Easter Holiday Family Activities in Port Isaac
The Easter holidays are just around the corner (Easter is early this year!), which means that Port Isaac will soon be waking up from its winter hibernation and the streets and beach will once again be full of families enjoying the school holidays.
If you’re planning a family holiday to Port Isaac over the Easter holidays then there are a number of really fun activities in the village, so you don’t even have to get in the car. Here we’re going to share our suggestions for things to do in Port Isaac if you’re visiting with children, plus a few of our favourite activities a short drive away.
Port Isaac Treasure Trail
£9.99
“There’s pirate’s gold waiting to be found” in this self-guided treasure hunt walking trail around Port Isaac. It’s a 1.5-mile ‘loop’ trail (takes 1.5 hours to complete at your own pace) and you can either order a copy in the post or download it onto your phone for instant fun. It’s full of facts and kids will love solving the clues and running around the paths and car-free streets in the heart of the village.
Rockpooling on the Beach
Free!
Exploring the rockpools on the beach never gets old. Whether you have a net and a bucket or not, there’s so much to see once you start looking, from colourful anemones and topshells to tiny crabs and fish. Take a shoreline reference book with you (there are some amazing ones for children) or take photos with an adult’s phone to look back on and use to identify what you found later from the comfort of your holiday cottage.
Coasteering or Sea Kayaking at Port Gaverne
£50/£45 per person
Neighbouring Port Gaverne is a short walk away (it’s a two minute walk down the hill from our office at the top of Port Isaac) and there you’ll find Cornish Rock Tors, who can show you a different side to this beautiful stretch of coast. They offer adventure activities such as coasteering (swimming and scrambling around the rocky shoreline, and jumping off the rocks into the sea – your kids and teens will love it!) or sea kayaking and stand-up paddleboarding, often paddling back around to Port Isaac to show you a different view of the village.
A Short Drive Away From Port Isaac…
Surf Lessons at Polzeath
From £45
Just under 15 minutes away by car, Polzeath is a large west-facing sandy beach perfect for learning to surf. There are three well-established surf schools to choose from: Surf’s Up, George’s Surf School, and Wavehunters. All offer beginner lessons and courses, with sessions typically lasting around 2.5 hours (with 2 hours of surfing).
Hire Bikes and Cycle the Camel Trail
Children’s bikes from £10/day, adult bikes from £17/day
Wadebridge sits at the mid-point of the Camel Trail bike path, which runs along the route of a former railway. Head East to Bodmin along the wooded river valley, or west out along the banks of the estuary and over the old Ironbridge to the harbour town of Padstow. There is ample parking and several bike hire businesses where you can rent bikes for all the family – including tandems!
The National Lobster Hatchery at Padstow
Adults: £8.00 Child (3-15): £5.00 Family: £24.00 (x2 adults x2 children)
The National Lobster Hatchery on South Quay in Padstow is a conservation charity with an aquarium-esque visitor centre where you can watch their team and technology at work. See the species that live on and around a Cornish reef in their new “Tanktopia” aquarium, and view the lab and processes where they raise freshly hatched lobsters until they’re large enough to be released back into the wild – increasing their chances of survival by 1000! You can drive to Padstow, but we’d recommend driving to Rock on the same side of the estuary as Port Isaac and catching the ferry over to make a more memorable day of it.
Keen to come and enjoy some of these family adventures in and around Port Isaac this Easter? Check out our last minute availability.