practical
A Week in Pembrokeshire: Day by Day, With Two Bases
Seven days, split between the south and the north, so you never drive more than half an hour to the day's walk. Includes what to do when the boat is cancelled.
By Pembrokeshire Guide editors · Updated 13 August 2026
A week is the right length for Pembrokeshire. It's also long enough that staying in one place starts to cost you — an hour each way, twice, adds up.
The plan below splits the week: four nights in the south, three in the north. If moving mid-week isn't for you, pick the southern or northern half and go deeper instead.
The driving reality
Nothing in Pembrokeshire is far, and everything takes longer than it should. Lanes are narrow, the A-roads are single carriageway, and in July you'll sit behind a caravan on the way to anywhere.
The Cleddau bridge between Neyland and Pembroke Dock is the only crossing of the estuary and the single link between the two halves of the county. Plan your week around which side of it you're on, and you'll drive half as much.
In August, popular car parks fill by mid-morning. Early or late is the whole trick.
Days 1–4: base in the south
Stay in Tenby, Manorbier or Saundersfoot if you want to walk to food; Stackpole or Freshwater East if you'd rather be closer to the quiet coast.
Day 1 — Tenby. Morning in the walled town and harbour. Afternoon on South Beach. Evening: eat in town, book ahead in season.
Day 2 — Stackpole. The best day in the south. Park early at Stackpole Quay, walk to Barafundle Bay, on to the Bosherston lily ponds and back — the full circuit is here. Evening at Freshwater West for the sunset.
Day 3 — castles. Pembroke Castle in the morning, Carew and its tidal mill in the afternoon. If the Castlemartin range isn't firing, swap the afternoon for the Green Bridge of Wales and Stack Rocks — but check the firing times first, because the road is shut when the range is live.
Day 4 — Caldey or Manorbier. Boat from Tenby harbour to Caldey if the weather is settled. If not, walk Manorbier to Tenby past Skrinkle Haven. Move north in the late afternoon; allow an hour and a half.
Days 5–7: base in the north
Stay in St Davids, Solva or Newport. St Davids for the cathedral and the boats, Newport for the Preselis and the estuary.
Day 5 — St Davids. Morning at St Davids Cathedral and the Bishop's Palace, which sit in a hollow below the city and are the best ruins in Wales. Afternoon at Whitesands or the St Davids Head walk. Evening in Solva, where the harbour fills at high water.
Day 6 — islands or the quarry coast. Skomer from Martin's Haven or Ramsey from St Justinian's, both booked well in advance. Cancelled? Walk Abereiddi to Porthgain past the Blue Lagoon and Traeth Llyfn, and finish in Porthgain.
Day 7 — Newport and the Preselis. Climb Carn Ingli above Newport in the morning, or walk Dinas Island from Cwm-yr-Eglwys. Afternoon at Newport Sands, or inland to Cilgerran Castle and St Dogmaels.
Two things to build in
A spare day for the boat. Island crossings are cancelled often, and if you've pinned yours to day seven you've lost it.
A wet day plan. See Pembrokeshire in the rain — the county handles bad weather better than it looks.
Browse all the walks, all the beaches, or use the map to see how close things really are.
