Cornwall and Isles of Scilly: early planning stages

In answer to your specific question to really experience Scillly it is essential to have a minimum 2 night stay.
If that is all you can fit in that is fine, although really 4 or 5 nights is better, and a week ideal.
A fly sail is no more than a taster, better than not going at all, but just a taster. One of the days you are there you must go to Tresco, especially in the spring.
And you should also visit one of the out isles on the inter island boats, to really understand the Isles.
If you use the Penzance helicopter for the fly portion, then some flights actually land on Tresco. Boat one way to Tresco and helicopter out sure is a splurge, but 100% worth it. Like, in Scotland, with the beach landing on Barra it is an aviation experience you will keep for the rest of your life.
That, and indeed, the Scilly experience, is to me what travel is about.

If you're going to Polperro and are a walker, I would either do train and bus to Looe, then coastal walk in and bus back- hopefully the buses from Polperro are still running through to Plymouth. If not bus to Liskeard for the train.
Or bus to Polperro then coastal walk to Polruan for the ferry to Fowey, then bus to St Austell for train; or even if their season has started, connecting ferry to Mevagissey, then bus to St Austell.

Why pick two out of the way places so far apart geographically.

We planned a Cornwall week in 2020, but had to cancel due to COVID.

What I discovered is that in the Spring and Summer the area is heavily crowded with tourists and driving can be a pain with traffic. Still, you need a rental car to see it properly.

I have been to Italy several times and never had a strong desire to visit Scilly, compared to other places in Italy, it just doesn't seem that great. However, that is your choice and I wish you well. What do you plan to see in Scilly?

Why pick two out of the way places so far apart geographically.

I think the OP is referring to the Isles of Scilly, which is an archipelago off of the southwestern tip of Cornwall.

@isn31c - thank you!! I will look into all of your useful suggestions. I would love to walk to Polperro from Looe!

@geovagriffith - I am indeed referring to the Isles of Scilly, as Amy said (thanks!), and not to Sicily, one of the biggest italian islands.
Yes, of course having a car gives more flexibilty and such, but I love trains, I already have a railcard and I don't mind checking schedules and walking from point A to point B if that's a necessity. I also travel alone and I don't want to spend a big chunk of my budget for a car.
A month ago I was on a similar UK itinerary (just trains and no car, but one week only) and it was one of my favorite trips ever, so I don't mind repeating the experience.

Penzance makes a good base for a lot of this, if you were to take the ferry to the Scillies. You can get to Penzance by train from Bristol and the train station is right in the centre of town. You can get to St Ives easily by train from Penzance via St Erth, as well. It’s a bit cheaper and more down-to-earth than St Ives itself.

Tintagel is tough to get to via public transport. Would you consider St Michael’s Mount as an alternative? It’s a great place and you can easily catch a bus (or walk) to Marazion, where you get the boat or causeway to St Michael’s Mount. I know it’s not the same as Tintagel but if you were looking for a magical castle surrounded by sea, it’s right there for you near Penzance.

Penzance bus station has an excellent range of buses, including one that goes around Lands End, so that would be easy to get to.

The Eden Project is nearer St Austell than Penzance, so that would entail moving to another base.

By the way for the information of anyone else reading this it is impossible to hire a car on the Isles of Scilly. For one even St Mary's (the main island) is too small, and for a second no-one is in any hurry. The residents have cars, but even their overall number is limited by the Duchy of Cornwall.
If i remember correctly the cars are also exempt from the MOT test.
Everyone either cycles or walks.
All drivers show great courtesy to other road users- the driver is the least important road user.
There is an airport shuttle bus but it is, well, just different to any other airport transit you have ever used.
If you arrive on holiday the steamship or air company (the same thing if you are on the fixed wing aircraft from Lands End) transfer your luggage for you.

Looking at your timing - have you factored Easter into your planning? Easter Day is March 31st 2024 so the week before and the two weeks after will be prime holiday time, with school holidays. Make sure you get accommodation booked well in advance!

Re- the Bus from Polperro to Plymouth #10- confirmed that is still running at 42 minutes past each odd hour to 1542, then 1748 Mon-Sat, half past the odd hours on Sunday 0930 to 1730.
And this is the #481 which runs from Polperro Point to Hannafore (the start of the trail from Looe to Polperro)-https://passenger-line-assets.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/gocornwallbus/SMMC/481-timetable-20230903-aa7e565a.pdf

This connects with trains at Looe (East Looe), the 10 from Plymouth, also the 73 and 77 from Liskeard, but it is a nice short walk up to Hannafore from the West Looe bus terminus including looking into the Fisherman's Church.

Thanks for the info on Isles of Scilly.

gigua, I will be in Cornwall around the same time as you next year. I'm flying into London on March 19th and leave for Cornwall on Sunday, March 24th. I will be in Cornwall through March 29th and then will be in Devon through April 2nd. So if you wind up being there around the same time, let me know!

By the way, in terms of coast walks, there are some wonderful walks that I have seen in my research, but none more interesting than the South West Coastal Walk that goes around the entire peninsula. I plan on walking some of it, but not sure what part yet. Here's a link to it: https://www.southwestcoastpath.org.uk/

Thank you everyone for all the info. It's going to be a great help when I start to better define the trip details.

@Mardee - Yes, I will let you know for sure! Have you already booked everything?

I know Easter could mean bigger crowds during the weeks I'm thinking about, but if I go earlier I might get worse weather and if I go later in spring I won't have a railcard anymore.
I also need to wait for leave time to be confirmed at work. Hopefully I will start all the booking at the end of October/early December at the latest. I would do it sooner if there was free cancellation, but that's not the case with most places and even more so for the flights and/or ferries to the Isles of Scilly.

@Mardee - Yes, I will let you know for sure! Have you already booked everything?

gigua, yes, I've booked my lodging for both Cornwall and Devon. I'm spending 5 nights in Falmouth and then 4 nights in Princetown on Dartmoor National Park. After that, I'll be heading north as I am in the UK for 5 weeks.

By the way, I've found that every place so far allows cancellations (at least the ones I've checked). At one point I had 4 different places booked because I couldn't figure out where I wanted to stay, but then cancelled two with no problem. So you might want to think about booking some places. Do you know where you're going to base yourself? That's what I had the most problem with. 😊

No, Mardee, I have no idea yet. I'm going to think about it in the next few weeks. I will update this topic then. :)
Thanks for the heads up regarding cancellations!

Hi everyone!

So, this is my updated travel plan: 6 nights in Penzance + 4 nights in St. Mary's.
I mainly have two questions.

1 - My usual travel insurance doesn't cover internal flights. I have contacted the Isles of Scilly Travel team, but the insurance they offer is only valid for UK residents.
What can I do if my ferry or flight (my journey would be sail+fly) get cancelled or delayed due to bad weather?
Does anyone know an insurance I could get specifically for the islands?

2 - I want to take the riviera sleeper train to get back to London. It leaves at 21:45 on friday and arrives at Paddington at about 5am on saturday. When trying to book a ticket, I don't see the option to get a cabin. Is that correct? Are they all normal seats? I am okay with that, I just want to make sure I'm doing it right. :)

Thank you in advance for all the help.

Gigua.

Re- The Sleeper. This can only be booked on the Great Western Railway website (not other train company sites). You will see a choice of two trains- one that arrives at 0504 and one that arrives at 0508. Choose the latter (the first is a change at Reading into a faster day time train).
You will then be offered a range of fare options- choose one of those which is headed 'Cabin Options'. You will probably be offered a Super Off Peak Single, an Off Peak Single and an Anytime Day Single. They all have the same terms and conditions, so choose the cheapest which is offered to you (hopefully a Super Off Peak Single).

I don't know of any insurance specific to the Isles. If none of the three travel options were available (sea, plane, helicopter) then as no-one can get there either you will have a room on the island. And I assume they give priority to those from cancelled sailings/flights when travel resumes. With one of the rail fares given you would be able to call GWR and rebook travel on the following day if it was impossible to return to Penzance on the correct day.

See also this page about through bookings from Scilly to London (only by calling/'phoning GWR) which may offer further protection against such events)- https://www.gwr.com/stations-and-destinations/destinations/trains-to-the-isles-of-scilly

The company that runs the ferry and flights will sell you insurance for your trip -https://www.islesofscilly-travel.co.uk/plan-your-trip/travel-insurance/
There is no mention of it only being available to UK citizens. It's very pricey at £46.60 for up to 5 days and I suspect that you could get a cheaper price from elsewhere. It's never a great idea to buy insurance direct from a travel provider as the prices tend not to be very competitive. They also have a separate delay insurance that covers you for expenses should the outward journey be cancelled, which can happen.

@ Gigua The 'Suitability and Limitations' document hyperlinked in the Insurance Linked page states that-

The cover under this policy is only available to United Kingdom residents being defined as: Any person who has an
address in the United Kingdom, has lived in the United Kingdom for at least 6 of the last 12 months, and is registered
with a General Practitioner in the United Kingdom.

so the advice given by the company to you is correct

Have you thought about getting different travel insurance?

Over the years I have been with two different companies and neither limited coverage regarding internal flights. In fact, I've never heard of such a thing.

gigua, glad you figured out your base - the trip sounds wonderful!

I agree with Frank about the travel insurance. I have never had that limitation in my policies. I use a policy provided by USAA but you have to be a member. Others here like Allianz. Or you might try going to https://www.squaremouth.com/ to compare various policies.

First, I agree with a previous poster, Penzance would make a good base, accessible by rail and a good bus hub. As you probably figured out, trains are fine getting to and from Cornwall, much more limited for travel within Cornwall.

Just to add a note about buses...

While we had a car, we did notice, and a couple times used, the bus system. I think they have done a good job linking the different bus companies/systems into a common ticketing system, and this past Spring they had great deals on day tickets that allowed you to hop on and off. There is a "tourist" bus that runs a big circular route from Penzance to Lands End, to St Ives, and more. Look here: https://www.transportforcornwall.co.uk/#services for more info. Lots of walkers would hike the Coastal Path for a few hours, then hop on a handy bus to another segment or back to their base.

Thanks for the replies!

• regarding the train: yes, I've used the GWR website, but I did not see a cabin option. I will try again later when I am not at work.
  As I have a railcard, hopefully I will get a good price for the super off peak ticket.

• about the insurance: I've looked into the policies of all the italian insurance companies I know of and all of the them only included the flights from and to Italy. I also contacted some of them via mail or online chat and they confirmed internal flights and/or ferries were not included in their policy. 🤷🏻‍♀️
  It sounds weird to me too. I will look into the website someone kindly linked above and see if there's something suitable for me.

Re the Insurance- I am wondering if they mean that domestic flights and ferries within Italy (say Naples to Sicily) are not covered, but that internal flights etc once in a (any) foreign country are covered.

@isn32c - Unfortunately that's not the case. I had specified the destination was outside of Italy. :(

I have even emailed a travel agency of my Town and they couldn't offer that service too. Only if I had bought flights with them... But they dont offer those flights! So I'm stuck again.
Maybe should I just add the cancellation fee when buying the ferry and the skybus flight online?

That is probably the best bet. The thing is not many of us here know about the Italian insurance market.

There are some Italians you may have seen here on the forum, who are probably not watching this thread. It may be a little forward but I wonder if a PM to one of those may help you.

It's a bit different for me, being from the UK and not trying to make a homeward flight, in that I can effectively self- insure (as this forum calls it).

£90 either way, which seems to be the overnight pay out on the insurance will cover somewhere in Penzance or environs for the night if needed. Also bear in mind that on the way back there is also the option on the way back of 7 buses a day from Penzance to London (between 0445 and 2200), including three overnight ones. Even booked at very short notice they shouldn't cost more than about £40. They all call at Heathrow as well.

Although there is a lack of signs for them they leave from the bus station.

Gigua,
Last night I was interchanging at Penzance. It suddenly struck me that there are no real signs for the Lands End airport shuttlebus. After some sleuthing I found out that it now leaves from the taxi stand at the station.
For a fun way to get around there are now rental bikes at Mousehole and Newlyn. Doubtless if I had had time to look harder I would also have found them in Penzance.
Have a good look at the National Trust web site for Cornwall. At the Penzance office last night there were some very interesting things advertised.

Also be aware that currently Penzance first class lounge is closed. I know nothing more, no word on the GWR website. May be a winter closure, maybe all the rail engineering work currently happening. If that happens to you just go round the corner to a local pub to wait. The station toilets close at 6pm, and the ones at the Bus Station at 7pm. They have ever since Covid. If the lounge is closed not a nice place to wait at night.

@isn31c,

So kind of you to let me know. Thank you!

I'm doing sail+fly, so I'm getting the shuttle bus from the airport to Penzance.

I will also contact GWR closer to the date to see if they have news about the opening of the lounge. And always good to know about toilets opening times, so I can plan accordingly. :)
Thank you for letting me know that Penzance's station it's not a good place to wait at night. If the lounge is still closed, I will go to the pub. I do not drink, but I will happily eat something.

I have everything but the sail+fly tickets booked. As there's a discount at the moment on the Isles of Scilly Travel website, I'm planning to buy those tonight or on Sunday.
Yesterday I had lunch with a friend of a friend who went to the Isles last august. She gave me some advice and told me I could even get the chance to see seals and puffins. I didn't even think about it! I'm so excited.
Also, she went with another friend whose aunt lives on St.Mary's and teaches French at school there. What are the chances!
My expectations are very high for this trip. I actually can't wait. And if there's bad weather I've come to terms that I will enjoy it anyway. I'll stay in my small attic room looking at the sea with a cup of tea and a book. It sounds wonderful to me anyway. :)

I wish you safe travels in Cornwall, Stuart. Have a great time.