We are going away to Isle of Wight in few weeks and was just wondering what's the things to see and do over there. Got kids aged 4 and 8 so need to keep them entertained.
What beaches are considered the best? Preferably sand not pebbles.
Thought there may be some good suggestions from the collective
Thanks in advance

Don't forget your travel jabs! LOL. Someone booked into a travel clinic at our practice because they were going to the IoW. I kid ye not. Unfortunately there's no vaccine for being transported to the 1960s

Ha. I can believe it. Wife was panicking cos the passports had run out and panicking if phone would work "abroad"😳

We have just got back a week ago, second year in a row to the "Island of White" as my son calls it. My 2 are 8 & 6 and we kept busy all week. Shanklin Chine, Model Village, Robin Hill, Amazon World Zoo park, Isle of Wight Zoo, Carisbrooke castle, The Owl and Monkey Haven to name a few we have done in the past two years. the needles is very expensive plus having to pay to park. We stayed on white cliff bay which had its own access to private sandy beach and only went on the beach once as the weather was pants.

Shanklin beach is nice and sandy, just make sure you check tide times

Cheers

Andy

Thanks andy.
Will take a look at those places.
We are staying at whitecliff bay to coincidentally. We will be taking our caravan.

Love the comment about 1960's

as its sooo true

I think Andy covered it!

we have been 4yrs in a row now, kids are now 2 and almost 4.

also Ryde beach and up to Yaverland beach - opposite the IOW zoo and BlackGang chine.

you get a pretty good magazine on the ferry,

We stay in Niton and the Buddle Inn is very good.

Blackgang Chine, if it's not yet fallen into the sea! & Fishermans cottage (might be Fishermans wharf, it's a long time since I went!), I think that's at the bottom of Shanklin Chine, which is very pretty & a pleasant walk, there's a nice pub there for lunch & kids can play on the beach, plus all the bits mentioned above! ^^^

If you fancy something completely different there are a couple of grass airstrips at Bembridge & Sandown, not been to Bembridge, but Sandown has a nice little cafe & you can watch GA aircraft & microlights taking off & landing, might keep the kids entertained for an hour or so.

[Edited on 29/7/15 by russbost]

Needles rocket testing station

There is one pub near the centre, I can't remember what it's called but as soon as we tried it we went back there every night. Even my daughter loved the food.

We were initially concerned about the lack of entertainment, but we actually ran out of time and didn't manage everything. And even if it's on the wrong side of the island, it's still less than an hour to get there.

We also made a stop off at Legoland for a day before we headed over, it's a bit far south for us normally but it started the holiday off really nicely.

Love the IOW and yes it sure is stuck in a time warp .... but hey that can be a very nice feeling.

Fantastic for young children especially the attractions mentioned earlier, i'll add Haven Street steam railway which my lad loved when he was younger.
You might get lucky too as the island does have a few nice little car shows as well.

The good news is your children fall exactly in the age bracket to enjoy the island, Robin hill country park should run them out of steam ..... take a picnic.

You will pick up plenty of leaflets on the ferry, and a tip for the ferry wherever you sail from .... take your own food snacks onboard as the Que can be long.

Myself and mrs bob go back on our own for a week every year for a propper relax.

Oh i forgot the steam railway, how could I when they encouraged me and my 2yr old to go up into the cab when it was waiting at a station.. The fire is really hot! (of course!)

Alum Bay has (sadly) been turned into commercialised Wally World, BUT, you can still fill assorted clear animals/lighthouses/reptiles etc. with the different coloured sands and our kids really enjoyed doing that.....remember not to shake it!

There's also a chairlift to the beach but your kids might be too young in which case it's a steep walk to the pebble beach (if you find my daughters bracelet let me know....a victim of stone skimming!). You can also walk along to the Needles from here too.

Really like the IoW, hasn't changed significantly from my holidays there with my parents in the 70's.

quote:

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Originally posted by steve m
Love the comment about 1960's........as its sooo true

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Born here, grew up here and raised a family here. Wouldn't want to live anywhere else.

We take everything for granted as it's normal everyday life but driving round I can see why people come here for their holidays.

Stunning views, sandy beaches, relaxed way of life etc etc.

Most of the attractions have been covered above but a couple others would be Osborne House and Fort Victoria. Dinosaur Isle is another. They also organise fossil hunting along the beaches which the kids would enjoy.

If you need a break from the the little ones we have a very good car club. Events are every two or three weeks so there may be one when you are here.

This is one we ran yesterday.

https://youtu.be/zMry-Hogdtg

Come along and have a look or even have a go yourself. Check out www.iowcc.co.uk for the calendar.