Discover the island of Jersey and where it is?

For quick reference, here’s a contents to the guide:

Jersey can be located in the Bay of St Malo, in the English Channel, not too far off the coast of Normandy in France (14 miles) and getting here couldn’t be easier.  Its neighbour Guernsey is just 27 miles away, making up part of the Channel Islands.

Jersey is an island which everyone should visit – with its unspoiled landscape and unique blend of English and French influences, the Bailiwick of Jersey has plenty to see and do.  They speak English, you don’t need a passport to travel here (if you are coming from the UK) and you can use the British Pound!

For those that always thought about visiting Jersey, but didn’t know where it was? We’ve pinpointed Jersey the island on the map for you.  For a quick reference you can find it just off the coast of France, and next to another island called Guernsey.  The island of Jersey is located within the English Channel, off the South Coast of England.  The red dot below indicates where you can find Jersey on a map of the World!

With the island being just 5 miles in length and 9 miles wide, this makes the geographical area to be approximately 45.5 square miles or 120 square kilometres.  Its compact, but makes the perfect island getaway with an abundance of places to explore.  The drive round the island is beautiful and every view is postcard worthy!

The island of Jersey is the biggest of the Channel Islands. Jersey is only 5 miles or 8 km long and 9 miles or 14.5 km wide.  They say you’ll never get lost in Jersey as eventually your find the sea, which means you can only go left or right and back to where you started!

Sitting in the bay of St Malo, Jersey is just 14 miles away from the city of St Malo which can be found in the Brittany region of France.  You can take a short ferry ride from Jersey to France which takes just 1 hour and 10 minutes with Condor Ferries.  The walled city of St Malo is worth visiting if you are thinking of taking a longer holiday in Jersey.  Day trips with Condor cost just £33 per person, but you will need a passport to get into France.

It is 9 miles long, and could be walked across in around 3-4 hours (depending on your hiking speed!)  Most people choose to explore the island by car, or jump on the local bus which has routes all across the island.

Its 85 miles to get to Jersey from the South Coast of England (137km).  The quickest way to get there is by flying which takes around 35-45minutes depending on which regional airport in the UK you choose to fly from.  Alternatively you can travel the 85 miles by sea with the added benefit of taking your car, this can take 4 hours and 30minutes.

Jersey is not in another country, nor is it a country but can be best described as a British Crown Dependency, which forms part of the Channel Islands. Jersey is self-governing and has its own finance and legal systems.  It also has its own court of law! The States Assembly is made up of 49 democratically elected members.

Jersey’s has its own internationally-recognised driving licences and is responsible for its own vehicle registration.  You’ll perhaps notice when you visit that Jersey has its own number plate sequence – all of which start with the letter J.  The Island also has its own postal service.

It’s neither a country or part of England, and nor is it part of the UK which makes it a little confusing to digest.  It has certain in-dependencies from the UK, and the head of state is the Duke of Normandy, aka Elizabeth Windsor (yes the queen but she is only the duke there).  Jersey has its own Parliament.

Jersey along with Guernsey and the other Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man are part of what is known as the British Isles.  Great Britain is made up of the following countries, England, Scotland and Wales, while the United Kingdom includes both Great Britain and Northern Ireland together.  Jersey can be described as a British Crown Dependency.

The residents of Jersey are subjects of the Crown, but are not governed by the British laws, taxes and regulations. The island is neither part of the UK nor the European Union (EU) and neither is it an Associate Member of the European Union. Under protocol 3 to the Treaty of Accession signed by the UK in 1973, all the Channel Islands including Jersey are included within the EU for the purpose of free movement of manufactured and agricultural goods.

The Channel Islands are an archipelago (a group of islands) which can be found in the English Channel, not too far off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown dependencies: the largest of the two islands Bailiwick of Jersey, and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, consisting of Herm, Sark, Alderney and the larger island of Guernsey.

The Channel Islands have been run as two separate Crown dependencies since the late 13th century.  Each island has its own government which is elected by residents into power to govern the island.   It’s believed the term “Channel Islands” began to be used around 1830, possibly by the Royal Navy.

Jersey and the other Channel Islands are not part of the United Kingdom, just part of Great Britain. Historically, the Channel Islands once belonged to Normandy which was never part of France until the early 13th century.

Following the Norman conquest and the proclamation of William, Duke of Normandy, as King William I of England the Channel Islands were then transferred to the Kingdom of England.   When the United Kingdom of Great Britain was created, the islands transferred to the British Crown because Queen Elizabeth II is still the titular Duke of Normandy.

The last census was completed in 2014, and it recorded 108,000 people living in Jersey.  Making it the largest populated island within the Channel Islands.  Guernsey only has around 65,000 people living their.  With any small island, over population always comes up from time to time, the JEP the local island paper published its own thoughts on this matter.

The Capital of Jersey is the town of Saint Helier, which can be found near the ferry port.  It is one of the twelve parishes of Jersey, and by far the largest.  St Helier has a population of around 33,000 residents, which is around a third of the total islands population.

The time zone in Jersey is the same as that of the UK which is a Greenwich Mean Time zone (GMT).  Therefore there is no jet lag to worry about and you can stick to your usual routine, this is why some favour Jersey as a holiday destination.

Because Jersey is in the Greenwich Mean time zone it means that the time in Jersey is exactly the same as it is in the UK.  This is the same for all other Channel Islands including Guernsey.