Things to do

St Helier – Sunday is one of the best days to visit St Helier as it is free to park in the main pay card car parks. Our Insight guide had a suggested walking route which we followed which allowed us to get our bearings and see some of the main places of interest (including the very useful Tourist Office). In the afternoon we took the Puddleduck boat out to Elizabeth Castle which was great fun. We spent an enjoyable 3hrs walking around the various parts of the castle before getting the Puddleduck back over (even though the tide was out by this point). Recommended.

Jersey War Tunnels – We are both really interested in WW2 history so were very much looking forward to visiting the tunnels. Despite it being warm outside, the tunnels were really quite cold and it took us a couple of hours to see everything so I was glad I had wrapped up warm. The exhibitions were really well done and very thought provoking – it was quite busy though so I think we might go back another time to let things sink in more. Highly recommended.

Hamptonne Country Life Museum – This is owned by the Jersey National Trust and UK National Trust members get a discount on entry. It’s only a small place, but the exhibitions were quite interesting and we particularly enjoyed meeting the ‘Goodwyf’ who was played by a man from Birmingham on the day we visited. Worth a visit if you are in the area.

Grosnez Castle – A bit off the beaten track but worth visiting for the view.

Corbiere Lighthouse – More lovely views – next time we will go at sunset as well.

South Coast Cruises (INVALID URL – We did the 2½ hr south coast cruise from St Helier to Corbiere and back. The weather was gorgeous and, even though we didn’t get there early enough to get one of the outside seats, they provided cushion pads which allowed us to sit out on deck for most of the journey. The views were amazing, the commentary was interesting and the boat had plenty of indoor and outdoor seating, plus a bar and toilet. One of my holiday highlights!

Durrell Wildlife Park – We also love visiting wildlife parks, especially to see bears, so we were delighted to arrive at the park just before the Spectacle bears were given their breakfast as it allowed us to see them at close range in their inside enclosure before they headed outside to feed. We ended up spending the whole day at the Park, visiting all the animal enclosures and listening to the various keeper talks that were held during the day. Along with the bears, we particularly enjoyed seeing the orang-utans and the gibbons and the lemurs were good fun too. Another holiday highlight!

Greve de Lecq Barracks – The barracks are situated just next to the beach and are worth looking around if you are in the areas – entry is free if you have a UK National Trust card. The beach itself is sandy and sheltered and perfect for spending a lazy sunny afternoon.

Devil’s Hole – There are nice views of the surrounding coast but the ‘Hole’ itself wasn’t very impressive – I think it might have been low tide when we were there though so maybe it’s better at high tide.

Corbiere Railway walk – We joined the path near to our B&B and walked down to St Aubin, which took about an hour and was a nice easy walk. We then took the Petit Train from St Aubin into St Helier, which gave us lovely views of the bay and saved us from more walking.

16 New Street (St Helier) – This was a decaying wreck before the Jersey National Trust took it on and is now completely restored. We found the story of the restoration very interesting, and it was also nice to meet one of the room stewards, who had lived in the building many years ago in a previous incarnation as a YMCA. We were also able to taste some foods made to traditional recipes in the restored kitchen. Entry is free for UK National Trust Members.

Le Moulin de Quetival – This mill is currently only open on Saturdays but is free for UK National Trust members. It’s worth a visit if you are passing.

Places to Eat

Pizza Express, St Brelade’s Bay – Normally I find it hard to get excited about Pizza Express restaurants, but this one has such lovely views that we ended up going twice. No complaints about the food or service but it gets very busy so best to book a table in advance.

Gustul Casei, St Helier – We really like Eastern European food so were very pleased to find that there was a Romanian restaurant in St Helier. We shared some Mici sausages to start, followed by Shepherd’s Cheese and Meatballs for our main courses. Unfortunately we were too full for pudding – we would definitely go back.

Jaipur, St Helier – We had been on a boat trip earlier in the day so decided to stay in St Helier to eat. We fancied a curry and Jaipur was the first Indian restaurant we came across. The prices outside looked ok and it appeared to be nicely decorated so we decided to give it a try. To be honest, we looked a bit scruffy as we had been out all day, so we weren’t entirely surprised to be escorted to an area at the back of the restaurant! The menu had a lot of interesting choices and the food was very good when it arrived, but they refused to let us have a jug of tap water on the table, instead we were given half a glass each, which was very annoying. It turned out the prices were higher than on the menu outside as well so we ended up spending more than we expected. I think we’d try somewhere else next time.

Old Smugglers Inn, Ouaisne Bay – Excellent food and location – definitely make a reservation at weekends though as it gets very busy!

Hi Corinne , interested to read your review as we are thinking of going for a 4 or 5 day break to Jersey next September , just one question though , was the weather good ? I've looked at weather chart averages and they look ok , but it's how it feels , like for instance sitting out at night eating and drinking etc that concerns me most .

We had a 2day/1night stay there last year and we really like the place and people , and thought that being outside would make it a very enjoyable and relaxing place for a longer break ( we went in April and it rained !!) so would like to try it again .

We also went to the War Tunnels and thought it was an excellent experience .

Many thanks Corinne for another very interesting, informative review

Hi Andy. We were very lucky with the weather - it only rained on the first day and was then warm and sunny/hot for the rest of the week (first week of September). The nights were already starting to draw in though so you could only really sit out until about 7pm as it got a bit cool after dark. This wasn't an issue for us though as we ate at places with indoor seating areas. I suspect June/July would be better for eating outdoors in the evening.

Thanks Corinne , we were looking at the first week in September , so I think it will be ok . It's just nice to be able at some time of the day to sit outside to eat or drink and get some fresh air , we just fancy something quick and easy to get too , and Jersey seems to fit the bill .

Hi Corrine, really enjoyed reading your review. Have been to Jersey a few times but not for many years, and it made me want to re-visit.

Great review, not been to Jersey for years, brought back memories.

Linda

A friend of ours has recently moved to live in Jersey in the early part of the summer this year.

There's a chance we may need to move back to UK at sometime next year as my dad is sick and unable to walk far or travel any more so hopefully, we may too be able to take a visit to Jersey to see our friend. She's currently still in the process of trying to find somewhere to live on a permanent basis as the restrictions there are extremely "restricted" so will be moving again quite soon to a place called St Aubins which she thinks may be more suited to her as a single person.

We have another friend who lives at St Ouen's and we would be intrigued to visit there too.

One day, we will get there and we know we can fly from Blackpool or Liverpool in the summer months which are places we may be looking to live should we definitely need to move back to UK.

We used to go every October to to Somerville hotel in St Aubins bay which was gorgeous.
We only stopped going when the prices rocketed in the 80s.
A couple of years ago I asked about prices for the lovely hotel where we used to stay and it was more for one night B&B than what we used to pay for 1 week FB!
We would love to return one day.
Cyprus ,unfortunately Blackpool airport closed today.

Jay Trip, sorry only just saw your post - how come Blackpool airport was closed?

Jersey is one of the few places that I can fly direct to from my small local airport and your report, Corinne, is making me think that we should give it a whirl next year. There seems to be more than enough to do to make a weeklong trip worthwhile. Thanks for the inspiration!

SM

Blackpool airport has closed down for good due to a lack of customers.

It is not going to be operating charter flights but reading the latest information they are hoping to still have an aviation purpose although I suspect it will be sold to build houses on it.
Its a shame as Teeside airport although still open no longer have flights to popular holiday destinations.
It was a pleasure to fly from these smaller airports.

It is a shame when these smaller airports close they seem to offer a much better airport experience than the bigger ones. This year I flew from London City airport which is tiny, and loved it. I hope it doesn't go the same way as Blackpool :(. Not 100% but I think you can go to Jersey from London City as well which would be good for us, otherwise on a short flight like that you spend longer getting to the airport tan you do in the air.

Oh damn! That may well have scuppered some future plans for us

A lovely report Corrine i have visited a few of the places you mentioned and loved it Jersey is a great place we have been twice and Guernsey once would love to go back sometime..x

Teesside airport still has a weekly flight to Jersey. However there's not a lot more on offer we now have to travel to either Leeds Bradford or Newcastle for most destinations.

We used to fly from Teeside to Jersey when we went years ago but had to get off the plane at Heathrow and get back on the same plane!
We used to travel with British Midland.
I will look and see whats on offer from there to Jersey in the Spring as we have always wanted to return.
Doe ,my son-in-law used City airport when he was working in Jersey last year.