Explore Scilly The Isles of Scilly28 miles outA world away.
Five islands of white sand and clear turquoise water off the tip of Cornwall. Explore Scilly is the independent guide to the islands. Boat times, tides, beaches, walks and where to eat, with a trip planner that fits your days around the boats.
Your trip, your boats, your day.
Make a day by day itinerary for your whole stay, check the ferry, flights and island boats, or pick an island for today's boats, tides and sunset.
Tell us when you arrive, where you are staying and what you love. We work out the boats, the tides and where to eat, day by day. Free, and yours to keep on your phone.
- Boat times and tides worked into each day
- Places to eat and things to do near you
- Download as a PDF, or keep it on your phone with no signal
You're already here. Garrison walls at sunrise, Pelistry for a quiet swim, back to Hugh Town for supper.
“We pray thee, Lord, not that wrecks should happen, but that if any wrecks should happen, Thou wilt guide them into the Isles of Scilly.”
The five islands
All reachable by open boat from St Mary's. Crossings take 15–30 minutes and run to the tide.
The largest island and the way in. Hugh Town harbour, most of the shops, and boats to everywhere else.
Explore St Mary's→
Abbey Garden, white-sand bays and no cars. Polished, private, and worth a full day.
Explore Tresco→
The longest beaches, a vineyard and a bakery. Quiet even in August.
Explore St Martin's→
Wild Atlantic west coast, Hell Bay, and a population under a hundred.
Explore Bryher→
The most south-westerly community in Britain. Lighthouse, farm ice cream, sandbar to Gugh.
Explore St Agnes→Where are the Isles of Scilly?
The Isles of Scilly are a group of islands 28 miles south west of Land's End, off the tip of Cornwall in England, UK. Five of them are lived on: St Mary's, Tresco, St Martin's, Bryher and St Agnes. They sit in the county of Cornwall but run their own affairs through the Council of the Isles of Scilly, with the hospital, police station and main school on St Mary's.
Things to do
Most of it is outside, most of it is free, and all of it depends on the tide.
What is an honesty box, and do honesty boxes work? Our guide explains how Scilly’s unstaffed stalls work, where to find the best ones on each island, and how to pay the honest way.
The best places to visit on the Isles of Scilly, island by island: Tresco Abbey Garden, Star Castle and the Garrison, Bronze Age tombs, Hell Bay, the St Martin's Day Mark, Troy Town Maze and the finest beaches.
Harry’s Walls is a free, unfinished Tudor fort on a hill above St Mary’s harbour. Here’s where to find it, how to get there, what to look for and why it was never completed.
St Mary’s Harbour is where most Scilly holidays begin. Our guide covers arriving on the quay, catching inter island boats, watching gig racing, the quay’s 400 year history and practical tips for visiting sailors.
The Isles of Scilly Museum’s old building is closed, but the collection is still out and about. Here’s where to see it now, what’s on this autumn, and what the new Town Hall museum offers.
Mackerel trips from St Mary’s, quiet quays for crabbing and the rules you need to know in 2026. Our simple guide to fishing and crabbing on the Isles of Scilly for families and keen anglers.
Clear water, white sand and sheltered bays make the Isles of Scilly a swimmer's dream. Here are the best spots, sea temperatures by month, seal snorkelling, swim events and the safety basics to know.
Plan your Isles of Scilly seal trips with 2026 fares, the best boat routes from St Mary's, seal snorkelling on St Martin's, pupping season dates and simple tips for watching wild grey seals responsibly.
How the Isles of Scilly inter island boats work, who the boatmen are, 2026 fares and typical boat times from St Mary's. Check today's live timetable on Scilly Live before you go.
Walk the coast path around every inhabited island on the Isles of Scilly. Distances, times, highlights, tide tips for Gugh, dog rules, guided walks and the Walk Scilly festival, all in one practical guide.
Everything you need for kayaking on the Isles of Scilly: where to hire, guided tours from St Mary's, Eastern Isles routes, seal etiquette, closed islands, tides, weather limits and how to bring your own kayak.
Plan a day at Tresco Abbey Gardens, the subtropical garden on the Isles of Scilly. Find 2026 opening times, ticket prices, boat and helicopter routes, the Valhalla figureheads and local tips for your visit.
Where to stay
All accommodation →
Getting there and around
Three ways across from Cornwall, then boats and a taxi once you're here. All of it depends on the weather, so leave a spare day at each end.
Scillonian III from Penzance
Sails to St Mary's Harbour, spring to autumn. Not for the queasy on a westerly.
Skybus
Twin Otters and BN-2 Islanders, Monday to Saturday, all year. Exeter is an hour; Newquay is suspended until March 2027.
Penzance Helicopters
From Penzance Heliport. The only service that lands on Tresco as well as St Mary's.
Open boats
Tripper boats from St Mary's quay daily, weather permitting. Return times are given to you on the outward trip.
Taxis, bus and bikes
Island taxis meet the boat and the plane, though book ahead in summer. A circular bus runs the island, and bikes and golf buggies are for hire in Hugh Town.
Planning your days on the islands?
Tell us what you love and we will plan each day around the boats and tides. Or check today's boats, tides and weather for all five islands, updated each morning.
51 wrecks, mapped
The Western Rocks, the Seven Stones and the ledges around every island have wrecked ships for centuries. See where 51 of them lie, from the late 1500s to 1997, and read what happened to each.
Explore the shipwrecks map→
Tap to exploreStories
Field notes from people who live here and people who keep coming back.
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