Boat near Herm
photo by Sid/Stephen

Guernsey is a group of islands in the English Channel, part of the Channel Islands.

Understand

The islands of Guernsey and the other Channel Islands represent the last remnants of the medieval Dukedom of Normandy, which held sway in both France and England. The islands were the only British soil occupied by German troops during World War II.

Cities

  • Saint Peter Port

  • Saint Sampson

Getting there

Guernsey can only be reached by plane or boat.

By plane

Guernsey airport has flight links to

  • The UK - London (Gatwick and Stansted), Southampton, Bristol, Manchester, Birmingham, East Midlands and Exeter. There are seasonal services to Norwich, Edinburgh and Belfast.

  • France - Dinard. There is a seasonal service to Grenoble

  • Isle of Man

  • Jersey

  • Alderney

  • Netherlands - Rotterdam (April-September only)

  • Germany - Stuttgart and Dusseldorf (April-September only)

Flybe link Guernsey to 22 destinations including:- Scotland (Aberdeen#, Edinburgh, Glasgow# and Inverness#), Ireland (Belfast and Dublin#), England (Birmingham, Exeter, Leeds/Bradford#, London Gatwick, Manchester, Newcastle#, Norwich and Southampton), Switzerland (Geneva#), Germany (Frankfurt#), France (Chambery# (winter only) and Paris CDG#), Netherlands (Amsterdam#), Spain (Malaga#), Isle of Man# and Jersey.

Aurigny link Guernsey to similar destinations to FlyBe, but can sometimes be used as a cheaper alternative; destinations include: Gatwick, Stansted, East Midlands, Southampton, Bristol, Dinard, Grenoble, Alderney, Jersey and Manchester.

BlueIslands are the 3rd airline who operate year-round Guernsey services to and from Alderney, Geneva, Isle of Man, Jersey, Southampton and Zurich.

  1. =A change of plane is needed

By boat

Ferries run from St Peter Port to the UK, France and other Channel Islands. There is a conventional ferry year round from Portsmouth, and high speed catamarans from Weymouth and Poole in the summer with a less frequent service in the winter. The conventional ferry runs in all weather, the catamarans can be delayed or cancelled by high seas.

  • The UK - Portsmouth, Poole, Weymouth

  • France - St Malo (year-round), Dielette (summer only), Granville (summer only, infrequent)

  • Jersey

  • Sark

  • Herm

The two ferry operators between the Channel Islands and the UK/France are Condor Ferries and Manche-îles Express .

Traveling around

There are no trains on the island; roads are small but not busy. The island is 9 miles long x 3 miles wide, so a bicycle is a good way to get around. Alternately there are hire cars available, taxis and a frequent bus service during the day.

The other Channel Islands can all be reached by ferry from St Peter Port. Jersey and Alderney can also be reached by plane.

Drink

There are lots of pubs to be visited all over the island, in town the pubs are easy to find and are along a couple of main streets.

Buy

Economy

Financial services - banking, fund management, insurance, etc. - account for about 55% of total income in this tiny Channel Island economy. Tourism, manufacturing, and horticulture, mainly tomatoes and cut flowers, have been declining. Light tax and death duties make Guernsey a popular tax haven. The evolving economic integration of the EU nations is changing the rules of the game under which Guernsey operates.

Guernsey Pound on parity with British pound (GBP); Notes from Jersey are also accepted. Note - Guernsey pounds are not accepted in the UK and should be changed for UK pounds before leaving the islands. ATMs generally describe which currency is being dispensed - 'Local' or 'English'

Talk

Overwhelmingly English is spoken, but Norman-French Guernesais is taught in schools in a bid to preserve it.

Islands

  • Guernsey - the main island

  • Alderney - an island just 8 miles from the coast of France

  • Sark - historic and car-free island

  • Herm - popular day trip or overnight from other Channel Islands

  • Lihou - smallest island, accessible only at low tide

Contact & location

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The photos displayed on this page are the property of one of the following authors:

Sid/Stephen, Nik Sibley, Cas, Vinicius Teles, Guy Quayle, Alan Faulkner

Some photos courtesy of: . The photos provided by Flickr are under the copyright of their owners.

This travel guide also includes text from Wikitravel articles, all available at WikitravelView full credits

Andy Farrell, Sietse Snel, Todd VerBeek, Ryan Holliday, Colin Jensen, Evan Prodromou, David Le Brun, Niels Elgaard Larsen and Michele Ann Jenkins, EbenezerLePage, Inas, Tatatabot, Episteme, InterLangBot, Huttite, Sjc196 and CIAWorldFactbook2002

This travel guide also includes text from Wikipedia articles, all available at WikipediaView full credits

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(Saint Peter Port)
English, French, Norman-French dialect spoken in country districts - Guernsey Pound - on parity with British pound (GBP); Jersey notes also accepted, but Channel Island currency not accepted in UK
Area78 sq km
Callingcode+44-1481
Electricity230V/50Hz (European plug)
Governmentself-governing British crown dependency
Population64,587 (July 2002 est.)
ReligionAnglican, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Baptist, Congregational, Methodist
TimezoneUTC
Tld.gg