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Travel guide
Cornwall
4 days · 8 things to do
Best time to go: May to July, and September
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Welcome
Cornwall, in a few days
A granite peninsula at the south-western tip of England, with 480 km of coast path, white-sand coves, fishing harbours and subtropical gardens kept mild by the Gulf Stream. People come to walk from Land's End to St Ives, surf at Newquay and eat a pasty facing the sea.
- Day by day
- D1 Day 1 2 things
- D2 Day 2 2 things
- D3 Day 3 2 things
- D4 Day 4 2 things
- Worth sorting before you go
- Words that help
- The practical page
- Packing checklist
The trip
Day by day
Map of the sights (numbers follow the suggested order). It prints with the base map.
D1
Day 1
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · St Michael's Mount · 2 to 3 hA granite island reached from Marazion by a causeway the tide covers twice daily, once a priory, home to the St Aubyn family since 1659.
- Afternoon · St Ives and Tate St Ives · 2 to 3 hA granite fishing town with four beaches and a light that has drawn painters since the 1880s, including Barbara Hepworth, whose studio is open.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Pedn Olva€135 a night
D2
Day 2
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · The Minack Theatre · about 1 h 30An open-air theatre dug by hand into the cliff above Porthcurno by Rowena Cade and her gardener from 1931, opening with The Tempest in 1932.
- Afternoon · Land's End free · 2 to 3 hSixty-metre granite cliffs at mainland England's western tip; walk ten minutes along the coast path, away from the attractions, for empty coves and cormorants.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Greenbank Hotel€170 a night
D3
Day 3
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Kynance Cove free · 2 to 3 hDark green serpentine rocks veined with red rise from white sand on the Lizard peninsula, with caves and arches to explore at low tide.
- Afternoon · The Eden Project · half a dayTwo giant biomes opened in 2001 in a former clay pit near St Austell, one rainforest, one Mediterranean, plus a 660-metre zip wire.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Membly Hall Hotel€150 a night
D4
Day 4
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Padstow and the Camel Trail free · half a dayA harbour town on the Camel estuary, known for seafood since Rick Stein opened here in 1975, and the start of the Camel Trail.
- Afternoon · Tintagel Castle · half a dayRuins of Richard of Cornwall's 13th-century castle on the headland where Geoffrey of Monmouth placed King Arthur's conception, above an early medieval royal settlement.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Tregenna Castle€170 a night
Before you go
Worth sorting before you go
📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
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Good to know
Flavours & local habits
🍽️ Worth tasting
- Fish and chips: white fish fried in crisp batter, with thick chips, salt and malt vinegar.
- Sunday roast: roast meat with potatoes, vegetables, Yorkshire pudding and gravy, the long pub lunch of the weekend.
- Full English breakfast: eggs, bacon, sausages, beans, tomatoes and toast. North of the border it becomes a full Scottish, with black pudding and often haggis.
- Haggis: sheep's offal, oatmeal and spices, served with neeps and tatties (mashed swede and potato).
- Shepherd's pie: minced lamb under a baked crust of mashed potato.
- Cream tea: scones with jam and clotted cream, a tradition of Devon and Cornwall.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Skip the crowded pubs around Leicester Square: expensive, and rarely good.
- Look right first when you cross the road: traffic drives on the left.
- On Tube escalators, stand on the right and leave the left for people walking up.
- Do not pay to enter the national museums: most are free, with a donation box at the door.
- On single-track roads, pull into passing places to let others by, and never park in them.
Getting by
Words that help
🗣️ English is the main language here, so there is nothing to learn by heart.
The essentials
The practical page
CurrencyPound sterling (GBP, £)
BudgetAbout €140 a day, mid-range
Best seasonMay to July, and September
PlugG · 230V
Tap waterSafe to drink
Tipping10 to 12.5%, often added to the bill
Emergency999 / 112
EntryA 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.
HealthNo vaccination required. Make sure tetanus, diphtheria, polio and MMR are up to date. In the Highlands in summer, bring repellent against midges.
Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/cornwall
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.