For the last two years, my mum has organised a group trip which takes place at the end of May during the bank holiday weekend. The group usually consists of about 35-45 people and two of those include, myself and Ky (who has been bitten by the travel bug).

Last year we went to Belgium and this year….we ventured to Jersey!

Jersey is the largest channel island and is about 100 miles south of mainland Britain. However it is closer to France, lying just 14 miles from its coast.

Just like the previous year’s trip to Belgium, it was organised so that we would travel by coach and ferry. However I would say that this is not the easiest or quickest way to travel to Jersey unless you live near to the Poole or Weymouth.

It took us over 4 hours to drive from London to Poole. We got stuck in traffic and almost missed our ferry, which in the end was delayed due a mechanical issue.

We travelled with Condor Ferries and 4 ½ hours later, we arrived in Jersey, tired and hungry, having been travelling since 10am.

We finally arrived at our Hotel after 10pm and luckily we were able to still get our evening meal as they had been informed of the issues with the ferry.

After filling our bellies till we almost burst, we decided to call it a night and explore the hotel and Jersey the following day.

Our accommodation for the weekend was The Mayfair Hotel, a 3* hotel located in St Helier. The hotel’s facilities included a swimming pool, gymnasium, jacuzzi and steam room. All in all I was impressed, our room was very clean and the food was excellent. However the décor was a little dated….think a seaside hotel or bed and breakfast that has yet to bring itself into the 21^st century!

On our first day in Jersey we decided to put on our explorer hats and have a look around St Helier, Jersey’s capital. We discovered we were only about a 5 minute walk from the shopping centre and was pleasantly surprised that it had a mixture of local and high street shops. We also looked around the famous Central Market which first opened on the 9^th September 1883! The market contained diverse types of stalls and you could buy anything from antiques to flowers to fresh vegetables and jewellery.

As we approached lunchtime we decided to head back to the hotel, get some lunch and then get ready to go for a swim. The swimming pool was not bad, nothing overly fancy but nonetheless nice and clean. However after such a long day travelling the day before we were still very tired so after swimming we went to rest before dinner.

Throughout our stay breakfast was not bad, however dinner was great! For Breakfast you could have a full English breakfast or alternatively fresh kippers. You could also have whatever you wanted from the continental buffet and tea and coffee were also included. However I would avoid the scrambled eggs as they did not look or taste very nice. The Dinner was a 3 course meal. It was excellent because you could choose a meat, fish or vegetarian dish. The only thing I didn’t like about dinner was that you had to pay separately for your drinks and they were quite expensive.

The following day it was arranged for us to take a coach trip around Jersey. Our tour was with Tantivy Blue Coach Company, who specialise in a number of different tours around Jersey. We did the Jersey intro tour which is specifically tailored to short stay visitors like ourselves. The tour covers the islands favourite coastal spots including St. Brelade’s bay, Corbiere and St. Ouens. The tour was great; it was nice to be able to see some of the picturesque spots of the island. It cost £15.70 for an adult and £7.50 for a child. We did book through our hotel on the Saturday but I would probably advised to book ahead especially during the school holidays.

By the time we got back to the hotel we were shattered and it was nearly near dinner time. So we decided to rest up for a little while and then head to dinner, which again was great but knowing we had a mammoth journey the following day opted for an early night.

Our journey home was still very long but we had no delays or traffic so was somewhat faster!

Overall, Ky and I enjoyed our trip to Jersey. We didn’t really get to do as much as we would have liked, for example going to the beach but I suppose it gives us a reason to visit again!!

Jersey is great for families but it seems to be very popular for the elderly as during our stay at the hotel, we realised Ky was the only child! Something to be aware of especially if you have really active children!

Ky Rated Jersey: 

Dee Rated Jersey: 

If you have been to Jersey for a holiday or short break, tell us your experiences?? Also did you visit any places that would be of interest to children?