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Where to Stay in Pembrokeshire: Choosing an Area, Not a Postcode
The county is bigger than it looks and the roads are slower than the map says. Which area suits which holiday — and the mistake almost everyone makes first.
By Pembrokeshire Guide editors · Updated 14 August 2026
The mistake nearly everyone makes on a first Pembrokeshire holiday is booking somewhere lovely and then discovering that the thing they most wanted to see is an hour and ten minutes away down single-track lanes behind a tractor.
The county is roughly forty miles across. That sounds like nothing. It isn't: there is no motorway, one main road along the coast, and in August the last ten miles of any journey take as long as the first thirty. Pick your area first, then pick the property.
Here is what each part of the county actually gets you.
The south coast: Tenby, Saundersfoot, Manorbier
The busiest, most developed and — if you have children — usually the right answer.
Tenby is a walled medieval town with three beaches, an island monastery offshore and more restaurants than anywhere else in the county. Saundersfoot is quieter, has a harbour and a big sandy beach, and is a short walk along the old tramway tunnels from Wiseman's Bridge and Amroth. Manorbier puts a castle behind the beach and far fewer people in front of it.
Choose it if: you want to walk to dinner, you have young children, or you'd rather not drive every day.
The trade-off: it's the busiest part of the county in August, parking in Tenby is genuinely difficult, and you're a long way from St Davids and the islands.
Compare the beaches: near Tenby, near Saundersfoot. Or read the town-level guide, where to stay in Tenby.
The St Davids peninsula: St Davids, Solva, Whitesands
The most beautiful corner, and the one people come back for.
St Davids is Britain's smallest city — a cathedral in a hollow, a square with three pubs and a bakery, and a peninsula of cliffs and coves around it. Solva sits in a drowned valley four miles east with a harbour that dries out entirely at low tide. Whitesands Bay is the surf and family beach; Porthmelgan and Caerfai are the quieter ones.
Choose it if: you want the best of the coast, boat trips to Ramsey Island, and the county's best short walks — St Davids Head among them.
The trade-off: it's small, it books out early, and prices reflect that. Eating out needs planning out of season.
See things to do in St Davids and beaches near St Davids.
St Brides Bay: Broad Haven, Little Haven, Newgale, Nolton
The middle of the west coast, and the best-value part of the county for what you get.
Broad Haven has a big sandy beach with lifeguard cover in season and a car park behind it. Little Haven, a few hundred yards south over the hill, is a tiny cove with pubs around it. Newgale is two miles of surf beach. Nolton Haven and Druidston are the quiet ones between.
Choose it if: you want beaches and surf without south-coast prices, and you're happy driving twenty minutes for a good restaurant.
The trade-off: exposed to westerly weather, and the coast road is slow.
The north coast: Newport, Fishguard, Dinas
The wildest and quietest side, with the Preseli Hills behind it.
Newport is a handsome small town under Carn Ingli with a big tidal beach across the estuary. Fishguard has the ferry to Ireland, a lower harbour that looks like a film set because it has been one, and the county's most dramatic stretch of Coast Path to its west. Dinas Cross sits between them beside the Dinas Island headland.
Choose it if: you want walking, the hills, dark skies and fewer people; or you're catching a ferry.
The trade-off: it's a long way from Tenby and the south-coast attractions — assume an hour and a quarter each way.
The Haven and the far south-west: Dale, Marloes, Angle, Milford
The Milford Haven waterway is a working deep-water port and a sailing centre at the same time, which surprises people.
Dale is the sailing village at its mouth and one of the sunniest spots in Wales. Marloes is the gateway to the Deer Park and the boats to Skomer. Angle sits on the other side of the water with a beach at each end of the village.
Choose it if: puffins, seals and islands are the point of the trip, or you sail.
The trade-off: the refineries are visible from parts of the waterway, and the boats to Skomer are weather-dependent and sell out.
Inland: Narberth, Haverfordwest, the Preselis
Cheaper, greener, and much better connected than the coast.
Narberth is the county's best small town for eating and independent shops, and it's twenty minutes from both coasts. Haverfordwest is the practical centre — supermarkets, the hospital, the train station — and rarely a holiday destination in itself. The Preseli Hills are where the Stonehenge bluestones came from.
Choose it if: you're touring the whole county, you want value, or you're here out of season.
The trade-off: you'll drive to every beach.
How long, realistically
Rough driving times, in summer, with traffic:
- Tenby to St Davids: 1 hour 15
- Tenby to Newport: 1 hour 15
- St Davids to Fishguard: 35 minutes
- Haverfordwest to almost anywhere on the coast: 30–45 minutes
- Anywhere to anywhere on a Saturday changeover morning: add a third
If your trip has two very different halves — cathedral and islands one week, castles and beaches the next — consider two bases. The week itinerary is built that way for exactly this reason.
Then choose the property
Once the area is settled, the property questions are the usual ones: dogs, hot tub, sea view, how far to the sand, and whether the parking described as "nearby" means outside or means a walk with the shopping.
Browse all destinations, or start with the three-day and week-long itineraries to see what a trip from each base actually looks like.
