Guernsey on your own

[Sammy1]

We've got the Marco Polo in today, 090415, on my blog http://guernseyliners.blogspot.com/ you can see the new pontoon in the context of the harbour. Also the line of guests that collect for the service bus around the Island.

 

Weather is good at the moment, as it should be!!

 

Nigel

 

Hi Nigel, we're very much looking forward to visiting your beautiful island on our cruise stop in July.

 

We were thinking of doing the cliff walk to Fermain Bay from St. Peter Port after touring the town. Is it far from town? Or do you recommend taking a regular bus to a stop nearby?

 

Sam

[LHT28]

We've got the Marco Polo in today, 090415, on my blog http://guernseyliners.blogspot.com/ you can see the new pontoon in the context of the harbour. Also the line of guests that collect for the service bus around the Island.

 

Weather is good at the moment, as it should be!!

 

Nigel

 

Thanks for the post

I guess the bus service in not in business for cruise passengers but I agree more buses would make a difference looking at that line -up

 

Lyn

[nkgur]

Hi Nigel, we're very much looking forward to visiting your beautiful island on our cruise stop in July.

 

We were thinking of doing the cliff walk to Fermain Bay from St. Peter Port after touring the town. Is it far from town? Or do you recommend taking a regular bus to a stop nearby?

 

Sam

 

 

Good evening Sam,

 

Fermain is a beautiful bay and well worth a visit but there is long hill back up to the main road to catch a bus back in to town ( St Peter Port. ) I would therefore suggest you catch a bus TO the Fermain stop on the Fort Road from the town bus terminus. This will give you a downhill walk through a wooded valley to the bay, which also has a very good beach cafe, ( and toilets.) You can then take the cliff path north, back to Town. The round trip would take about two or two and a half hours. The cliff path is readily accessible but has lots of steps and needs sensible shoes. It provides wonderful views of the coast and other islands. Some of the photos on today's post were taken from this cliff path.

 

Nigel and Lesley

[Sammy1]

Good evening Sam,

 

Fermain is a beautiful bay and well worth a visit but there is long hill back up to the main road to catch a bus back in to town ( St Peter Port. ) I would therefore suggest you catch a bus TO the Fermain stop on the Fort Road from the town bus terminus. This will give you a downhill walk through a wooded valley to the bay, which also has a very good beach cafe, ( and toilets.) You can then take the cliff path north, back to Town. The round trip would take about two or two and a half hours. The cliff path is readily accessible but has lots of steps and needs sensible shoes. It provides wonderful views of the coast and other islands. Some of the photos on today's post were taken from this cliff path.

 

Nigel and Lesley

 

Thanks very much! We'll have to see if we can work that in to what is shaping up to be a busy day there. We have a walking tour of St. Peter Port booked first, then we're on our own. I do want to see the Little Chapel....looks amazing. And, we want to also get to Ben Le Prevost Chocolatier to satisfy my chocolate cravings. So much to see in so little time!

 

If we are short of time and still want to see Fermain Bay, can you estimate how much time we should budget if we took the bus both ways, and just stay a short time there? Or, would we perhaps waste a lot of time waiting for a bus for the return trip to town? Maybe a taxi would be a better option? Sorry to pepper you with all these questions!!

 

Sam

Edited April 10, 2015 by Sammy1
more questions

[nkgur]

Thanks very much! We'll have to see if we can work that in to what is shaping up to be a busy day there. We have a walking tour of St. Peter Port booked first, then we're on our own. I do want to see the Little Chapel....looks amazing. And, we want to also get to Ben Le Prevost Chocolatier to satisfy my chocolate cravings. So much to see in so little time!

 

If we are short of time and still want to see Fermain Bay, can you estimate how much time we should budget if we took the bus both ways, and just stay a short time there? Or, would we perhaps waste a lot of time waiting for a bus for the return trip to town? Maybe a taxi would be a better option? Sorry to pepper you with all these questions!!

 

Sam

 

Hello again, Ben Le Prevost's chocolates are exceptional, and his shop is just past the Market buildings in St Peter Port, so this should be an easy stop for you. The Little Chapel is amazing. Curiously, I was the Principal of the school which has responsibility for its care. It is a 15 minute drive from St. Peter Port. I think it would be difficult to visit the Little Chapel and Fermain without a car. All bus journeys are £1, so good value but buses are often every 30 minutes so there can be some waiting around. If we are on island for your visit we would be happy to give you a lift to the Little Chapel or Fermain if that helps. Hope the weather is as kind in July, it is a beautiful day here today.

 

Nigel and Lesley

[Sammy1]

Hello again, Ben Le Prevost's chocolates are exceptional, and his shop is just past the Market buildings in St Peter Port, so this should be an easy stop for you. The Little Chapel is amazing. Curiously, I was the Principal of the school which has responsibility for its care. It is a 15 minute drive from St. Peter Port. I think it would be difficult to visit the Little Chapel and Fermain without a car. All bus journeys are £1, so good value but buses are often every 30 minutes so there can be some waiting around. If we are on island for your visit we would be happy to give you a lift to the Little Chapel or Fermain if that helps. Hope the weather is as kind in July, it is a beautiful day here today.

 

Nigel and Lesley

 

Thank you very much for your very kind offer! We are a group of six adults, so probably not feasible for you. We're now thinking of maybe hiring a taxi van to take us to these places after our walking tour of St. Peter Port. Since Guernsey is a tender stop for our cruise, we have to remain ever mindful of our time constraints. Thanks again for all your helpful info, and your excellent blog.

 

Sam

Edited April 12, 2015 by Sammy1
typo

[Corfe Mixture]

We've got the Marco Polo in today, 090415, on my blog http://guernseyliners.blogspot.com/ you can see the new pontoon in the context of the harbour. Also the line of guests that collect for the service bus around the Island.

 

Weather is good at the moment, as it should be!!

 

Nigel

 

Also nice picture of Condor Liberation. From the sea state, I guess it wasn't taken on her first day in service.

 

Oops!! :)

 

EDIT. Just noticed the date of the blog, so I guess it was after they fixed the dents.

Edited April 12, 2015 by Corfe Mixture

[tartanexile81]

The company that I used in 2007 is still around; that was Value Rent a Car.

 

Thank you for that. I'll try them

[nkgur]

Thank you very much for your very kind offer! We are a group of six adults, so probably not feasible for you. We're now thinking of maybe hiring a taxi van to take us to these places after our walking tour of St. Peter Port. Since Guernsey is a tender stop for our cruise, we have to remain ever mindful of our time constraints. Thanks again for all your helpful info, and your excellent blog.

 

Sam

 

Think you are probably right Sam, 6 would be a very tight fit in our car. I hope you enjoy your day in Guernsey, and if we can be anymore help let us know. We were down Saints Bay yesterday on the south coast, no one there, and the weather and blossom is wonderful.

 

Nigel & Lesley

[tartanexile81]

For anybody considering a walk (such a Fermain to St Peter Port mentioned here) I found this great website which gives detailed instructions for various walks in Guernsey. I'd be grateful if Sammy1 could recommend a particular walk. We're hiring a car so can get down to any of the bays but would obviously need to do a round trip

 

http://www.guernseywalker.me.uk/

[Sammy1]

For anybody considering a walk (such a Fermain to St Peter Port mentioned here) I found this great website which gives detailed instructions for various walks in Guernsey. I'd be grateful if Sammy1 could recommend a particular walk. We're hiring a car so can get down to any of the bays but would obviously need to do a round trip

 

http://www.guernseywalker.me.uk/

 

Nigel and Lesley (nkgur) are the posters in the know....I believe they're locals on the island. Yes, that is a great site. I think though that we'll have to put off a cliff walk to Fermain until the next time we come to Guernsey. We've come to realize that you can only do so much in a tight time frame when stopping here on a cruise. With tendering, and a walking tour already arranged for the morning and early afternoon, we'll only have time remaining to explore Cornet Castle and a stop at Ben Le Prevost to satisfy my chocolate cravings. Good luck in your plans!

Edited April 16, 2015 by Sammy1
typo

[Sammy1]

For anybody considering a walk (such a Fermain to St Peter Port mentioned here) I found this great website which gives detailed instructions for various walks in Guernsey. I'd be grateful if Sammy1 could recommend a particular walk. We're hiring a car so can get down to any of the bays but would obviously need to do a round trip

 

http://www.guernseywalker.me.uk/

 

This is a great site that I found a few weeks ago, and first got me interested in doing a scenic walk...it has links to pages and pages of useful info...

 

http://www.visitguernsey.com/tasty-walks

[D C]

I've been to Guernsey on multiple occasions, but never as a cruise excursion. Regardless, Guernsey would be VERY easy to do on your own.

 

Town is mere steps from the port. I'd guess the tender ride is longer than the walk to town.

 

The round-island bus is a nice way to get a light flavour of the island, but I'm somewhat hesitant to recommend it since they're not exactly tour buses. You get a good look around, but might not know what exactly you're looking at.

 

Intransit is a private bus company on the island. Their website mentions excursions, though I'm not sure they coordinate with cruise lines. On my last trip there, we had a group tour on one of their buses that was fabulous. Our driver, Peter, is a Guernsey native. Took us to the little chapel, to some WW2 sites in Torteval, a stop for tea at the Guernsey Pearl Tea Room, a stop at a hedge veg, and so on. Wonderful tour. For those not interested in walking much, it may be worth a call and maybe a group arrangement.

 

For walking, it's certainly not a tremendously difficult walk along the cliff path to Fermain Bay. Lovely little cafe for lunch or tea. A google image search for "Fermain Bay" should be enough to encourage many to make that walk.

 

I wouldn't overlook a trip over to Sark, either. No cars, just bikes, horses, and tractors. A bike rental isn't expensive, but a carriage ride can give you the commentary unavailable otherwise. And a round-island boat ride with George Guille is a trip you'll be talking about for years to come.

[nkgur]

A update on my blog http://guernseyliners.blogspot.com/ as we had the Costa Pacifica in today with 3,000 guests which tested the new area and pontoon for arriving in Guernsey.

 

Lesley & Nigel

[Sammy1]

A update on my blog http://guernseyliners.blogspot.com/ as we had the Costa Pacifica in today with 3,000 guests which tested the new area and pontoon for arriving in Guernsey.

 

Lesley & Nigel

 

Wow! Thanks for the post, nkgur, this looks very ominous! I'm hoping they have things sorted out when our ship, the Silhouette, arrives with almost 3,000 passengers in July. With so much to see and do, it would be a shame to waste precious time in such a queue.

Edited April 25, 2015 by Sammy1
typo

[cnd crsr]

Thanks nkgur for the blog update. Guess we can look forward to those long lines when we are there in May:( on the Royal Princess.

[Momelkc]

We're interested in going to the German Occupation museum during a port visit.

 

It looks like we could take Route 11, Route 92/91 or Route 93 from Town toward the Airport. Is there a specific stop that we should look for that would be closest to the Occupation museum? Or should we drop off the bus at the Airport Forecourt? We would gladly walk from there.

 

Thanks for your help!

 

Melissa

[nkgur]

We're interested in going to the German Occupation museum during a port visit.

 

It looks like we could take Route 11, Route 92/91 or Route 93 from Town toward the Airport. Is there a specific stop that we should look for that would be closest to the Occupation museum? Or should we drop off the bus at the Airport Forecourt? We would gladly walk from there.

 

Thanks for your help!

 

Melissa

 

The bus stop for the Occupation museum is "Le Bourg" at the top of Petit Bot hill, if you miss that, the airport is fine and head towards Forest Church, and follow the signs. Bear in mind on a Saturday, Sunday, Bank Holidays different timings apply and some services may not run.

 

Lesley & Nigel

[Momelkc]

The bus stop for the Occupation museum is "Le Bourg" at the top of Petit Bot hill, if you miss that, the airport is fine and head towards Forest Church, and follow the signs. Bear in mind on a Saturday, Sunday, Bank Holidays different timings apply and some services may not run.

 

Lesley & Nigel

 

Thank you so much for your help!

 

Looking forward to our visit.

 

Melissa

[D C]

A update on my blog http://guernseyliners.blogspot.com/ as we had the Costa Pacifica in today with 3,000 guests which tested the new area and pontoon for arriving in Guernsey.

 

Lesley & Nigel

 

Nice review. The second pic certainly shows how close the Town bus station is to the pier.

 

Was the Venture aiding with the tendering?

[LHT28]

A update on my blog http://guernseyliners.blogspot.com/ as we had the Costa Pacifica in today with 3,000 guests which tested the new area and pontoon for arriving in Guernsey.

 

Lesley & Nigel

Thanks for the update

:eek:

 

Maybe they will have to limit the size of ships tendering there or have a Plan "B"

If I was on that ship I would just stay onboard :(

 

Hope we get to see the Island in June only 1250 PAX ;);)

 

Lyn

[nkgur]

Nice review. The second pic certainly shows how close the Town bus station is to the pier.

 

Was the Venture aiding with the tendering?

 

Yes, the Sark ferry was chartered to help with the tendering. This often happens with the larger ships. They also use the Herm Tridents. May 23rd will be a interesting day with Queen Victoria, Ventura and the Island Sky in for the day. May 9th is Liberation Day when the piers get taken over by the celebrations, same day that the Aurora visits!!

 

Nigel & Lesley

[Ray66]

Look out for us all on the Queen Victoria next Monday! :) (weather permitting)

[Sammy1]

Thank you nkgur for your latest blog post this morning, this one about Le Boreal and Boudicca. Its too bad for the passengers on the Boudicca not being able to tender in. Can this happen in the summer as well? Can the weather be that changeable then also? We're a little concerned there is some chance of not being able to tender in when our cruise ship, the Silhouette, arrives in July.

 

Thanks!

Sam

[nkgur]

Thank you nkgur for your latest blog post this morning, this one about Le Boreal and Boudicca. Its too bad for the passengers on the Boudicca not being able to tender in. Can this happen in the summer as well? Can the weather be that changeable then also? We're a little concerned there is some chance of not being able to tender in when our cruise ship, the Silhouette, arrives in July.

 

Thanks!

Sam

 

The weather that day was really strange with rather strong squalls going through in the morning and then by the time Le Boreal had anchored the rain and wind had cleared away to the east and it was a lovely sunny day.

 

The anchorages are on the east side of the island which are sheltered from the prevalent westerly/south westerly winds. It is the swell that causes problems for boarding guests onto the tenders and this was the problem for the Boudicca.

 

The shoulder months tend to attract more cancellations than in the middle of the summer.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Nigel & Lesley