My friend recently moved to Guernsey and I have visited her three times. Wait… yeah three times. These are my thoughts on Guernsey.

This is not really a travel review given I didn’t write notes when I was visiting her but I’ll talk about my favourite things about Guernsey, my not so favourite things and things I would still like to do.

First let us start with the negative, because I am the person to eat my favourite food last.

This is something I complain about every time I visit my friend. The driving, the driving is so bad! They go so fast on those tinnie tiny streets! They come so fast around a blind corner and I’m like what! Luckily, my friend warned me so I haven’t been mowed down. So this is me warning you, check both ways twice before crossing or you could have a near death experience. And use the mirrors. They have mirrors on blind spots so that you can see what cars are coming before crossing. It’s so useful.

They also have such huge cars, which I don’t get. Ok, maybe not huge but wide. There are these wide German cars and sometimes I stop walking and marvel as I watch the driver struggle on a narrow street… you’ll never catch me buying a huge car just to front when I could buy a tiny car and driving comfortably.

Another negative is it’s expensive. It’s expensive to live there and food is more expensive than in England. There is no tax there but I feel like they make up for it with the price of everything else! So, I realised this when I visited my friend for a full two weeks. I thought I would save money and it would be a cheap holiday because I was staying with her. However, I love food and we ate out whenever we could and also there was grocery shopping. The bill for one restaurant… girl… it’s so expensive. It adds up!

The last thing… this may be a small town thing so this is not so much a negative, I’m just not used to it. Some places are inaccessible. There is a public transport system and it is cheap, a plus, but it’s iffy? There was a time we took a bus to a restaurant and it was a Latin (I can’t remember which country) restaurant and then going back we needed to get the bus. It took a minute and we were like, what if it doesn’t come (a possible outcome). I told my friend to cry so someone would give us a ride.

So, sometimes the buses don’t come, and on the weekend they’re even more sparse. Which can be a problem if you want to go to one of the remote or not as popular beaches.

I mean the island is small so you can walk, but if you didn’t plan on walking and are not wearing the right shoes, you’re screwed. It’s so important to wear the right shoes, I’m so serious (cries in foot trauma).

Now, onto positives!

The food! It’s expensive but it’s good. Our favourite restaurant hands down is Crepe Maison. It is a must stop every time I visit my friend. In fact, it’s a once a week thing. This may be where most of our money went. But it’s so good! My friend has been there so many times the waiters and waitresses all know her.

They have savoury crepes (the salmon one is just bliss) and sweet desert crepes (I like to build my own) too. They have great hot chocolate that you can have with alternate milk and if you ask they’ll put a picture on the foam, a standard picture or any picture, you just have to send it. There are great sandwiches on sourdough bread and real nice cakes. Honestly, hands down they never miss.

They also have seats where you can sit by the window and have a great view, the view of St Peter’s Port is so lovely.

There are many other restaurants that are good too: Christies Brasserie (a tad fancy but a welcoming fancy), Café Emilia (loved this one), Dix Neuf (they tend to close early), Fukku Izakaya (my friend’s fav – their mochi ice cream is to die for), The Terrace Garden Café (Thai restaurant – has a cute outdoor roof top restaurant) and Slaughterhouse – Randalls (strong name right).

And I still have a lot of famous or popular restaurants that I have not gone to.

Another thing I love is the nature. It doesn’t matter which beach it is, I love it. I’ve been to a lot on the island and I don’t remember… wait! My insta! But first, let me say, I like the one at St Peter’s Port. It’s accessible and I love that. I just walk down and I’m there.

Side bar: Guernsey is so hilly. Bring shoes that are not slippery because them pavements be cobbled. You won’t need to do leg day whilst staying there.

Beaches, we found one real cute one that was hidden away, Moulin Huet. It was a bit rocky and a steep down hill climb to get to, but once we got there it was gorgeous! The water looked so good that day too! I was so sad I hadn’t brought my swimsuit.

Speaking of swimming there are the La Vallette Bathing Pools. There is the men’s pool, the women’s and the children’s next to the women’s. They are no longer separated by gender but the names stuck. The women’s pool is the largest so I recommend going to that one. However, if you want to avoid people the men’s pool is the one to go to.

It’s one of the pools formed of sea water and it’s right by the sea. The walls are made of the cliff rock and there are barnacles on it and everything.

It is so cold! It is freaking freezing! On a hot summer’s day it must be so refreshing but I went on an ordinary summer’s day… wow I was so cold struggling whilst an old lady just swam comfortably around me.

So beware, if you’re not native to Guernsey, the cold may take you out.

I got to go to Herm. So another pro is how close Guernsey is to the other channel islands. So you can go to many of them easier when you’re on Guernsey as Sark and Herm are a boat ride away. We went to Herm and it was a muggy day, it was real grey and the sea was moody. That was the roughest boat ride I’ve ever had. I thought I had sea legs but I could barely walk around the boat. We made it to the island though.

It was cute and because it was a rainy day there weren’t that many people on the island (from Guernsey I mean) and so we got the beach to ourselves! If it’s not tipping it down I’m still going to have fun. The beach is so nice, no rocks just soft sand (I’m not traumatised) and that colour people desire. They have nice ice cream too. We didn’t get to experience the island to the fullest because of the weather but that’s just an excuse to go again.

The last thing I enjoyed was Victor Hugo’s house. You can book a slot and go to visit. You get a guided tour through the house and then you can chill in the garden afterwards. The garden is gorgeous and the house is gorgeous. I highly recommend going.

I will say though I went following the signs on road and I walked right past it because I expected it to look special and extravagant on the outside… no it’s ordinary on the outside. It’s just a grey three story house. It looks like the other houses and the plaque was small! So be careful not to walk past it.

The last section, things I would like to do still.

I’d like to go to Sark, apparently it is even more beautiful. We were unable to go last time so I’d really love to go. I’d also like to go to Herm on a sunny calm sea day.

I’d also like to explore the Old Quarter more, find some cool shops and enjoy the ambiance.

I would also like to try more restaurants, that’s right, I’m not done! I will not rest until I have eaten everywhere. I mean, as long as my friend lives there I may as well enjoy.

Hopefully with me putting this out there it’ll happen.

P.S.: I forgot the Castle at St Peter’s! The Castle is also nice and fun to visit.