Buy a
SailRail ticket to the Channel Islands, and avoid the pain of the
plane...
There's absolutely
no need to fly. It's easy to reach Jersey or Guernsey by
train & ferry, a more civilised, less stressful & more
environmentally-friendly way to go. You can buy a special
'SailRail' train & ferry ticket from London or any station in
Britain to Jersey or Guernsey, this page will explain train &
ferry schedules, prices and how to buy tickets.
The Channel Islands
are a great place to spend a holiday or short break, with sandy
beaches, castles, history and lots to explore. "Great Britain is our oldest possession" is a long-standing
Channel Islanders' joke. The Channel Islands, lying
a few miles from the coast of France but over 70 miles from
the UK, were part of Normandy when William the Conqueror,
Duke of Normandy, invaded and captured England in 1066.
When the French king later invaded and captured Normandy in
1204, the Islanders chose to stay subject to the Crown of
England. In return for their loyalty, the Islands were
allowed to retain their own government (called the 'States')
and even today they are not legally part of the UK or even
the EU. The resulting favourable tax laws have made
the Channel Islands a major financial centre and home to many
wealthy Brits. It's also the reason you'll find
'duty-free' goods sold on the ferry to the Channel Islands, but
not on the ferry to France!
Option 1,
by fast SeaCat from Poole or Weymouth...
Take a train from your local station to Poole or Weymouth on
the south coast.
Condor Ferries operate comfortable 'SeaCat' fast
ferries from Weymouth & Poole
to Jersey (St Helier) & Guernsey (St Peter Port) taking
just 2-4 hours, all year round. It's a very
relaxed and comfortable way to travel. Ferry times
vary by day of the week and time of year, but on many
days you'll find train & ferry times looking something
like the times shown below.
London
► Jersey & Guernsey
Take the 12:05 train from London
Waterloo to Poole, it's a taxi ride or walk to the ferry
terminal, then take the 16:10 fast ferry from Poole arriving St
Peter port (Guernsey) at 18:40 and St Helier ( Jersey) at
19:55. On other dates, you may find a 13:30 or 13:55
fast ferry from Poole rather than a 16:10, so take the
08:35 train from London Waterloo to connect. You
arrive in St Peter port (Guernsey) around 16:30 and St
Helier ( Jersey) around 17:45. This is a typical
example, you need to
check times for your date of travel.
Jersey
& Guernsey ► London
Sail
from Jersey by fast ferry around 11:00 and from Guernsey
around 12:15 (times vary by date), arriving
Poole about 15:10. Take a taxi or walk to Poole station.
A train will get you to London Waterloo by about 18:45,
trains run at least every 30 minutes. This is a
typical example, you need to
check times for your date of travel.
Option 2,
by all-weather conventional ferry from Portsmouth...
The fast catamarans can occasionally be cancelled if the
weather is very bad, especially in winter. Condor
Ferries operate a daily all-year, all-weather sailing
by conventional ship from Portsmouth to Jersey & Guernsey
taking 9-10 hours.
London
► Jersey & Guernsey
In this direction the ferry sails by day, leaving Portsmouth Continental Ferry
Port at 09:00 and arriving in St Peter Port (Guernsey) at
16:30 & St Helier (Jersey) at 19:30. Private cabins &
reclining seats are available. To catch this ship, you'll
need to leave London Waterloo at 05:00 (Mon-Sat only, check
times at www.nationalrail.co.uk),
or travel down to Portsmouth the night before.
You'll get great views of the naval port and all the
modern warships, as well as historic HMS Victory and HMS
Warrior, as the ferry leaves Portsmouth.
Jersey
& Guernsey ► London
In this direction the ferry sails overnight, leaving Guernsey at
17:30, Jersey at 21:30, and arriving Portsmouth at 06:30.
Cabins and reclining seats are available. A train
connection from Portsmouth & Southsea station will get you
to London Waterloo at about 09:30, you can check times at
www.nationalrail.co.uk.
Start with the ferry. First, check ferry sailing times & dates
between Poole, Weymouth or Portsmouth and the Channel Islands at
www.condorferries.co.uk.
Then check train times & fares from London or any
station in Britain to Poole, Weymouth or Portsmouth using
www.nationalrail.co.uk. Remember to allow for the one-hour
ferry check-in at the port, plus at least half an hour to get from
the station to the ferry terminal on foot or by taxi.
There are
special 'SailRail' train & ferry fares between any railway station
in Britain and
Jersey or Guernsey via Condor Ferries from Poole,
Weymouth or Portsmouth, which usually save
money over buying separate train and ferry tickets.
They allow you to travel by train from your local station to Weymouth
or Poole or Portsmouth
on any suitable train service to connect with
your chosen Condor ferry, even at what are normally peak times.
They also allow you to travel the day before the ferry if
necessary, for example to catch a morning sailing.
'SailRail' train
& ferry fares
to Jersey or Guernsey...
About these fares...
These fares are centre-to-centre, no extra cost getting to
& from airports.
Children under 16 go for half the adult fare.
Children under 5 travel free.
Your ticket will include a reservation on a specific ferry
sailing,
so work out which sailing you want before phoning.
It will be valid on any suitable train to
connect with the ferry you've chosen, via any permitted
route, even if you need to
travel the day before the ferry sails. In Poole these fares include a
transfer by Arial Taxis between the station & ferry terminal.
Up to 15Kg of luggage travels free on Condor Ferries, you
can take more but they may make an additional charge.
Left luggage at London Waterloo.
Bicycles are carried free on the ferry, free or for a
small charge on trains.
Dogs & other pets can go on the ferry for £10
one-way, £20 return.
For
comparison, a Poole-Jersey foot passenger return for the
ferry costs around £114, so these fares usually save
money over separate train & ferry tickets.
There's no discount for railcard holders with these special fares
(so separate train & ferry tickets could be cheaper, you'll
just have to work it out!).
To Jersey or Guernsey by train
& ferry to or from:
One
way
5-day
excursion
return
1-month
saver
return
London (or any station in the Greater London
area):
£88
£119
£136
Any rail station in Hampshire
or Dorset:
£61
£95
£108
Surrey, East
& West Sussex,
Wilts, Somerset, Devon, Avon, Gwent, Glamorgan Oxfordshire,
Berks, Gloucestershire, Worcestershire,
Herefordshire:
You cannot
buy these special SailRail tickets online, only by
phone or in person. First, use
www.condorferries.co.uk
to work out which ferry sailing you want (and from which
port, Weymouth or Poole), because your ticket needs to
include a reservation on a specific ferry sailing on a
specific date. You can use www.nationalrail.co.uk to check train connections.
Then buy your
special train & ferry ticket ticket by calling South West
Trains telesales on
0845 6000 650 (lines open
daily 06:00-22:00).
You can
also buy tickets in person at all main railway
stations in Britain, although don't expect the
ticket office staff to be very familiar with issuing
these!
Your
ticket will be valid on any suitable train, any time
of day, to connect with your chosen ferry.
It's even valid for train travel the day before the
ferry sails if this is necessary to connect (for
example, you're coming south from Scotland and
cannot connect with the ferry the same day).
This is
sometimes cheaper than the special through fares, for
example if you have a senior or young persons railcard. First, book the
ferry online using
www.condorferries.co.uk.
This is easy, you book online and print out your booking
reference. When you get to the ferry terminal, you
simply quote your booking reference, there is no ticket
involved. Then buy the train tickets either at your local station
on the day of travel or online via
www.nationalrail.co.uk.
1.
London to Poole, Weymouth or Portsmouth by train...
Travel from London
Waterloo to either Poole, Weymouth or Portsmouth
by air-conditioned 100mph electric train.
2.
Poole or Weymouth to Jersey or Guernsey on the fast
ferries Condor Express or Condor Vitesse...
The vessels have plenty of seating, a self-service
cafe-restaurant, a bar and open observations decks from
which to enjoy the sea views both leaving the UK and arriving in
Guernsey and Jersey. You'll be treated to a departure
past all the small boats in Poole Harbour, a call at
St Peter Port in Guernsey, then a trip right along the south-west coast of
Jersey past Corbière lighthouse, St Brelade's Bay and
Portlet Bay, then
an entrance to St Helier Harbour passing right by Elizabeth
Castle. Club Class seats in an exclusive lounge are available for a
supplement, with complimentary tea,
coffee and pastries, and a stewardess service of wine,
spirits, snacks and meals. Condor Ferries' Club Class
is easily the most comfortable and civilised way to reach the Channel
Islands!
The fast ferry Condor Express
arriving in St Helier, Jersey...
Stewardess service in the
exclusive Club Class lounge...
On
board
the Condor Express...
Condor Ferries'
Condor Express
at St Helier, Jersey.
...or
Portsmouth to Jersey & Guernsey on
Condor Ferries ship Commodore Clipper...
The Commodore
Clipper is designed to carry passengers, cars & freight,
so her passenger accommodation isn't as extensive as on some
ships, but it's clean, very comfortable and well-run.
Cabins are available, and there's a self-service
café-restaurant, a bar with panoramic views, a duty free
shop, and Club class seating available for a supplement.
You'll be treated to a departure from Portsmouth Continental
Ferry port past the Royal Navy frigates and even the odd
aircraft carrier in the naval dockyard, past Nelson's
'Victory' and ironclad HMS Warrior in the dockyard museum, a
call at Guernsey, then a trip along the coast of Jersey from Corbière lighthouse, past St Brelade's Bay, then an entrance
to St Helier Harbour with great views passing right by
Elizabeth Castle.
Bicycles are also a great way to see the Islands, with
well-marked low-traffic cycle routes across the Islands and
several bike hire agencies available. Jersey is only
10 miles across, so bikes are an easy way to get around.
The
Isle of Sark Shipping Co provides 1 to 5 sailings daily
between St Peter Port (Guernsey) and Sark, taking 45
minutes. See
www.sarkshipping.guernsey.net.
www.condorferries.co.uk
operates fast ferries from Jersey to St Malo.
www.hdferries.co.uk also started running this route in March 2007,
twice daily in summer, 3 times a week in winter, but are
suspended again for winter 2008/9.
Emeraude Lines (www.emeraudelines.com)
also used to run from Jersey to St Malo, but the
company ceased operating in 2006.
For onwards
train connections from St Malo to Paris, see the French
Railways website,
www.tgv-europe.com. You can check fares and book
online at this site.
www.hotelscombined.com
is probably the best hotel search system I've seen, a free search tool
which checks all the main hotel booking sites (Opodo, Expedia,
Booking.com, Hotels.com, AsiaRooms, Travelocity, LateRooms and
others) to find the cheapest hotel rates. Set up in
2005, it's probably the best place to start for booking any
hotel online in any country, worldwide.
Other hotel sites
worth trying...
www.tripadvisor.com
is the place to find
independent travellers' reviews of all the main hotels.
www.booking.com is my own preferred hotel booking system
(Hotels Combined being a search/comparison system). It
has a simple interface, a good selection in most countries
worldwide, useful online customer reviews of each hotel, and
decent prices, usually shown inclusive of unavoidable extras
such as taxes (a pet hate of mine is systems that show one
price, then charge you another!).
