Britain's only coastal national park county: 186 miles of Coast Path, over 50 beaches, castles, islands and harbour villages at the wild western tip of Wales.
Pembrokeshire occupies the far south-west corner of Wales, and almost its entire coastline lies within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park — the UK's only predominantly coastal national park. That single fact explains most of what makes a holiday here special: development has been kept in check for seventy years, so what you get is clifftop, beach, island and harbour in something close to their natural state.
The county divides usefully in two. The south — Tenby, Saundersfoot, Manorbier, the Bosherston lily ponds and Barafundle Bay — is softer, sunnier and more set up for families, with the classic seaside resorts and most of the big attractions. The north — St Davids, Solva, Fishguard, Newport and the Preseli Hills — is wilder and quieter, with bigger cliffs, darker skies and a strong Welsh-speaking culture. The Milford Haven waterway splits the two, guarded by Pembroke's medieval castle.
Offshore, the islands make Pembrokeshire a wildlife destination of international rank: Skomer's puffins (April to July) and Manx shearwaters, Grassholm's gannets, Ramsey's seals and seabird cliffs. Boat trips run from St Justinians, Martin's Haven and Tenby harbour. Add surf at Freshwater West and Newgale, coasteering (invented here, at St Davids), and the Coast Path linking all of it, and you can see why people come back annually for decades.
Little Haven · Sleeps 2 · 1 bed
One-bedroom clifftop bolthole above Little Haven with St Brides Bay sunsets from the bed.
Tenby · Sleeps 4 · 2 beds
Georgian fisherman's cottage inside the town walls with a harbour view from the sitting room.
Saundersfoot · Sleeps 6 · 3 beds
Three-bedroom family cottage a flat 200-metre walk from Saundersfoot's sand, with enclosed garden and parking.
Newport (Trefdraeth) · Sleeps 4 · 2 beds
Architect-designed cabin with wood-fired hot tub and dark-sky views in the Preseli foothills above Newport.
Tenby · Sleeps 10 · 5 beds
Five-bedroom Victorian townhouse on the Esplanade staring straight over South Beach to Caldey Island.
Solva · Sleeps 4 · 2 beds
First-floor loft on Lower Solva's main street, thirty seconds from the harbour and both pubs.
Bosherston & Stackpole · Sleeps 4 · 2 beds
Stone cottage in Stackpole village — Barafundle before the crowds, lily ponds from the lane, Stackpole Inn over the road.
St Davids · Sleeps 5 · 3 beds
Stone cottage two streets from St Davids Cathedral with parking and a sunny walled garden.
Dale · Sleeps 6 · 3 beds
Bay-front cottage on Dale seafront — paddleboards from the door, the Griffin Inn sixty seconds away.
St Davids · Sleeps 6 · 3 beds
Board-storage, outdoor shower, and Whitesands' surf a ten-minute walk — the St Davids peninsula wave base.
Newport (Trefdraeth) · Sleeps 8 · 4 beds
Traditional stone farmhouse under Carn Ingli with hot tub, big kitchen table and Newport Sands ten minutes away.
Marloes · Sleeps 8 · 4 beds
Converted farm with hot tub and games barn, walking distance to Marloes Sands and the Skomer boats.
Dogs all yearThe golden cove with no road — half a mile's clifftop walk from Stackpole Quay, and regularly voted among Britain's best beaches.
St Davids' big Blue Flag surf beach beneath Carn Llidi — sand, swell and sunsets at the end of Wales.
Dogs all yearA vast, wild strand of folded rock and clean sand — many regulars' pick for the most beautiful beach in Wales.
Dogs all yearWales's premier surf beach: huge Atlantic sands, dunes, film fame — and genuinely dangerous swimming. Walk it, surf it, respect it.