Travelling to the Isles of Scilly on a Day Trip with Your Dog.

Before this year’s trip to Scilly, I had last visited the Isles of Scilly on a press trip to Tresco & Bryher back in 2014. I’d also visited the islands a couple of times before then as my grandad’s family were originally from Scilly, and he spent some years living there during his childhood.

The islands hold a very special place in my heart – there’s something about them that just captivates you and holds onto you long after you’ve left. And so after almost ten years away from the islands, I knew this year that I wanted to go back.

With my parents living in Cornwall these days, it’s fairly easy to get over to Scilly on a day trip, so I decided to test out doing a day trip with my dog, Frank!

We flew from Land’s End at 8:30am, and then got the 5:45pm flight back, and honestly, it was the perfect day trip, so I wanted to tell you all about it and tell you how you can do a day trip if you’re visiting Cornwall!

So, grab a cuppa and buckle up, because this is the ultimate guide to a day trip to Scilly with your dog!

Taking the Scillonian Ferry vs Scilly Skybus

One of the most common questions people ask about visiting the Isles of Scilly, is whether they should take the Scillonian III ferry or the skybus. If you have the time, the Scillonian is a beautiful way to arrive at the islands – if you stand on the deck you can see the archipelago of the islands rising out of the ocean before you, and it’s just breathtaking.

However, it also has a terrible reputation for making visitors seasick. I’ve only been over on the Scillonian once, and I said I would never do it again because I spent the entire journey with my head down the toilet. When we arrived, I then couldn’t enjoy my trip because the lingering feeling of nausea remained with me the whole rest of the day.

Scillonian Day Trip Timings

Another thing to consider, is that if you’re only going for a day trip, the Scillonian timings mean you won’t have a lot of time on the island. The Skybus has much more frequent flights, so you can get an actual, full day on the island instead of just a few hours.

The Scillonian leaves Penzance at 9:15am and gets into St Mary’s at 12:00, and returns from St Mary’s at 4:30pm. So with the Scillonian you really only get about 3.5-4 hours on the island by the time you get off and then get back on again. With the Skybus, you can get a solid 7 hours on the island.

Scillonian vs Skybus Pricing

The Scillonian is much cheaper than the Skybus, so if you’re on a budget you may want to consider the Scillonian. However, the Isles of Scilly is not a cheap place to visit, so I would budget for the Skybus if you can to really maximise your day trip and avoid the sea sickness of the Scillonian.

You can get Scillonian tickets for as little as £57 return total (including £22 for the dog), whereas the minimum Skybus fare from Land’s End with a dog is around £180. The flights are cheapest the further in advance you book, and at certain times of year and days of the week etc. Of course a Saturday in August is going to be much more expensive than a Tuesday in May.

Also, if you live in Cornwall, you do get a discount on day trips to Scilly on the Scillonian, but you don’t get a discount on the Skybus. You just need to show proof of address to get the discount (like a drivers license etc).

Land’s End vs Newquay vs Exeter

The Scilly Skybus flies from three airports in Cornwall & Devon: Land’s End, Newquay, and Exeter. The timings from Newquay and Exeter aren’t suitable for day trips, so I would suggest going from Land’s End.

If you’re staying in Cornwall, make sure you factor in the time it will take for you to drive to the airport from your hotel, or book a hotel closer to the airport for the night before you fly (if you’re on a budget, there’s a Travelodge nearby which is dog-friendly and absolutely fine for one night).

Parking at Land’s End vs Penzance

Another important thing to think about is the parking situation. There’s a car park directly next to Land’s End airport, which costs £15 for the day. With Penzance (where the Scillonian goes from), there’s a park and ride situation – so you have to park in a car park outside of the town, and then get the Scillonian bus from there to the quayside.

Weather Impact on Journeys

Probably the most important part of travelling to Scilly, is planning for and taking into consideration the weather. If it’s foggy, or too windy, the Skybus won’t fly and they’ll give you a choice to either get the Scillonian instead (and they’ll refund you the difference), or to move your flights to another day.

This actually happened to me on my recent trip, and it ended up working out for the best because the day I moved it to ended up being a beautiful, gloriously sunny day, whereas my original day the weather was miserable.

There are also some rare occasions when even the Scillonian can’t travel. Make sure you join the Isles of Scilly Noticeboard Facebook group to get regular updates and help from locals – if the Scillonian doesn’t run, locals sometimes end up taking travellers back to the mainland on Ribs or Jet boats if they can’t wait until the next day to return.

Flying to Isles of Scilly on a day trip

Okay, so now we’ve got that pre-planning advice out of the way, let’s get into the flight itself!

We arrived at Land’s End airport around 7:45am, ready for our 8:30am flight. Despite being a tiny miniature dachshund, the staff at the airport weighed Frank on the luggage weight belt (and he came in at his usual 5kg). Back in the 90s they used to weigh all passengers before flying, but thankfully they don’t do that anymore!

They then give you a small, coloured ticket stub, which corresponds with what flight you’re on. Make sure you don’t lose this! The airport is absolutely tiny, but there’s a small cafe where you can get breakfast, and toilets as well.

When it’s time to board your flight, they’ll ask you to move into a small room for the flight briefing. If you’re travelling with a dog, you’ll be the first to board. They’ll call you to the front with your dog, and the staff will escort you to the plane ahead of everyone else.

Inside the tiny plane, there’s a large plastic box/crate that your dog will need to go inside. I put Frank’s favourite blanket and a few treats in there, and he happily wandered in and settled down. He’s been crate trained since he was a puppy, so he was fine going in there (until the plane engine started…). The crate door will close and they zip-tie the door to the box itself. They’ll then give you instructions on how to break this in the event of an emergency.

I would also suggest asking for the single seat across from the dog box – I found it super helpful being in eye-view of Frank and being able to stick my fingers through the door holes to give him a little stroke when he didn’t like the engine noise. Then, when you’re all settled, they’ll then allow the other passengers to board the plane.

Skybus airplane experience for dogs

This was Frank’s first experience on a plane, and at first he was doing so well, but as soon as the engine started up he freaked. He started whining and crying, and was giving me sad eyes and he pressed himself up against the door of the box, and I felt SO guilty.

The flight is only 15-mins so it wasn’t very long, but I spent those 15-mins super stressed out because poor Frank hated the engine noise so much (it is very loud because the plane is so small). You’re not allowed to remove the dog from the dog box during the flight, unless there’s a flight emergency, so if they don’t like it you just have to leave them in there.

Thankfully everyone on the plane was super supportive and Frank had his own little support team – everyone around him was trying to distract him and sticking their fingers through the holes to give him a stroke and it was super cute. I think it helped as well that he had met these people in the airport beforehand and everyone had been saying hello to him, so he was surrounded by people who he knew as friendly.

As soon as we landed on Scilly and got off the plane, all was forgotten and Frank was back to his usual happy self! However, it was then harder to get him in the box going home because he knew what was coming – I ended up having to place him into the crate and quickly close the door before he could get out again.

Arriving on St Mary’s

When you arrive on St Mary’s, you literally just walk off the plane and straight out of the airport. There will be shuttle buses to take you from the airport to the dockside, and they’re fully dog-friendly. I just held Frank on my lap during the journey.

It’s £11 per adult for a return trip, and if you tell them the time of your return flight they will tell you where to meet them and at what time. I can’t remember if they charged extra for Frank, but if they did I think it was maybe only £1 or £2.

The Islands

The islands that make up the Isles of Scilly are: St Mary’s (the main island), Tresco, Bryher, St Martin’s, and St Agnes. There are also the uninhabited ‘off’ islands, like Samson. Boats don’t often go to the uninhabited islands, so they’re not suitable for day trip visitors.

Where to get the day trip boats on Isles of Scilly

I would recommend just sticking to visiting Tresco and St Mary’s on a day trip. To visit Bryher, St Agnes or St Martin’s, you really need more time on the islands, so save those for an extended trip.

To get the boat over to the other islands, you’ll need to go straight to the Boatmen Association hut on the dockside and get your boat ticket. Boats fill-up quickly and there’s often a queue for the tickets when it’s peak season, so go there as soon as the shuttle drops you off.

The hut is also only open between certain times: 9:30am – 10:15am, and again from 1:30pm – 2:00pm. Throughout the main season it’s also open from 10:15am – 11:15am, and from 4:00pm – 6:00pm.

A return ticket to Tresco from St Mary’s costs £13 return for an adult, and dogs are £2 return.

The Perfect Isles of Scilly Day Trip Itinerary

Once you’ve got your ticket, you may be able to get a boat to Tresco straight away, but you’ll likely have to wait a bit. If you get the 8:30am flight like I did, you’ll arrive by 9am, and a lot of the boats start going out after 10am.

If you have time on St Mary’s before getting the boat to Tresco, I’d suggest going to the Hugh Street Cafe for a drink and some breakfast. They’re dog-friendly and their smoothies are so good!

Tresco

The journey over to Tresco is one of my favourites, especially on a beautiful sunny day. It’s just so relaxing and peaceful getting the boat over to the other islands, and Frank really loved it! He adored all the fuss from all the other passengers, and there were lots of other dogs on-board for him to befriend as well.

When you arrive on Tresco, what you’re able to do depends on your dog, the weather, and what times the return boats are (and whether your return boat is from the main quay or from Near Car, which is about a 40min walk away, near the Abbey Gardens). You need to make sure you leave enough time to get the boat back to St Mary’s, and then the shuttle bus from the quayside to the airport.

King Charles’ Castle

My first stop was King Charles’ Castle, as it’s my favourite place on Tresco. The views over the islands from there are just breathtakingly beautiful. The walk from the quay to the castle is around 25-minutes, and you stroll up the little lanes and then over the top through a field of heather.

If you’re on Scilly for longer than a day or you have a more ‘rugged’ dog, you could go the longer way around on the coastal route via Cromwell Castle, but I’ve done that route before and I knew Frank would struggle with it due to his little legs. With him being a dachshund I also have to carry him up steps or anything that might harm his back, so I knew that route would end up being *not fun* haha.

I had some snacks in my bag and water bottles and a bowl for Frank, so we sat up at King Charles’ castle, me eating my cheese straw and Frank eating his treat, staring out at the view. I also filled his bowl with water so he could have a good drink, as it was a warm day (23 degrees C) so I needed to keep him hydrated!

King Charles’ castle is often empty in the mornings because everyone heads straight for the Abbey Gardens, so it’s definitely best to go straight there from the boat so you can have it all to yourself before the other tourists arrive in the afternoon!

You can walk around the castle, which is a ruined artillery fort overlooking New Grimsby harbour that was built between 1548 and 1551, and then walk back over the heather-laden hillside back down and over towards Old Grimsby.

Ruin Beach Cafe

After your little stop and walk up to King Charles’ Castle, head over to the Ruin Beach Cafe for lunch. The food here is incredible (I highly recommend the crab bruschetta), the views are really lovely, and they’re very dog-friendly. They brought Frank a big bowl of water and he got some little treats before he fell asleep under the table!

I like the New Inn pub as well (although I’m slightly biased as my great-great grandfather used to manage the pub!), but I’d say the food at the Ruin Beach is slightly better and I found the staff friendlier on this visit.

Visit a Beach

There are loads of stunning beaches on Tresco, but I love Ruin Beach, Pentle Bay, Apple Tree Bay, and the little beach in front of the Flying Boat Club. Frank and I stopped off for a little paddle to cool off from the warm weather! Just make sure you look out for the pretty-coloured shells – Scilly is full of beautiful yellow and blue shells all over the beaches.

Tresco Abbey Gardens

If you have time before your boat back to St Mary’s (or if your boat going back is going from Carn Near, which is the southernmost point of Tresco and used when the tide is too low at the other quay), and if your dog is up for the walk, then head to the Tresco Abbey Gardens.

The walk from the Ruin Beach Cafe to the Abbey Gardens is around 40-minutes, so it’s a fair way. There’s no way Frank could walk that far – he had already had one tantrum on the way to the cafe from the castle where he just sat down in the middle of the heather and refused to move 😂 I had to carry him half-way down to the cafe! But again, he has very small legs so if you have a larger dog they’ll be able to do more walking.

Dogs are welcome in the Abbey Gardens but must be kept on a lead at all times, and the entry price is £18 for adults. There’s no extra charge for dogs.

I do love the Abbey Gardens, they’re really beautiful and they have red squirrels there which are ridiculously cute! You could easily spend hours here and get absolutely lost, so if you do visit on a day trip, make sure you keep track of the time!

St Mary’s

Because Frank couldn’t make it to the Abbey Gardens this time, and I’d been a couple of times before this trip, I decided to get the earlier, 2pm boat back to St Mary’s and spend more time on St Mary’s. This actually ended up being the best decision.

The last time I’d visited St Mary’s, back in 2010, it rained the whole day I was there and it was just a bit miserable and rubbish because I was so sea-sick from the Scillonian crossing. This time around it was beautiful blue skies and bright sunshine, and I had a really lovely time wandering around the streets, and seeing the house my grandad’s family used to own and where he grew up.

It made me realise just how lovely St Mary’s is, it’s so quaint and has so many great shops and eateries. I had a drink at The Mermaid (v student bar vibes, but a cool place full of locals and v dog-friendly), and a drink at The Atlantic (more ‘refined’ and more of a traditional pub that’s popular with visitors), and then I got a new jumper and a hat from the IoS  store. Most of the shops and cafes accept dogs, which made wandering around a breeze.

I had a little bit of time left before the shuttle was due to take us back to the airport, so we walked up to Holgates Green, which overlooks Town Beach, and just laid on the grass in the sunshine. It was pure bliss!

Taking your dog to the Isles of Scilly & would I take my dog to Scilly again?

Taking your dog to Scilly is super easy because it’s such a dog-friendly place. We had such a lovely day and Frank was truly living his best life with all his favourite things – beaches, new smells, walks, and lots of fuss from strangers! Scilly is also a very safe place with zero crime, so it felt very safe to take him there and I had no worries about him getting lost or being stolen (it sounds mad, but this is a very real fear everywhere else in the UK).

All of the islands are dog-friendly, and Tresco is very dog-friendly despite dogs not being able to stay in accommodation there during the summer months. They do accept dogs in accommodation during the winter season, and of course they can visit on day trips all year round.

I would say the main call-out is with the travel there and back. It’s only a 15-minute flight so if your dog doesn’t like the journey, at least you know it’s very short. However, I’m actually not sure I would take Frank on the plane again just because I don’t want to put any additional stress and upset on him.

I think in the future, I would do a day trip by myself and leave Frank with my parents for the day. But, I would love to go back for a long weekend with him and go over on the Scillonian. I think I’d just have to take anti-seasickness tablets, and give myself a day of relaxing to get over the journey.

Is a day trip to Isles of Scilly worth it?

Don’t get me wrong, it’s an expensive day trip, but for me personally it was well-worth it. It was much cheaper than doing a few days or a week on the islands, and it just gave me a one-day break from normal life and that little taste of Scilly that I had been craving for so many years.

It’s such a beautiful place and so different to anywhere else in the UK – I truly felt as though I were on holiday somewhere more tropical than Cornwall. I also felt SO ridiclously relaxed by the end of the day. The only problem is you’ll then want to go back for longer to see all the other islands and things you didn’t have time to see 😉 maybe next year!