St Ives Harbour Beach

St Ives Harbour Beach

St Ives Harbour Beach
4.5
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  • Dr_Waugh
    Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom8,131 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Lovely beach
    Lovely beach in the centre of town, very low lying. Be careful you don’t get stranded by the various drain flows as well as tidal movements. Definitely worth crossing to explore the other beaches when tide is out. We walked from Porthminster beach to this one.
    Visited February 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written 23 March 2024
  • Braindamagedbaron
    Newark-on-Trent, United Kingdom1,812 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Cornish Cream
    Beautiful town and a wonderful beach. Beware however. On a gorgeous day there are fewer, more sought after places to visit on the planet, let alone the UK. Or so it feels. There are fewer people at Disneyland than make their way to St Ives in shorts weather. Probably. There is a reason for that and the reason is the town. A quaint, picturesque slice of Cornwall that picks all the best bits of the county and holds on tight. It is picture perfect sadly, you'll never get a picture thanks to a million people getting in your way. See past the crowds, pick your moment and enjoy your trip.
    Visited May 2023
    Travelled with family
    Written 28 March 2024
  • Brent P
    7 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Seagull menace.
    Great time in beautiful St. Ives Cornwall. The trip was marred a little by the antics of seagulls. Sat outside the Sloop inn enjoying a cool beer I was hit by a splatter of seagull poo. Ten minutes later I was hit again, only small but you had to guard your drink. Then a direct hit on a poor lady sat behind me. In her hair, shoulders, neck and all over her white blouse. She was close to tears and totally ruined her afternoon. Then whilst walking away we watched a seagull approach another lady from behind and grab a huge chunk of her ice-cream. She screamed in shock then disposed the remains of the ice-cream in the bin. The gulls were now flying low just above the harbour wall in like a attack formation. About six of the waiting to pounce. Now while they are a seaside feature these aerial assassins are becoming a danger to human health. Their attacks could easily injure a child and their poo is a bio-hazard. I urge the authorities to get a grip of this problem as its only a matter of time before there is a serious incident, harm or serious illness. They are spoiling St. Ives harbour and visitors will start to avoid the area if nothing is done. I could add pictures but the result is not pleasant.
    Visited May 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written 19 May 2024
  • Braindamagedbaron
    Newark-on-Trent, United Kingdom1,812 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Harbour love
    Went to St Ives for the day, as you do. Why wouldn't you? Parking is an absolute nightmare, but once you get past that conundrum, you find yourself in one of the most beautiful and picturesque places you ever did see. The beach at the harbour is stunning. The downside of that being that it aint no secret and does get very, very busy indeed. Big skies, lovely sea and a gorgeous beach to relax on. The beach really is a treat. There are all the facilities you could ever need dotted around nearby and you won't want to go home. We certainly didn't. I mean we did go home, obviously, we just didn't want to. Even that's not strictly true, we have a home and cats to return to after all. So, really, we did want to go home, very much. Let's just agree that the beach at St Ives Harbour is simply stunning.
    Visited August 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 22 July 2024
  • Ladykane1982
    Chingford, United Kingdom1,086 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Apologies to the locals for being tourists
    We visited for the first time as a family and being honest as stunning and beautiful st Ives is, it’s spoilt by us tourists, it was so busy, I understand why locals get annoyed. We arrived by train as we were advised from the site we were staying at. We got a group save 3 return for under £8 booked in advance, & £4.10 parking at St Erth rail station. The harbour is stunning, we booked a deal island boat tour with Blue Thunder in advance and had lunch at BCB cafe which has lovely views and amazing bagels. Overall a stunning place to visit. Pay to pee 40p or go to the end of harbour for free ones.
    Visited August 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written 21 August 2024
  • Anneke S
    Sommelsdijk, The Netherlands4,982 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    St Ives harbour very nice to walk around.
    St Ives is a very nice place to visit. We had parked at the top of the edge and walked down alleys and stairs all descending to the harbor. There are also buses from parking lot. Back we did it by bus, we did not have to climb. Walking around the harbor is definitely beautiful. You look at it from different angles. There are beaches, boats, jetties. High and low tide and a port passage with pier.
    Visited June 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 27 September 2024
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4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles785 reviews
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Sherpa56502546565
Great Malvern, UK8 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2023 • Family
Beautiful part of the country the colours are unreal! Weather wasn’t the best when we last went but hey! we’re in the uk! Always feel like we’re on another planet when we visit west Cornwall! Can be very busy at peak times but if you can look past this it is a quaint fishing town narrow streets just don’t drive into town!! Walk! There are plenty of parking places within walking distance or park up at the leisure centre and go into town by bus. My children are older so they coped with crowds easily. If you get up early to explore without crowds it’s a great experience!! The Tate gallery is a wonderful building with great exhibits also can recommend Barbara Hepworth’s garden / workshop is a short walk away.If you’re an artist St Ives is a must visit at least once in a lifetime! Bernard Leach pottery not far from town too!
Written 10 January 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Nigel M
48 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2023 • Couples
We went in the late autumn purposely to dodge the summer crowds. Definitely jump weather bit nice it was not over busy and we fell very relaxed. Lots of nice local shops and hardly any big name high Street shops to offend the eye. All the pubs and restaurants were local ran no chain restaurants. So yes makes a good date night spot especially out of season
Written 22 June 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Linda F
Liverpool, UK187 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2022
Beautiful picturesque place to visit. Unfortunately because my partner and I were part of a coach trip party we couldn't visit some of the attractions, however what we did see was very impressive. This part of the world has a lot of maritime history which some people may like to investigate. Like most tourist places there are the usual gift/souvenir shops, which can be a bit expensive. The restaurants and cafes too can be quite expensive for a family of 4 or more to eat in. I would definitely visit this wonder place again and spend more time exploring what it has to offer.
Written 23 October 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

spedubec
Bologna, Italy5,804 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2025 • Solo
This beach in the city centre must be quite busy in summer. Today, a day not cold but winter, there were only residents walking with dogs. As with all beaches at these latitudes, it is interesting to observe it when the tide falls or rises.
Automatically translated
Written 16 January 2025
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

ColMoschin96
East Midlands, UK265 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2022
A great tip is the to use the park and ride at St Erth. Friendly gentleman in the carpark sorted us out some tickets £4.10 for parking all day (large car park) and £4 each person for a return ticket each for a train into St Ives. The train station is next to the carp cark as well which is handly. Get onto the train and take a right hand side seat and you will be treatted to a very nice 10 minute journey along the coast. St Ives itself is nice the tide was out and we walked along the beach the weather was kind and the whole place looked well taken cared of.
Written 29 September 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Belinda P
2 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2021 • Friends
Booked afternoon tea for four just after Christmas and included my daughter who is dairy and gluten free. The Hotel staff could not do enough for us. They were so welcoming and as for the afternoon tea including the dairy and gluten free items it was up there with my experiences at the Ritz, Fortnums and the Dorchester. It was utterly delicious; hot fresh scones, moist fresh bread and scrumptious fillings, cakes that melted in our mouths and last but not least, delicious tea all served speedily and with a smile. Heaven and such good value too. Thank you so much to all your team. Claire, Roy, Tony and Alice.
Written 31 December 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

lilymoon85
Marlborough, UK95 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2021
OK, the harbour and beach are lovely BUT there are drawbacks, particularly if you have any kind of disability....
Firstly, parking is a major issue and you will have to walk a long, long way to access the harbour and beach. Secondly, the crowds can be tiresome. It's so popular, you can be elbow to elbow with people and in the midst of a pandemic, it can be stressful.
There are loads of eateries lining this area but the prices are high and the crowds sometimes difficult to navigate. People with disabilities take note: you will have problems, whether in a wheelchair or those with walking aids, like sticks.
Frankly, I think this area is overrated in so many ways.
Written 6 May 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Loobeeloo
Berwick upon Tweed, UK20 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2023 • Couples
Glad we came after school holidays had finished! We were advised in advance to park in the car park above the town and then either walk or get bus down, which we did. Town was very busy with some lovely shops! Beach itself was being used by people setting out in canoes, young children building sandcastles and older people such as ourselves having a 10 minute break to try a Cornish pasty. It was a hot day and lots of people sunbathing and enjoying the good weather. A good option to recoup for a few minutes away from the main hustle and bustle of tourists!!
Written 11 September 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

emma a
1 contribution
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2021 • Family
Beautiful, charming St Ives hold special memories for me having visited as a child, young adult and several times with my family. But it has changed, in fact all of Cornwall has changed. The main change iss parking fees, Cornwall, like the rest of the UK sees the motorist as a cash cow for example....park and ride in St Ives is as follows 1 hour 2 hour or 6 hours ( no 4 or 5 hours) and as St Ives can't be done in 1 or 2 hrs you are compelled to accept 6 hr fee as a minimum £8.50. There is a machine which has facility for cash BUT none of them in Cornwall will take cash and you must pay by Phone App Ring go or just park. Here's the rub they charge you an additional amount for using the app. It doesn't stop there you walk down to St Ives if you are physically able and catch a bus back BUT you are charged £6 for a family of 4 for the ride.
I am done with Cornwall it's dead to me now ......
Written 31 August 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Paul Legate
United Kingdom21,952 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2020
St Ives Harbour Beach is in a very central location and backs onto the Wharf and is the most accessible beach in town. It is very picturesque but that comes at a price as the area is extremely popular most of the time. During low tide the harbour beach connects up with Porthminster Beach to create a long continuous stretch of sand. Like most places in Cornwall it is a place best appreciated during off-peak times even if those times are short.
Written 10 January 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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ST IVES HARBOUR BEACH (2025) All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Reviews)

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