Took the Portsmouth and Isle of Wight tour. Very knowledgeable and friendly tour guide with plenty of history to tell. They made it clear what time you need to be back at the coach whenever you stopped. Realistically there is not much time to do a lot of exploring at Portsmouth or Isle of Wight but it is handy to get a guided service around the place if you're not familiar with it and the day is not long enough to get everything done. In Portsmouth I had enough time to take the HMS Victory tour (without audio, just walking through) and seeing one of the boat houses. Alternatively, I would have had enough time to visit some shops on the Gunwhwarf Quays or maybe a *quick* visit to the Spinnaker tower. In Godshill I had enough time to visit a fossil & gem shop, see the free entry gardens behind Smithy's and the chocolate shop. Alternatively you could use the time to get some food at the cafe (expect queues and lots of other tourists). If you prefer to use the time for sightseeing then bring a packed lunch and have it on the ferry instead. The bus took a very scenic route after that down the the most Southerly point of England and then all along the coast up to The Needles. Unfortunately the whole row of shops and attractions at the Needles was shut that day due to no water supply so all we could do was walk down the many steps to the beach. If it had been open I would have used the chair lift. On the way back the bus goes through The New Forest where you see a nice bit of forest and some wild ponies. It is a fairly long drive back after that or at least it felt like it.

Sinead W | 23-Sep-2018
Isle of Wight

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