Isle of Man Travel Guide

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A Weekend on the Isle of Man: Prop Planes at Ronaldsway Airport

October 14, 2011 at 5:17 PM | by | Comments (0)

The Isle of Man is a mysterious place, a nearly sovereign territory out in the middle of the choppy Irish Sea between England and Ireland. What sort of people live there? What's there to see and do? These are all questions we wanted to answer, so we went ourselves...because why not? All this week we'll be sharing our experiences in this curious island destination.

There's thousands and thousands (tens of thousands?) of itty-bitty, obscure airports out there around the world, but after a visit to the Isle of Man's Ronaldsway Airport, we think we've found one of the coolest. If you aren't getting to the Irish Sea island by ferry, then you're landing here and likely in a small prop plane.

Flights come in from London-City, London-Gatwick, Blackpool, Glasgow, Dublin, Belfast, Manchester and a few others destinations sprinkled about, but may we recommend hopping a Manx2 plane for the most authentic experience? Yep, the Isle of Man has its own airline.

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A Weekend on the Isle of Man: Castles, More Castles and Some Crazy History

October 13, 2011 at 5:55 PM | by | Comments (0)

The Isle of Man is a mysterious place, a nearly sovereign territory out in the middle of the choppy Irish Sea between England and Ireland. What sort of people live there? What's there to see and do? These are all questions we wanted to answer, so we went ourselves...because why not? All this week we'll be sharing our experiences in this curious island destination.

Like you need another reason to rent a car and drive around the Isle of Man, but we have to say that the transition between architecture on the island is something else. It's like this: BOOM you're at a castle. BOOM you're on a Victorian promenade. BOOM you're along a harbour with a tide so low the boats stick in the mud. BOOM it's a fishing village. BOOM another castle. BOOM another castle. Yea, it's awesome. And here's the thing, that's only in a couple hours of exploring.

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A Weekend on the Isle of Man: Tracking Down Rare Money, Rare Stamps and Good Coffee

October 12, 2011 at 5:09 PM | by | Comments (0)

The Isle of Man is a mysterious place, a nearly sovereign territory out in the middle of the choppy Irish Sea between England and Ireland. What sort of people live there? What's there to see and do? These are all questions we wanted to answer, so we went ourselves...because why not? All this week we'll be sharing our experiences in this curious island destination.

The Isle of Man is not a particularly warm place. It may be an island, but keep in mind that it's an island in the Irish Sea, with a population more used to drizzle and wind than sun and gentle breezes. We went in the summer and still froze our butts off in certain areas (like the top of Mount Snaefell and The Ayres).

That said, the Isle of Man does know how to make itself special enough to warrant visit after visit, and that's by producing its own currency, its own stamps, and some unexpectedly damn fine coffee.

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A Weekend on the Isle of Man: Driving a Mountain Race Circuit Without Speed Limits

October 12, 2011 at 10:14 AM | by | Comments (0)

The Isle of Man is a mysterious place, a nearly sovereign territory out in the middle of the choppy Irish Sea between England and Ireland. What sort of people live there? What's there to see and do? These are all questions we wanted to answer, so we went ourselves...because why not? All this week we'll be sharing our experiences in this curious island destination.

Step off the jet catamaran ferry from Liverpool onto the pier in Isle of Man's capital of Douglas, and you'll immediately figure out why so many people enjoy venturing out to this island and especially with their cars and motorcycles: it's home to one of the most prestigious street race circuits in the world, a mountain course celebrated each year with a motorcycle race called the TT (Tourist Trophy).

The Isle of Man TT happens in late May or early June each year, and though our visit fell with about ten more months to go until the next one, TT souvenirs and flags were everywhere. The famous Manx roads—"Manx" is the word for anything Isle of Man-ish—are a year-round attraction, and you know we weren't leaving without some time spent on the race-striped curves and speed limitless roads. That's right—there's no speed limit in some parts of the island!

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A Weekend on the Isle of Man: Setting Sail on the Steam-Packet Ferry

October 10, 2011 at 5:05 PM | by | Comment (1)

The Isle of Man is a mysterious place, a nearly sovereign territory out in the middle of the choppy Irish Sea between England and Ireland. What sort of people live there? What's there to see and do? These are all questions we wanted to answer, so we went ourselves...because why not? All this week we'll be sharing our experiences in this curious island destination.

We'd been in London too long. It was time for a sidetrip, and with Liverpool only two hours away by train and the Isle of Man only another two hours by ferry from there, the mini-adventure was a no-brainer. If we were actually close enough with time enough to make it to the Isle of Man, then by all means we were going to go.

Some hotel price comparisons later, we decided on a holiday package from the ferry company Steam-Packet (the only ferry company between Liverpool and Isle of Man), for 109 GBP ($170) per person for two nights' hotel and roundtrip ferry tickets. Not bad! If you're thinking of going anytime soon, the price has dropped to 99 GBP and here's the link.

Anyways, all aboard!

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Foreign Grocery Friday: 'Queenies,' or Queen Scallops on the Isle of Man

July 22, 2011 at 11:54 AM | by | Comments (0)

When we travel, one of our favorite things to do is to pop into a local grocery store and check out the food products and candies we'd never find anywhere else. So we're trying out this new feature, Foreign Grocery Friday, where each week we'll feature some of our (and your) favorite overseas treats. Got a recommendation? Let us know!

They're the cutest little scallops you'll likely ever eat, and some of the rarest too, since Queen Scallops—or "Manx Queenies" as they're more popularly called—are a specialty of the Isle of Man. This small island situated in the Irish Sea between England and Ireland is technically British, but also technically not. It's no member of the EU, it prints its own Pound Sterling paper money and coins, has its own postal system and government and proudly flies its triskelion flag seemingly every few feet.

A two-hour jet catamaran ferry trip from Liverpool brings travelers into the capital harbour of Douglas, and into the land of the Queenie. When we visited the island for the heck of it last week, we rented a car and headed to the west side of the island, for a smaller town experience and some Queen Scallops in the castle-topped town of Peel.

The taste: Just as succulent as regular scallops, the Queenies differentiate themselves by being both way tinier and much sweeter. Unfortunately this means it's easy to pop one after the other into your mouth and polish off the plate quickly. Resist the urge, as Queenies are not only rare, but the harvesting of them is highly regulated. There'll be no all-you-can-eat deals like on cheap shrimp at Red Lobster.

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Never Alone Travel: Zac Efron Can't Even Mystic Tan without His Bodyguards

March 11, 2008 at 9:10 AM | by | Comments (0)

Pity the teen star whose fame is bigger than he is. Tweens' number-one prom date Zac Efron (of "High School Musical" fame) went all the way to the Isle of Man to make his latest movie, "Me and Orson Welles," directed by "Before Sunrise" auteur Richard Linklater

But Efron's fans have followed him even there. So he's got himself 24-hour bodyguards, making photos like these the last his fans might ever see of him without being dwarfed by a six-foot-plus angry dude.

In the movie, Efron plays a 17-year-old discovered by the famous film director to star in his stage version of "Romeo and Juliet." It's funny, because his character in "High School Musical" is just like a modern-day Romeo--except without the tragedy.

Related Stories:
· Zac Efron Forced To Hire Bodyguards [ICYDK]
· Old Men Like To Take Their PYTs To Gramercy Park Hotel's Rose Bar [HotelChatter]
· Celeb Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Just Jared]

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