Visiting Skomer Island
Many of our guests at both Fron Isaf and The Cobourg want to make the trip to see one of Pembrokeshire’s most famous visitors - The Atlantic Puffin. These unique and beautiful birds nest and bring up their young on Skomer and Skokholm Islands off the far western coast of Pembrokeshire. While boat trips run round both islands it is only Skomer that you can land on to see Puffins up close and personal. Boats depart from Martin’s Haven (postcode - SA62 3BJ) to the island. The boats run from Tuesday to Sunday at 10am, 11am and 12 noon. Return trips run from 3pm and are allocated according to your outward journey. As its around an hours drive from both Fron Isaf and Tenby we recommend leaving early, queues start to form from 8am onwards so you have to set your alarm clocks to be sure to make it! It’s only possible to buy the tickets from the shop at Martin’s Haven, and they are limited to 250 a day. You will also have to pay the boat captain, so make sure you bring cash with you. It’s around a 20-30 minute boat trip to the island, and you will start seeing plenty of wildlife on your trip over.
When you get to the island you will see what all the fuss was about, very few places compare to Skomer in terms of the wildlife and the peace and quiet (no cars on the island!). After a quick talk from one of the wardens you are free to make your own way around the Island and see all the wildlife the island has to offer. The Puffins are on the island from mid-April to Early August, with up to 10,000 breeding pairs making the island their home during this period. While the Puffins steal the show the island also has huge colonies of Manx Shearwaters, Dolphins, Harbour Porpoises, Atlantic Grey Seal, Razorbills, Gannets, Fulmars and the unique Skomer Vole.
In terms of what you should bring with you, the essentials are comfortable shoes (ideally walking boots), water proofs (even on sunny days you never know), sun screen, water and food (there is nowhere to get food on the island).
if you are staying with us while the Puffins are nesting a trip to Skomer is a no brainer, but the island is well worth a visit throughout the year!
Some useful links for planning your visit:
Welsh Wildlife Trust who manage the island: https://www.welshwildlife.org/skomer-skokholm/skomer/
Skimmer Boat Information (daily updated on if the boats are running): https://twitter.com/skomer_boatinfo?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor