You will find the Channel Islands nestling in the Bay of Cherbourg, close to France, and indeed the French influence in all the islands is immediately obvious as soon as you step off the plane or boat.
The Channel Islands are constitutionally separate from the UK and France and to all intents and purposes are totally self-governing. The States of Jersey and The States of Guernsey (known as The States) are the effective legislators and government and 'run' the islands at a local level. There is also a link to the Privy Council and the Queen in the UK as the islands are ultimately a British Dependency.
Jersey is the largest, and perhaps the most well known, of the islands at 45 square miles and a population of some 90,000 inhabitants. Guernsey comes next with around 60,000 inhabitants in 25 square miles, and the likes of Alderney, Sark, Herm and other islands are much smaller, but all with their own indigenous population.
Transport links to the islands are extensive with air and sea links to both the UK and French mainlands and therefore hopping on to a plane or boat is as natural as boarding a train when attempting to get from A to B - and the travel time is very short being between 30 and 60 minutes depending on your destination.
An array of restaurants, hotels and pubs provide options for all tastes and budgets but generally all establishments are of a very high standard catering for both the high demands of the business sector as well as the discerning tourist. As such, you will find an incredible amount of options for leisure facilities to cope with the demands and interests of the very cosmopolitan populations in all the islands - not least of course the high quality golf courses and wide variety of water based activities.
