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Just an idea at this stage, but I know nothing about them.
What are they like? Enough to see and do for an outdoor holiday for week or so? Likely to be a ferry with camper van.
What is the most realistic non boat way of getting there?
its dreadful, don't go...is what I would like to tell you.
It is slowly getting busier but its a wonderful place to go. A reasonably regular May bank holiday / half term location for me.
You can easily fill a week. I personally think the scillionian (or incoming new boat) is part of the adventure, but can be rough
We always stay on St Marys - logistically the simplest with most accom, co-op, most places to eat and easiest to visit other islands. If its your first time, I would take a ferry each day to visit a different island. They are all very different.
Everyone has their favourite island. Depends what you like.
Great place to enjoy coast walks, snorkelling, pub lunch, pub evening meal etc...
I find it very relaxing.
Hiring a motorboat from Bryher is a great way to have your own explore and visit uninhabited islands.
Accomodation can be difficult as people go every year and advance book. Keep an eye on the facebook for cancellations or be flexible with your dates. We book 12 months in advance or as soon as our favourite accom's allow us.
I'd love to go, but MrsD hates ferries and it's £600 return (each) to fly from Exeter! Ouch! 🙁
The ferry costs a fortune for foot passengers and I don't think you can take a campervan even if you could afford it. Camping would be a good option. The ferry is wonderful as said above. We saw basking sharks and sunfish when we went several years ago.
You can't even take a car!...
[i]Can you drive on the Isles of Scilly?
While driving is technically permitted on the Isles of Scilly, you can’t take your vehicle there when you go on holiday. There are very few cars on St Mary’s (the largest island) and they belong to the residents. The other inhabited islands have virtually no vehicles other than a few farm vehicles/pickup trucks. If you want a convenient way to get around, you can hire a golf buggy.[/i]
The ferry is for foot passengers only as far as I'm aware.
Beautiful place, loads to do, but quite spendy and a PITA to get to.
About 40 years ago, there was someone on the island who had a Porsche. That was a bit of a flex.
We went there some years ago and felt it was like resetting your soul. The ferry was choppy but I'm ok with that, Mrs Door hated it but loved the islands.
Isn't there a distinction between calling it the Scilly Isles and The Isles of Scilly? I think one really upsets the locals, but I can't remember which.
A quick Google suggests that 19th Sept is the Low Tide Event, when the tide recedes sufficiently to enable you to walk between islands. Quite a big thing in their calendar. Could aim for that week.
What is the most realistic non boat way of getting there?
you can catch a helicopter from Penzance to Tresco, or fly Skybus Twin Otter from Lands End every day but Sunday or Twin Otter from Exeter or Newquay some days in the week. None of those options are cheap….
The campsite on St. Agnes has an amazing view, but I would suggest staying on St. Mary’s for your first visit- more to do in the evenings and easy access to the off islands
FYI I'm a fanboy
The Isles of Scilly is the correct way to say it
I think we have been 16 times. we always camp on St Agnes. It was the back bone of our family holidays and we have made lots of friends. My daughter got an outline of the islands as her first tattoe.
Issues
It's hard to get and to and expensive to get to
A rough crossing can be a stomach pump
Flying is tricky if you are camping
The St Agnes campsite is square on to the atlantic. You live the weather. In extreme wind Sam will request everone camps behind a hedge in a different field. This has never actually happened to us
The sea is colder than cornwall
Most things are expensive and the costs add up. Boats are nearly a tenner a crossing each way between islands
So why go.
Great Scenery
Loads to do, although it does require a bit of asking around. This is part of the fun
Lots of wildlife
Clear water
Great great people
Being away from the car is a huge plus for me. It's like a reset on life
Food is usually good
Cutltrally intresting, given you are still in England
Easy to give kids more freedom. We had a 16th birthday party on the beach. We just left them to it. You couldn't do that on the mainland
Here is a link to one year on facebook. It's too many people shots really. But for a holiday with a 15 year old daughter, a 16 year old niece and an 18 year son it was great holiday, as good as it gets. Lots of theor mates in the photos
This is the view from the tent
So is this
We had a bigger tent on later trip
The Scilloinan arriving in the Scillies
“Isles of Scilly” is the way to go
(Scilly isles just sounds silly)
We loved, loved, loved Tresco, but I imagine it’s a case of which island you can find accommodation
Hired bicycles for the week to get around (no need for bike locks!), no cars were great, we cycled to the Abbey Gardens each day, watching red squirrels and golden pheasants was great entertainment
snorkelling with seals on St Martins was a highlight, my favourite beach of the lot
ice cream and the views on St Agnes were sublime
we hired our own mini boat for island hopping which was great fun, but the ferries are far cheaper and much more convenient really
Take winter surf boots and gloves and neoprene hat and consider hiring wetsuits if luggage is limited, water is freezing but incredibly clear
costs and logistics are always the two limiting factors, but if you can overcome them you will make great memories
when camping (assuming a family setup) - how do you get from the port to the campsite? everytime we go camping it seems like we have the boot completely full - its not a walkable amount of kit
Remembering from when I went to St Mary's a few years ago for a friends birthday. All our camping gear went in special cages or containers at Penzance that got picked up from the Dock on St Mary's and taken direct to the campsite up past the Fort. We just had hand luggage, was easy but can't recall if we paid extra for it.
We spent a long weekend there, hired a cat motorboat and blatted about exploring and fishing all over the islands.
Fantastic trip and one day I'll take the family back.
Each island has their own system. But it works well. In penzeance your luggage goes into small shipping containers. You pay a camping gear surcharge
At St Marys they unload the Scillonian onto a smaller boats. At st agnes that boat unloads into a tractor trailer. Sam then unloads that once he knows where you are pitching your tent. The reverse is similar. But the weakness is that at low tide you have to unload the boat to up steep steps at st marys. Other islands are i assume similar. Folks are not travelling light. When effectively 5 adults we’d take 17 bags and need the roof box.
You can pay for a trailer to be carried
We camped on St Mary's for a fortnight, paid extra for the tent to be set up for us on arrival. Cycling, horse riding, walking, wildlife watching, and hired a motor boat to explore the uninhabited islands. A seal came right up to me when I was swimming between two of the small islands. There were plenty of nice places to eat too.
It was a brilliant holiday but I'm mindful that we had good weather. The boat is fine if you take sea sickness tablets.
We had a great week there camping on St Mary's when our eldest was one.
Low lying islands and sandy beaches is a clear blue sea.
I seem to remember the logistics were informal but worked. You put a paper label on your bag with your destination on it as it was loaded on the ferry and it was there by the time you'd walked from the ferry. The catch was a couple of quid added to the campsite bill. Vans and small boats seemed to deliver stuff across the Islands through sorting of mutual exchange of fees.
Definitely a great place to go.
PS no chance of taking a camper but you can pay to get a small camping trailer put on the ferry which the campsite people then collect from the port.
It would take weeks and a small fortune to get a camper taken out and back on the Gry Maritha with no guarantee of its safety.
I used to send marquee kit back and forth and it would be about 4 weeks the kit would be out of circulation on the mainland.
I used to fly out and back on the helicopter as it maximised time on the island and as a bonus it's the smoothest way. Had to rearrange passengers but flown with a 6' barbecue.
Bloke we knew as Captain Birdseye ran a jet boat that could island hop pretty much regardless of the tides.
Was good fun and managed to fit in some exploring with our clients.
Additionally, if you're on Tresco my uncle has had quite a few trips out there to create some one off pottery and ceramics such as the tiled mural around their pizza oven at the ruin beach cafe.
Echo most of the comments above having been just the once. It's a nice experience even down to the bag drop off to your accommodation from the pier.
Biggest thing (which we were advised of before going) is to book tables where you want to eat - Many will be booked up days if not weeks in advance. We always found somewhere when we hadn't booked, but a few times it had to be a takeaway on the seafront. That wasn't even during school holidays.