Photo: Paul Farmer (CC BY-SA 2.0)Hwlffordd
The county town at the crossroads of Pembrokeshire — castle, riverside, rail links, and every beach within half an hour.
Haverfordwest is Pembrokeshire's working capital: a hill town of medieval streets under a Norman castle above the Western Cleddau, with the county's main shopping, supermarkets, hospital and railway station. It isn't a resort and doesn't pretend to be — but as a touring base it is unbeatable on pure geography: Broad Haven and Newgale within 15 minutes, St Davids 25, Tenby 30, Marloes and the Skomer boats 25.
The town rewards a wander more than its reputation suggests — the castle ramparts, the Riverside quarter's cafés and the Bristol Trader pub by the old quay, where trading ships once unloaded. For value hunters, accommodation here costs meaningfully less than the coast a few miles away.
Riverside and the older streets under the castle for character; the villages just west (Camrose, Nolton, Roch — with its castle silhouette) split the difference between town convenience and coast.
Haverfordwest · Sleeps 4 · 2 beds
The former fishing village of Llangwm has a heritage dating back to prehistoric times and is ideal for families discovering the Cleddau Valley and the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. The village is home to the Llangwm Literature Festival and makes a lovely base for exhilaratin
Bookable via holidaycottages.co.uk
Haverfordwest · Sleeps 6 · 3 beds
This beautiful cottage is set in a peaceful hamlet just North of Haverfordwest giving easy access to all that Pembrokeshire has to offer. The county town of Haverfordwest can be reached in just under 3 miles. The town offers a variety of shops bars and restaurants for you to enjo
Bookable via holidaycottages.co.uk
Read the full guide: Where to Stay in Haverfordwest: The County Town as a Base
Not after a cottage? 4 hotels in and around Haverfordwest — every one we hold a record for, from open data.
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Our hand-picked stays above are cottages and holiday homes. For a hotel, a guesthouse, a B&B or a pub with rooms, this search covers what is bookable in and around Haverfordwest.
Opens Booking.com's search for Haverfordwest — add your dates to see live prices and what is actually free. Hotels, guesthouses, B&Bs and pubs with rooms, which the cottage agencies don't list.
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Pubs, restaurants, cafés, attractions and activities in and around Haverfordwest.
Everything to do in and around Haverfordwest, in one place →
A working-farm adventure park near Slebech — woodland trails, play areas, animals and Wales's most cheerful frisbee-golf course.
Photo: Cered (CC BY-SA 2.0)The castle on the crag above the county town — emerging from a £24m regeneration that has kept it closed, with the town museum decamped to Riverside Quay meanwhile.
The ruined Augustinian priory on the riverbank below the town — free, quietly lovely, and home to rare recreated medieval gardens.
Photo: Dylan Moore (CC BY-SA 2.0)The county's big freshwater playground — a reservoir under the Preselis with bike trails, watersports hire, fishing and a lakeside café.
Photo: Morris (Public domain)A lived-in medieval castle turned Georgian mansion outside Haverfordwest, with 40 acres of woodland gardens — one of the county's two great garden days out.
Photo: Garth Newton (CC BY-SA 2.0)Pembrokeshire's county museum: a Victorian manor, working heritage exhibits and 60 acres of country park with play areas — the park itself costs nothing.
A short stage with the best pub stop on the path a mile in, then quiet cliffs to a cove with a church almost on the beach.
5.5 miles · 3 hours · Moderate
Up the waterway and across the Cleddau Bridge: Brunel's railway terminus at Neyland, the Royal Dockyard heritage of Pembroke Dock, and a finish beneath the castle where Henry VII was born.
12.5 miles · 5–6 hours · Moderate
Along the top of St Brides Bay past the ruins of a colliery that mined coal out under the sea, with four beaches on the way.
7 miles · 3½–4 hours · Moderate
Every walk starting near Haverfordwest — distance, ascent, parking →
15 car parks within about 3 km of the centre — 5 recorded as free, 6 as charging. Space counts and operators where they are recorded, and no invented prices.
Druidston Haven is the nearest we list, about 9.2km (5.7 miles) away, followed by Broad Haven (9.6km (6.0 miles)) and Nolton Haven (10.1km (6.3 miles)). Distances are straight-line from the centre of the village, so allow more by road.
We list 19 pubs in and around Haverfordwest, including Oak Inn, The Bull Inn and The Pembroke Yeoman. There are another 37 places to eat and drink nearby — cafés, restaurants and bars.
We map 15 car parks in and around Haverfordwest, 6 of which charge. Coastal car parks fill early in July and August — arriving before 10am or after 4pm makes a real difference.
We list 15 shops and supermarkets in and around Haverfordwest. Village shops keep short winter hours, so don't rely on one for a late arrival.
We currently list 9 places to stay in and around Haverfordwest. We show prices and availability from the booking provider rather than holding our own, so what you see is what they have.
Answers are generated from what we actually hold in our database and refreshed as it changes. Opening hours, dog rules and prices move — check with the venue before you travel.
Pembrokeshire's postcard town: pastel Georgian houses above three superb beaches, a working harbour and medieval walls — the classic Welsh seaside holiday.
Big sandy beach, busy little harbour and a proper seaside village centre — Tenby's more relaxed neighbour, three miles up the coast.
Britain's smallest city — a cathedral in a hollow, Whitesands Bay up the road, and the wildest, most beautiful corner of the national park all around.