When to go to Cornwall?
→ The detailed month-by-month page, with real weather records
Best time: May to July and September
At a glance
Why go to Cornwall?
Cornwall is a 130 km finger of granite pointing into the Atlantic, with the sea on three sides and a single motorway that stops at Exeter, well short of the county border. This isolation has preserved a Celtic language, Cornish, a mining culture listed by UNESCO, harbours where fish is still landed at the Newlyn auction, and a sense of belonging you can read in the black flags with their white cross. The Tamar marks a real boundary: once over the bridge, you change country without changing state.
The coast is everything. To the north, cliffs and surf beaches open to the ocean, Fistral, Watergate, Perranporth, with coves such as Bedruthan Steps where the tide reveals cathedrals of rock. To the south, sheltered estuaries, fishing villages of white houses, Mousehole, Polperro, Fowey, and gardens planted with palms and giant rhododendrons thanks to frost-free winters. In between run 480 km of waymarked coast path, with a pub or café in every bay.
The food is good here, which wasn't always the case. The pasty, a beef and swede turnover with protected status, is sold in every bakery; oysters from the River Fal are still dredged under sail; Newlyn crab and mackerel are served right on the quays. Padstow, St Ives and Port Isaac boast Michelin-starred tables, and cream teas are taken with the jam beneath the cream, a local order of things debated at every table.
Map of Cornwall: what is where?
The map shows the 6 places covered in this guide, to picture the distances and plan your route.
- St Ives
- St Michael's Mount
- Lizard Point
- Padstow
- Tintagel
- Eden Project
How much does a trip to Cornwall cost?
Prices are those of England, with a summer premium on accommodation in the seaside resorts. You save by avoiding August, by self-catering in a cottage or camping, and by walking: the coast path, the beaches and the villages cost nothing.
| Style | Per day | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Backpacker | €60-90/day | Camping or a YHA hostel, pasties and picnics, the coast path, a bus day pass, a paid site now and then |
| Comfort | €150-220/day | B&B or shared cottage, hire car, fish and chips and a good seafood dinner, the Eden Project, St Michael's Mount, Tintagel |
| Premium | €350+/day | Seaside hotel with spa, Michelin-starred tables in Padstow and Port Isaac, a performance at the Minack, private surf lessons |
Pounds sterling are available from cash machines in the towns and contactless cards work almost everywhere, even in car parks and beach cafés, with exchange fees depending on your bank. Keep a few coins for older car parks and the ferries. A 10 to 12% tip is expected in restaurants if service isn't included.
Is Cornwall safe?
Cornwall is a rural, safe county, where the main risk comes from the sea and the cliffs. The north coast beaches have powerful rip currents, marked by flags and patrolled by the RNLI in summer only, between the red and yellow flags; every year swimmers are swept away outside the patrolled zones. Tides come in fast and trap walkers in coves, so check the times before any walk on the sand. The coast path runs right along unfenced cliff edges, slippery after rain, and the wind there can knock an adult off balance. On the road, the banked lanes are too narrow to pass and locals drive fast, so use the passing places and be ready to reverse. Ticks are present on the moors, and the sun, masked by the wind, burns more than you'd think.
What to see and do in Cornwall
- St Michael's Mount
- Land's End
- Minack Theatre
- Eden Project
- Tintagel Castle
- St Ives and the Tate
- Padstow and the Camel Trail
- Kynance Cove
Penwith, from St Ives to Land's End
The county's far tip is a granite moorland scattered with standing stones, stone circles and mine chimneys, with a coast path alternating between cliffs and white-sand coves. St Ives is the base on the north coast, with the Tate and beaches in town. Heading west, the Botallack mines cling to the cliff, then come Cape Cornwall, Sennen Cove and Land's End. To the south lie Porthcurno and the Minack, then Mousehole and its tiny harbour, Newlyn and its fish market, Penzance and its Art Deco seawater lido. It all fits within a 20 km radius.
St Michael's Mount and Mount's Bay
The great bay between Penzance and the Lizard, dominated by the island of the Mount and its tidal causeway. Marazion, opposite, is a granite village with two beaches and views of the castle. The coast runs east to Porthleven, a fishing port known for its photogenic storms and its restaurants, then Loe Bar, a shingle beach that seals off a freshwater lake where legend places Arthur's sword. In winter, waves crash over the Porthleven harbour wall, and in summer the bay is the best place in the county to spot dolphins from the shore.
The Lizard peninsula
The southernmost point of Great Britain is a plateau of serpentine and heath, with low cliffs and villages at the end of narrow lanes. Kynance Cove and Lizard Point, with its lighthouse and old lifeboat station, are linked by a 2 km walk. On the east coast, Cadgwith keeps its boats hauled up on the shingle and its fishermen's huts, Coverack its horseshoe harbour. Further north, the Helford River and its wooded creeks inspired Daphne du Maurier, and Helford village is reached by a foot ferry. Allow a day by car, two on foot.
Padstow and the north coast
Between Newquay and Port Isaac, the north coast belongs to surfers and seafood restaurants. Newquay lives for its beaches, Fistral above all, with surf schools at £40 a lesson. Bedruthan Steps lines up its rock stacks along the beach at low tide. Padstow and Rock face each other across the Camel estuary, the former for its restaurants, the latter for its villas and dunes. Port Isaac, the setting of the series Doc Martin, remains a steep-sloped fishing port. The Camel Trail links Padstow to Bodmin by bike without a single hill.
Tintagel and Boscastle
The county's north-east is wilder, with high cliffs and windswept villages. Tintagel sells King Arthur on every shop sign, but the castle headland, its footbridge and the beach of Merlin's Cave are worth the visit. 5 km away, Boscastle squeezes its medieval harbour into a gorge, with a museum of witchcraft and a path to Pentargon rock. Further north, Bude offers beaches, a sea pool and a 19th-century canal. This section of the coast path, between Boscastle and Bude, is one of the steepest on the whole route.
The Eden Project and the gardens of Heligan
Around St Austell, two gardens in one day. The Eden Project, in a china clay pit, with its geodesic greenhouses and its tropical and Mediterranean biomes. And the Lost Gardens of Heligan, 10 km away, an 80-hectare Victorian estate abandoned after 1914 and rediscovered under the brambles in 1990, with its tree ferns, its gunnera jungle, its historic kitchen gardens and its living sculptures. In between, Charlestown, an 18th-century port with tall ships at the quay, served as a set for the series Poldark. All 30 minutes from Fowey.
How many days, and which itinerary?
A week lets you cover the western tip from St Ives or Penzance, with the Lizard and a day at the Eden Project. Ten days add the north coast, Padstow and Tintagel. Always allow more driving time than planned: distances are short but the roads narrow, and 60 km takes 1h30 in summer.
🗺️ Day-by-day itinerary · 📓 Free printable Cornwall guide (PDF) · 🌍 All of United Kingdom
The western tip (7 days)
Base in St Ives or Penzance. Day 1: St Ives, the Tate and the path to Zennor. Day 2: the Botallack mines, Cape Cornwall, Sennen and Land's End on foot. Day 3: Porthcurno, an evening performance at the Minack, Mousehole. Day 4: St Michael's Mount at low tide, Marazion, Porthleven. Day 5: the Lizard, Kynance Cove, Lizard Point, Cadgwith. Day 6: Falmouth, its maritime museum and Pendennis Castle. Day 7: the Eden Project or Heligan on the way home. A car is needed, except for St Ives and Penzance by train.
The full tour (10 days)
The first six days as above from the west, then up the north coast: Newquay and a surf lesson at Fistral, Bedruthan Steps, two nights in Padstow with the Camel Trail and a seafood dinner, Port Isaac, Tintagel and Boscastle, before leaving the county via Bude. The south, Fowey and Charlestown, slots in on the way back towards Plymouth if you're leaving on the Roscoff ferry. This circuit covers about 500 km on the ground, which means few kilometres and a lot of hours.
On foot along the coast path (2 weeks)
The South West Coast Path crosses the county over 480 km; two weeks cover the most spectacular section, from St Ives to Falmouth via Land's End and the Lizard, about 200 km at 15 to 20 km a day, with overnight stops in pubs and B&Bs booked in advance. A baggage transfer service lets you walk light. The path is well waymarked but shadeless and exposed to the wind: bring a proper windproof even in July, and note that coastal buses let you skip a stage in stormy weather.
Getting there and getting around
GWR trains leave London Paddington for Penzance and take 5h, stopping at Bodmin Parkway, St Austell, Truro and St Erth for St Ives.
Brittany Ferries links Roscoff with Plymouth in 6 hours by day or 8 to 10 hours overnight, with or without a car, and Cornwall is 1h by road from there. It's the way to bring your own car from western France, then drive on the left along narrow lanes lined with high banks.
Once there, a car remains the simplest way to get around, with hire from £40 a day in Newquay, Exeter or Plymouth. The roads are winding and jammed in August, and coastal car parks cost £5 to 10 a day, the largest belonging to the National Trust, free for members.
Without a car, the First Kernow bus network covers the towns and major sites, with an unlimited day pass for around £10, and open-top tourist routes along the coast in summer. Trains serve Penzance, St Ives, Falmouth, Newquay and Looe on small branch lines.
Where to stay in Cornwall?
B&Bs remain the most common format, at £80 to 130 a night for two with a full breakfast. Many insist on a two-night minimum in summer and are booked months ahead for August.
Seaside hotels, from the village inn to the four-star with spa, run from £150 to 300 in season, dropping sharply from October to March. Pubs with rooms, in the villages of the Lizard or Penwith, offer a good balance of price and atmosphere.
Holiday cottages rented by the week are an institution, managed by local agencies, at £600 to 1,500 a week depending on size and view. They change over on Saturdays, which explains the jams on the A30 that day during the school holidays.
Camping is easy and cheap, £20 to 35 a pitch, with clifftop sites and farms that take tents. Three YHA hostels, at Land's End, Tintagel and Eden, offer dorm beds at around £25 to 35.
Our places to stay, stop by stop, at three budgets →
What to eat in Cornwall?
The pasty, a shortcrust turnover filled with beef, potato, swede and onion, has held Protected Geographical Indication status since 2011. It's eaten hot, by hand, on a bench facing the harbour, for £4 to 6 in bakeries. Cheese and vegetarian versions are everywhere.
The fish comes from Newlyn, England's leading fishing port by value: crab and lobster, sole, John Dory, grilled sardines at Looe and Mevagissey. Allow £8 to 12 for a quality fish and chips, £25 to 45 a main course at the restaurants of Padstow, Port Isaac or Porthleven.
A cream tea consists of scones, Cornish clotted cream and strawberry jam, for £6 to 9 in tearooms, where the jam goes on first and the cream on top, unlike in Devon. Local ice cream is sold in every harbour, with a layer of clotted cream on the cone.
Farmhouse ciders, beers from the St Austell and Sharp's breweries, and a white wine from the Camel Valley estate, an award winner several times over, go with all of this. Pubs serve food from noon to 2.30pm and from 6pm to 9pm, and are often full in the evening in summer without a booking.
Entry requirements
A passport is required: EU ID cards are no longer accepted. EU, US, Canadian and Australian visitors travel without a visa but must apply online for an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) before departure. Irish citizens need neither.
Rules change: check your own government's travel advice before you go.
Frequently asked questions about Cornwall
When is the best time to visit Cornwall?
May, June and September offer long days, a sea already fine for surfers and free-flowing roads. July is pleasant, but the end of the month and all of August coincide with the English school holidays: accommodation is full and the A30 jammed. Winter stays mild but windy, with many sites closed.
Can you visit Cornwall without a car?
Yes, for a stay centred on the western tip, with the train to Penzance or St Ives and First Kernow buses to Land's End, Marazion and the Lizard. The coast path does the rest. For the north coast and Tintagel, connections exist but take time; a car or bike becomes useful.
How many days should I allow?
Five days for the western tip alone, a week with the Lizard and the Eden Project, ten days to add the north coast up to Tintagel. Distances are short but the roads slow: don't plan more than one area per day, and keep a flexible day for rain or sea mist.
Is the sea warm enough for swimming?
Yes, between 15 and 18°C from July to September, which is still cool if you're used to the Mediterranean. Surfers wear a wetsuit all year round. Swim only on lifeguarded beaches, between the red and yellow flags: the north coast currents are dangerous and lifeguards are only present in summer.
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