Pembrokeshire Boat Trips for your St Davids Holiday
A wildlife boat trip is a must when planning your summer holiday to St Davids in Pembrokeshire
Make your way to the tiny city of St Davids during your Pembrokeshire holiday and you’ll be greeted with a destination oozing with culture, community spirit and plenty of activities to keep even the most restless busy. To top it all off, the foodie offerings here are aplenty and will sure to keep those tastebuds tingling long after you arrive home.
But it doesn’t stop there. If you’re a wildlife enthusiast looking for a region teeming with spectacular natural habitats, you’ll find exactly what you’ve been searching for along this incredible coastal landscape. This western coastline around St Davids is where you’ll find a vast range of species speckled including some rare and protected breeds.
The ocean here is home to resident porpoises, Atlantic grey seals and even an innovative seaweed farm run by a local community benefit society, Car-Y-Mor. The cliffs and hedgerows of the entire St Davids peninsula are sprinkled with flora, fauna, flowering plants and gorse. The peaceful airspace above this rural county and seascape is often interrupted with passing razorbills, chough and guillemots.
So how best to sightsee all the nature and wildlife there is to offer in and around St Davids? With a wildlife boat trip from Thousand Island Expeditions, of course. And you’ll be pleased to know - these trips can be booked directly through our Concierge team here at Coastal Cottages. Just give us a call with your dates and party details, then we can help you decide which trip is the right one for you.
Wildlife Boat Trips in St Davids, Pembrokeshire
There are several cruises on offer, all of which depart from the old lifeboat station at St Justinians - a pretty place to sightsee even if you don’t fancy taking a trip across the seas. Being dependent on weather and sea conditions, these trips all run between Easter and October making them ideal days out during the warmer months of the year.
Land on Ramsey Island
Year after year, the most popular choice is the Land on Ramsey Island trip. Departing at 10am and 12noon, this trip takes you on a twenty-minute journey across the water to land on the RSPB island of Ramsey where you can then explore the small isle at your own leisure. You’ll begin the day with a short introduction talk from the resident warden who’ll point out animals and viewpoints to look out for, as well as providing you with a handy map of the island.
There is a small cafe and a couple of non-flushing toilets on the island but that’s about it as far as facilities go, so it’s often a good idea to pack a picnic though the skipper will check your bag on the way out and ask you to bring back all rubbish. This is so they can keep a limit on any rodent activity at Ramsey. Return at 4pm after a self-guided tour of the nature reserve.
Thousand Islands Adventure
Another favoured sea exploration is the Thousand Islands Adventure. Ideal for those wanting a leisurely sail across the water and around the island, you’ll board a traditional vessel here and get to see the island as well as the coastline behind you without having to take too much time out of your day.
Available from 2023: You can now book the two above trips together to combine your visit on the island with a sailing around.
Ramsey Island Special (RHIB)
This is one for the more adventurous, those who like their activities on the more adrenaline-fuelled side of life. You’ll board an RHIB boat rather than a traditional vessel so expect speed. Wearing wet weather gear is also advisable! Speed isn’t the only pro of this trip, you can also get a little closer to the caves for a more detailed look.
Evening Shearwater Cruise
As the sun lowers in the sky, you can enjoy a slower-paced exploration of the waters around Ramsey and North Bishops Island. This ninety-minute trip is a top choice and makes a picturesque end to the day.
Skomer Island Puffin Trip
These comical seabirds are some of the most popular creatures of nature we have in this part of the world so a trip to Skomer Island, the third-largest colony of breeding puffins, is a must if you’re a fan. It’s a longer trip across the water as the island is set further away than Ramsey so you can expect incredible views of the western Pembrokeshire coast too.
Seabird & Dolphin Experience (RHIB)
The Seabird and Dolphin Experience boat trip is a full-on sea adventure of the Irish Sea. Boarding at St Justinians, you’ll then set out on a voyage towards Grassholm, one of the longest-running RSPB nature reserves, where you’ll sightsee an impressive colony of gannets. These white-feathered birds here make up some 10% of the world’s entire population, making it a particularly important site. You’ll continue sailing by, heading deeper into the ocean, where you’ll hopefully discover dolphins and maybe even a whale alongside the more commonly seen seals.
About Thousand Island Expeditions
Thousand Island Expeditions is one of the leading boat trip companies in the region, having been running wildlife trips for nearly 50 years. Now under the helm of new owner Padrig Rees and manager Jess Watton, this business started back in 1975 and is the sole company with authorisation to land on Ramsey Island. This allows them to transport a small but regular grouping of visitors to explore the nature reserve and learn all about the excellent work the RSPB does of tracking the birds who reside there and maintain the island as they do.
Thousand Islands, as we know them affectionately, works closely with the RSPB and supports their cause of protecting and preserving the incredible wildlife on the island. You’ll even find a stock of official RSPB merchandise at the shop in the booking office, just off Cross Square in St Davids. Make sure to call in and pick up a little memento of your visit to Ramsey Island.
How to Book Your Wildlife Boat Trip
Once you've chosen your preferred trip, just give our Concierge team a call on 01437 772758 and we can help you arrange your trip. Just let us know your chosen trip, if you have a preferred date/time you'd like to go and then how many people are in your party. From there, we'll check availability and book you in. Once payment has been taken, you'll be issued with a confirmation letter outlining all the details of your trip with directions on how to get to the booking office and departure point. You will need to provide us with a mobile contact number that we can pass on in case the skipper needs to contact you on the day, for instance, if weather conditions impact the sailing.
Note, there is a series of steps at both the departure point and the landing point on Ramsey so it's best to have a chat with us first if you have mobility difficulties and are unsure if the trip is suitable. Thousand Island Expeditions no longer run a shuttle bus between St Davids and St Justinians as they have done in previous years, so you will need to either jump on the Celtic Coaster shuttle bus or drive down yourself; there is a car park which costs roughly £3 and operates a cash-only basis.
Coastal Cottages St Davids Holiday Cottages
The city of St Davids is, more accurately, an attractive village on the most westerly peninsula of mainland Britain and has what many consider to be the country's most lovely cathedral. You’ll also find excellent shops, pubs and restaurants in the city’s centre, which is easily accessible from our range of St Davids holiday cottages.
