What is Isle of Wight like?
The Isle of Wight is an island of the coast of Hampshire with direct ferry access from Southampton and Portsmouth. It’s very easy to get to and for me, it’s like another little world. We had our first family holiday there with Park Resorts in October 2014 despite living in the county for the majority of my life. I want to introduce my daughter to plenty of different places that I never went to as a child, especially places quite local to home. My partner used to visit the Isle of Wight a lot as a child and loved each of his trips there. As it’s part of England, of course it has our beautiful British weather but it also has lots of wildlife, beaches, hills and fun attractions for families. It’s a really beautiful place and features lots of exciting things to do.
We stayed in Shanklin when we stayed with Park Resorts and it was a great holiday. We were there for a week and took advantage of seeing as many sights as we possibly could which can be tricky without a car. There are plenty of bus routes around the Island throughout the summer but this dwindle down in the colder months and the train only runs from Ryde down to Shanklin. As you can come over by passenger and car ferry having access to a car is really helpful as it means you can see a lot more if the Island without relying on public transport. When we went in October the train was running fine down to Shanklin however the buses were a little less frequent. We were still able to use the bus transport to get to Newport.
Top Attractions for Families
We had an amazing time at the Isle of Wight zoo after a walk along the beautiful coastline from Shanklin all the way up to Sandown. It was a really long walk but we enjoyed exploring the zoo and seeing all the animals there. Zoo’s are always great for families and a chance to get up close and personal with the animals.
This is located near Newport and is a large, open space. It was incredibly quiet when we went due to the rain but it was a really lovely place and a great chance to see a huge variety of monkeys and owls in all their enclosures. Throughout the day lots of demo’s go on and on our visit we had a lot of chats with the keepers who were very knowledgeable. They also had some very tasty cream teas in the on site cafe.
Coastline and Beaches
When we visited the tide was right in and splashing up the sides of the path however there was a great stretch of coastline which is beautiful to walk across in the sunshine and plenty of midway stops for ice cream. Shanklin to Sandown has plenty of sandy bays for a quick play.
Robin Hill Adventure Park
This is one place we will be heading to on our next holiday to the Isle of Wight, it sounds beautiful and is a place my partner absolutely loved to go to as a child. Plenty of attractions, animals and places to explore all over the national park.
The place of imagination, according to their website, and my partner. This was another big hit for him as a child and a place I think my daughter will absolutely love. Definitely on our destination wish list.
Isle of Wight Attractions & Events
This was one of my favourite places to visit on our trip. It’s a beautiful walkway filled with trees, beautiful flowers and waterfalls. We really loved it and my daughter firmly believes it’s a place to look for fairies.
If you love music festivals then the Isle of Wight has one every year and it’s such a beautiful place it’s worth going and making a holiday out of it. You can camp or stay in some of the nearby hotels.
Where is your favourite holiday and what do you love to do as a family?
It’s not really somewhere I’d think to go but looks like you had a good trip! #bestandworst
I know I felt exactly the same but we had a really lovely time! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
We love to go on holidays by the beach with plenty sun and blue skies. we love to explore the place, it’s culture and food too. We have not been to Isle of Wight yet, it’s great to know all these attractions in case we happen to visit the place in the future. You can’t go wrong with visiting a Zoo, isn’t it? Kids adore them. #bestandworst
I do love a Zoo and it was great to see a few animals we hadn’t before in other places. I really recommend it 🙂
Oh this is just perfect – Hannah (my sister and collaborator on the blog) accidentally booked a holiday to the Isle of Wight on Sunperks (instead of North Devon!!??). She will love this, thank you. #bloggerclubuk
Oh no! Yeah it’s a bit different to North Devon but I really recommend it! Hope she finds it useful 🙂
Love the Isle of Wight and used to go there a lot in my teens (have family living there) although haven’t been over for a while. There’s a few places on your list I haven’t visited though and others that have brought back happy memories. Blackgang Chine is a great place for kids and the beaches are good too. Glad to hear you had a wonderful time. #bloggerclubuk
Thank you, I’m so glad to read it’s a popular destination! 🙂
I’ve actually never been to the Isle of Wight but it looks great and is somewhere I’d really love to visit x #BloggerClubUK
It took me a while to visit and I’m in the same county but I am so glad I did! It really was a lovely holiday.
I have never been there but it looks lovely. I love the complicity between those two and an ice cream is always nice.
You seem to have done so much. I think I would like to check out Shankline Shine: it sounds wonderful!
#bloggerclubuk
Ohh I soo want to here, we live so close to Southampton it would be really easy for us to just hop on a ferry. Maybe we’ll visit over the summer and I will be referring back to your list for ideas on what to do xx #BloggerClubUK
I think Leo would love it! Evie really did and everything is so easy. So much for children and the holiday parks there are really lovely!
What a fun holiday you had! That’s a nice looking caravan too by the way. I love going on holidays where you don’t have to travel too far but it’s like another world. That’s the best when you travel with kiddies. The zoo sounds fab. Thanks so much for joining us at #BloggerClubUK
it really was so so lovely and the caravan was really nice, we were able to go with a gold plus I think because it was outside school holidays! Now though everything is about 1,000+ more!! kids!!
I really do need to visit the Isle of Wight, I’m from Bournemouth so see it all the time but have never been! Looks like you all had a fab time 🙂 #bestandworst
Thank you, it really was lovely! I do enjoy Bournemouth though, lovely beach 🙂
My Grandparents loved this place when alive. Went for lots of holidays. My friend is also going camping in Aug so much send her this link. I hope you had a lovely time – there does seem to be loads to do for little ones. Thanks for sharing with #bestandworst x