Things to do in St Ives
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit St Ives
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Light, flowers, Food Festival, sea warming and crowds still human.
Warmest sea of the year, September Festival and thinned crowds.
The walkers and painters month.
Late July and August are worst for crowds, parking, prices and restaurant access, though beaches are lifeguarded.
Short days, storms and some closures, offset by empty galleries, Feast Day and the lowest bed prices.
What's on
- St Ives Food & Drink Festival 15-17 May 2027
Food festival held on Porthminster Beach, with chef Fire Pit demos, masterclasses, producers and street food.
- St Ives September Festival Mid September each year, two weeks
Two weeks of music, theatre, poetry and visual arts across churches, halls and galleries in town.
- St Ives Lifeboat Day August, date TBC
Harbour festival for the RNLI, with the lifeboat in action, the station open and stalls.
- New Year's Eve 31 December
Fancy dress fills the harbour, described as the largest fancy dress party in the county, with fireworks over the sea.
- St Ives Feast Day / Hurling the Silver Ball 9 February 2027
The mayor hurls a silver ball to a crowd on the beach; whoever returns it to the Guildhall steps by midday gets a coin.
Best things to do in St Ives
Barbara Hepworth Museum & Sculpture Garden
Hepworth's own studio and garden, preserved as she left it, with sculptures among the planting she chose.
Tate St Ives
Curved gallery above Porthmeor for St Ives modernists, strong shows and the famous view over the beach.
Porthminster Beach
Sheltered east side crescent with calm swimming, bay views to Godrevy and the station directly above.
Porthmeor Beach
Atlantic facing surf beach under Tate St Ives, with lifeguards in season and the town's sunset.
Porthgwidden Beach & The Island
Small sheltered cove plus the grassy Island headland and chapel, with the best whole town viewpoint.
St Ives Harbour
Working harbour and Smeaton's Pier, with the Downalong lanes of granite cottages behind it.
Leach Pottery
Founding studio pottery site of Bernard Leach and Shoji Hamada, with kilns, museum, gallery and potters.
Penwith Gallery
Home of the Penwith Society of Arts, with three galleries, a sculpture courtyard and current work to buy.
Where to stay in St Ives
Downalong / Harbour / Fore Street
first-timers, no car
Harbour views with every restaurant and gallery a short cobbled walk away, but steep lanes and no parking.
Porthminster / Station side
best all-round base
Gentler east flank above Porthminster Beach, with the station at the top and an easy walk to the harbour.
Porthmeor / Barnoon
surfers and art people
Above the surf beach beside Tate St Ives and under the Hepworth garden, quieter and windier at night.
Carbis Bay
resort luxury, families and cars
Calmer Blue Flag beach in a wooded bay with big resort hotels, parking and spas, one train stop from St Ives.
Think twice about
- Harbour-front lanes for drivers and light sleepers
Vehicles barely fit, parking is remote, gradients are severe and the working harbour starts early.
- A3074 / St Ives Road ribbon and Hayle or St Erth listings sold as St Ives
A busy road and a drive and park battle for every beach trip, without the walk everywhere magic of the town.
- Upper Stennack / town-edge estates at old-town prices
Residential and unobjectionable but charmless for a short let if you cannot walk to a beach and dinner.
Best restaurants in St Ives
Porthminster Beach Café
Famous beach cafe on the sand at Porthminster, serving Mediterranean Asian seafood with the bay as a wall.
Ardor
Cornish Andalusian kitchen on Fore Street, with charcoal seafood, dry aged cuts and tapas style sharing plates.
Porthmeor Beach Café
Beach cafe over the surf at Porthmeor, with breakfasts, tapas and seafood in heated outdoor pods at sunset.
Silco
Small harbour front room on Wharf Road serving seafood small plates with Asian and Lebanese inflections.
Porthminster Kitchen
Harbour side sibling to the beach cafe, calmer and cheaper, with international small plates and Cornish seafood.
The Mermaid Seafood Restaurant
Downalong institution in a former pilchard store lane, serving classic unfussy Cornish seafood locals recommend.
The Bean Inn
Small vegetarian restaurant in Carbis Bay, largely vegan friendly, and repeatedly the area's top rated room.
Blas Burgerworks
Tiny beloved burger room on The Warren using Cornish beef and local sourcing, best early, late or as takeaway.
Best bars in St Ives
The Sloop Inn
One of the town's oldest pubs on the wharf, with harbour front tables for a pint and pub food.
Outdoor things to do in St Ives
St Ives Surf School
Highly praised surf school on Porthmeor itself, with beginner, improver and private lessons plus hire.
St Ives Surf School
Paddleboarding and sea kayaking from the same school, run on the calmer bay side water at Porthminster.
St Ives Surf School
Guided coasteering with the surf school team: cliff scrambling, sea caves and jumps west of town.
Seal Island
Boat trip from the harbour to the grey seal colony at The Carracks, with dolphins and porpoises as a bonus.
St Ives Boat Trips
Fast RIB ride across the bay to Godrevy Lighthouse and its seal colony, part wildlife trip, part thrill ride.
Kiln Sauna
Wood fired sauna and cold plunge tubs above Porthmeor, built for the surf, sauna, plunge and repeat ritual.
South West Coast Path, Lelant to St Ives
Gentle bay side coast path walk back from Lelant past Porthkidney Sands and Carbis Bay to St Ives.
South West Coast Path, St Ives to Zennor
Six rugged miles west to Zennor over granite cliffs and coves, with seals below and no facilities en route.
Best hotels in St Ives
Carbis Bay Hotel & Spa
Large estate above its own Blue Flag beach, with spa, heated outdoor pool, beach houses and dining on site.
Una St Ives
Eco lodges and villas in 20 acres above Carbis Bay, with indoor infinity pool, lido, spa and restaurant.
Sail Lofts
Luxury self catering apartments by Porthmeor Beach, minutes from the harbour, with parking a short walk away.
Trevose Harbour House
Six room boutique B&B between the beaches, with harbour views, retro styling and a highly praised breakfast.
Pedn Olva
Hotel built into the rocks at Porthminster, where nearly every room faces the sea and terraces sit over water.
The Gannet Inn
Smart inn a short walk above Carbis Bay beach, with a well regarded restaurant and bar, below estate prices.
Chy An Gwedhen
Small adults focused guest house with sea views, full breakfasts and the free parking old town hotels lack.
Thurlestone Guest House
Four star Gold B&B known for standout breakfasts and hosts whose parking and travel advice guests value.
Is St Ives expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | £90 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | £200 a person |
| Splurge | £400 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Leach Pottery: weeks ahead
- St Ives Surf School: a few days ahead
- St Ives Surf School: a few days ahead
- St Ives Surf School: a few days ahead
- West Cornwall Golf Club: a few days ahead
- Porthminster Beach Café: weeks ahead
- Ardor: weeks ahead
- Silco: weeks ahead
- Book dinner at Porthminster Beach Café, Ardor, Silco and The Bean Inn one to two weeks ahead in May to September.
- Book Tate and Hepworth combined tickets and Hepworth timed entry in season, and Leach Pottery workshops weeks ahead.
- Book surf lessons, coasteering and boat trips days ahead in school holidays, then stay flexible for sea state.
- Festival weekends and August sell the good rooms a season out.
Is St Ives safe?
- Check Cornwall Council beach signage on the day for seasonal dog restrictions, which change.
- Swim at lifeguarded beaches in season between the flags, and respect surf and rip currents at Porthmeor and Gwithian.
- Never jump into the working tidal harbour, and keep off cliff edges and the pier in breaking seas.
- The realistic risks are environmental and financial: cliffs, tides, surf, wet cobbles, parking fines and August prices.
St Ives travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Herring gulls snatch pasties and ice creams from hands: never feed them and eat takeaway under cover or facing a wall.
- Fore Street at 1pm in August is a human traffic jam; the same streets at 8am are the best experience in town.
- Go to Tate St Ives for the building, view and St Ives modernists paired with Hepworth, not Tate Modern scale.
- Read private car park signs carefully: ANPR fines are reported on the Hayle side and cameras time you from the gate.
Getting around St Ives: public transport and more
- Take the train via St Erth on the St Ives Bay Line into the station above Porthminster.
- In July and August park at St Erth or Lelant and ride the branch line instead of hunting for a town space.
- Walk in town: everything is within a steep 15 minute walk, with taxis and buses for Carbis Bay and coast path walks.
- Check tide times each morning: harbour departures move with the tide and St Michael's Mount is tide locked.
Who St Ives suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | OK |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | Good |
Make St Ives your trip
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