St. Peter Port ideas?

It is a port on my next cruise in August 2014. Not much on the web about it. If anyone has been there, I would appreciate your ideas as to what to do, how to use transportation, and any suggestions. Thanks.

It is a port on my next cruise in August 2014. Not much on the web about it. If anyone has been there, I would appreciate your ideas as to what to do, how to use transportation, and any suggestions. Thanks.

This is a great port, especially if you are interested in history. Guernsey was one of the islands that was occupied in WWII by the ****s and there are numerous books that you can read about the experience ("Living with the Enemy" is one). We took a tour with Intrasit Tours which cost 34 pounds per person and the tour guide took us all over the island showing us many interesting sights, including the Underground Hospital and WWII Museum. Google "Guernsey" or "Channel Islands" and I think you will find that there is lots to see there.

Cole

not sure where you looked but lots on info at

http://www.visitguernsey.com/

just depends on your interest

Try a cream Tea :)

Have you read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society? It's a recent bestselling novel based historically around the German occupation. Fun easy-to-read book, and it will make you want to see more of Guernsey.

It is a port on my next cruise in August 2014. Not much on the web about it. If anyone has been there, I would appreciate your ideas as to what to do, how to use transportation, and any suggestions. Thanks.

Dear Red Travel

As posted by LHT28, this is our local tourist website which has alot of useful information. After browsing this site, if you have specific questions, please feel free to post here, and as a local, I will try to answer your questions. Whilst St Peter Port is a pretty town to walk around, I recommend you take a tour of some sort to see the rest of the island. Enjoy your visit to Guernsey.

Guernseycruiser

Is it necessary to take a tour in order to see the Underground Hospital and/or WWII Museum mentioned in an earlier post? We had thought about taking a local bus, if one goes to those places, but had heard it can be difficult to get a ride back once getting off somewhere (esp. if there are lots of tourists). Do you have any idea what the cost would be to take a taxi to those sites? (We'll be on the Ruby Princess, arriving there July 23.)

Victor Hugos house is worth a vist,very interesting life he lead :):) also spectacular views

Have you read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society? It's a recent bestselling novel based historically around the German occupation. Fun easy-to-read book, and it will make you want to see more of Guernsey.

Having been to Guernsey a few times, I read this book and I loved it! I could picture so many of the places in the book. I agree it's a fun read but also a good tourist insight.

I agree with Gosport 11. Victor Hugo's house is very interesting.

The buses around the island are very good. I think it's bus 7 or 7a, but it is a beautiful island and very easy to get around, so depending on how much time you have you could hire a car. This is one of the links for the buses. http://www.hctgroup.org/the_hct_group/ct_plus_guernsey.

I love St Peter Port and it has a charm all of itself. It is quite hilly but very easy to get around and very pretty.

If you want to go to a beach, Vazon Bay is beautiful. There is not really anything there but it is a great beach.

The underground war museum is also well worth a visit. It shows how the island was occupied during the war.

There are some nice walks you can do as well, and there are suggested routes on the tourist board site which is very interesting. http://www.visitguernsey.com/tastywalks/walk-1-seafront-bombings-and-historic-gardens.

Whatever you choose to do, you wont be disappointed. It truly is a beautiful island.

Is it necessary to take a tour in order to see the Underground Hospital and/or WWII Museum mentioned in an earlier post? We had thought about taking a local bus, if one goes to those places, but had heard it can be difficult to get a ride back once getting off somewhere (esp. if there are lots of tourists). Do you have any idea what the cost would be to take a taxi to those sites? (We'll be on the Ruby Princess, arriving there July 23.)

Dear Konatyme

Unfortunately these tourist attractions are not on the same bus route. The WWII museum is more locally known as the German Occupation Museum. Please note the round the island bus route is now the 91 and not the 7 or 7a. The link that lovetochill posted is still correct, however the summer timetable does not come into effect until 5th May 2014, so it is still showing the winter timetable. If you wish to visit these attractions it would probably be better to do this as a tour, there are some independant tour operators detailed on the http://www.visitguernsey.com website, if you do not wish to take a ships tour. You could take a taxi, however I am unsure as to how much this would cost. I would presume more than a tour, as you would need the taxi to wait for you.

I agree with Gosport 11. Victor Hugo's house is very interesting.

 

The buses around the island are very good. I think it's bus 7 or 7a, but it is a beautiful island and very easy to get around, so depending on how much time you have you could hire a car. This is one of the links for the buses. http://www.hctgroup.org/the_hct_group/ct_plus_guernsey.

 

I love St Peter Port and it has a charm all of itself. It is quite hilly but very easy to get around and very pretty.

 

If you want to go to a beach, Vazon Bay is beautiful. There is not really anything there but it is a great beach.

 

The underground war museum is also well worth a visit. It shows how the island was occupied during the war.

 

There are some nice walks you can do as well, and there are suggested routes on the tourist board site which is very interesting. http://www.visitguernsey.com/tastywalks/walk-1-seafront-bombings-and-historic-gardens.

 

Whatever you choose to do, you wont be disappointed. It truly is a beautiful island.

Thank you for posting this positive feedback about the island. I understand for some visitors that they do not wish to use the tender to dock in Guernsey, however I feel they are missing out.

I know I am very lucky to have been born and live in Guernsey, and hope that providing information to cruisecritic, it will encourage visitors to have a look around our beautiful island.

Dear Konatyme

 

Unfortunately these tourist attractions are not on the same bus route. The WWII museum is more locally known as the German Occupation Museum. Please note the round the island bus route is now the 91 and not the 7 or 7a.

Is there a bus that goes to the German Occupation Museum??

We did the underground Hospital in Jersey would the Guernsey one be the same ??

I am sure if Guernsey is anything like Jersey it is wonderful

FIL was born in St Helier & had very fond memories & stories of Island life there

Lyn

Thank you, Guernseycruiser!

Is there a bus that goes to the German Occupation Museum??

 

We did the underground Hospital in Jersey would the Guernsey one be the same ??

 

I am sure if Guernsey is anything like Jersey it is wonderful

FIL was born in St Helier & had very fond memories & stories of Island life there

 

Lyn

Hi LHT28

Yes, the 91 bus goes close to the Occupation Museum. Once you have visited, you can catch the next bus going in the same direction, which will take you around the coastal route of the island, finishing back at the bus terminal in St Peter Port.

I am embarrased to say I have not been to the Underground Hospital in either Guernsey or Jersey. Unfortunately there is no website for the Guernsey Underground Hospital, however there is a write up on the http://www.visitguernsey.com website. Tripadvisor has good and bad reviews, with some saying that this underground hospital is not as good as the one in Jersey. This is the link for the Jersey underground hospital. http://www.jersey.co.uk/attractions/ughospital

I always think if you are visiting somewhere that you do not think you will visit again, then you should take the opportunity to see as much as you can of that place.

Enjoy your visit to Guernsey.

Hi LHT28

 

Yes, the 91 bus goes close to the Occupation Museum. Once you have visited, you can catch the next bus going in the same direction, which will take you around the coastal route of the island, finishing back at the bus terminal in St Peter Port.

 

Enjoy your visit to Guernsey.

Thank you for your comments & help

Lyn

We visited St. Peter Port last August while on the Ocean Princess. Our time was short there but we very much enjoyed our visit. We toured Victor Hugo's home (Hauteville House) and then had a nice lunch overlooking the harbor. I wish we had more time to see more on the island. You can read my blog entry with photos and commentary on our visit at:[/color]

http://www.27thousandwaves.com/2013/08/guernsey-channel-islands-day-8.html

This sounds lovely!

We did the bike tour of the island that was excellent.

We did the bike tour of the island that was excellent.

Which bike tour? What time of year was it?

Which bike tour? What time of year was it?

The bike tour was Celebrity's

Here is the portion of my review on cc for the port

The next day, Infinity dropped anchor near St. Peter Port, Guernsey Island. This was the one port that we did not dock, but had to tender. Celebrity used its lifeboats to tender as well as a local boat. The process was fairly routine and did not add significant delay. Guernsey is part of Great Britain, since it was one of the Channel Islands a part of the Duke of Normandy’s territory. The mainland portion of Normandy was eventually taken back by France, but the Channel Islands were retained by England. The other primary island is Jersey, which has an intense rivalry with Guernsey. I don’t think it was because both islands have cows named after them. We were told that Guernsey was Norman and Jersey was Breton.

Guernsey as well as Jersey are part of the UK, but have their own parliament, set their own taxes and have local autonomy. We were told by our guide that Guernsey has a 20% flat income tax, as opposed to taxes in the UK that are more than double. This makes Guernsey a tax haven. The island seemed very prosperous. Guernsey and Jersey are also financial havens with banks offering secrecy similar to Switzerland. British Pounds (GBP) are legal tender in Guernsey, but the local Guernsey Pounds are not legal tender in Britain. Still, I acquired a one Pound Guernsey note as a souvenir; Britain does not print one pound notes anymore.

We took a Celebrity excursion that included a 15 mile bike tour of the island. We crossed over to the North side of the island and came down the Eastern shore, returning to the port. Along the way we stopped to see old fortifications, a prehistoric mound, Le Dehus Dolmen, La Rue du Dehus, Vale from 3,500 B.C, and a church from the 11th Century. Ginny and I are regular bike riders, so we handled the modes 15 mile ride easily. We rode mountain bikes that were in good condition. We did not need to change gears, since we encountered no serious hills. The ride took us at a slow pace for three hours over much scenic areas. We saw ancient walls dividing properties and roads, as well as gardens and homes of various ages to beautiful sea shore and fields of flowers. The tour is recommended if you can handle a 15 mile bike ride. We learned that there is much to do on Guernsey, so if we ever go back, there is more to see, such as Victor Hugo’s home.

Here are my entire reviews of the BI and TA

British Isles

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=221137

Transatlantic

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=221136

Does anyone know how long of a walk it is to Candie Gardens from port? The more I look at the excursions available, the more I wonder if my husband and I would rather just walk around and explore St. Peter Port on our own.

Thoughts?

Does anyone know how long of a walk it is to Candie Gardens from port? The more I look at the excursions available, the more I wonder if my husband and I would rather just walk around and explore St. Peter Port on our own.

 

Thoughts?

It is about 7 to 10 minutes from the port. Please note it is all uphill, so take it easy, no rush. Nice views over the harbour when you are there.

Are there any rides or taxis into town? Bad back!

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Are there any rides or taxis into town? Bad back!

 

 

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It literally is only a few minutes walk into town (less than 5 minutes), I do not think a taxi would take you such a short distance. If you have mobility issues, and want to visit Castle Cornet and Victor Hugo's house in town, you could ask at the port when you dock. If you wish to visit places outside of town, as the bus terminal is between a 10 to 15 minute walk, I would suggest that you take an organised tour, whether independant or from the ship.

Enjoy your visit to Guernsey,

Thanks guernsey cruiser.

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