The ultimate Jersey itinerary.

Stay west and explore Jersey’s National Park. Go on a bug safari or just have fun playing in one of the largest single dune systems in the British Isles. Treat it as high intensity interval training or take a casual walk to reach the top of the dunes and take in that breathtaking view over St. Ouen’s Bay. Either way it will take your breath away.

The jewel in Jersey’s Crown, Jersey Zoo was the world’s first ever conservation-led zoo. 60 plus years later, Gerald Durrell’s 32 acre-park is host to some of the world’s rarest and most endangered animals. Book luxury camping on site; this is as glam as glamping gets. With log burners, fridges and private bathrooms under geodesic domes this really feels a lot more than a normal camping experience. The Zoo café is right next door to the camp and offers great Thai food and delicious wood-fired pizzas. Doze off to the sounds of the lemurs and tamarins, whilst feeling like you are in a luxury hotel.

After all that hard work, you deserve a little pamper. The Ayush Wellness Spa is located at the Hotel de France, situated on the outskirts of St. Helier. Start with a sauna, steam, jacuzzi or swim in the hydrotherapy pool before the main event. Built on the foundation of Ayurvedic healing therapies, Ayush is actual spa heaven. Your treatment starts with a consultation with the resident Ayurvedic physician and finishes with you floating out the door.

Take the coast road and stop off at The Bass & Lobster for lunch. Title dishes are served daily alongside traditional classics and local seafood. Huge hand dived local scallops are a firm favourite. Take to the terrace and order a glass of wine with your scallops to build up your strength for conquering your second castle of the day.

Head back to St. Helier and walk across the causeway at low tide or let the castle ferry transport you across the bay and back in time to Elizabeth Castle. Climb the battlements, explore the turrets and bunkers and discover the Hermitage where Saint Helier is thought to have live around 550 A.D. Meet the 18th Century Master Gunner on the Parade Ground inside the castle. He likes putting tourists (and locals) through their paces before marching off to the cockpit to fire the Black Powder cannon. Kids love him – and the cannon.

If you fancy being the King or Queen of your own castle for the night, you can book to stay in the apartment at Elizabeth Castle. Once the last boat leaves you really are cut off from everyone and everything, with a Tudor castle to explore. Enjoy a picnic supper underneath the stars. Crowns optional.

If you would rather take a boat than a RIB you have a number of options including a luxury charter service from Go-Sail who offer private, skippered charters or a motor yacht experience with Royal China Charters who offer their own brand of laid back luxury. Head to one of the local offshore reefs to explore your private beach for the day with a picnic for everyone on board.

The Jersey Duchess is the largest passenger boat available for private charters; she can hold up to 80 passengers and can offer BBQ’s on board. The Duchess has her own dance floor so fun loving groups can book a DJ for a party boat and go for a swim once the boat is anchored in the bay.

Whichever mode of transport you choose to whizz you across the water, there are some quirky and unique options to choose from to make your boat trip extra special

Take one of our local yoga instructors from Island Yoga with you on the trip and take part in a group yoga session on a sunny sandbank. Crystal clear waters and miles of uninterrupted views will make you feel another world away and most definitely help you find your centre.

Local company “The Good Stone” offers a BBQ service and will accompany you on board, fire up the BBQ and have it ready for your group when you have finished exploring or by the time you have mastered your downward facing dog.

Once back on dry land, head to the Royal Bay of Grouville, home of the Jersey Oyster. Wander along the Oyster beds to the Seymour pub where groups can choose from a menu featuring local produce in the cosiest of settings, just a stone’s throw from the oyster beds.

Discover Jersey’s maritime past in this uniquely interactive museum. Set by the historic harbour of St. Helier, the Maritime Museum is all about seafaring, navigation and the elements. Through interactive exhibits you can feel the force of a gale, understand the tides and learn how to design and float a ship. Also on site is the Occupation Tapestry Gallery.

St. Helier’s commercial art gallery, CCA Galleries International is located in Royal Court Chambers in Hill Street, less than a minute from St. Helier’s Royal Square. Check their website for details of current exhibitions, featuring international and local artists, which are hosted in this modern and light four floor exhibition space.

Reserve the chef’s table at Jersey’s only Michelin Star restaurant for a very special evening of local flavours, where you will be sat right at the heart of the action. Contemporary European dishes, abundant with local produce, feature on the tasting menus by Head Chef Callum Graham. Callum retained Bohemia’s Michelin Star for their 17th consecutive year – in his first year in the position. The Chef’s table is a really special, luxury gastro experience.

Born in 1911, Eric Young was a pioneer of the orchid community, widely respected and honoured throughout. Now proud Chelsea Flower Show gold medallists, the Eric Young Orchid Foundation is the perfect tourist spot in all weathers. Known as the most extravagant and flamboyant of flowers, this unique centre is dedicated to orchids. Stroll and picnic amongst the flowers. Beautiful.

From the scent of orchids to the perfumes of local lavender, rosemary, eucalyptus and cypress, Jersey Lavender is your next stop. A family business and if you visit during the lavender season you can watch the team dry and distill the herbs to make their world renowned oils. If you are brave enough, try the lavender shortbread in the café. Follow the paths through the lavender and watch out for the naughty chickens. Visitors are encouraged to “Report any bad chicken behaviour to the shop staff, if possible identifying the individual chicken.” Only in Jersey.

Use GPS enabled devices to take part in a real-world, outdoor treasure hunt. Geocaching combines nature and technology and allows those playing the game to find hidden containers (caches) all around the island. Jersey has a huge amount of caches for such a small area. Take in that stunning scenery as you navigate your way around the island.

Jersey hosts a vast network of cycle routes and our unique Green Lanes, where cyclists have priority and cars must slow down to 15 miles per hour, are the perfect place for cyclists to roam. Rent a bike and pedal your way around the Green Lane network, taking in the sights, including acres of lush fields. Jersey’s cycle routes will take you all across the island, from beaches to visitor attractions.

As you cycle the Green Lanes you will pass fields of our famous Jersey Royals, you will also spot some for sale in our local honesty boxes. Pick up a bag to take home.

For a gentle and kid-friendly cycle route, head to the railway walk cycle track and cycle along the tracks of steam from St. Aubin’s Village to La Corbière Lighthouse along what was once the Jersey Railway track.

After a hard day cycling around our little rock, it is definitely time for a Jersey ice cream. For major instagram points, have yours as the sun sinks over Corbière Lighthouse. No filter needed.

One last burst of energy is required to cycle along the five mile beach to El Tico beach canteen. As the sun slips under the sea, spot the surfers catching the last waves of the day as you enjoy world flavours like fish tacos, ribs and curries; all made using the island’s rich local produce. The perfect spot to watch the sunset.

Throw some Jersey produce on the barbie. From local fish and shellfish, to Jersey beef burgers and John Hacket’s sought after sausages, you will be spoiled for locally grown and reared choices.

The family run Fresh Fish Company is a great place to pick up locally caught fish and seafood which arrive straight from the boats. Huge hand dived scallops and local MSC accredited lobster are pretty special and perfect for the BBQ.

Jon Hackett breeds pigs on his farm in St. Brelade, at “Me and the Farmer” at Brooklands Farm. He makes pork and other meat products, including sausages, pasties and pies.

Woodlands Farm shop offers a real taste of the island and Jersey Beef for your BBQ, perfect with some seasonal salad.

St. Brelade’s Bay has to be at the top of our beach list. Recently voted one of the best beaches in the UK, you can understand why it is one of Jersey’s most popular beaches. Soft golden sands, crystal clear waters and gentle waves await and the views are simply stunning. Accessible by public transport with parking directly across the road from the beach.

A sheltered, north facing beach, fringed with wooded slopes with enough to keep the little ones entertained all day. Children love building dams in the little stream which runs down the beach, exploring the rock pools and climbing the rocks whilst the grown ups can watch them from the comfort of their deck chairs. Colleen’s café is a firm local favourite and parking is easy to find. The perfect beach for a family day out.

Well worth the effort of getting there, Plémont is located on the rugged north coast and via quite a few steps! A sandy cove features the most incredible sea caves and a freshwater waterfall. You’ll feel like you are in a Famous Five novel! If you want to explore some more, take the cliff-path walk across the top of the bay. Be careful and check the tide times as the sand is completely covered at high tide. Once the tide retreats, children love playing in the sand bottomed pools that the tide has left behind.

All of these beaches have public loos, baby changing facilities and cafés. RNLI lifeguards are present in the summer months.

Wherever you are in Jersey you will not be far from The Crab Shack. A home grown restaurant group, one of the three Crab Shack’s is located out west in St. Brelade’s beautiful bay, perfect for a post beach day dinner. The Crab Shack offers relaxed family dining and a menu packed with local Jersey produce.

Once one of the island’s ancient water mills, the Moulin offers a warm welcome and traditional homemade food and fresh local seafood specials, plus a wide selection of real ales. Set in a beautiful woodland valley there is plenty of room for the kids to roam outside in the playground and work up an appetite for dinner. Less than 5 minutes walk from the beach.

For an altogether different approach to food in Jersey, give foraging a go. Go foraging with Kazz from Wild Adventures and discover Jersey’s wild side. Let Kazz show you wild, edible and medicinal plants using his natural navigation skills then make cordial using plants and trees and create fire by friction.

With the food tour and the foraging whetting your appetite, head to Samphire for the ultimate in fine dining. Sit back in one of the deep yellow leather banquette seats, admire the local artwork and prepare yourself for a real treat. Passionately crafted plates, created with the freshest and finest local ingredients are served with a seriously sophisticated flourish. Did we mention the killer cocktail list? Enjoy.

La Hougue Bie is a magical and truly memorable experience. The name is derived from the Old Norse of the Vikings: haugr meaning a mound and byr – that’s bound up with a medieval legend of a dragon and a knight, La Hougue Bie is home to one of the ten oldest buildings in the world with the standing stones and burial chambers dating back to 4000 BC, the Neolithic period when  many communities settled in Jersey. Local charitable enterprise Beresford Street Kitchen manages the tea room on site, where they provide training and employment opportunities for people with learning disabilities and autism. Cake with a conscience, surrounded by history.

Step back in time to the 1920’s and enter the wonderful Samarès Manor with its botanical gardens, where the Manor house dates back, in part, to medieval times. Steeped in Jersey history, it remains the traditional home of the Seigneur de Samares. Lose yourself in the herb and Japanese gardens whilst walking through paths flanked by wildflowers.

Walking works up an appetite. Faulkner Fisheries, housed in a WW2 German Bunker at L’Etacq is the perfect lunch spot. Try the oysters and barbequed local scallops with Jersey Royals served up with a side order of sea view. Spend the afternoon with Jersey Birding Tours discovering some of the beautiful birds and wildlife who live and pass through Jersey. From wetlands to sand dunes, reconnect with wide open spaces whilst the Marsh Harriers circle overhead.

End the day with a firework display at your feet. Meet your guide at La Rocque harbour for the most magical of Jersey experiences; a bioluminescence walk. As the tide goes out, tiny creatures glow in the dark and light up the sand. One of Jersey’s best-kept secrets and a spectacular way to end the day. Pre-booking essential.

Heartache, hardship and heroism; the real story of wartime Jersey. Jersey War Tunnels tells this story in the words of the people who were there. An underground tunnel complex, built by slave labour under German command, houses this truly unique exhibition which also includes a war trail and garden of reflection. New additions to the attraction include an Escape Room where you solve puzzles and break codes to find the key to freedom and the Love Bird Pottery Studio where you can paint your own ceramics and textiles.

Charter a coach and book a tour guide to take you on a tour of the island to see those places you have read about online, but haven’t quite managed to visit.

Jersey Uncovered Blue Badge tourist guides offer tailor-made adventures to suit the interests of your group or family. Book in advance and learn something new along the way.

Suma’s restaurant is close by and lunch on the terrace, with fabulous views of Mont Orgueil castle and the harbour, is a good way to continue your sampling of local produce. Did we mention that Jersey Lobster is another of our “Big 4” local delicacies? A lobster lunch with a view of the castle is a pretty special lunchtime treat.

Our famous Jersey cows have been making the creamiest ice cream in the world since 1763. We have a guide which shares with you the very best places to enjoy a Jersey ice cream – which are dotted all around the island. Visit Stuart at the ice cream van opposite Gorey Common and take a walk along the Royal Bay of Grouville; known as “Long Beach” by the locals. After impressing Queen Victoria in 1859, the beach gained a royal title and became the Royal Bay of Grouville. Fancy.

Jersey restaurant menus are abundant with Jersey Royals when they’re in season. Traditionally served with Jersey butter and a little fresh mint as an accompaniment to just about anything, one of the most unique Jersey Royal dishes is served at Sangria; a tapas restaurant set in St. Helier’s historic Royal Square, scene of the Battle of Jersey in 1781. Their Jersey Royals and braised octopus dish is absolutely stunning. Trust us.

Take a taste of Jersey back home with you. Before you head to the airport, pick up some last minute gifts from La Mare Wine Estate. If you have time, book the guided tour of the vineyards and orchards or just chill out with the estate’s Royal Gin and Tonic as you take in both the vines and the golden hour sunshine. Exit via the gift shop to take home handmade spirits, preserves and more. We’ll see you soon.