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Sandown Bay holiday chalet

The Isle of Wight has long been known as The Garden Isle and it is noted for its warm climate, stunning scenery and friendly welcome. The Isle of Wight became popular in the Victorian Era, when Queen Victoria made Osborne House her home.

The Island has miles of sandy beaches and the main resorts are Shanklin, Sandown, Ventnor, Ryde, Seaview and Bembridge.

Ferries to the Isle of Wight for cars come from Portsmouth to Fishbourne, Yarmouth to Lymington and Southampton to East Cowes, whilst foot passengers can use the fast ferry crossings from Southampton to Cowes and Portsmouth to Ryde.

The Hovercraft from Southsea to Ryde is the quickest way to cross the Solent but is for foot passengers only.

Known as 'The Garden Isle', this jewel of England indeed resembles a diamond in shape - being some 23 miles west to east, from The Needles to Bembridge, and 13 miles north to south, from Cowes to St. Catherine's Point. This, the smallest, and perhaps the most geographically diverse, of England's counties covers just 147 square miles and is bounded by about 60 miles of coastline. Within this watery border of the Solent to the north and the English Channel to the south lies 'an England in miniature'.

Here is an independent review of Sandown.
Sandown is situated on the east coast of the beautiful island of the 'Isle of Wight'. It is situated between the resorts of Bembridge and Shanklin and it is easy to get to by either travelling along the coastal road or on the A3055.

Sandown beach front has spectacular views. To the north, you can see the edge of Culver cliff, with its spectacular white cliffs. To the south is Sandown pier and further along, the beach at Shanklin.

There are plenty of different things to do at Sandown, to keep the entire family amused.

On a lazy, warm Summer day, the beach is an ideal place to relax, watching the waves lapping onto the sandy beach. Or maybe for a more active beach experience, how about a game of rounders, football, bat and ball or frisbee on the beach??

For those shopaholics, there is a main high street, with a range of different shops to explore, although there are no major chains here. There is also a pretty good fish and chip shop along this street, which is well worth a visit. My tip is to take your fish and chips onto the beach promenade during a warm evening...Lovely!!

If you prefer a bit of gambling, the pier is well worth a visit, with an amusement arcade to suit all ages. Here you will find the usual fruit machines, but there is also a mini bowling alley, a restaurant, a take away wimpy and crazy golf. The crazy golf is worth a go, as it is built on several levels and has sound effects and flashing lights, making it even trickier to concentrate!

For an indoor attraction, 'Dinosaur Isle' is worth a visit. Here you will find both replica and real dinosaur fossils, many of which have actually been found on the island and lots of life size dinosaur models. This attraction is very interesting and informative; although it is not massive and will probably only keep you amused for an hour or two. It also has an interesting shop to explore.

The Isle of Wight zoo is another attraction on the island that is worth a visit. Like many of the island attractions, the zoo is not massive and certainly not on the same scale as many of the zoos in England, but it is a great family attraction. The zoo is famous for its tigers as seen on TV.

I would definitely recommend that you visit Sandown during a trip to the Isle of Wight.