Dr Hu

Have never been to the Isle of Wight and have a week off coming up....any recommendations for a family holiday with a 2 year old?

Nice place or hideous? - Any recommendations where the best place to stay is?

And how to do you get the scooby there? - Both Southampton & Plymouth appear to have car ferries.......

Wife can't fly as expecting another baby, so has to be UK.......is the IOW a good bet? or one to avoid?

I submit to the collective good of scoobynet

TIA

Dr Hu

p.s can't possibly see how this thread can degenerate into a Tory vs Lab slanging match, but I'm prepared to sit back and enjoy the show......
p.p.s UKIP all the way.......

Jap2Scrap

Been there loads. It's ok for a day trip or even a weekend but I think a week is stretching it a bit. There's not a whole lot to do (even less now that half of it has slipped into the sea). The beaches are nice enough but on the whole it's too pricey with too little to offer. Cowes week is quite enjoyable with the yachting regatta and that when the tourist trade really kicks off. If you're stuck in Britain and thinking of heading that way I'd recommend staying on the mainland and visiting Bournemouth, Weymouth, Swanage and the New Forest. Pick a B&B or Hotel just outside of Bournemouth and drive 5/10 miles in a different direction every day. The countryside is gorgeous, there are loads of touristy places for the daytime with the little one and the nightlife in Bournemouth is pretty good. You might even catch a good show at the Bournemouth International Centre.

C 8HEP

stay in newport. get ferry from southampton to east ryde. nice place in summer. lots of old people

Apparition

Or Portsmouth - Ryde
Its a very beautiful Island. Lots to see. Quaint villages. No really long straight stretches of road, so you won't be able to open up the scoob.
Nice beaches, usually stuff going on some where or other. Good hotels, good food.
Take a look at the official website, what you see is what you get.
Most hotels do reduced ferry crossing included in the price of the accommodation.
Enjoy !

Butty

iTrader: (2)

I've tried on two occasions to enjoy myself there with the family.
There's plenty to do for youngsters, great scenery and beaches, but we found the hotels are dire.
We had to change hotels midway on both holidays and the replacement ones weren't much better - and all were allegedly 4 star ones. Nothing seemed to have been updated since the 1970's. We looked at higher calass ones but they wouldn't accept kids.

My B-in Law had a much better time in National Trust owned cottages near the Needles.
I'd love to go there again, but would also go the self catering route.

NIck

Dr Hu

A bit like the rest of Britain's seaside resorts then......

Drunken Bungle Whore

Went there for the first time earlier this year - would agree that a week is maybe stretching it - 4 days and we were done. If you get nice weather though there are some nice beaches.

We stayed in Bembridge in a fabulous little house boat, which was actually on stilts out over the harbour. (Just look up Bembridge Holiday Homes and check out Pisces - that's the one!). There were strong railings all the way around so safe for the little one. It was tiny, but fabulously well equipped - Widescreen TV, DVD (and selection of DVDs), CD (and selection of CDs), digibox, washer/ tumble drier inside and BBQ and summer house outside - everything you need for a typical British holiday!

The owners were lovely too - had bread, cakes and milk in the fridge when we arrived.

As for sightseeing - Needles was fun (though there did appear to be some sort of **** shoot going on, but that's a different story!), Cowes was as boring as **** - though maybe more fun in the sailing season. Shanklin, Ventor etc - just what you'd expect from a British seaside resort really, a few arcades, couple of crazy golfs and some rather nice chippys! Couple of nice vineyards on the island too - good chance to introduce the nipper to horticulture!

Enjoy!