Island of Jersey
 

Considering adding the Island of Jersey to a trip to Normandy and Brittany but am finding very little info on it. Has anyone been there?

If we did a week in Brittany, would Jersey warrant another week? Basically looking for quiet place to walk along coast or quiet roads. Perhaps some beach time too , but mainly for walking and exploring rather than swimming.

Any suggestions welcome.

It's been several years, but we enjoyed the general atmosphere of Guernsey more than Jersey, most likely because we had friends who lived there acting as our tour guides. Also, Guernsey is smaller and seemed more accessible overall. Jersey seemed more 'busy' and developed. We took many walks on Guernsey and made day trips to Herm and Sark. Our friends later moved to Alderney which we also visited and enjoyed more than Jersey. Maybe I just like smaller islands.

I'm not sure where you've been doing your search, but there is a lot of info on the Channel Islands on the internet. Just google "things to do on Guernsey Island," "things to do on Jersey Island."

I really enjoyed Jersey (visited Guernsey many many years ago)

Here is my (VERY LONG) TR of a trip 6 years ago. So you don't have to wade through the whole thing to get to the relevant bits, the Jersey part starts with posts on June 28. https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...-938435/page6/

And this thread helped me organize my time on Jersey. https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...y-help-932206/

I've only been to Jersey once, but I enjoyed it, even though it turned out that the B&B where I stayed was the only one in all my travels that turned out to have bedbugs. I flew there from Paris, but I took the ferry to Saint Malo to return.

Both Jersey and Guernsey are good places to combine with a stay in Bretagne, and easy to reach from Saint Malo. If you have 2 weeks available, and since there is already quite much to see in Brittany (even restricting to the north coast), and even more if you want to include Normandy, it may be more balanced to keep 10 days on the mainland and 4 on an island. By the way Brittany has beautiful islands to discover too.

On both islands you have a low tax regime with small country lanes, lots of beaches and some of the deepest tides in the world. A bit oldie-worldie but full of charm with buses going out to most corners, bikes for hire and low mileage cars to hire (after a season they are just about brand new). The smaller islands are even more special with one banning cars.

If it were me, i'd base in Guernsey with easy access to Alderney, Sark etc. Almost too British.

I just got back from a trip that included both islands, although not the smaller ones as I was there in early October after the tourist season largely ended.

If you want walking either island would be fine. Jersey is larger but Guernsey gets all the cruise ships. There is a lot of info on walks on the respective islands' tourist web sites. There are also ebook guides from Insight. There are walking paths all round the coasts of both islands, I met a woman who was hiking round Guernsey.

We enjoyed Jersey and Guernsey a lot but a few days was enough for Jersey and a few for Guernsey as they are fairly small but offer great walks so one could easily spend a week there - what was nice was the distinctive Jersey cows on Jersey and distinctive Guernseys on Guernsey! We took boat from St-Malo and crossing was very rough - probably unusual.

Friends enjoyed walking in Alderney.

While the British Channel Islands are amusingly exotic, I'm sure you know that there are plenty of other French islands off the coast which offer places to walk and quiet roads. The British confetti are actually busier than the French places due to duty free shopping and hordes of tourists.

I've been to Jersey and Guernsey many many times, all for business but have extended those stays and toured around both islands.Not sure you need an entire week, but the islands are certainly worth visiting with plenty of areas for walking. Corbiere lighthouse at sunset is beautiful, the Jersey War Tunnels very interesting, quirky places like an old German war bunker at L'Etacq used as a fishery where you can buy live crabs etc and now is a restaurant too, some pretty good Portuguese restaurants on account of the people from Portugal & Madeira who live in Jersey. Some great beaches eg Bonne Nuit, Plémont Bay, Rozel Bay (sadly Bistro Frère is no longer), St Brelades where the L'Horizon hotel is, one of my favourite places to stay in Jersey. Amazing how easy it is to get lost on a small island.

They definitely sound like places I'd like to visit. Couple of questions:

Kerouac mentioned "hoards of tourists" and Thursdaysd mentioned "cruise ships" on Guernsey. Are they really crowded and touristy? I was hoping for bucolic farmland blending with coastal areas.

Suggestions for best time to visit. Pleasant, sunny weather would be top priority, but sure that's what everyone wants so it would be the time for crowds. Would September likely be good? Being in the Channel, is rain more the norm than sun?

Glad to hear more about your favorite French islands, too, Kerouac

Tourism is a major industry. However, my impression was that the interior of the islands was less developed than the coasts.

I was there in October and the weather was mostly good. The tourist season really winds down at the end of September. (BTW, my current TR has just reached Jersey, click on my name for my profile for the link.)

I was on Jersey in early June - granted it was 6 years ago - but the crowds were few and not a problem at all. I would imagine later in the summer would be busier

France has some lovely little isles, my favorite is Brehat, Bréhat easy to access by small ferry from Paimpol, a pleasant walk from the port to the small town is very attractive.

The Channel Islands outside of the two big towns (where tourists congregate) is normally quiet. Jersey's zoo gets a lot of visitors though.

I would love to take this trip. I would want to base myself in Guernsey.
If you've not read this book, read it before your trip -

Places like St Helier in Jersey can be busy, quite a lot of traffic at times, even out of season. The area around Fort Regent can be busy. They are tourist islands but mainly it is retired people & families, used to be very popular but they are pricey in comparison to Spain etc for holidays. Still popular at Easter & other peak times. I would avoid staying in St Helier and stay somewhere like St Brelades or St Aubin, or if you must stay in St Helier, the De France is easier to get to avoiding traffic.
Same in Guernsey, away from St Peter Port. The islands are quite rural outside of the main towns.

The Book of Ebenezer LePage, is also set on Guernsey. I would read either if I were going to the Channel Islands, but Ebenezer LePage (or le Page) is more literary, less soapy. Depends on your individual tastes. While The Guernsey Potato Peel Pie book was a best seller, The Book of Ebenezer le Page got more interest from serious reviewers and publications. I liked it so much that I bought Christmas copies for several friends.

Wish I was going.

Some islands in the area, both French (Aix, Bréhat, Houat...) and British (Sark) ban all motor vehicles. Oops, Sark allows tractors.

I loved the novel and movie, Appointment with Venus. Since reading it many years ago, I have wanted to visit the Channel Islands. Haven't made it there yet, but maybe someday.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appointment_with_Venus

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appoin...th_Venus_(film)

The stars of the movie are David Niven and the wonderful Glynis Johns.

last time I was on it Brehat had a few tractors :-)

Please add your opinion.

Since I haven't been to Brittany, do you feel that I should spend my 2-3 weeks there and not go to the islands? Also want to hang out in Normandy a bit, too. Have been to the D-day beaches, cemeteries there 4 times.

But whether it's Brittany, Normandy or the islands, I'm looking for a laid back vacation exploring beaches, small villages and more or less living like a local. LOL here as I don't speak more than 5 words of French, so I'll really be local-not. Would that be a problem in any of those areas?

"Living like a local" has become a mantra without meaning. You are not going to live like a local in a week, whether or not you speak the language - which is English in the Channel Islands. You will not go to work, take your kids to school, visit the dentist, etc. You might go to church or a sports game, but you will be doing it as an outsider. You will be a tourist.

English and French are official languages of the Channel Islands. Jersey and Guernsey French is spoken by very few people nowadays, locals told me that some older people who were born & bred on the islands can speak it, but you will not come across it as a tourist, you will mostly encounter English or perhaps French in the Channel Islands. Maybe on a couple of signs, you might see some Jersey or Guernsey French (or Sark- French if you are going to Sark etc), that's about it. Any of the areas you are considering will give you a laid back vacation with plenty of beaches to explore etc.

But note that Channel Island French is... well barely French, more French as it was spoken 500 years ago with a fair few dialect and English words thrown in. Lawyers, for example have to have a law degree from Caen as well as an English University. But the Caen one is taught in old French.

Any of the islands will be laid back outside of the two capitals and so will Brittany, which has lots of prehistoric sites and a canal down its backbone if you like canal walks

Frankly, my take on the Channel Islands is that they are completely worthy of a separate trip. There is something hyper-British about them that both appeals and repels. ("We need to be as British as possible because it reassures the visitors from England and delights the visitors from France.") I would say that it is a jarring experience compared to Brittany and that the two should not be mixed.