isle of wight advice

[frazzled74]

i want to book a holiday here but want advice as to best area to stay, want nice beach, a few shops and restaurants and want to visit a couple of attractions, maybe a stately home and a zoo.we dont have a car and will be travelling from portsmouth. Thanks in advance for advice.

If you don't have a car and are coming from Portsmouth Ryde is probably your best bet as the Cat and Hover go into Ryde. It has a wonderful wide sandy beach when the tide is out, there are places to eat and nice shops, there is a good Co-op right in the centre of town. The majority of the Islands buses pass through Ryde, the bus passes are really excellent value and include the open top 'tourist' buses - these go to a wide variety of the attractions. The train line also runs from Ryde to Ventnor and connects into the Steam train line.

There is a Zoo in Sandown accessible on either bus or the train.

oh thankyou, i will definitely book Ryde then. It did seem ideal but i just wanted to hear it from someone who had been, thanks again.

I like it so much I live there part of the time now!!