Isle of Man - Travel Guide

Isle of Man is an island in British Isles in Irish Sea and it is tucked in between islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is one of the British Crown dependencies meaning that it is not a part of United Kingdom and the UK government is responsible for foreign affairs and defense. This island has a government with the Chief Minister being the head and a parliament known as Tynwald. There are several destinations worthy visiting at the Isle of Man like the delightful village of Laxey. This village is famous for is large water wheel. The Calf of Man is a small bird sanctuary on the Island and Port St Mary, Port Erin and Douglas are worthy a visit. 

There are several airlines offering regular flight services to Isle of Man and the area is easily accessible from other cities like Edinburgh, Liverpool, Manchester, Dublin, London, Belfast and Birmingham among others. There are not so many attractions to see Isle of Man but it is none the less worthy a visit. The world famous TT races in Isle of Man are held annually and attract many motorcycling tourists who are interested in experiencing high speed, legal riding during the event. Snaefell is the island’s highest point and you are at this summit, one can see six kingdoms of Britain which include Scotland, Wales, England, Heaven, Isle of Man and Ireland. This is a unique experience that you will definitely wish to enjoy and a hiking trail will take you less than an hour to reach the summit. 

Hiking is an exciting activity in Isle of Man and there are many footpaths and walking trails on the island with Raad ny Foillan being the most significant one and translates to The Way of Gull. The island has many of the major chain stores in UK especially in Douglas which is the area’s capital. You can enjoy an incredibly great shopping experience at the Boots, Waterstone’s, WH Smith, Spencer and Marks. Shoprite is a chain of supermarket at Isle of Man that sells almost any item you can think of buying. Food at Isle of Man is incredibly good and there are great bistros and restaurants on the island. Chips and fish are very popular and some food kiosks also sell crabs baps. 

There are two breweries in Isle of Man which include the Bushy’s and Okells. The beer purity law in the Isle of Man requires that beer shouldn’t have any extra ingredients apart from malt, hops, yeast and water. Most of the hotels and accommodation facilities are found in Douglas and their standards vary considerably. The island has no university but University of Liverpool offers some courses to the locals. Generally, Isle of Man is a relatively safe place but as usual you will need to use some commonsense in order to stay safe. You should keep in mind the fact that Isle of Man is a socially conservative destination and even though some social aspects like homosexuality are legalized, they are not tolerated widely.