Help needed re trip to Isle of Man TT
Discussion
My Dad turns 50 next year and the family and I would like to do something a bit special for him.
He has always been in to cars, but bikes were his first love &, before my sister & I came along, he spent many years faithfully attending the Isle of Man TT races.
We have decided therefore to send him (and my mum) on a surprise trip there for 08 race. The trouble is I haven't the faintest idea how to go about organising this!
Does anyone know of a firm/firms that sell packages to the race (i.e travel, tickets, hotel, etc.)? Or is it just a case of booking it all separately?
Any ideas/advice would be appreciated, particularly from people who attend/have attended the TT and can recommend places to stay & spectate from.
He has always been in to cars, but bikes were his first love &, before my sister & I came along, he spent many years faithfully attending the Isle of Man TT races.
We have decided therefore to send him (and my mum) on a surprise trip there for 08 race. The trouble is I haven't the faintest idea how to go about organising this!
Does anyone know of a firm/firms that sell packages to the race (i.e travel, tickets, hotel, etc.)? Or is it just a case of booking it all separately?
Any ideas/advice would be appreciated, particularly from people who attend/have attended the TT and can recommend places to stay & spectate from.
Right then - first decision is practice week or race week. Practice starts on the Saturday before bank holiday (May 26th ish). You also get the Pre-TT Classic racing on the Billown Circuit on the Sat and Mon. Practice is is Sat, Mon - Fri, nothing happens on Sunday of practice week.
Race week starts Saturday after bank hol (Jun 4th ish) with Superbike and Sidecar A race. Then it's Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
So, practice week gives you daytime to enjoy the island and evening for practice from 6-9pm. Race week means the circuit's shut so you could have trouble moving about the island.
If you want to take a car then you'll need Steam Packet for the ferry, get this sorted quick. You can only book "roughly" when you want to travel as they normally change this. Easiest way is to fly, check Manx Air, Flybe or just look at the airport for routes. You can then hire a car from the airport. We did this for for 3 years until I got the Vette and I take the ferry while my dad takes the plane.
As for hotels, ring the tourist board. They know everything you need to know. Pick the location, Douglas has the raceweek evening stuff on the prom, everywhere else is an unknown to me for night time fun. You could also look for home-stay, I use this for race week. The family move out, we move in.
So, thats enough for now, practice or race week, ferry or plane, hotel or homestay.
As for where to watch have a look at iomtt.com as the forum there is full of ideas.
Feel free to PM...
Race week starts Saturday after bank hol (Jun 4th ish) with Superbike and Sidecar A race. Then it's Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
So, practice week gives you daytime to enjoy the island and evening for practice from 6-9pm. Race week means the circuit's shut so you could have trouble moving about the island.
If you want to take a car then you'll need Steam Packet for the ferry, get this sorted quick. You can only book "roughly" when you want to travel as they normally change this. Easiest way is to fly, check Manx Air, Flybe or just look at the airport for routes. You can then hire a car from the airport. We did this for for 3 years until I got the Vette and I take the ferry while my dad takes the plane.
As for hotels, ring the tourist board. They know everything you need to know. Pick the location, Douglas has the raceweek evening stuff on the prom, everywhere else is an unknown to me for night time fun. You could also look for home-stay, I use this for race week. The family move out, we move in.
So, thats enough for now, practice or race week, ferry or plane, hotel or homestay.
As for where to watch have a look at iomtt.com as the forum there is full of ideas.
Feel free to PM...
Edited by Vette_1978 on Wednesday 24th October 19:20
Vette_1978 said:
Right then - first decision is practice week or race week. Practice starts on the Saturday before bank holiday (May 26th ish). You also get the Pre-TT Classic racing on the Billown Circuit on the Sat and Mon. Practice is is Sat, Mon - Fri, nothing happens on Sunday os practice week.
Race week starts Saturday after bank hol (Jun 4th ish) with Superbike and Sidecar A race. Then it's Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
So, practice week gives you daytime to enjoy the island and evening for practice from 6-9pm. Race week means the circuit's shut so you could have trouble moving about the island.
If you want to take a car then you'll need Steam Packet for the ferry, get this sorted quick. You can only book "roughly" when you want to travel as they normally change this. Easiest way is to fly, check Manx Air, Flybe or just look at the airport for routes. You can then hire a car from the airport. We did this for for 3 years until I got the Vette and I take the ferry while my dad takes the plane.
As for hotels, ring the tourist board. They know everything you need to know. Pick the location, Douglas has the raceweek evening stuff on the prom, everywhere else is an unknown to me to night time fun. You could also look for home-stay, I use this for race week. The family move out, we move in.
So, thats enough for now, practice or race week, ferry or plane, hotel or homestay.
As for where to watch have a look at iomtt.com as the forum there is full of ideas.
Thank you, excellent info. Race week starts Saturday after bank hol (Jun 4th ish) with Superbike and Sidecar A race. Then it's Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
So, practice week gives you daytime to enjoy the island and evening for practice from 6-9pm. Race week means the circuit's shut so you could have trouble moving about the island.
If you want to take a car then you'll need Steam Packet for the ferry, get this sorted quick. You can only book "roughly" when you want to travel as they normally change this. Easiest way is to fly, check Manx Air, Flybe or just look at the airport for routes. You can then hire a car from the airport. We did this for for 3 years until I got the Vette and I take the ferry while my dad takes the plane.
As for hotels, ring the tourist board. They know everything you need to know. Pick the location, Douglas has the raceweek evening stuff on the prom, everywhere else is an unknown to me to night time fun. You could also look for home-stay, I use this for race week. The family move out, we move in.
So, thats enough for now, practice or race week, ferry or plane, hotel or homestay.
As for where to watch have a look at iomtt.com as the forum there is full of ideas.
Think he would prefer race week and will probably want fly over.
Hum .. think I had better get booking quick!
Edited by Jacs on Wednesday 24th October 19:28
Jacs said:
Thank you, excellent info.
Think he would prefer race week and will probably want fly over.
Hum .. think I had better get booking quick!
I normally get to book my dads flight December time with Flybe. They only go up to March at the moment. If you keep an eye on it you should be able to get the flights you want.Think he would prefer race week and will probably want fly over.
Hum .. think I had better get booking quick!
If you're going to sort out a car have a look at this:
http://www.gov.im/airport/parking/carhire.xml
We used to use Mylchreests and have a Ford Ka to run around in but it's worth getting this looked at aswell as TT is obviously a popular time.
condor said:
I'd got the preliminary dates down as 16/8/08-29/8/08. Have they changed them then? I was considering going for a few days just to soak up the atmosphere.
16th Aug - 28th Aug is the Manx GP I think.TT Practice week Saturday 24th May - Friday 30th.
Race week Saturday 31st May - Friday 6th June
The TT is the proper (kind of factory) supported racing with HM Plant, AIM, MacAdoo, Hydrex Honda and all the road racing legends. The Manx GP is the amateur racing on the full mountain circuit.
A lad I met at the TT this year may do the MGP next year so I might head over for that aswell. The main TT though has all the Douglas prom entertainment, Red Arrows etc.
A lad I met at the TT this year may do the MGP next year so I might head over for that aswell. The main TT though has all the Douglas prom entertainment, Red Arrows etc.
Edited by Vette_1978 on Friday 26th October 23:15
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