Getting around an island with no cars

Sark is around three and a half miles long and one and a half miles wide. Its lanes, tracks and paths are unpaved, and much of the island can be reached on foot.

Are cars allowed on Sark? Can you drive here? No. Nobody drives on Sark, residents and visitors alike, though tractors are the exception.

Walking is the best way to understand the island

You notice where a lane narrows under trees. A view arrives through a gap in a hedge rather than through a windscreen.

The coast is reached on foot too. The island may be small, but it has around forty miles of coastline.

Bring proper footwear, the island is small, but it is not flat.

Planning the trip? Our free How to Get to Sark guide covers the ferry, the connections, the luggage system and what to pack.

Bicycles are how most get around

A bicycle lets you reach Little Sark, the northern headlands and the quieter lanes in a day. Bicycles must be walked across La Coupée, and cycling is not permitted on the cliff-top paths. La Coupée gained a retaining wall in 1862, its first protective rail in 1900, and its concrete surface only in 1945.

There are four cycle-hire businesses in Sark, offering ordinary bicycles and electric bikes in a range of sizes.

Horse-drawn carriages are part of the transport system

On an island without cars, horses still do useful work and a carriage is one of the few ways to travel across Sark without walking or cycling.

Our retreat guests travel by carriage from the top of the harbour hill to the house. It is the second part of the arrival, after the toast rack has brought them up from the boat.

It is easy to see only the romance of such an interesting way to travel.

Tractors are the exception

Car free does not mean vehicle free.

Tractors move freight, luggage and materials around the island. They also pull the toast rack that carries passengers from Maseline Harbour up the steep hill after the ferry arrives.

What happens when you arrive

Your luggage does not travel up the hill with you.

Sark Shipping lifts it from the ferry and passes it to the island carters, who deliver it to wherever you are staying. You can take the toast rack or walk up from the harbour without carrying a suitcase.

From there, you continue on foot, by bicycle or by carriage.

What changes when traffic disappears

The obvious difference is the sound.

The deeper difference is attention.

You do not spend every walk negotiating with passing traffic. A conversation does not keep breaking so somebody can step aside. Children, bicycles, horses and walkers share the same lanes.

Come and see for yourself.

Our How to Get to Sark guide explains the ferry, the toast rack, the carriage, luggage and the practical details of arriving without a car.