skomer boat trips twitter

Skomer Island

Puffin in a burrow - © Joshua Copping

Visiting Skomer Island

The Official Guide To Your Island Adventure

The Ultimate Wildlife Adventure

With nearly 350,000 breeding pairs of Manx Shearwaters, over 42,500 Puffins (mid-April to late July), thousands of Guillemots, Razorbills and Kittiwakes and hundreds of Fulmars, Skomer is an internationally important seabird island.

Discover the wildlife and history of Skomer

Visit Skomer

Skomer is helpfully located less than a mile off the beautiful Pembrokeshire coast making it a great place to visit for the day or stay overnight.

Please call the booking office on 01656 724100 (select option 1 only), Monday-Friday, 9am-12pm and 1pm-4.30pm. If you are hard of hearing, bookings can be taken by email ( [email protected] ).

Book an overnight stay

2024 day visits  can be booked online. Please follow the link below. Online bookings can be taken at any time.

  Book a day trip

© Beth Thompson

Atlantic grey seal pup in Pigstone Bay © Beth Thompson

Short-eared owl on Skomer © Beth Thompson

Common dolphins off Garland Stone © Tom Malpas

Common lizard basking in the sun © Beth Thompson

Other Ways To Visit

Want to explore Skomer on one of our events? From bird migration tours to arts events and yoga, we have something for everyone.

2024 Events

Keen to land your own boat? You are able to land on Skomer between 10am - 5pm, Tuesday - Sunday in August. Please note that in September we are closed to all day visitors and private landers on Fridays .

Instructions for private landings

Want to join a private trip? Commercial operators run trips to Skomer throughout the season. These range from wildlife watching day trips to overnight photography workshops.

Find out how to book on to a Commercial Operator trip

Planning a school or university trip? We have amazing discounts available to help your students to discover this amazing habitat and the creatures that live here.

Book a school group visit   

How Can I Watch Skomer Live?

You can watch videos of Skomer, including 'Skomer Live' and an exclusive interview with Sir David Attenborough here:

Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales YouTube

Accessibility & Inclusivity on Skomer 

Progress Pride Flag - © Wikipedia

We are working to make our islands as inclusive as we can so that everyone can enjoy the wildlife that lives there. Find out how below.

Accessibility & Inclusivity on Skomer Island

How To Volunteer On Skomer

Skomer Weekly Volunteers - © WTSWW

Short-Term Volunteering

A long-term volunteer counting seabirds on the Amos - © WTSWW

Long-Term Volunteering

Adopt A Seal

Adopt A Puffin

Become a member

We're already making a big difference for wildlife across South and West Wales - but we need your help to do more.

Skomer Round Island Cruises

• Haverfordwest

Activity information

Get in touch, found a problem with this page report it here.

• Children Welcome
• Pets Accepted

Activities offered

• Wildlife Watching Activity

Like what you see?

About skomer round island cruises, 51.70723, -5.16965532, related stories, visit our unesco world heritage sites in wales.

Find out how to make the most of your visit to each of the four UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Wales.

• UNESCO Heritage
• Amazing places

Instagram-friendly Welsh landmarks

Take a look at these ten must-see Instagrammable coastal landmarks for you and your camera.

• Countryside

Is Wales the castle capital of Europe?

With over 400 castles, wherever you go on holiday in Wales, you won't be too far from one to visit.

• Historic buildings

A Royal Mint experience

Discover the history of coins and how they are made at the Royal Mint Experience in Llantrisant.

Before you start...

This site uses animations - they can be turned off.

Terms and Conditions

By using this site, you confirm you agree to our Terms and Conditions . 

We'd Like to Hear From You

By  answering a few questions , we'll give you the chance to win £500. By doing so you will also help us improve this website and help with your holiday planning and travel needs.

Good for you. Good for us. Teamwork!

Skomer Island Puffins

Join us on a boat trip to see the skomer island puffins, a mixture of exhilaration and sensitive appreciation of the wildlife., this is a 2 hour trip to see the skomer island puffins. we head out of ramsey sound and across st brides bay to skomer island. keep your eyes open, you may see diving gannets, shearwaters and if you are lucky some dolphins. ​.

Puffins can be seen around Skomer Island from April to the end of July.  By mid April the Puffins have settled on Skomer and have started building their nests.

In June to mid July the Puffins fly to and from the nest taking fish to their young. By the first week in August they have left the island and we won't see them again until next spring.

Arriving at Skomer you will find yourself amongst hundreds of Puffins in the bay. Look up at the cliffs and grassy banks, yet more comical puffins.

On the Skomer Island Puffin trip you will see various seabirds such as, Guillemots, Razorbills and Gannets, with Atlantic Grey Seals and possibly porpoise. Occasionally we may see Common Dolphins as we cross the bay between Ramsey Island and Skomer Island.

BASIC INFORMATION

Departure times

Trips depart daily 7 days a week

Adult £54.00 Child £27.00  (4 - 13 yrs)

You will need

Warm waterproof clothing, it is always colder at sea and sunscreen for sunny days.

would you like to know more

INFORMATION

• Local Information
• The Islands
• How to Book

SKOMER ISLAND

At 720 acres in size, Skomer is  the largest of the Pembrokeshire islands. It became an island at the end of the last Ice Age, around 12000 years ago, when sea level rises isolated it from the mainland

Evidence of human habitation can be dated to between 5000 and 2000  years ago, and Iron Age remains can be seen all around the Island. The remains of huts, fields and cairns (possibly burial cairns) on Skomer are some of the most complete and untouched remains of this period in the whole of Europe.  If you’d like to take a trip to Skomer we’d love for you to join us on one of our Skomer and Ramsey Island boat trips .

Skomer is run by the Wildlife Trust. The island is an important breeding colony for both Manx Shearwaters and Atlantic Puffin with some of the largest populations in Britain. It is probably best known for its puffins and, at last count, 34,796  were recorded during the breeding season.

Skomer also has somewhere in the region of 360,000 pairs of Manx shearwaters, making it the largest colony in the world for this burrow nesting seabird.  Their eerie call as they return to their island burrows at night earned Skomer the name ‘The island of lost souls”. 

In spring and early summer the Pembrokeshire islands come alive with a riot of colours as coastal flowers such as thrift, squill and sea campion come into bloom and Skomer has, arguably, one of the best wildflower displays in Britain.

In conservation terms Skomer is very important, being both a National Nature Reserve and a Site of Special Scientific Interest as well as a marine SAC (Special Area of Conservation). It is also surrounded by a Marine Nature Reserve, one of only three in the UK, for its rich underwater flora and fauna which is of international importance. It is home to more than a third of all British seaweed species, over 100 different sponges and 40 species of anemone and soft coral. 

Boat Trips with Falcon Boats

Ramsey island special.

Adult £38 Child £25 Charter Price £375

Explore echoing sea caves and towering rock gorges, marvel at seabird cities and enjoy close encounters with seals and porpoise.

More Details

Skomer and Ramsey Islands Trip

Adult £60 Child £40 Charter Price £600

Head out to Skomer Island, home to 38,000 Puffins, before returning to explore some of Ramsey’s dramatic scenery and wildlife.

Sunset Shearwater Trip

Adult £42 Child £32 Charter Price £400

Witness one of the wonders of the natural world as 360,000 Manx Shearwater return to their burrows at dusk.

Grassholm and the Celtic Deep

Adult £70 Child £45 Charter Price £675

Visit the most remote of the Pembrokeshire islands in search of seabirds, whales and dolphins.

Full Day Celtic Deep Expedition

Adult £150 Charter Price £1500

Join us for a unique 8 hour foray into the waters of the Celtic Deep, covering up to 70 miles of ocean.

Bespoke Group or private Charter

Charter Price POA

We also specialise in running bespoke private charter trips for groups or individuals.

Fishguard Bay – Strumble Head

Join us for a voyage brimming with prehistoric rock formations and fantastic wildlife

Latest Sightings

Falcon_boats.

•Wildlife Boat Trips in Pembrokeshire. A love and passion for the Pembrokeshire Coastline and Marine Life. #AWildlifeExperience

We use cookies to improve your experience on our website. Read our policy to find out more

Cookie Policy »

For over 40 years we have been providing boat trips to Pembrokeshire’s offshore islands, and in this time we have realised that one person’s idea of the perfect trip can vary greatly from another’s. We aim to offer a wide range of services catering for all ages and interests, from 15 minute crossings to 3 hour offshore voyages. Take a look through the options below to see which trip is for you . . . if you still can’t quite find what you’re looking for please just give us a call and we’ll be happy to help.

Skomer Landing

• Land on Skomer Island – spend the day exploring the beautiful island nature reserve and see the thousands of Puffins, Guillemots, and Razorbills, along with a host of other birds and wildlife.

Our island cruises are run aboard our 98 seat catamaran the Dale Queen. Step on board and cruise gently around the islands, guided by our expert crew. Our cruises are a low-speed option offering you the perfect way to experience the beauty and tranquility of the islands and their wildlife at close quarters.

Skomer Cruise

• Explore Skomer from the water. See the vast colonies of Puffins, Guillemots, Razorbills, and thousands of other seabirds rafting on the water and soaring above the cliffs

Seabird Spectacular

• As the sun is setting on Skokholm and the Skomer Marine Nature Reserve, the Manx Shearwaters are rafting, awaiting the cover of darkness to return to their nests on these beautiful Pembrokeshire Islands.

Dale Sea Safari

Our Sea Safaris are run on board our comfortable high speed catamarans. Join us on an adventure, as we explore the islands and their surrounding waters, experience the wildlife at close quarters, and take in the spectaular scenery as we cruise across stretches of open ocean. These trips are a great option for those of you after a little more excitement.

Skomer and Skokholm Safari

• Both Skomer and Skokholm Islands are home to vast colonies of nesting seabirds

Grassholm Gannetry Experience

• Grassholm Island is home to one of the world’s largest Gannet colonies with around 39,000 breeding pairs!

Pembrokeshire Islands Adventure

• Keep an eye out for migrant birds, seals, and porpoise.

Private Charter

• How about a special trip around the islands, or a trip that stops at some of the many pubs and restaurants along the Waterway?

Terms and Conditions

Full T&C’s will be received upon booking.

Tickets are refundable only if we have to cancel the trip. Every effort is made to contact you prior to the trip departing if we feel that the conditions are not appropriate for the trip to go ahead. Cancellations are at our discretion and will be subject to tides, forecasts and sea conditions. We will endeavour to offer an alternative trip or the possibility of rescheduling.

Full Terms and Conditions

RAMSEY ISLAND BOAT TRIPS

Thousand islands expeditions.

2 HOUR SKOMER ISLAND PUFFIN BOAT TRIP

JOIN ONE OF OUR 2 HOUR SKOMER PUFFIN BOAT TRIPS, A MIXTURE OF EXHILARATION AND SENSITIVE APPRECIATION OF THE WILDLIFE.

Puffins can be seen around Skomer from April to August.   By mid April the Puffins have settle on Skomer and have started building theirs nests.

In June to mid July the Puffins fly to and from the nest taking fish to their young. By the first week in August they have left the island and we won't see them again until next spring.  

Arriving at Skomer you will find yourself amongst 100's of Puffins in the bay. Look up at the cliffs and grassy banks, yet more comical puffins.  

On your trip you will see various seabirds, Guillimots, Razorbills, Gannets, Atlantic Grey Seals and possibly porpoise. Occasionally we may see Common Dolphins as we cross the bay between Ramsey Island and Skomer Island.

USEFUL INFORMATION

Departure times.

Daily:   Daily boat trip usually in the afternoon, enquire

Duration:       2 hour boat trip

Adults    £54.00         Child  £27.00

Child 4 - 13 years

YOU WILL NEED

You must dress up warm, it is always colder at sea.

Please don't forget your face masks.

• Bahasa Indonesia
• Slovenščina
• Science & Tech
• Russian Kitchen

Cruising the Moskva River: A short guide to boat trips in Russia’s capital

There’s hardly a better way to absorb Moscow’s atmosphere than on a ship sailing up and down the Moskva River. While complicated ticketing, loud music and chilling winds might dampen the anticipated fun, this checklist will help you to enjoy the scenic views and not fall into common tourist traps.

How to find the right boat?

There are plenty of boats and selecting the right one might be challenging. The size of the boat should be your main criteria.

Plenty of small boats cruise the Moskva River, and the most vivid one is this yellow Lay’s-branded boat. Everyone who has ever visited Moscow probably has seen it.

This option might leave a passenger disembarking partially deaf as the merciless Russian pop music blasts onboard. A free spirit, however, will find partying on such a vessel to be an unforgettable and authentic experience that’s almost a metaphor for life in modern Russia: too loud, and sometimes too welcoming. Tickets start at $13 (800 rubles) per person.

Bigger boats offer smoother sailing and tend to attract foreign visitors because of their distinct Soviet aura. Indeed, many of the older vessels must have seen better days. They are still afloat, however, and getting aboard is a unique ‘cultural’ experience. Sometimes the crew might offer lunch or dinner to passengers, but this option must be purchased with the ticket. Here is one such  option  offering dinner for $24 (1,490 rubles).

If you want to travel in style, consider Flotilla Radisson. These large, modern vessels are quite posh, with a cozy restaurant and an attentive crew at your service. Even though the selection of wines and food is modest, these vessels are still much better than other boats.

Surprisingly, the luxurious boats are priced rather modestly, and a single ticket goes for $17-$32 (1,100-2,000 rubles); also expect a reasonable restaurant bill on top.

How to buy tickets?

Women holding photos of ships promise huge discounts to “the young and beautiful,” and give personal invitations for river tours. They sound and look nice, but there’s a small catch: their ticket prices are usually more than those purchased online.

“We bought tickets from street hawkers for 900 rubles each, only to later discover that the other passengers bought their tickets twice as cheap!”  wrote  (in Russian) a disappointed Rostislav on a travel company website.

Nevertheless, buying from street hawkers has one considerable advantage: they personally escort you to the vessel so that you don’t waste time looking for the boat on your own.

Prices start at $13 (800 rubles) for one ride, and for an additional $6.5 (400 rubles) you can purchase an unlimited number of tours on the same boat on any given day.

Flotilla Radisson has official ticket offices at Gorky Park and Hotel Ukraine, but they’re often sold out.

Buying online is an option that might save some cash. Websites such as  this   offer considerable discounts for tickets sold online. On a busy Friday night an online purchase might be the only chance to get a ticket on a Flotilla Radisson boat.

This  website  (in Russian) offers multiple options for short river cruises in and around the city center, including offbeat options such as ‘disco cruises’ and ‘children cruises.’ This other  website  sells tickets online, but doesn’t have an English version. The interface is intuitive, however.

Buying tickets online has its bad points, however. The most common is confusing which pier you should go to and missing your river tour.

“I once bought tickets online to save with the discount that the website offered,” said Igor Shvarkin from Moscow. “The pier was initially marked as ‘Park Kultury,’ but when I arrived it wasn’t easy to find my boat because there were too many there. My guests had to walk a considerable distance before I finally found the vessel that accepted my tickets purchased online,” said the man.

There are two main boarding piers in the city center:  Hotel Ukraine  and  Park Kultury . Always take note of your particular berth when buying tickets online.

Where to sit onboard?

Even on a warm day, the headwind might be chilly for passengers on deck. Make sure you have warm clothes, or that the crew has blankets ready upon request.

The glass-encased hold makes the tour much more comfortable, but not at the expense of having an enjoyable experience.

Getting off the boat requires preparation as well. Ideally, you should be able to disembark on any pier along the way. In reality, passengers never know where the boat’s captain will make the next stop. Street hawkers often tell passengers in advance where they’ll be able to disembark. If you buy tickets online then you’ll have to research it yourself.

There’s a chance that the captain won’t make any stops at all and will take you back to where the tour began, which is the case with Flotilla Radisson. The safest option is to automatically expect that you’ll return to the pier where you started.

If using any of Russia Beyond's content, partly or in full, always provide an active hyperlink to the original material.

to our newsletter!

Get the week's best stories straight to your inbox

• What to do in Moscow City, if you’re not mega-rich
• Moscow after dusk: 10 places to drink, dance, and groove
• 5 things you must do in Moscow in 2018 between football matches (or without them)
• Sandwiched between Moscow and St. Petersburg: How to spend a perfect weekend in Tver 
• 24 or 48 hours in Moscow: Where to go and what to do in 2019

This website uses cookies. Click here to find out more.

• Guided tour

River Cruise on Luxurious Radisson Boat

• Description
• Choose date

Equipped with ice-breaking technology, these huge fancy yachts are the only river cruisers running all year around. The round trip journey takes two and a half hours and floats past all the big sights like the White House, Novodevichy monastery and the Kremlin. There’s a large open air observation deck up top, while the main body of the ship houses a restaurant with a dance floor for a romantic post dinner dance. For a particularly romantic experience take one of the evening boats and admire the bright lights of the city skyline at night.

The most relaxing and picturesque tour that Moscow can offer: a great way to see the city center and its main attractions. This is a perfect alternative to exploring the city by car, if you only have time to do sightseeing during weekday rush hours.

Your English-speaking guide is eager to share every bit of their knowledge about the surrounding landscape, the architecture and historical details.

We conduct Moscow river tour on Radisson Flotilla boats all year around!  It’s warm inside during winter months, while there’s air conditioning during hot summer days. You may also treat yourself to drinks, lunch or dinner on board (drinks and food are not included in tour price).

The cost of an excursion with a personal guide for 1 person

Quay at Radisson Collection Hotel

Government Headquarters ("the White House")

Kievsky Railway Central

Novodevichy Convent

Luzhniki Stadium

Academy of Sciences

Monument to Peter I

Cathedral of Christ the Saviour

Moscow Kremlin

St.Basil's Cathedral

Novospassky Monastery

U-turn and back to Quay at Radisson Royal Hotel

Choose your dates

Who's going.

• Excursion River Cruise on Luxurious Radisson Boat
• Date and time:
• Who's going:

See photo of the meeting point