Getting to Pembrokeshire: Roads, Trains, Coaches and Airports

Pembrokeshire is the far south-west corner of Wales. Nothing else is beyond it. That geography is most of the appeal and all of the travel problem: however you come, the last hour is slower than the rest of the journey.

Driving

From England and most of south Wales it's the M4 west. The motorway runs out past Swansea at Pont Abraham, becomes dual carriageway to Carmarthen, and from there you're on the A40 with a choice to make.

For the south — Tenby, Saundersfoot, Manorbier, Pembroke and Pembroke Dock — leave the A40 at St Clears for the A477, then drop south near Kilgetty for the coast.

For the middle and north — Haverfordwest, Milford Haven, St Davids, Newport and Fishguard — stay on the A40 to Haverfordwest, then the A487 along the coast.

Why it takes longer than you were told

Satnavs price the last leg as if it were open road. It isn't. From Carmarthen on, you are on single carriageway with roundabouts, villages, 20mph limits through built-up areas, tractors in the field season and a caravan in front of you from May onwards. Ninety minutes of that is not ninety minutes of motorway.

Saturday is changeover day for most self-catering in the county, which means the A477 and A40 westbound clog from late morning and the eastbound side goes the same way. If you can travel on a Friday or a Sunday, do.

Add an hour to your estimate in July and August. Fill up and do the big shop at Carmarthen or Haverfordwest — fuel gets thinner and dearer the further west you go, and the last supermarket before St Davids is a long way back.

Trains

The West Wales line runs from Swansea and Carmarthen and splits at Whitland into two branches, which is worth understanding before you book.

The Pembroke Dock branch calls at Narberth, Kilgetty, Saundersfoot, Tenby, Penally, Manorbier, Lamphey, Pembroke and Pembroke Dock. For a beach holiday on the south coast this is genuinely useful — Tenby station is a five-minute walk from the walls.

The Haverfordwest and Milford Haven branch runs through Clunderwen and Clarbeston Road to Haverfordwest, Johnston and Milford Haven.

Fishguard Harbour, at Goodwick, sits on a short spur off the same line and serves the Irish ferry as well as the town.

Two things to know. Several of the smaller stations are request stops, so tell the guard where you're getting off and put an arm out on the platform. And there is no railway anywhere on the north-west coast — no station at St Davids, Solva, Broad Haven, Dale or Marloes. That corner of the county is bus country.

Coaches

Long-distance coaches run into Haverfordwest, Tenby and Pembroke Dock from London and the Midlands. Slow, cheap, and a reasonable option if you're basing yourself in one town. Routes and stops change, so check current services rather than an old timetable.

Flying

There is no scheduled passenger airport in Pembrokeshire. Cardiff is the nearest, and it is still the best part of two hours' drive to Tenby and more to St Davids. Bristol has far more flights and is further again.

The honest bit about cars

If you are staying in the centre of Tenby, Saundersfoot, St Davids, Newport or Fishguard and happy to plan around buses and walking, you can have an excellent week without a car — see getting around without a car.

Anywhere else, and especially for a cottage down a lane, hiring a car is nearly always necessary. Hire is limited locally and gets booked out in summer, so arrange it with the flight or the train, not on arrival.

More in practical information, or start planning the trip.