Mike,
Check the ferry bookings on
http://www.steam-packet.com for the dates you want for Dublin to Isle of Man and return. If you're sure about those dates and they're available, book them now. The sailings fill up fast. We wanted to fly into and (or) out of Dublin in order to spend a day or two there, but couldn't coordinate the whole business with our flights, the ferry times, etc. . . due to our late planning.
We ended up flying our of San Diego, through JFK, and into Manchester arriving Saturday the 2nd of June. We couldn't get on a ferry that same day, so we spent a Saturday night over in Liverpool (epic place to spend a Saturday night BTW), and sailed early Sunday morning. Coming back, no ferry was available so we opted for a FlyBe jet back to Manchester, found a place for the night, and headed home early yesterday, arriving in San Diego last night.
FlyBe out of Dublin might also be an option, but the airport is in Castleton, about 10 or so miles out of the where the main action is (paddock, downtown Douglas, start/finish line, vendors), whereas the ferry terminal is right in downtown Douglas, or within a very short walk anyway. We rented a car, and are glad we did, but if you've never A: Driven on the left side of the road or B: Driven on ridiculously skinny little roads with two way traffic, it can be quite an experience coming from the wide roads of SoCal.
Myself, I enjoyed it immensely, but my brother wanted absolutely no part of driving a manual shift right hand drive car anywhere at all. It's a challenge that could very easily end in tears if you're not up to it. Lots of buses and cabs to get you around though. Double deckers everywhere, London cabs, etc. . . I'm not sure where you could rent a bike but I do know they're available if on a pretty limited basis.
There is a RBS branch in Douglas, and a few other banks as well. They have no problem accepting Sterling anywhere you go but the Manx pounds (same value) are not as welcome back in the UK. Most anyplace on the IOM will be happy to give you your change in Sterling, or simply swap out your bills for Sterling before you leave. I have no idea where Ireland stands on that. If you're going to be buying Pounds, I suggest getting them from an ATM as your cc company will usually give you the best exchange rate. Whatever you do, don't buy or sell your currency at the airport if at all possible. I made that mistake. I bought some Pounds there, paying $1.71 (the actual rate was in the $1.60 ballpark), and trying to sell them back before we left, the currency exchange there only offered $1.31 / Pound! Quite a racket.
Due to some good luck at the casino, I had a few hundred extra, and I just brought them home with me instead of selling them back at that horrid rate. Maybe a bank or you're local branch at home would do better? I don't know. I'm selling mine to my brother for $1.50 who will use them sooner than I will most likely
FlyBe isn't a bad way to go if you book your flights early. Book late and you will pay full fare, which isn't pretty. We managed to do the whole thing with some help and advice from forum members and no travel agent assistance. Lots to see and do if you like to just soak up the local flavor and as you know, motorcycle people are generally good people. The crime rate is virtually nil. Everyone who heard our obviously American voices seemed to want to talk to us which was great fun. I was very surprised at how few Americans we ran into there as well. I think, including Randy Mamola and Kevin Schwantz, we spoke with about six fellow Yanks.
I'm certainly no expert, but considered our trip a complete success and a true highlight of my life. I'm not sure what I could do better next time actually. Wi-fi is hard to come by there. The Costa coffee shop in the Ferry Terminal has excellent, free, open wi-fi (and fantastic coffee), as does the Creg-ny-baa (you do have to ask for the password there) which we made our way to three times! We also just picked up a couple of the cheap cell phones on the ferry ride over and they worked perfectly, were easy to "top-up" and we're an economical way to stay in touch with home.
All for now!
Gar
