Jersey & Guernsey - hints and tips

Jersey & Guernsey - hints and tips

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matt3001

Original Poster:

1,991 posts

203 months

Tuesday 24th May 2022
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Off there in 3 weeks - any good tips - things to do, cafes, restaurants, beaches, bars etc etc

The G Kid

811 posts

129 months

Tuesday 24th May 2022
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Guernsey- IMO the best places to eat are Red (Steaks), Tinto (small Tapas bar), China Red (Cantonese), Reunion (fantastic location on the west coast). Drinks on the terrace of the Imperial also good in the afternoon/evening, as can be the Rockmount (below the Reunion). Fermain Beach Cafe also a good spot for lunch (less so later on as it loses the sun). Auberge can also be good, but it's not by the sea.

The G Kid

811 posts

129 months

Tuesday 24th May 2022
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Beaches can be a bit dependent on tide, but Cobo, Vazon, Pembroke, Port Soif (at high tide) are all great.

GreatGranny

9,289 posts

232 months

Tuesday 24th May 2022
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Guernsey:

Take a trip to Herm if you can.

Nice walks along the cliffs on the south of the island.

Hire bikes and just explore. Very safe for cyclists.

Underground Hospital is interesting as is the Little Chapel.

Great beaches, Fermaine Bay one of my favourites below.




PurpleTurtle

7,464 posts

150 months

Tuesday 24th May 2022
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matt3001 said:
Off there in 3 weeks - any good tips - things to do, cafes, restaurants, beaches, bars etc etc
Business or pleasure?
How are you getting there?
Will you have a car to get around?
What are your usual interests?
How old are you?
Single, couple, kids?

My brother has lived in Jersey for 25ys, I could give you tips but would be useful to know what audience I'm pitching at!


The Leaper

5,120 posts

212 months

Tuesday 24th May 2022
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Watching this with interest....4 of us off to Jersey early July for a week. Staying at Pomme D'Or Hotel, St Helier.

May hire a car for a day or two via the Hotel. Seems the bus services are really excellent for getting about.

Will be good to have any restaurant suggestions. I do remember from a visit many years ago that Moulin de Lecq was good.

R.

matt3001

Original Poster:

1,991 posts

203 months

Tuesday 24th May 2022
quotequote all
Ah yes - sorry I didn't give people much to work with.

Travelling on the fast ferry from Poole; so in our own car (A35 given as we are on PH) so easy to get around. How are the roads actually? Single track or just like a standard British B?

Staying at Longeville in Jersey and Old Governor House in Guernsey.

Just two of us travelling; young adults and no kids. Into walking/hiking, cycling if its scenic - also foodies as well.

We also have NT membership - dont know if they have properties over there?

Thanks for the tips so far!

The G Kid

811 posts

129 months

Tuesday 24th May 2022
quotequote all
matt3001 said:
Ah yes - sorry I didn't give people much to work with.

Travelling on the fast ferry from Poole; so in our own car (A35 given as we are on PH) so easy to get around. How are the roads actually? Single track or just like a standard British B?

Staying at Longeville in Jersey and Old Governor House in Guernsey.

Just two of us travelling; young adults and no kids. Into walking/hiking, cycling if its scenic - also foodies as well.

We also have NT membership - dont know if they have properties over there?

Thanks for the tips so far!
Roads are fine here in Guernsey, but max 35 mph and many max 25mph. Some roads are about narrow, and curbs are low so that you can hop up on the pavements to allow cars to pass. Has to be done very slowly if you have decent wheels to protect but no one seems to mind if you take your time.

OGH is right in the middle of town. Nice bar in it called the Crown Club.

Lovely walking on the cliffs along the south of the island. Loads of cycling too.

HotJambalaya

2,032 posts

186 months

Tuesday 24th May 2022
quotequote all
matt3001 said:
Ah yes - sorry I didn't give people much to work with.

Travelling on the fast ferry from Poole; so in our own car (A35 given as we are on PH) so easy to get around. How are the roads actually? Single track or just like a standard British B?

Staying at Longeville in Jersey and Old Governor House in Guernsey.

Just two of us travelling; young adults and no kids. Into walking/hiking, cycling if its scenic - also foodies as well.
Longueviile manor is decent for lunch albeit a bit stuffy.

Also check Bohemia, Samphire, greenhills restaurant, and one of my favourites, Green Island (though I havent been in a few years now), bizzarely in one of those converted seaside public toilets lol. More casual, Banjo in town. Also check out Oysterbox in st brelades bay.

Not much in the way of decent breakfasts in Jersey, could try the potato shack and also Lockes Coffee shop in the town.

In terms of things to do, probably worth checking out the German Underground Hospital.

PurpleTurtle

7,464 posts

150 months

Wednesday 25th May 2022
quotequote all
matt3001 said:
Ah yes - sorry I didn't give people much to work with.

Travelling on the fast ferry from Poole; so in our own car (A35 given as we are on PH) so easy to get around. How are the roads actually? Single track or just like a standard British B?

Staying at Longeville in Jersey and Old Governor House in Guernsey.

Just two of us travelling; young adults and no kids. Into walking/hiking, cycling if its scenic - also foodies as well.

We also have NT membership - dont know if they have properties over there?

Thanks for the tips so far!
Roads are fine, some lanes narrow, but no worse than any mainland B-roads.40mph speed limit. Watch out for 'Honorary Constables' (like mainland 'Specials' who love to hang out in villages with their speed guns. My brother got a telling off from a proper copper for exploring the performance envelope of his 993 on a country road, was zapped by one of these).

Only real driving thing to note is they have a few 'filter in turn' junctions. Newbies are sometimes confused by these but easy to get the hang of.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filter-in-turn

The North Coast of Jersey is great for hiking. St Brelade's Bay best for a traditional sandy 'cove' style beach.

El Tico at St Ouen's Bay is a nice 'surf shack' style eatery for laid back grub on a sunny day: https://elticojersey.com/

Elizabeth Castle is accessible by foot at low tide, otherwise by ferry: https://www.jerseyheritage.org/explore/find-a-plac...

Loads of bars and restaurants in St Helier, it's a while since I've been so not sure who is top of the foodie ranks at the moment.

The Jersey War Tunnels are worth a visit. My brother's father-in-law lived through the German occupation, he had a lot of tales of great hardship. Worth a visit if you are into your history.

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g6...




Edited by PurpleTurtle on Wednesday 25th May 00:34

DeejRC

6,314 posts

88 months

Wednesday 25th May 2022
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Just returned from Jersey for 4/5 days last week.

We stayed in H d’F in St Helier, looked at Longthingy and the OGH on G and planned to stay in both, but then decided to make it just one base instead of split.

Amusingly we had second breakfast in the Pomme on one of the days after a mooch into town.

St Helier is…disappointing. Basically if you live in some of the grotty places in the uk like London, Manc, Brum, Pool or Scotland, yeah I can see why you would like it. If you live somewhere nice…hmm. It’s a posh Blackpool but isn’t as posh as it thinks it is, ie Lytham St Anne’s or Southport.

It’s ok for a short break and to recharge, that’s about it. I’d actually spent 20yrs waiting to go, so was a bit down about it being a disappointment. That being said, if you live there or are a kid being brought up there then I would absolutely regard it as an awesome place to grow up.

The G Kid

811 posts

129 months

Wednesday 25th May 2022
quotequote all
DeejRC said:
Just returned from Jersey for 4/5 days last week.

We stayed in H d’F in St Helier, looked at Longthingy and the OGH on G and planned to stay in both, but then decided to make it just one base instead of split.

Amusingly we had second breakfast in the Pomme on one of the days after a mooch into town.

St Helier is…disappointing. Basically if you live in some of the grotty places in the uk like London, Manc, Brum, Pool or Scotland, yeah I can see why you would like it. If you live somewhere nice…hmm. It’s a posh Blackpool but isn’t as posh as it thinks it is, ie Lytham St Anne’s or Southport.

It’s ok for a short break and to recharge, that’s about it. I’d actually spent 20yrs waiting to go, so was a bit down about it being a disappointment. That being said, if you live there or are a kid being brought up there then I would absolutely regard it as an awesome place to grow up.
You should have come to the much nicer island.... smile

croyde

23,706 posts

236 months

Wednesday 25th May 2022
quotequote all
Had a great week in Guernsey last year. Did a lot of hiking and wherever you stopped, you were not far from a bus stop. Max two buses to get back to our hotel in the middle of the island.

Normally via St Peter Port.

Remember that a bus ticket, I think a pound, can be used on the next bus within an hour.

We didn't so we're paying double.

pequod

8,997 posts

144 months

Wednesday 25th May 2022
quotequote all
The G Kid said:
DeejRC said:
Just returned from Jersey for 4/5 days last week.

We stayed in H d’F in St Helier, looked at Longthingy and the OGH on G and planned to stay in both, but then decided to make it just one base instead of split.

Amusingly we had second breakfast in the Pomme on one of the days after a mooch into town.

St Helier is…disappointing. Basically if you live in some of the grotty places in the uk like London, Manc, Brum, Pool or Scotland, yeah I can see why you would like it. If you live somewhere nice…hmm. It’s a posh Blackpool but isn’t as posh as it thinks it is, ie Lytham St Anne’s or Southport.

It’s ok for a short break and to recharge, that’s about it. I’d actually spent 20yrs waiting to go, so was a bit down about it being a disappointment. That being said, if you live there or are a kid being brought up there then I would absolutely regard it as an awesome place to grow up.
You should have come to the much nicer island.... smile
Agreed ^^^ Guernsey, plus the nearby Herm are much nicer than Jersey, IMHO.
St Helier is a commercial centre and caters for business more than holidaymakers, so best to seek out the tourist areas (Jersey Zoo is a worthwhile visit) although I somewhat doubt the old WW2 tunnels are of much interest to many of our younger viewers!
Then there's Alderney....

DeejRC

6,314 posts

88 months

Wednesday 25th May 2022
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Hi G…that was the plan originally, split the hol or do a day trip across. The plan got buggered tho when my wife got ill frown

Robotron70

1,965 posts

49 months

Wednesday 25th May 2022
quotequote all
We have holidayed many times in Guernsey and also a few times on Sark.

Restaurants in Guernsey we always went to were Christie’s, Da Nello and The Boathouse.

The OGH is a lovely hotel, quite dated, but always our favourite place to stay on Guernsey and Aval du Creux on Sark (The Stocks is nice too)

I was chatting to the wife, we haven’t been to either place for 8 years, so most of what I’ve written is probably out of date.

Huntsman

8,161 posts

256 months

Wednesday 25th May 2022
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At low tide the causeway from L'Eree to Lihou is worth doing...

The G Kid

811 posts

129 months

Thursday 26th May 2022
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DeejRC said:
Hi G…that was the plan originally, split the hol or do a day trip across. The plan got buggered tho when my wife got ill frown
That's unlucky!

jeremyc

24,338 posts

290 months

Thursday 26th May 2022
quotequote all
If you're in Jersey on 15 July then there's the [urlNational Hill Climb at Bouley Bay, Trinity|http://www.jerseymotorsport.com/hillclimb/[/url]

Well worth a visit. smile

Xenobian

146 posts

32 months

Thursday 26th May 2022
quotequote all
Sark is a wonderful island (no cars! horse and carriage only), very quaint and a nice day trip on the ferry from Guernsey (hotels if you want to stay overnight).

In Jersey, something I enjoyed a lot was a RIB boat trip to Les Ecrehous and Les Minqueres, a few small offshore islands/reefs with small fishermen huts on them. Regular trips in summertime - https://www.jerseyseafaris.com/