Cornwall

What sights do you want to see? That might help with how to answer your question. I've stayed in both Penzance and in Falmouth for various tours but if I were on my own I might move depending on the things I particularly wanted to visit.

Definitely St. Michael’s Mount, some of the walking trails. Lands End, St. Ives. St. Austell. Open to suggestions of what not to miss.

I don’t have any advice, but I did enjoy Tintagel.

We're doing a Rabbie's 5 day tour of Devon and Cornwall in May and they have us staying in Falmouth and Exeter. Hope this helps. We just wanted the ease of being on a tour so we booked this.

With 5 days you need to be selective. Cornwall is a big county. Are you driving or using public transport.

The South West Coastal Path runs for hundreds of miles through Cornwall, and you also have various pilgrimage trails- one of which counts towards your Camino to Santiago.

I am not running down St Austell in any way, but am intrigued by it's interest to you. It is a good base for the Eden Project, Mevagissey and the Lost Gardens of Heligan, the Eden Project, Charlestown and Fowey but I can't think of much at St Austell itself.

That part of Cornwall is more China Clay industry area, the Penwith Peninsula and towards Redruth, Camborne and St Agnes is tin mining country and very recognisably so.

The North Coast is the dramatic coastal scenery.

If you want to visit Tintagel (recommended) then you don't really want to be staying as far down as Penzance.

Falmouth or Truro (or St Austell!) might be good bases for you. With 5 days I wouldn't really want more than one base.

Here is a link to the Road Scholar trip I did a few years ago.

https://www.roadscholar.org/find-an-adventure/22431/Cornwall-England-s-Hidden-Treasure/itinerary/

The itinerary has not really changed so it might give you a few ideas. I'm not really big on industrial historical sites so the tin mine was not my favorite (and visited again on the Rick Steves Southern England tour, lol) I did like Wheal Martin, the china clay pit.

I particularly liked the Lost Gardens of Heligan, St Mawes, Mevagissey and I really enjoyed Chysauster Village as well as the neolithic stones at Minnions. Those may or not be interesting to you!

Skip Tintagel if you have any height fears - I could not even do the old bridge across to it and now the new one is higher and just no for me, lol.

We have been in Cornwall a couple times. Like another poster mentioned, a big difference whether you will be relying on public transport, or have a car.

With Public transport, I would opt for Penzance as a base. You could do the whole five days there, day tripping to St Michaels Mount, or catching the circular bus to Lands End, St Ives, and lots in between.

If you want to relocate, Falmouth is really nice, some great hiking, gardens nearby, lots to do. If you want, depending on your interests, maybe 3 nights in Penzance, 2 in Falmouth.

With a car, lots of things open up, especially up North, more gardens, small coastal towns. Just need more info to be more specific.

It seems like most of the places of interest for you are within a reasonable distance of Penzance. St Michael's Mount is less than 30 minutes by bus, and Falmouth and St Ives are accessible by train.

Hi, ellebf,

I will be in Cornwall and Devon for 9 nights towards the end of next month. I am staying in Falmouth for the first half, since I wanted a coastal place to stay and will focus my attention on visiting places in Cornwall. For the second half, I am moving to Plymouth and will concentrate on Devon. I will have a rental car. Will you have one?

Also, here are a couple of threads that helped me considerably when i was researching the area. You might want to check them out.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/england/october-2023-devon-and-cornwall
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/england/need-help-with-cornwall
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/england/need-help-deciding-on-a-cornwall-base-and-devon-base (this is the thread I posted when I was looking for help finding a base)

We stayed in Tintagel and Truro when we visited Cornwall. We had a rental car.