Although stretching just forty-five miles, Jersey plays host to a surprising variety of activities, terrains and landscapes.

From the well-equipped St Helier, Jersey’s port, to the northern fishing harbour of Bonne Nuit, the island offers holiday-makers an excursion with a difference where one can traverse the entire island in under thirty minutes. Indeed, taking a vehicle is made easy with Condor. We travelled from Poole, taking approximately four hours.

When arriving in port, the simplicity and luxury of taking one’s own car becomes apparent.

Laden with surfboards, bodyboards and clothing to suit all conditions, the frequently tedious beginnings of our holiday were minimised when we reached our hotel, Hotel Metropole, in good time.

Although utilising the same road systems and essential rules of carriage as those of the UK, it is perhaps a necessity for drivers to take heed of the unfamiliar system of ‘filter-in-turn’, where drivers must pay attention to vehicles entering a single-lane road simultaneously.

I am told by a local that drivers must also be wary of ‘granite rash’, where sharp teeth of granite jut out from seemingly inconspicuous path of a roadside hedgerow.

These matters aside, drivers and explorers experience a different Jersey, one whose windy and twisty roads give rise to beautiful country scenes and tiny villages like St Mary’s, located in the north. However, tourists can enjoy glimpses of the island by way of the excellent and quite comprehensive bus service too.

Leaving the car at our hotel, my girlfriend and I were able to join a bus service to the Jersey War Tunnels near St Lawrence, a fifteen-minute ride from St Helier bus station. The ride, a mini-tour narrated by John Nettles brings alive the animated and at times turbulent past of the island.

The War Tunnels, themselves a wartime hospital built by hard labourers and tradesmen, have endured as a lasting reminder of those that, in the occupation of Jersey, Guernsey and Sark, were spirited away to face the brutalities of the Nazis nearly 70 years ago. Much of the island shares the memories of this time, with battlements, gun turrets and placements being opened frequently, free to members of the public.

For those seeking a less tragic though no less dramatic experience, a visitor to La Corbiere Lighthouse, shy of St Brelade, will see beautiful sunsets paired with some of Europe’s largest and most sweeping tidal changes.

Indeed the tides of Jersey, responsible for the island’s golden stretches of vast beach, also contribute to an impressive array of water sports present at St Ouen’s Bay.

Surf can be strong and consistent, a welcome departure to the south coast’s inconsistent swells and largely winter-based surf scene. Lifeguards are on hand during the day, which allows for beginners and paddlers to enjoy what can at times exhibit challenging currents.

Safer still is the beach at St Aubin’s Bay, a very convenient and short walk from St Helier. As well as enjoying the marvels of the island itself, those wishing to experience the Channel Islands as a whole should look at Condor Ferries, whose well-conceived sailing times allow for day trips to St Malo and Guernsey.

We found St Malo, a beautiful fort in Brittany, France, breathtakingly beautiful and cultured. Inside the rising walls of the old town are quintessential French scenes, together with a range of different cuisines and shops.

Visitors should be advised that as in most tourist-driven towns and holiday destinations, so-called ‘cheap eats’ are few and far between.

Perusing coastal beaches and areas beyond the cobbled streets, one can walk, at low tide, to the Tomb of Chateaubriand, the writer, politician and diplomat, which lies atop the tidal island of Grand Be.

Although a trip to warmer and more Mediterranean climates might be considered more of a ‘holiday’, we found that Jersey did feel like a break.

It was just the right distance away to escape and the island’s immense scalability leaves a visitor feeling that they have discovered the beautiful island as a whole and seen a grand variety of landscapes.

Getting here

Condor Ferries operates a year-round fast ferry service from Poole and Weymouth to Jersey in as little as two and a half hours. Prices start from under £50pp for a car and two passengers each way. For more information or to book visit Condorferries.com or call 0845 609 1024.