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Voykit pocket guide · United Kingdom
Tenby
Dinbych-y-Pysgod
Give Tenby 2 nights on foot: walled town, three beaches and Caldey Island. Skip the car in summer — the centre is closed to traffic.
Tenby is a small walled seaside town on the south Pembrokeshire coast, about 80 km west of Swansea, with around 4,700 residents. Everything worth seeing sits inside a 15-minute walk: the harbour, North and South beaches, the town walls and the boat to Caldey Island. Two nights covers it; three if you want a coast-path day. Cars are banned from the historic centre in summer, which is the point of the place.
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Local name
- Dinbych-y-Pysgod
- Best months
- May–Jun, Sep
- Avoid
- Jul–Aug (crowds, peak prices), school half-terms
- Stay
- 2 nights
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- GBP
- Money
- Currency is the pound sterling (GBP, £). Cards and contactless work almost everywhere; some places are card-only.
- Daily spend
- Budget £50–80 excl. bed · Mid £80–130 excl. bed · High £130+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- EE, Vodafone (merged with Three in 2025) and O2 run the networks; prepaid SIMs sell in supermarkets, phone shops and airport vending machines, no registration needed.
- Emergency
- Police, fire, ambulance 999 · NHS non-urgent 111 · Police non-urgent 101
- Plugs
- Types G · 230 V · 50 Hz · Three-pin Type G only; European, US and Australian plugs need an adapter. Bathrooms have two-pin shaver sockets only.
- Tipping
- Restaurant with table service: 10–12.5% if no service charge is on the bill; check before adding more.; Pub or bar: Not expected; 'and one for yourself' offers the bartender a drink.; Taxi: Round up or 10%.; Hotel porter: £1–2 per bag.; Tour guide: £5–10 per person for a day tour; free walking tours expect £10–15.
- Water
- Tap water is safe everywhere. Free refills are common; restaurants will bring tap water if you ask.
- Toilets
- Public toilets are scarce and some charge 50p–£1 or are card-only. Stations, museums, department stores and pubs (if you buy a drink) are the fallback.
What things cost
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Coffee | £3–4.50 |
| Pub main course | £12–18 |
| Ice cream cone | £3–4.50 |
| Pint of beer | £4.50–6 |
| Fish and chips | £10–15 |
| Caldey Island ferry, return | £10 (check) |
| eSIM or data SIM, about a week | £8–15 |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- CWL · Cardiff Airport
- About 2 h by road; rail via Cardiff and Swansea, roughly 3 h 30 min total
- BRS · Bristol Airport
- About 3 h by road; rail via Bristol and Cardiff
Typical fares
- Caldey Island ferry, return
- about £10 adults, £5 children (check)
- Train Tenby → Pembroke
- about £5–7, 20 min (check)
- Bus Tenby → Saundersfoot
- about £3–4, 15 min (check)
Get around
Walk. The walled town is about 1 km across and the station is a 5-minute walk from the harbour. In summer the historic centre is closed to cars, so leave the car outside the walls and walk in (parking details: check). Local buses link Tenby with Saundersfoot, Pembroke and Manorbier; the coastal path is signposted through town.Walk. The walled town is about 0.6 mi across and the station is a 5-minute walk from the harbour. In summer the historic centre is closed to cars, so leave the car outside the walls and walk in (parking details: check). Local buses link Tenby with Saundersfoot, Pembroke and Manorbier; the coastal path is signposted through town.
See and do
Known for
- Walled town and cobbled lanes
- North and South beaches
- Caldey Island monastery
- Pembrokeshire Coast Path
- Tudor Merchant's House
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Saundersfoot | Coast path on foot, about 7 km; bus backCoast path on foot, about 4.3 mi; bus back | 2–3 h one way on foot |
| Manorbier | Train or bus from Tenby, then a short walk (check times) | About 40 min (check) |
| Pembroke | Train from Tenby, about 20 min | About 45 min |
| St Davids | Bus or car via Pembroke and Haverfordwest | About 1 h 30 min |
| Caldey Island | Ferry from Castle Beach or the harbour | About 15 min crossing |
Sleep
- Inside the walls (Tudor Square, St George's Street)
- Steps from the harbour and both beaches; book months ahead for summer.
- The Esplanade and South Parade
- Sea-facing hotels above South Beach, 5–10 min walk into the centre.
- North Cliff and The Norton
- Quieter, near North Beach and the station; good for families with a car.
- Penally, Lydstep and Manorbier
- Village B&Bs and caravan parks 5–10 km out; cheaper, but you need a car or bus.Village B&Bs and caravan parks 3.1–6.2 mi out; cheaper, but you need a car or bus.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Hello | HeloHEH-loh |
| Thank you | DiolchDEE-olch |
| Goodbye | Hwyl fawrhoo-il vowr |
| Please | Os gwelwch yn ddaos GWEL-ooch un thah |
| Where is the toilet? | Ble mae'r toiled?bleh myr TOY-led |
| How much is it? | Faint yw e?fynt yoo eh |
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: Handshake at first meeting; 'hi' and first names quickly; avoid: Cheek kisses with strangers
- Conversation: Weather is a safe opener; understatement and self-deprecating humour; avoid: Asking about salary or class
- Queues: Join at the back; avoid: Pushing onto buses or trains before others get off
- Apologies: 'Sorry' is said constantly, even when not at fault; avoid: Taking it as an admission of blame
- Pubs: Buy rounds in a group; wait at the bar without waving money; avoid: Clicking fingers at staff
- Nations: Call Scots Scottish and Welsh Welsh; avoid: Calling the whole UK 'England'
Scams and watch-outs
- Summer traffic ban in the old town: park outside the walls and walk in (parking details: check).
- Caldey Island ferries run from Castle Beach at low tide and the harbour at high tide — sailings are seasonal and weather-dependent, so check the day before.
- Beach and cliff paths are uneven; check tide times and local advice before swimming.
- Summer accommodation sells out weeks ahead and prices roughly double in August.
Tenby is a small town and feels safe by day and evening; the practical risks are uneven cliff and beach paths, tides and currents, and August crowds. Emergency number is 999.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Tenby yet. Suggested stay: 2 nights. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- Walled town and cobbled lanes
- North and South beaches
- Caldey Island monastery
- Pembrokeshire Coast Path
- Tudor Merchant's House
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- Visit Pembrokeshire: www.visitpembrokeshire.com/
- National Rail — Tenby station: www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/tenby/
- Caldey Island: www.caldey-island.co.uk/
- Wikivoyage: Tenby, revision 5241909 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=5241909
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
TenbyDinbych-y-Pysgod
I'r cyfeiriad hwn, os gwelwch yn dda
To this address, please
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
No embassies in Tenby; nearest consulates-general are in Cardiff and London.
Welsh is co-official in Wales; English is spoken everywhere.
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/tenby). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.