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Review: Spectacular views, lovely people and plenty to do - Jersey is a journey worth making

I was invited to take a trip to Jersey, one of the Channel Islands just off the coast of France that I had never considered visiting before. Thanks to Condor Ferries, they provided me with an opportunity to visit the largest of the Channel Islands, and I was not disappointed.

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Jersey.

In short, Jersey is a beautiful, majestic island full of culture, scenic beauty and overall a fantastic place to visit.

The journey began with me driving down to Poole where I was going to catch the ferry, and right from the beginning, it was an easy process with all signage clearly visible to guide you onto the right path and then onto the ferry. Staff are very helpful in making it a quick and smooth process, and ensuring its leaves on time.

Once checked in and on-board, I was pleasantly surprised to find a very comfortable, spacious ferry with comfortable seating all around, and what surprised me most was the variety of foods available - a large selection of breakfasts, lunches and snacks were available, providing endless options for everyone young and old. The seats around the whole ferry were spacious, comfortable and all gave great views as we set sail to Jersey. The best part of the journey was to walk outside onto the deck at the rear of the ferry and watch the sea as we breezed through, with glimpses of mainland France and Guernsey on the way.

Jersey.

The journey from Poole to Jersey took approximately three hours, and everything left on time which is something I like to observe, with travel delays the bane of many people’s lives. The views when crossing the Channel were spectacular, especially as the sun was starting to set as we began to approach Jersey Island, whilst also being able to see France.

Once again, the process of leaving the ferry into our vehicle and driving onto the island was a quick, smooth process that took no longer than 20 minutes. I made the short drive from dock to where I would be staying, Hotel de France, which was easy to find, and whilst making the journey, I took in what was a beautiful, peaceful island.

Hotel de France is a fantastic place to stay, being based in Jersey's capital, St Helier. Check-in was an easy formal process but in my room I found the air conditioning was not working. Nevertheless the front desk staff quickly made arrangements for me to be moved to a room where the air conditioning was working and once again, it was done in a kind manner which made it a pleasant process.

After a quick refresh I wanted to spend the evening walking along the beach and so headed to St Brelade’s Bay Beach, which was a fantastic experience as locals were like me, taking in the evening warm weather, going for a walk across what is a beautiful beach.

Jersey.

One thing that quickly became apparent during my visit was how diverse Jersey is; I met people from all around Europe, and they all said Jersey was the place to live with a great lifestyle and spectacular views. I loved the multiculturalism about the island and the friendliness of everyone I came across.

One moment that signified this was on one evening as I walked along a beach, a group of locals and tourists got together to have a cricket match on the beautiful sandy shores, and they welcomed me to join if I wanted - signifying the pleasantness, and kindness of the people around Jersey. Everyone is welcoming and no matter if you're a local or a tourist visiting, they treat everyone the same.

One of the attractions I would recommend to anyone visiting Jersey would be the war tunnels, which are steeped in history and despite visiting on an extremely hot day, it was a very interesting learning experience, moving and informative.

Jersey.

As a thrill seeker I loved the chances to go jet skiing. I did this through a company called Jersey Sea Sport, and once again, the workers made it an easy experience from booking to doing the excursion. Safety is taken very seriously which is great to notice and then the thrill of taking a jet ski out on the sea, looking back at the island pass by, was my favourite experience from the trip.

Jersey also has a fantastic selection of restaurants - from fresh seafood, to steakhouses, Asian restaurants such as Korean and Japanese - the options are almost endless. I tried to visit as many as my stomach could possibly take, and the restaurants I would recommend visiting are:

  • Bellagio - a fantastic Italian restaurant

  • Bollywood Bytes - great authentic Indian food full of flavours and spices

  • Little Thai Restaurant - in the name, great Thai food. I would highly recommend that, despite me having a nut-allergy, as staff were very careful and receptive to this, especially as a lot of Thai dishes contain nuts

There are so many food options, and I would also recommend the restaurant in the Hotel de France, which had a wide ranging menu and great food. Their breakfasts were superb and I would highly recommend a stay at this hotel which is steeped in a lot of history itself!

To sum up my trip.. Jersey is certainly a trip worth making and I admittedly, had never considered visiting there before but after being invited very kindly by Condor Ferries, I will definitely be making a trip back there. It is a pleasant island that I would recommend to families, adults and anyone looking for inspiration on where to visit.

Jersey truly is a journey worth making.

For anyone thinking about making a trip, or like me never had previously considered a trip to Jersey or any of the Channel Islands, I would highly recommend visiting the Condor Ferries website, where full booking information and deals are available: condorferries.co.uk/holidays-breaks/jersey-holidays-breaks