There had been plenty of posts about auto vs manual tranny already. If you want advice from a professionnal, check out :
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6485
This guy posts amazing things in this forum.
I ended up getting an AT, because this is my DD and I don't live anywhere near the mountain roads.. You should check out both and see for yourself. I find this AT amazing though, it rev matches, it is very responsive, and I don't think you'll regret getting it over a manual. I suppose they are both really fun