Jersey weather is pretty changeable (like the rest of Britain), and can be sunny, rainy and cloudy all in quick succession. We were lucky and had mainly sunshine for our visit! I do recommend visiting in the summer months as most things to do in Jersey are outside and, as it’s never too crowded, it’s absolutely fine to visit in ‘peak’ months.

Ideally you need at least 2 full days to explore the main sights of Jersey, and 3 days enables you to do it at a leisurely pace. Jersey has a fantastic bus system, and it’s a very small island so you really don’t need to hire a car unless you really feel the urge to. Buses serve pretty much everywhere on the island, and are used by the majority of locals. The main bus station is in St Helier which is where we stayed and the timetables are well published online and at the station. You can also pay for tickets on the bus, so no pre-planning or worrying needed!

So, what is there to do in Jersey?

1. La Corbiere Lighthouse

Wow. One of the most beautiful views we’ve seen. We arrived at the Lighthouse by those trusty buses from St Helier. It’s then a short 5 minute walk down the road to the edge of the shore. You can walk over to the lighthouse at low tide, but obviously when the tide is up, you can’t reach it (so be careful not to walk out as water is coming up as otherwise you will get stuck at the lighthouse for hours!) We sat on a bench and watched the tide come in – there was barely anyone there, and it was our favourite experience in Jersey.

2. Elizabeth Castle

This is the most famous castle in Jersey, and is on the outskirts of St Helier (easily walkable if you’re staying in St Helier – no bus needed). It was built in the 1500s and 1600s , and was named after Elizabeth I of England. It has been everything from the official residence of the Governors of Jersey, to a prison, to occupied by the Nazis. Again the views are spectacular, and a trip to the onsite museum is definitely worth it.

The Castle sits out from St Aubin’s Bay. You can walk there, but only at low tide. We wanted to walk to the Castle, but as the tide was up, had to get the Duck Boat across the water. This was a little on the expensive side, but a fun experience! There is also a nice cafe called La Fregate just by the duck boat stop which did great jacket potatoes for lunch after a morning at the Castle.

View from St Aubin’s Bay (L) and view back to the bay from the castle (R)

3. Exploring the rugged east coast

The east coast beaches took my breath away; they look like they could be straight out of a Caribbean Island brochure! We walked from St Catherine’s breakwater (which we reached by the amazing bus service again) to Gorey Castle, and were astounded at the views – especially around the Archirondel area. It took us a good 3 hours to do this walk, including a couple of stops to cool down in the boiling heat.

If you’d like to read more about these beaches, check out my separate blog on Jersey beaches here!

4. Gorey Castle

Gorey Castle is on the east coast of the Island and you can combine this with the east coast beaches above. The Castle was built in the 1200s, and was even visited by Queen Victoria in 1846. The Castle currently has beautiful grounds to explore, and I recommend climbing right up to the top to see the amazing views of the bays all around. There are also a lot of very odd sculptures and pictures of the Queen all around the Castle – see how many you can find!

5. Jersey War Tunnels

During WW2 Jersey was occupied by the Nazis. The war tunnels are a great way of learning about this period in the Island’s history. I also visited the Channel Islands Military Museum, but would recommend the war tunnels in preference. You can get to the war tunnels by public bus from all over the island (we went from St Helier main bus station), or on a double decker red bus with audio commentary. We took the first option as it was cheaper and quicker.

6. Channel Islands Military Museum & St Ouen’s beach

St Ouen’ beach stretches the majority of the west coast of Jersey. On it sits the Channel Islands Military Museum which tells more of the story of Jersey’s military history with a focus on the Nazi occupation. It’s actually in an old bunker so is interesting in itself.

7. St Helier

St Helier is the capital of Jersey and where most people choose to stay on a visit to the island. We were no different and chose it to ensure we were close to a lot of restaurants and choice of food in the evening and it worked well for us. It also meant we were close to the main bus station, making transport really easy.

Within St Helier is a lovely harbour front, a nice central square and also Liberation Square (the fish and chip shop there is delicious!). The statue in Liberation Square represents the day that Jersey was freed from Nazi occupation and it makes for a nice spot to sit and watch the world go by.

8. Archirondel Tower

Close to the beaches, this tower sits on a rocky outcrop and is an ex soldier’s garrison. Combine it with a trip to Anne Port beach and Geoffrey’s Leap and you have a nice day out. It’s also a great spot for lunch as there’s a lovely beach front cafe by the Tower as well.

Thanks for reading! Jersey really is beautiful and totally underrated destination, so if you ever have the chance to visit, I really recommend it. Stay safe and happy travelling everyone!

Jersey is the largest of the Channel Islands, between England and France. The island is quite small, so the sea is never more than 15 minutes away, and the bays, beaches and surfing are truly amazing. I had no idea such a stunning place was on the doorstep.

The downside, of course, is that its not warm year round. It’s not a place for winter sun. BUT it most definitely is a place for summer sun. If you visit between mid-June to the end of August you have a great chance of enjoying the sunshine on the beach. For a small price tag. And even in the summer holidays, there aren’t big crowds.

If you also want to learn more about the island as a whole, and see my full trip, you can read my blog post on Jersey here, but I felt the incredible beaches deserved a whole post to themselves!

1. Anne Port

On the north east coast of Jersey, this beach was my absolute favourite. We walked to it from St Catherine’s and as the windy rocky paths opened up, the view over the bay were incredible! Like WOW. It took my breath away. The beach was also quiet, the sea good for swimming, and it was a lovely place to spend the day relaxing with a book. Even just typing this makes me feel happy, and I think this is actually my favourite beach I’ve ever been to outside of The Maldives.

2. St Ouen’s Beach/Le Braye

St Ouen’s Bay is the longest beach in Jersey and runs along the majority of the west coast of the island. It’s even nicknamed ‘The Five Mile Road’ by locals – the ‘road’ being sand! And again, there was no-one else in sight.

3. St Aubin’s Bay

This beach runs between St Helier, the capital of Jersey, and St Aubin’s along the South coast of the island. As it is south facing, it captures the sun for most of the day and is a beautiful spot. It also overlooks Elizabeth Castle, which itself has some lovely beaches so makes for a perfect day when combined.

4. Archirondel Beach

This beach is set apart by it’s excellent beach cafe which makes a perfect stop for lunch. It is pebbly but sandy at low tide. As it is east facing, it it best to visit in the morning, stay for lunch and then head on to your next stop. Also at this site, is Archirondel tower, perched on a rocky cliff; a former soldier’s garrison.  

5. Grouville Bay

Another beach complete with stunning Castle back drop. This one sits at the South East of the island, next to Gorey Castle. This beach isn’t quite as picture perfect, but sits on a nice harbour with lovely sea food lunch options. Again you can combine it with a trip to the Castle and lunch for a lovely day out. As with all the other beaches, there was no-one else on it!

6. Petit Port

This beach sits in the South West corner of the island, and is just round the corner from the beautiful La Corbiere lighthouse. The beach isn’t as beautiful as some of the previous ones, but it was completely deserted. It’s great to combine with a visit to the lighthouse, as well as the cliff walks that surround it, to again make for a full day’s trip.

It is a bit pebbly, and not gorgeous white sand – so I think this is one to take a deck chair or good thick picnic blanket to. We were fine with two little fold out chairs and happily read our books for the whole afternoon before heading back to the hotel.

7. Geoffrey’s Leap Bay

Another East Coast beach, this one is perfect for watching the world go by and the boats float by. We sat on a bench in the shade (the photo below taken from that very bench) for about 2 hours reading and eating a packed lunch. As for Geoffrey and his leap – no-one really knows who he is, but island legend has it that he committed a crime and that his punishment was to be thrown off a high rock. The second photo is taken from the base of said high rocky outcrop! I was glad not to be Geoffrey!

It’s also worth noting that I only explored the east, west and part of the south coast of Jersey, so didn’t get to visit the beaches of the north or south west. In the south west is the famous St Brelade’s Bay, which is the most popular tourist beach. We chose to avoid it for this very reason, but the photos of it do look incredible.

In the north, we missed Bouley Bay, which is known as a beautiful spot for swimming in its deep waters. We ruled this one out as I’m not a confident swimmer and it is advised to only swim in these waters if you are. We also missed Plemont beach which is famous for its rock pools. Our excuse for missing this one – we just ran out of time!

Getting to and from the beaches

Driving in Jersey is easy, so hiring a car to drive to all of these beaches is very straightforward. However, my parents had been previously and said the buses were great so we opted for the cheaper option of public transport. And we weren’t disappointed. Jersey has an incredible bus infrastructure which covers off all of the main attractions. You can get a bus from the main station in St Helier if that’s where you’re staying. All timetables are online and all buses ran to time. You can buy tickets on the bus, so no need to even plan or worry in advance. Just look up your destination on the timetable and turn up! Easy.

I also recommend buses because then you can arrive at one beach, have a walk to lunch, and then on to the next place and get a bus back from there. With a car you are always tied down to ending the day where you started, which didn’t work for our itinerary. I never thought I’d say it, but the buses gave us freedom!

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this post and that visiting Jersey may have made it on to your visit list. If you are interested in learning more about this wonderful island, check out my full Jersey post here. Stay safe and happy travelling all!