A Bit Of All Wight - Isle of Wight accommodation, restaurants, things to do, beaches, nightlife - the selective guide to the Isle of Wight: abitofallwight.com

IOW - The Isle of Wight - accommodation, restaurants, things to do, beaches, nightlife

This is the selective guide to accommodation (hotels, self catering), restaurants and nightlife on the Isle of Wight (IOW). A guide to the IOW for discerning visitors.

Where can you find stunning beaches, boutique hotels and a very high standard of accommodation, gorgeous countryside, spectacular rocky cliffs, fresh sea food and fashionable restaurants, scene after scene of splendid countryside? Cornwall? Devon? No - the Isle of Wight - and it only takes a couple of hours to get there from London.

The Isle of Wight has in recent years reinvented itself and caught the eye of people who have realised that after an easy run down the A3/M3, the Isle of Wight is accessible as they could hope for and yet a million miles from the day to day trudge of everyday life. Its a short break destination, or great for an easy no-flights-required holiday. Or perhaps just a day trip.

This guide is designed to help you make the most of the IOW. It is by no means a complete guide - we have simply singled out what we consider to be the best things about the island - your blueprint for a perfect trip. And we've focused on the essentials: accommodation (hotels, self catering, cottages etc), restaurants, nightlife and things to do.

The island is very contrasting so we have broken it down by area. So accommodation information (hotels, self catering, cottages etc) can be found area by selecting the area you'd like to visit.

Newport is the IOW's administrative heart, best for shopping and transport. It is a pleasant town, but most visitors head for the coast and beaches. Cowes is perhaps the best known of the waterside towns, for it is here that the Cowes sailing regatta is held every year. A good standard of hotels and restaurants and easy ferry connections (Red Funnel) makes this ideal for a quick hop across the Solent.

Ryde is more traditional beach town, with lots of shopping, hotels and nightlife. It is also a major transport hub with ferries, buses, trains and hovercraft converging on the seafront. In total contrast, Seaview is a delightfully quaint little village on the water, with some superb accommodation and excellent restaurants. Big, brash and noisy, Sandown is to the IOW what Margate is to Kent. Fish and chip shops jostle for position with hotels, cheap and cheerful holiday apartments, pubs, clubs and fry-em-up restaurants. Next door Shanklin is a different matter. Equally touristy, but the old town is beautiful and well preserved. Plenty of accommodation to suit: hotels, self catering apartments, cottages and pubs/inns.

Gorgeous, rambling and getting trendier each year, comeback kid Ventnor has some of the best accommodation and restaurants on the island. A beautiful Victorian town with a lovely beach, the town has been revived in recent years with the emergence of some seriously good restaurants and hotels. There are also plenty of self catering apartments around - although Ventnor is refreshingly un-touristy.

For natural, unspoilt nature then make to South West Wight. Raggedy cliffs, deserted beaches (if you're lucky!) and breathtaking views. A bit lacking in the accommodation stakes, but all the better for it. The biggest town around here is Freshwater - perfectly situated for exploring the area. Another ferry port, but gentle Yarmouth is like stepping back in time. Excellent restaurants (Michelin starred, no less) and a 5* hotel make this (along with Cowes) another great spot for a quick break in the Isle of Wight. If you want to get away from it all, head inland and very quickly you will discover the many miles of bridleway, cycle tracks and walkways of Rural Wight.