Anyone live or holidayed in Guernsey? Can you help me plan my trip :)

[Aberforthsgoat]

Hello!
I am planning to go to Guernsey, then onto Herm for a couple of nights, Sark for a night, and back to stay somewhere else in Guernsey for two nights before heading home.

Herm only seems to have the one hotel which makes it nice and easy so I'm trying to get booked into there.

I just wondered where you can recommend to stay in Guernsey? St Peter's Port seems to be the obvious place to start - there are a few hotels and I'm keen for something with a nice room with a balcony and a sea view ideally, although not sure what the weather would be like in early Sept so not sure if we'd get to enjoy it much!
Hotel doesn't need to be a spa or anything but if it has an indoor pool that's a bonus.
Ideally looking to go and explore, eat lots, do a bit of hiking and then chill at Herm and Sark before coming back to do a bit more walking and then go home.

I can't decide where to stay so I'm hoping someone local or someone who goes there a bit can advise! Thank you!

I've not been to Guernsey for years but it's such a small island that there aren't really any places that are inconveniently out of the way. Everywhere is near the beach and within easy reach of St Peter Port.

My favourite beach is Petit Bot Bay, which is a narrow inlet that goes out for miles when there's a low tide. Port Soif is a classic sandy beach with loads of room for kids to play, but it has no shelter and can get uncomfortably hot. Petit Bot is sheltered by cliffs.

There might be sand motor races in the Vazon Bay area, which are good fun.

The shell church is lovely. Castle Cornet in St Peter Port is interesting if you're into that sort of thing. The German underground military hospital is fascinating if a bit creepy.

Herm is teeny-tiny - you can walk around it in an hour or less. I'd only stay there for one night. Sark is WEIRD. I know people who live on Guernsey and one of them refuses to go to Sark because it gives her the creeps. It's interesting to visit but I wouldn't stay there. They are still really strict about the one powered vehicle rule and the only ambulance is pulled by an old tractor.

Hey I lived In Guernsey for 3 years - worked at La Bella Luce & the OGH as well as short stint on Herm.

Any questions let me know (just feeding baby!)

I’m off to Guernsey on Monday! Five days there and then Jersey for five days. Can’t wait, just wish the weather wasn’t so strange at the moment.

@DrCoconut The Little Chapel :)

@TheSmallClangerWhistlesAgain what’s weird about it?

I’m trying to work out the right order of things so we don’t end spending all our time travelling back and forth

Hi. I stayed at the St Pierre Park in a luxury room. This was the best value. Hotel is great although a bit dated in a way. Beds are new and super comfy and rooms are big. Staff are nice and they keep your case for you. Park is lovely and well looked after and pool is good too. The restaurant is ok and if you walk up to the golf course bit, there is a more hip bistro. I would stay there again. Bus stop is near by. Buses are brilliant and very frequent. You can walk into town - takes about half an hour ish. Walk back is uphill so would get the bus.

Things that were fab. Walked from St Peter Port southwards past the victorian swimming pools towards Fermain bay which has a brill cafe. I wouldn't stay at St Fermain, it is a bit out of the way.

Jerbourg point is gorgeous and the hotel there is nice to eat at. Also looked nice to stay but again, is at the end of the brown bus route.

Sark was gorgeous. If you are prone to sea sickness or queezy, I suggest you take a tablet pre ferry. So, you get off the boat, walk up a hill and then take the tractor to the main street. On the main street on the left is a fabby fabby cafe that does amazing crab salad. Way cheaper than the hotel. I would deffo stay in Sark when I go again.

Take a bus journey round the island. Near the airport is the Guernsey occupation museum which is...quirky but huge and very informative. Very handy if you need to kill time between bus journey and flight back.

I had the best time and I am sure you will too.

You can book the ferry crossings when at St Peter Port. Honestly, I wouldn't bother staying in Herm. I think you can enjoy the place in a day and it is very near Guernsey. If you think you are going to bus a lot, get a puffin pass from the bus office at bus station. Don't hire a car. Roads are narrow, busy and lots of route changes.

Some pics

Thanks for the pics and tips! I’m keen to stay at Herm because it was one of my grandad’s favourite places and the hotel has a beautiful suite available - it looks perfect for just chilling for a couple of days (2 max) and sea swimming.

Sark I’ve booked a hotel but I’ve currently only got it for one night - have the option to extend it to two but am undecided. I was going to go - Guernsey for three nights - Herm for two - Sark for one - back to a different place in Guernsey for two or three more but I don’t know if that’s too long. I’m also not sure how changeable the weather will be in September

Guernsey is easy to get to everywhere in a day. I think if I was doing it again, I'd may be stay at st pierre and then poss the place with the gin distillary or poss the Jerbourg. I think it depends how much you want to live out of a suitcase and it is a pain packing and then carting one around. I didn't go to Herm as I was 9nly there over four nights, five days. I went in April and the weather was fab. I think you'd be fine in September. It is a fab place but the mobiles have roaming charges - although it is uk, it isn't and no NHS so make sure you have travel insurance with medical cover ( I only found out this when there - hadn't quite got my head round the whole Bailywick thing). Also, if you want to do clothes shopping then leave space in suitcase.

Thanks @Flyingarcher really helpful. We usually pack really light as we always hop about on holiday so that shouldn’t be a problem.
Looking forward to it; just need to get it all booked now :)

Sark reminded me very strongly of Summerisle from The Wicker Man and I'm not the only one who's felt that.

Herm is pretty but it is seriously tiny and there's not really anything to do there. At least one of the beaches is made of crushed shells which looks nice but makes for tingly feet afterwards.

I've never been to Alderney but that's easily accessible from Guernsey and you get to go on one of the famous "Flying Banana" Aurigny planes.

You can walk out to Lihou island at low tide and get the Duck back if the tide's coming in, which I remember enjoying. Lihou has birds, cliffs and a spooky ruined abbey.

I'm currently here and roaming has changed! I had a live chat this morning to be sure and o2 and Vodafone are letting us use our phones which is great.

Was really surprised when I got the text saying all ok so did the chat to be sure.

If the Little Chapel is your thing, then the shrine of the Sacred Heart at fort hommet is worth a look. It’s only open a couple of Saturday afternoons a month though. You could do the restored gun casemate while you are there.

Start of September should be ok for weather. It’s usually quite nice once the schools have gone back. It might be a bit more changeable towards the end of the month.

Herm is tiny please listen to the people saying it's not worth staying there, it isn't! A couple of hours there is enough.

I'd save some money for a couple of days in Jersey at the end, which is the nicest Channel Island in my opinion and has the most to do (although St Peter Port is nicer than St Helier).

Thanks for advice - already been to jersey.
I don’t mind it being tiny with nothing to do, literally want to spend those days on a sea view balcony with a book, paddling and chilling.
We most likely won’t arrive there til late afternoon so will only have one full day anyway

It’s perfect for that.

Sark is quite odd but I think it's charming! I can't understand why people want to live there but I do like to visit. With your itinerary I'd probably do 2 nights in Sark just for a change, plus if the skies don't cooperate you've got another chance of seeing the dark skies.

Cobo Bay Hotel might be worth a look. The beach opposite is lovely for a walk or rockpooling or swimming. And you can watch the sun go down over the sea in the evenings. There is a bus route to town. You also have a couple of shops nearby (small food shop, paper/sweet shop, chemist). And a good pub.

Agree that Petit Bot is lovely. Moulin Huet is another favourite of mine. Port Soif has a nice little kiosk. The kiosk at Cobo Bay is also good for lunch.

I definitely preferred Guernsey to Jersey but they are both nice. Jersey is slightly better for tax-free shopping if that's your thing.

Despite it only being a few miles across, you could go to a new beach every day on Guernsey and still not visit all of them. Lots of lovely beaches where you can relax with a book and an ice cream - even the rocky ones are good for swimming.

There is a bus that does a circuit of the island regularly through the day- everywhere is easy to reach.

Has anyone taken a day trip to France from St Peter Port? We are going in summer, and wondered about these day trips. They seem expensive, but my daughter wants to practise her french!

Herm is beautiful - there is nothing there apart from the hotel, a pub and various self catering cottages and a camp site and some beautiful beaches. If you want days where you are getting away from everything then it is well worth the stay I reckon. We've only done the day trip a couple of times but I could happily stay there for longer.

We stayed at a self catering place at Fermain Bay last time we went about 4 years ago and there was a nice cafe by the beach which did delicious cakes. We walked past the hotel recommended upthread on our journey to and from the beach and it does look lovely. You are outside of St Peter Port but there is a regular bus service which doesn't take many minutes and you can walk in as well if you wanted which from memory takes about an hour but we did have an 8 year old with us.

We've had a couple of lovely holidays there and I'd happily go back.

Oh, and we did look at the trips to France but were put off by the cost (and laziness of organising ourselves!).

@graffitiartist it's easy to do either with condor ferries or manche iles. They have a timetable of daytrips but I'd look carefully at where they are going - Saint Malo is fab but Dielette is very small.