Maybe a new tour

Welcome to the forum! You may or may not realize the folks on the forum are not RS employees. We are travel enthusiasts who may have taken RS tours or used his guidebooks.

Rick does not currently have a tour that includes the Channel Islands nor has there been one in the past.

I did a search (which I'm sure you've already done, lol) and none of the big US based companies tour there, nor does my small group company which is UK based. I'd suspect it revolves around the availability of lodging for a tour group plus reliable transportation to/between/from.

IF you find something I'd love for you to post! Jersey, Guernsey and Sark have always fascinated me!

There are cruises that visit the Channel Islands. We visited Guernsey.
The islands are interesting, since the Germans occupied them during WWII.
Also, the islands are the remnants of Normandy that was controlled by the English, but the French eventually pushed the English our of Normandy except for these islands.

One thing you might consider is taking a tour of other parts of England and then tacking on a trip to the Channel Islands on your own. I don't think it would be that difficult. You could easily get there from London by train and then ferry.

Here is one forum post that gives a lot of information about it: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/england/british-channel-islands

The Channel Islands aren't geared up to mass tourism. Roads are narrow and large tour buses would really struggle. ( I went on a group tour run by my local coach company. We were dropped off at the ferry terminal and the coach and driver didn't accompany us. We were met by a hotel tour representative when we arrived who gave us some information about the islands and what we could do. A day tour was organised using a local bus. We were met back by the coach off the ferry on our return.)

Picking up on Mardee's comment, bus services on both Jersey and Guernsey are excellent and it is very easy to get round the islands by yourself. I loved it and enjoyed the freedom of not beinjg organised all the time...

The main Channel Islands have local tour companies that will take you around to the major sights.

As has also been noted, bus services on the islands are excellent and can get you anywhere you need to go.

Traveling between island is also easy via either ferry or plane.

I visited a few years ago and will probably go back. I flew from London to Jersey, took a ferry to Guernsey and then flew up to Wales.

I went to Jersey, Guernsey and Sark ages (decades) ago and to Jersey again in 2017. I agree that intra-island transportation is good. I hope to return to the area. However, my experience is that the inter-island ferries (which connect France to England) are sometimes canceled, even in spring/summer when you wouldn't expect major weather issues. Two of my scheduled ferries (across my two trips) were canceled; in 2017 the cancelation of the Jersey-to-Guersey ferry lasted 3 days, and I ended up having to buy a last-minute airline ticket to get to England. On my first trip it was the ferry from St-Malo to Jersey that was canceled, and I had great difficulty finding a hotel room for the night.

I'd caution visitors that a flexible schedule would be a very good thing, and I wouldn't make the Channel Islands my last stop before heading to England or France for a transatlantic flight.

The channel Islands are easily done on your own. We flew from the UK. There are ferries, but they take a lot longer. Ferry schedules to St. Malo (France) have changed over the years and all can be cancelled in bad weather (i.e., fog). We went in mid September (2018 & 2023), both times we and had glorious weather. We were lucky.

There are some small group tours on the islands and public transportation is good, but hiring a small car is best. There is only one car hire company at the Guernsey airport. The insurance is one price fits all, and the gas is filled up for your to return empty. (we only used one tank of gas for a week). Speed limit is 35 mph everywhere. (easiest car rental ever!). If. you like WWII history, then Guernsey is the place to go. It is just as the Germans left it. It is a very safe place to go, people are very friendly.
We also spent one day with this tour guide: https://tourguernsey.com/ and we did a photography tour - but I can't find this vendor anymore.
Going to Sark or Herm is weather dependent. Just book a few days ahead at the kiosks in St. Peter Port, both are well worth a visit and very different from each other. Sark is bigger and more to explore (rent e-bikes), If you only have one day, I would go to Sark over Herm.

I lived on Jersey back in the 1980’s, the Channel Islands are beautiful with plenty of history, fabulous beaches, landscapes and are culturally quite different from England. My address was mainly in French, and a few people do speak Jèrriais, although it’s English and some French which is predominantly spoken.
Flying is definitely the quickest way to get to Jersey, as mentioned in previous posts, ferries are cancelled more often than expected, particularly in winter months. It’s very easy to combine with a short trip to Northern France too.
Definitely not a place for large coach/bus tours.