10 Channel Islands You've Probably Never Heard Of

Alderney is one of the Channel Islands that is a part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey in the English Channel. The island is an ideal holiday destination for a warm summer holiday. Most visitors here are headed to one of the serene beaches, and you can journey to beaches that are off the beaten path or ones that are close to local town amenities.

The island of Alderney is relatively flat except for the southernmost portion, which has an interesting section of cliffs and rocky shoreline that could be fun to explore as you make your way down to the water.

Sark is an island with gorgeous, towering cliffs, rocky coastline with white surf crashing up against the shore, mysterious caves, gardens and centuries of history. Part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, it is accessible by boat and is small enough that you could tour most of it in a day. Even so, you need multiple days to experience the full natural beauty and spare some time for relaxation.

A history museum on the island helps you to better grasp the centuries of pirating and the English-French conflict. One of the most popular sites is the glistening white lighthouse on the eastern edge of the island.

Herm, one of the remote Channel Islands, is refreshingly temperate and offers beach coves, the popular Belvoir Bay, historic stone buildings and blissful hiking. Herm is easy to get to by taking the ferry from Guernsey.

Herm is small enough that you can walk around the whole island in a matter of hours, which lets you absorb the well-preserved, historic natural beauty. The beaches are the most popular spots, and even though the island is small, there are multiple beaches to choose from, depending on how far you want to get away from small crowds.

The tiny island of Jethou features rocky shores, vibrant green grass, and incredible horizon views. Even so, it’s one of the few Channel Islands that aren’t always open to the public. You’ll need to be a member of organisations like La Société Guernesiaise – Guernsey’s nature, history and scientific society – to be able to visit it.

If you do get the chance, Jethou is a great day trip accessible only by boat. It’s all about natural beauty on Jethou, because there are only a handful of buildings, most of them privately owned. You may also find it fun to just hire a boat and tour around the island, which takes less than 3 hours.

Lihou is a small tidal island just off the northwest coast of Guernsey. It’s a beautiful spot to spend a few hours discovering the vibrant tide pools, visiting historic ruins, seeing the local fauna and maybe taking a snorkelling excursion.

The rocky tide pools are the most intriguing and fun part of visiting Lihou, and there are many to explore. Lihou is only an island at low tide, which is when you can access it and freely explore the marine life and fascinating biology that exists in the many small pools.

Minquiers is a tiny island made up of a collection of rocks about a 9-mile boat ride from Jersey. It’s remote and exotic with smooth rock formations that make up the outer boundaries of the tiny island, and you’ll find all around you clear water with delightful marine life and underwater beauty.

One of the most popular parts of the island is a long stretch of sand that’s more like a sandbar than an island, and it’s a great place to lounge and enjoy the sun.

Casquets is a group of rocks northwest of Alderney with a historic lighthouse as one of its main features. Casquets is about 8 miles northwest of Alderney, and it is only accessible by boat. The area is quite lovely even though it is just a collection of rocks, as there are many seabirds and different marine life that you can spot here.

You could hire a boat to tour around the island, and you could enjoy a snorkelling excursion. The lighthouse remains active and is the classic red-and-white horizontal stripes. There are several shipwrecks, which makes a boat or snorkelling excursion all the more interesting.

The tiny island of Burhou is a short boat ride northwest of Alderney where you'll find several historic stone ruins to discover. Also among the most intriguing sights on the island is its colony of puffins.

You can come and observe these distinctively coloured birds as they waddle around the coastline, float around the shore and dive into the water for a catch of dinner. The best way of touring Burhou is by cruising around the island on a boat.