Travel distances

St Ives to Falmouth

St Ives to Falmouth on the map

Start and finish

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Distance

36 miles

by road

By car

About 55 minutes

in normal traffic

By bike

About 3 hours 30 minutes

steady pace

By foot

About 12 hours

estimated at a 3mph walking pace

Which way to go

The fastest route

Head east on the A30 from St Ives to Hayle, then join the A394 at Penzance and continue through Helston. From Helston follow the A394 and A39 into Falmouth. This avoids Truro entirely and keeps to the south of the peninsula, arriving in under an hour in good conditions.

The scenic route

Leave St Ives via the B3311 through Nancledra, dropping into Penzance before picking up the A394 through Ashton and Helston. Beyond Helston, a detour through the Lizard peninsula via Coverack and Porthallow adds spectacular coastal scenery before rejoining the A394 for Falmouth.

Caravans and motorhomes

The A394 through Helston is wide and well-maintained and suits caravans well. The B3311 out of St Ives has narrow sections and is best avoided when towing. Once past Helston the roads widen and the final approach into Falmouth is straightforward.

Stops along the way

Start
St Ives
Penzance
Penzance is a natural pause point roughly halfway, with the Jubilee Pool lido and the Art Deco promenade worth a brief stop. The ferry to St Michael's Mount departs from Marazion, two miles east.
Helston
Helston is famous for the Furry Dance, held each May, and for the nearby RNAS Culdrose. Flambards theme park sits on the edge of town.
Penryn
The ancient stannary town of Penryn immediately precedes Falmouth and is worth a brief wander for its granite merchants' houses and independent food scene.
Arrive
Falmouth

Practical information

Parking

St Ives park-and-ride on the edge of town is the best departure point. In Falmouth, The Moor multi-storey and Events Square car parks are the most central. Arrive before 10am in summer to secure a space near the harbour.

Train and bus

There is no direct bus between St Ives and Falmouth. The most practical public transport option involves taking the branch line train from St Ives to St Erth, then the main line to Truro, and a second train or bus from Truro to Falmouth Docks. Total journey time is around 2 hours.

The best time to travel

Spring and early autumn offer the best combination of quiet roads and reliable weather. Summer weekends are busy throughout West Cornwall, and the A394 through Helston can be slow on Saturday changeover days in July and August.

About the St Ives to Falmouth journey

At 36 miles, the drive from St Ives to Falmouth is a cross-peninsula journey that takes you from the Atlantic coast to the estuary of one of the world's deepest natural harbours. The two towns could hardly feel more different: St Ives is a compact fishing village turned artists' colony; Falmouth is a working port city, its waterfront lined with chandleries, galleries and the great hulk of Pendennis Castle on the headland above.

What to do in Falmouth

Falmouth's National Maritime Museum is one of the finest maritime collections in Britain. Pendennis Castle, built by Henry VIII to guard the estuary, offers panoramic views over the Carrick Roads. The town's independent restaurant and cafe scene, clustered around Events Square and the High Street, is punching well above its size.

Read the Falmouth guide

Going the other way: Falmouth to St Ives

Returning from Falmouth to St Ives, the same A394 route via Helston and Penzance is the fastest option. If the tide is right, a detour to Marazion for St Michael's Mount makes a natural halfway stop on the return leg.

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St Ives to Truro is 25 miles by road, about 40 minutes by car via the A30. Find the fastest route, scenic alternatives, parking and public transport options.

11.5 miles

Truro to Falmouth

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10 miles

St Ives to Penzance

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Article Sources

Project OSRM (no date). Open Source Routing Machine: route shape and detour calculations [online]. Available at: https://project-osrm.org Project OSRM
Ordnance Survey (no date). National Grid references used to position each place on the route map [online]. Available at: https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk Ordnance Survey
Google (no date). Google Maps: live traffic and turn-by-turn directions [online]. Available at: https://www.google.com/maps Google Maps