Padstow Sealife Safaris
About
A local operator running wildlife trips out of the Camel estuary in a 10 metre RIB, from a white cabin on North Quay. It sells five trips: a 1 hour Seal Safari, a 1 hour Puffin Safari, a 1 hour Camel Estuary RIB Tour, a 2 hour Sealife Safari and a 3 hour Explorers Safari; on its own site the adult prices are 27.50, 27.50, 25, 45 and 60 pounds. The operator says the 2 hour trip covers about 25 miles and visits an island where puffins nest from mid-April to mid-July, and that seals, dolphins, porpoises and sunfish are possible sightings, none of them guaranteed. Trips need at least five passengers; if it cancels for sea conditions or numbers it offers a reschedule or a refund. It does not run in January or the first week of February. Boarding is down harbourside steps, or by a step ladder from the beach at low tide.
Photos
Highlights
- ✓Five trips: 1 hour Seal, Puffin and Camel Estuary RIB Tour, plus 2 hour Sealife and 3 hour Explorers Safaris
- ✓Puffins from mid-April to mid-July, on the 1 hour Puffin Safari and the 2 hour trip
- ✓Grey seals and, sometimes, dolphins
- ✓Small, local, owner-run
Tips
- →Book ahead in summer; you can also drop in to the white cabin on North Quay.
- →Trips run to a minimum of five passengers. Notice to cancel for a refund is 24 or 48 hours depending on the trip, so check the trip page when you book.
- →Boarding involves steps or, at low tide, a step ladder; tell the crew about mobility issues when you book.
- →Wildlife is not guaranteed: the operator lists sightings as possibilities.
Best Season
More Boat trip Activities
The Padstow to Rock Ferry
The harbour commissioners' passenger ferry to Rock: three pounds single, card only, with tide-dependent landings.
Jubilee Queen Boat Trips
Voiced coastal cruises from the harbour: about an hour and a half, tidal and weather dependent.