5 Days in Cornwall Itinerary: Where To Go & Where To Stay

There are many ways to approach your 5 days in Cornwall itinerary. You might choose to focus on the beautiful beaches and coastlines Cornwall has to offer. 

Or you might prefer to experience the intriguing history of Cornwall – whether that’s mining, legendary kings and everything in between. Or maybe you’d prefer to seek out secret spots in Cornwall?

However you choose to spend your time in this beautiful county, you’ll surely love it! When I studied at the University of Plymouth, I spent many weekends exploring every inch of both Devon and Cornwall. These counties quickly became (and still are) my favourites.

This 5 day Cornwall itinerary aims to show you some of the top must-sees in Cornwall while offering plenty of variety, so you can experience some of the places and activities that Cornwall is most known for. 

But there’s so much more to see than just 5 days will allow, so you might also like to read our 3 day Cornwall itinerary.

While that itinerary focuses on the south coast of Cornwall, this longer itinerary focuses more on the northern side. Either way, we hope you find our itineraries helpful and inspiring.

Note: Unique Hideaways, a company that offers one-of-a-kind places to stay in Cornwall and throughout the UK, kindly sponsored this blog post so we could bring this itinerary to life for you. But – as always – all words, thoughts, opinions, research, etc are entirely our own.

5 Days in Cornwall Itinerary: Where To Go & Where To Stay

This itinerary assumes you’ve either already arrived in Cornwall by the start of the first day, or you don’t have an extraordinarily long drive to get to Cornwall.

If you have a long drive ahead of you, then you may need to tweak the itinerary slightly or add an extra day or two to allow you enough time to get to and from Cornwall.

We’re also assuming you’ll have access to a car during your trip. While it’s possible to see Cornwall by train, you may need to tweak the itinerary if you’re not using a car.

Okay, so once you’ve arrived in Cornwall, here’s how we recommend you spend your next 5 days there.

Day 1: Perranporth & St Agnes Heritage Coast

Let’s start your 5 days in Cornwall on the northern coast. Up first is Perranporth, a beautiful seaside resort town roughly 8 miles south of Newquay.

Perranporth is one of our favourite places to visit in Cornwall for a beach day. The beautiful golden sandy beach is roughly 3 miles long, so you should have plenty of space to relax or play games. It also doesn’t get as busy as Newquay!

The waves are also pretty good in Perranporth, so we recommend having a go at bodyboarding or surfing while you’re there – followed by a spot of lunch.

From Perranporth, you can also climb the Shag Rock Steps, which lead up to the coastal path along the St Agnes Heritage Coast.

Alternatively, you can drive to some of the historical landmarks in the St Agnes area, such as Trevellas Mine or Wheal Coates mine (the latter of which was a filming location within the Poldark TV series). 

Day 2: Godrevy & St Ives

Now we’re going to keep heading in a southeasterly direction – this time towards Godrevy and St Ives, which are roughly 30 to 45 minutes away from Perranporth by car.

Godrevy is our first stop. Here, you’ll find a long stretch of sandy beach, which is far quieter than most beaches in nearby St Ives. 

If you like the idea of a coastal walk, beach walk or a spot of surfing away from all the hustle and bustle of St Ives, then Godrevy is a great option.

From here, you can drive into St Ives fairly easily (just account for extra traffic at peak times), where you’ll find an array of beautiful beaches, fantastic restaurants, quirky shops and boutiques and even the Tate St Ives art gallery.

Day 3: St Michael’s Mount or Levant Mine & Botallack Mine

From St Ives, you have a few options of what to see next. 

You might want to head south to Marazion where there’s a causeway you can walk across to get to the tidal island of St Michael’s Mount.

You’ll need to keep an eye on timing and tides to do this, but there’s plenty of information online about when is best to cross the causeway. Marazion is less than a 30-minute drive from St Ives.

Alternatively, you could head in a southeasterly direction for a similar amount of time towards Levant Mine and Botallack Mine near St Just. These are historic mining landmarks, which were both used as Poldark filming locations. 

Day 4: Sennen Cove, Land’s End & The Minack Theatre

Today, we’re going to venture to the most southeasterly point in Cornwall. 

I am – of course – talking about the Land’s End landmark – where unparalleled coastal views and fun attractions and games await. 

While you could drive straight to Land’s End and park up there, we’d recommend parking next to Sennen Cove (a beautiful sandy beach a couple of miles north of Land’s End).

You can then walk just over a mile along the coastal path for yet more incredible views on your way to Land’s End itself.

Once you’ve experienced all that there is to see here, and maybe rested on Sennen Cove beach afterwards, head to Porthcurno on the southern coast of Cornwall for a phenomenal theatre experience.

The Minack Theatre is an open-air amphitheatre, which is set into the cliffs overlooking the sea. 

If you’re lucky enough to find tickets for an evening theatre show, then you’ll love the experience of watching excellent acting under the glow of the stars and moonlight (on a clear night), set to the sounds of crashing waves and seabirds. Sounds incredible, right?!

Day 5: Port Isaac & Tintagel

From the Porthcurno and Land’s End area, you’ll have a long drive back through Cornwall to get home, so why not break up your drive home with a couple of final pitstops?

Up first is Port Isaac, which would only be a slight detour from the A30 and A39 main roads.

Port Isaac is a picturesque fishing village on the northern coast of Cornwall and is a great place to while away a couple of hours. 

There was once a TV show starring Martin Clunes filmed here called Doc Martin. You might have heard of it? It’s quite well known here in the UK.

Port Isaac is also well known for its seafood restaurants – especially if you love crab or lobster, so we recommend having lunch here.

Once you’ve finished seeing Port Isaac, head along the coast for roughly 10 miles to Tintagel, which is a Cornish village that’s both historic and charming.

Tintagel is most famous for its connections with the legendary King Arthur who was first linked to the village in the 12th century by a historian called Geoffrey Monmouth.

He claimed that King Arthur was conceived at Tintagel Castle by Uther Pendragon, the King of Britain and Queen Igerna, the wife of Duke Gorlois of Cornwall.

Since then, Tintagel and King Arthur have been linked together by various sources – adding to the legends and tales that are so interesting to read today.

As well as visiting Tintagel Castle during your time here, you can also spend a bit of time in the village itself, which is abundant with boutiques and shops that are well worth browsing in. 

There’s also Tintagel Beach and Merlin’s Cave at the foot of the castle, which you might also be interested in seeing.

Where To Stay For 5 Days in Cornwall

We searched around on the Unique Hideaways website to find some romantic boltholes close to the different areas we’ve recommended for this Cornwall itinerary. 

While many of these properties require you to stay for at least two nights, you should find them conveniently located near the places we’ve recommended visiting.

Not to mention they’re all gorgeous getaways!

As our 5 days in Cornwall itinerary takes you to the most southeasterly tip of Cornwall, you might want to book two places for your trip – such as a more central location to start and then somewhere in the south after that.

Here are the Unique Hideaway properties we recommend you have a look at.

The Shepherd’s Hut at Georgia Bridge near St Ives

Although St Ives is further south than St Agnes, it’s still in a prime location for many of the places and activities we’ve mentioned in our itinerary, so you might like to find somewhere to stay there instead.

We found a charming glamping site called The Shepherd’s Hut at Georgia Bridge, which also has a wood burner. For us, this is the epitome of cosy evenings spent together.

The Shepherd’s Hut looks positively charming and even comes with a beautiful garden area to relax in. Doesn’t it look like such a haven?!

The Hideaway near Marazion

Alternatively, if you’d rather stay closer to the action in the south of Cornwall, then The Hideaway near Marazion might be a great option for you. 

This glamping pod is fun, quirky and beautiful. There’s a decking area outside for catching some sun rays or dining al fresco and there’s even a private seating area a short ramble away that has amazing coastal views. It looks like you can even see St Michael’s Mount itself from there!

Psst! If you like the sound of sea views while glamping in Cornwall, then you might like these other accommodation options from Unique Hideaways.

Porth Chapel Cabin near Penzance

Or, if you don’t want to have to drive very far after an evening show at The Minack Theatre, then staying in or near Penzance might be a better option for you. 

Porth Chapel Cabin looks fabulous! It almost has a cottage feel to it – complete with a wood burner, real wood furnishings, exposed beam and brick features and a large decking area outside. 

Wildwood Hideaway near Wadebridge

And finally, we love the look of a place called Wildwood Hideaway near Wadebridge, which might be a great option for either the start or end of this 5 day Cornwall itinerary.

This charming glamping cabin is about a 30-minute drive away from Port Isaac and is surrounded by 200 acres of fields and woodlands. It even has a wood burner for cosy evenings spent together on the sofa.

This cabin looks like such an idyllic (and very romantic) getaway that we couldn’t resist including it in this itinerary.

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And there you have it! Our suggestions on how to spend 5 days in Cornwall to see some of the most beautiful towns, villages and beaches alongside one or two once-in-a-lifetime experiences. We hope you found it helpful and inspiring ahead of your trip.

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