FAQs

Accessibility information.

The landing sites both at Martins Haven and on Skomer Island require a certain level of fitness.

Martins Haven

The 12 minute walk from the Martins Haven National Trust car park to the Jetty comprises of a mixture of surfaces including a fairly steep paved road hill, sloped pebble beach, natural coast path and approximately 30 steps with handrails. The jetty access is carved from the natural landscape to minimise the impact on the area.

Skomer Island

The landing area on Skomer Island comprises of 87 steep steps with handrails and regular stopping places. Once upon the island, you will encounter a small amount of paved path but will primarily compromise of coast path. Please stick to these paths as the Skomer Island Puffins and Rabbits burrow everywhere during the summer.

You can take a virtual tour of our departure points using the Google Earth Streetview facility by clicking the blue links above.

What does the Landing trip include?

The Skomer landing trip is 5 hours in all, giving you plenty of time to walk around the island at your own leisure. The boat ride takes approximately 15 minutes each way.

Your ticket includes your outward and return trip. Your return trip is set and you will be informed of your departure time at check-in.

When do the Puffins leave?

The Puffins call Skomer Island home from April to the end of July. You can find more information about the wildlife of Skomer here.

What facilities are on Skomer Island?

Skomer Island is first and foremost a wild habitat for the many species that call it home. This is what makes a trip to Skomer so special! Therefore the facilities on the island are limited to a Visitor Centre, indoor picnic shelter, toilets and a place to purchase water, guidebooks and postcards. If you wish to bring a picnic it’s best to arrive prepared, but you will also find a selection of items in Lockley Lodge Visitor Centre. Please remember to follow the country side code and bring your rubbish home with you.

What should I wear?

We advise all visitors to wear suitable clothing and footwear, and to come prepared for unpredictable weather conditions. The islands are very exposed and there is very little shelter or shade.

Why are there no landing trips scheduled for Mondays?

The Wildlife Trust of South & West Wales, who manage Skomer Island, have designated Monday as a rest day for the island. Skomer is a delicate eco system and while we love ferrying you over to take in all the wonders…even Puffins need a day off! We do however still run the rest of our trips including our Skomer Cruise on Mondays, and these are the perfect way to see Skomer and the surrounding islands from a different perspective. You can find out more about our full range of trips options HERE.

Can I bring my dog?

We welcome dogs on our cruises but unfortunately we are unable to take dogs on our Landing trip. Skomer island is a wild island and therefore the protection of the local wildlife is top priority.

Can I stay on the island overnight?

The Wildlife Trust of South & West Wales offer some limited accomodation spaces on both Skomer and Skokholm island. Camping and unautherised stays are prohibited. You can find more information HERE.

Can I charter a boat to land on one of the islands?

Unfortunately, we are unable to land a private charter on any of the islands. If you wish to take a stroll with the Puffins, please purchase a Skomer Landing day Trip ticket.

Can I make changes to my booking?

Unfortunately, tickets are non-refundable. However, please get in touch with us as we may be able to make amendments, subject to availability. We will always do our very best to help in any way we can.

What is the booking fee for?

A 6% booking fee is applied to all online bookings. We use a third party booking system provider, who enable us to provide a smooth, effective, customer friendly booking experience and offer us 24/7 support. The booking fee applied is set by our provider and applies to all our trips which can be booked online with just a few simple clicks. Alternatively, you can call to book, in which case the online booking fee does not apply.

How do we check in? Why an hour early?

We ask that you arrive 1 HOUR before the time of your trip at Lockley Lodge Visitor Centre. This is to ensure you enough time to check-in at Lockley Lodge Visitor Centre, go through our safety briefing and walk down to the jetty. Do ensure that you have your confirmation either printed or on your smart device.

Where do we park?

The National Trust operate a large Pay & Display Car Park at Martin’s Haven that is suitable for cars and recreation vehicles.

This car park costs £7 daily (NT members go free). It can be paid for on the paybyphone app (car park no. 803527), however we recommend bringing coins as signal in this area can be poor.

Please refer to your booking information (Arrivals & Boarding) for full information about parking. The post code to follow is SA62 3BJ & What3Words ///blogging.panoramic.takers.

Please visit: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/features/car-parking-faqs for more information & answers to any queries.

Can we get to you by public transport?

The 400 Puffin Shuttle is coastal route that runs between our departure point in Martin’s Haven & St Davids. This route operates daily from 25th May to 29th September 2024.
You can find a list of all Pembrokeshire bus routes here.

The Fflecsi bus service – Select the Milford Zone
Instead of operating a fixed route and a set timetable, Fflecsi operates within a set zone and is available anytime between 7.30am and 6.30pm (Monday to Saturday). Customers can book by downloading the Fflecsi App from the App Store or Play Store. Alternatively you can book by phoning 0300 234 0300 (Mon-Sat: 7am-7pm/Sun: 9am-6pm).

Taxi Services are available and will cost approximately £22-£25 from Milford Haven area and £35 from Haverfordwest.

The closest train station is in Milford Haven – 11 miles away.

How will I know if my trip is cancelled?

Please do check your emails on the morning of your trip for updates before travelling – we will endeavour to let you know if your trip will be cancelled before 7am, and may also send out a weather warning the day before on occasions where there is a particularly bad forecast. Please know that this decision outside our control and not one that we ever like to make. You will be automatically issued a full refund for the cost of your ticket (including booking fee). If you would like to re-book for another day, please just use our online booking system as before.

But the weather looks so nice? Why is my trip cancelled?

Your safety is our number one priority, and this means that we may occasionally have to make the difficult decision to cancel your trip with us due to weather, or unforeseen circumstances.

We have to consider many factors when ensuring the safety of our passengers from tidal flows to wind direction and speed. It may be one of the hottest days of the year but once we get out onto the water, conditions can be remarkably different.

We need to consider the entire day of trips, not just whether conditions are better in the morning or afternoon. For example, if the wind is too strong for landings in the morning but improving through the day, we cannot simply delay the landings until conditions improve as there is not sufficient time to then get passengers back off the island later in the day – the island closes to the public at 6pm.

If the reverse situation occurs, i.e. the wind is light in the morning but due to pick up in the afternoon, we cannot land passengers onto Skomer because there is the risk that they may not be able to get back off again – this is obviously a risk we cannot take.

Passenger safety is our number one priority, therefore if the conditions are due to deteriorate through the day we will always err on the side and cannot take any risks when it comes to safety.

I appreciate that it is frustrating to have your trip cancelled, and sincerely apologise that we were forced to make this decision. Cancelling our trips is not a decision we take lightly, we aim to run every trip we possibly can – it is our livelihood after all – but we unfortunately have no control over the weather and will always prioritise safety over all else.