Old fashioned, full of large hotels like went out of style in Britain a generation ago, interspersed with vegetable farms and offshore banking offices.
Weather like Britain.
Prices like Monte Carlo.
Airfares from Britain (only 30 minutes in a small turboprop) often more expensive than flying to the Mediterranean.
Favoured by seniors. Not much in the way of attractions.
Day trip to St Malo in France (visible on the horizon) probably the highlight of many trips.
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by BigLar:
[BSeriously, wasn't Jersey occupied by the Nazis in WW II, or was that some other island(s) in the area?[/b]</font>
Whichever, I saw a documentary on PBS that showed Bobbies on some occupied island chauffering Nazis around, opening the car door for them, etc.
Yes Jersey was occupied, in 1940. The Germans were not cleared out until well after D-day because they were not in the main line of action, and were actually not a large group. The Channel Islands (Jersey, Guernsey, etc) are not easily defendable by Britain from an army coming from France, which surrounds them on 2 sides.
A friend's mother had happened to move house to Jersey from Britain when a child in 1939 (oh, bad luck!) and spent the war stuck there. Plenty of sad stories there, especially after D-day but before the liberation.
Nowadays you cannot move to Jersey unless your family comes from there or you deposit some £ million sum. And it is full of millionaires. It also has a separate tax regime from the UK, and is a tax haven. When you come back to Britain you do not pass through immigration/passport control (because Jersey is British) but do pass through customs because of the separate tax. You will see at many UK airports specific corridors labelled "Channel Islands Arrivals", routeing arriving passengers via this particular combination of officialdom. That's why.
(Edit for typo)
[This message has been edited by WHBM (edited 08-01-2003).]
I went to Guernsey (smaller than Jersey and next door) for business and really enjoyed it - lovely atmosphere and really good seafood (French influence!). Raining, but slightly warmer rain than UK! But I wouldn't have wanted to spend more than a week there - and that only if I took trips to the other islands in the Channel Islands. Jersey does have a first class zoo, which a world leader in conservation efforts - unfortunately, didnt manage to visit it. Also, into flower growing, so spring could be good for a visit.
Jersey is a fine place to visit and is a place our family has always enjoyed - been 3 times to Jeresy and twice to guernsey in 9 years and i for one would recommend it.
there will be minuses at any place you go to but the pluses for us are great quality of food, good visitor sites, nice enough beaches as well as a goodly amount of warm hospitality. plenty to do for kids too - Durrell's zoo legacy has to be amongst one of the best in terms of animal welfare and visitor exhibit value.
it's also very easy to avoid all the war stuff, if you're not into that.
cost, imho, is on a par with the rest of europe. driving in Jersey is a lot of fun!
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Absolutely worth the visit, Guernsey too...I felt they both had Med/French influence...a little crowded, interesting place to do business, IMO, I had lunch catered in boardroom on ?Company? fine China...rainy.
More interesting is Isle of Man, more rural, cooler temps, nicer people, obviously a long storied history. Great logo too...
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Despite having close connections with one of the Channel Islands (Alderney) I don't know Jersey well enough to be able to comment, but if you take the two main Channel Islands (Jersey and Guernsey) it's definitely the more scenic of the two.
Guernsey is all right, but it's rather over-developed - no high-rise buildings, just far too many low-rise ones. Even outside the major settlements you can rarely walk more than a hundred yards or so without coming across yet another house.
Although I'm probably biased I would recommend Alderney - the third largest of the islands (and the only other one with an airport - Sark and Herm can only be reached b boat). Alderney has a population of only about 2000, and large parts of the island are just rocks and cliffs with no habitation.
Air fares to Alderney are expensive (because it is such a small market, and transporting passengers in a small aircraft is more expensive per head than transporting them in a larger one), though they have gone down in the last year... there used to be only one airline serving the island, there are now two, and the competition has made quite a difference! In addition to flights to/from Jersey and Guernsey there are direct flights from Southampton and Bournemouth, all using piston-engined aircraft (mostly Trislanders)
Information about the three islands can be found at
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We've been to Jersey twice, both times in the spring. It was mostly sunny on both our visits. (They do brag on having more sunshine than the "mainland".) Lots of flowers indeed - daffodils for sale in farmyards (a £ a bunch, leave the money in a bucket), and the loveliest really fresh vegetables in the restaurants.
We were attending conferences, so didn't have the entire time for touring, but I don't feel like I've seen remotely all there is to see, and would happily return.
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I have been to Jersey 4 times. There was a Hawaii Five-O type show, Bergerac, which was filmed there for many years. It encouraged tourism quite a bit, I've heard.
There are actually quite a few small B&B, not only large hotels. People go there for the scenery, shopping (no VAT), beach, and the fortresses. Jersey is not a crowded city, but Guernsey is even more slow paced. Sark, which bans cars, is nearby. Alderney is a small town on a small island.
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Quote:
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Skylink USA: I have been to Jersey 4 times. There was a Hawaii Five-O type show, Bergerac, which was filmed there for many years. It encouraged tourism quite a bit, I've heard. </font>
I would not really compare Hawaii Five-O to Bergerac Book 'em Bergerac....
The hotel is in a 13th century manor house, has a Michelin starred restaurant, and though expensive it's worth every penny.
As to Jersey itself, if you've got a short trip planned and just want to wander some castle grounds and have some quiet lunches in harbourfront cafes and generally chill out, it's perfect.
I just returned from my first visit to Jersey in the Channel Islands. I was very impressed.
Jersey is classically upscale England set on a 45-square-mile island within sight of Brittany. Most place names are French, e.g., the capital of St. Helier, but anglicized in pronunciation.
I loved the coast (beaches, cliffs, rocky shorelines and World War II fortifications), ancient castles, the world-famous "hospital war tunnels" (Germany occupied Jersey for five years), cheery people, English gardens, farms, small and relatively inexpensive inns, narrow roads, excellent public bus network, adequate restaurants, a bustling city center, and an abundance of sport and culture. Mid-September weather was sunny in the mid-to-upper 70s. I chanced there during Jersey's Battle of Britain memorial, including an air show featuring War War II vintage aircraft and a Red Arrows demonstration over the city harbor.
My CO flight from EWR connected nicely with Flybe's service between Gatwick and Jersey. Jersey's airport is impressingly modern and efficient. With advance purchase, Flybe's flights are quite inexpensive.
Book 'em Bergerac....
