My husband & I will be visiting IOW next spring for a week. So...
1. What is the best paperback guide book to buy about it?
Do we need a rental car or will public transportation be sufficient? We plan to explore as much of the island as we can we my husband's ancestors are from IOW.
Any suggestions on where to stay? Our budget is a flexible $125 USD per night .
Thanks in advance your your assistance,
Debbie
I found public transportation on the island to be very good. But I was only traveling among the major sights and population centers - if you're tracking down ancestors, you might be interested in going further off the beaten track. Have a look here at where the buses do and don't go: http://www.islandbuses.info/page.shtml?pageid=1263
Can't help you on guidebooks (didn't have one) or places to stay (I stayed in a little B&B whose name I forget and that wasn't very good in any case).
There aren't that many guide books for the Isle of Wight however if I were to buy one I would probably opt for the Rough Guide to Hampshire, Dorset and the Isle of Wight.
I have always driven on the island as it's so much easier for us to take the car over although I have travelled on foot on one occasion for a pub crawl and I took the hovercraft over. Train coverage is relatively poor there however the bus network is quite good. If you're looking to explore the island and investigate your husbands ancestral links then I would opt for a car.
There are many options for accommodation. I can't recommend any in particular as we've always gone over on day trips however I was looking at a long weekend a few weeks ago (we ended up going to York instead!) and renting a cottage was our preferred option. Homeaway and Airbnb have plenty of choice.
I would recommend this site: https://www.isleofwightguru.co.uk as there is plenty of information on there written by, I assume, a local.
There are quite a few English Heritage sites on the Isle of Wight so if you are interested in visiting them then it may be prudent to purchase an overseas visitor pass, likewise the National Trust.
Thanks for the responses. We think using public transportation will work for us. Can hardly wait for the suggested guide book to arrive.--Debbie
