“Ah, you’ve come over the water. Powerful wet stuff, ain’t it?”
― C.S. Lewis, The Voyage of the “Dawn Treader”

When I was booking my trip to Ireland and the United Kingdom, I was doing so looking at a map. And on that map, Isle of Man caught my eye. This tiny little country between the two ones I was visiting seemed like the perfect stop over!

I should clarify that it’s not truly its own country as far as I know (I’m no expert on this political stuff). It still remains listed as a colony I believe, but regardless it has its own currency and flag and still seemed like an adventure.

So I set out from Dublin by bus over to the ferry port. And from there I took a ferry to Douglas, Isle of Man.

The ferry was decent value for the price. I booked my next trip in Greece and my word the ferry was expensive! Regardless it seemed like a fairly easy option for how to get to this island I was set on visiting.

I went for an Airbnb as there really aren’t really any hostels on the island and hotels weren’t cheap. I think if you’re more outdoorsy you could do camping or something, but I sadly don’t have the equipment with me to do so. So Airbnb it was.

I stayed in a garden pod on a lovely property not too far from Douglas, which was a very fun setting.

I will warn future visitors that you should probably just take a cab there, as it will be easier. I took the bus to quarter bridge road and then walked the rest of the way, but it is up a steep hill and was a little confusing to access, and the bus is across a very busy road.

Regardless I stopped in and dropped off my bags. The setup was very cute and again the best option for someone looking to stay only a night in a semi-cheap accommodation. It’s not glamorous, but it works.

After dropping my stuff I took the bus to head over to Peel, a town on the opposite coast of the island. It’s like a 30 minute ride from Douglas over, and I was hoping to head to the castle.

Sadly, I forgot the castle closes at 4, so no luck for me. But still I was able to wander along the coast and enjoy the sights and get some good shots of the castle from the outside. I also hiked up Peel Hill? Mountain? I cannot remember. The town itself was also very quaint and cute. Some pretty old churches and cottages and then the fun marina. It’s just a lovely place to visit, so if you’re on Isle of Man make sure to get over to Peel.

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I enjoyed the views. I was tempted to hike to a tower, but it was a fair distance away, and I was getting hungry. So I decided to take the bus back to Douglas for food. I walked around town a little, though again any museums or anything to see was closed at that point, but with the rain gone it was still nice to be able to explore a little bit and enjoy the town.

I ended up just going to one of the first places I could find, down near the harbor. It was a seafood place called Tanroagan Seafood Restaurant. I had some delicious local beer and fish and chips! The other more creative dishes looked amazing too, but I was trying to be budget. I loved that they brought different kinds of bread to your table and you chose which one you wanted. Very fun! Cute place and nice location. I was very pleased overall.

Then took the bus back to my Airbnb. Was pretty tired out and knew I needed to get an early night’s sleep to have some time in the morning to explore.