Located centrally in the UK, the Isle of Man is linked to its
immediate neighbours and to the rest of the world by excellent air,
sea, postal and telecommunications systems.
Good and passengers travelling to and from the island benefit from
the Customs Union Agreement with the United Kingdom, which means
that no customs and passport controls are necessary.
Air
Ronaldsway Airport is located near
Castletown, 9 miles to the south of Douglas - the capital of the
island.
Frequent flights are provided to and from London (Gatwick and
City), Manchester, Liverpool, Belfast, Dublin, Birmingham,
Blackpool, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Newcastle, Bristol,
Stansted and Gloucester.
Onward international flight connections can be accessed easily,
although seasonal direct flights to selected European holiday
destinations are also offered in the summer months.
Sea
The Island's principal port is Douglas, which has
deep-water berths and facilities for handling passengers, freight
vehicles, general cargoes, bulk oil and gas cargoes, and is a
regular port of call for cruise liners.
The Isle of
Man Steam Packet provides a regular passenger ferry service to
and from Liverpool, Heysham (a modern port located near to
Lancaster), Dublin and Belfast. Cars can
be transported at an extra cost.
Roads
The Isle of Man has over 500 miles of relatively
uncongested public roads and many more miles of public
footpaths.
Manx law on road traffic is similar to that of the UK, though
driving licences can be obtained aged 16, and no
motorways are in operation.
Douglas and other major towns all have their own taxi-fleets, and
the Government is also responsible for a comprehensive all-Island
bus service.
Postal
The Island's Post Office became independent of the British
Post Office in 1973 and provides a comprehensive, efficient range
of services similar to those in the UK, geared towards the finance
sector.
All letter mail posted locally is treated as first class, and
outgoing letters are sent by chartered aircraft daily throughout
the week - enabling next day delivery in the UK. Parcels and
large packages of up to 30kg are conveyed in and out of the Island
daily by sea.
Telecommunications
Since July 2014 all residents on the Isle of Man have been
able to enjoy a high speed 4G service, supplied by locally
registered company Manx Telecom. It was created in 1986, and
has continually created rapid developments in the Island's
communications services (in 2001 it became the first mobile
operator in Europe to switch on a live 3G service).
SURE mobile, a subsidiary of Cable and Wireless Group, also now
offers mobile telephone services on the Island - thus bringing a
competitive edge to the telecommunications market.