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Arriving in Falmouth

Travel distances

Penzance to Falmouth

Penzance to Falmouth on the map

Start and finishThe route by roadSee the stops along the way on their own map ↓

Open this route in Google Maps ↗ for live traffic and turn-by-turn directions.

Distance

27 miles

by road

By car

About 50 minutes

in normal traffic

By bike

About 2 hours 45 minutes

steady pace

By foot

About 9 hours

estimated at a 3mph walking pace

Before you set off

The driving is quick for most of the year, but the last mile into Falmouth is the catch: the town-centre car parks fill by mid-morning from late May, and Falmouth Week in mid-August and the big regatta weekends clog the Penryn bypass.1 Penzance itself parks easily, so plan for the Falmouth end rather than the start.

Which way to go

The fastest route

Leave Penzance on the A30 east to the Chiverton Cross roundabout, then take the A39 south through Playing Place and Penryn into Falmouth.2 About fifty minutes in normal traffic, almost all of it on fast main road, with the Fal creeks opening up on the final run into town.

The scenic route

For a quieter, prettier alternative, leave Penzance on the A394 through Helston, the gateway to the Lizard, and follow it east past Porthleven and over the downs to rejoin the A39 near Penryn.3 It runs closer to the south coast and the Lizard than the A30 and takes a little longer, but keep to the main roads if you are towing.

Caravans and motorhomes

The A30, A39 and A394 are all main roads suitable for caravans and motorhomes.2 Falmouth's central car parks are small and fill early, so when towing use the Ponsharden Park & Float on the Penryn side, with a ferry into town, rather than driving into the centre.

Stops along the way

Stops along the way — tap or hover a pin for a photo, the detour and a link to its guideStart and finishThe route by road

  1. Start

    Penzance

  2. Marazion

    0.5 miles off the A394, adds roughly 4 minutes

    Just east of Penzance, the access point for St Michael's Mount across its tidal causeway at the start of the drive.4

  3. Helston

    5.3 miles off the main route, adds roughly 4 minutes

    The old stannary town and gateway to the Lizard peninsula on the A394 alternative, famous for its spring Flora Day and Furry Dance.

  4. Penryn

    0.4 miles off the A39, adds roughly 6 minutes

    Falmouth's older neighbour, a granite-built stannary town whose high street runs steeply down to the Penryn River and a working boatyard quay.

  5. Gyllyngvase Beach

    0.5 miles off the A39, adds roughly 3 minutes

    Falmouth's Blue Flag town beach,5 a sheltered crescent of sand a ten-minute walk from the centre.

  6. Arrive

    Falmouth

Practical information

Parking

Falmouth's central car parks at The Moor, Church Street and the Maritime Museum are small and fill early, so in summer the Ponsharden Park & Float on the Penryn side is the reliable choice, with a ferry into town.6 In Penzance, use the Harbour or Wharfside car parks or the long-stay by the station before you leave.

Train and bus

The practical route by rail is the main line from Penzance to Truro, then the Maritime Line branch down to Falmouth, which calls at Penryn and sets you down close to the seafront.7 The Maritime Line runs about every half hour and is one of the prettiest branch lines in the country.8 Allow around an hour and a half with the change at Truro.9

The best time to travel

Late spring and early autumn show Falmouth at its best, busy but not overwhelmed. In July and August arrive before the seafront car parks fill, or take the Park & Float, and avoid Falmouth Week in mid-August if you would rather miss the crowds, though the regatta is a spectacle if you time it to join in.1

About the Penzance to Falmouth journey

The twenty-seven miles from Penzance to Falmouth link two of the finest harbours on Cornwall's south coast, the wide sweep of Mount's Bay in the far west and one of the deepest natural anchorages in the world at the mouth of the Fal. The drive runs east along the A30 and then south into the wooded creeks around Penryn, trading one great sheltered water for another.

Leaving Penzance, the A30 skirts Mount's Bay with St Michael's Mount offshore4 and runs east past Hayle and the old mining country to the Chiverton roundabout, where the A39 turns south through Penryn, the older of the two neighbouring towns, before the water opens up at The Moor in the centre of Falmouth. The A394 through Helston offers a slower alternative closer to the Lizard.

Both towns live off the sea but wear it differently. Penzance looks out across Mount's Bay and built its wealth on tin, pilchards and the railway to the far west; Falmouth grew around a packet port that sent mail and news across the Atlantic and is now a university harbour town with a maritime museum and one of the great sailing waters of Britain. The drive between them is the easiest way to trade the toe of Cornwall for the far side of the Fal.

What to do in Falmouth

Falmouth is built for a day by the water. The National Maritime Museum Cornwall on Discovery Quay tells the story of the harbour and of small boats from around the world,10 and the seafront beaches of Gyllyngvase and Swanpool are a short walk or bus ride from the centre. Pendennis Castle, one of Henry VIII's coastal forts, guards the harbour mouth from its headland and gives a wide view across the Carrick Roads to St Mawes.11 The long main street of independent shops, galleries and cafes runs parallel to the water, and boat trips leave the Prince of Wales Pier for the Helford River and the upper Fal through the season.12

Read the Falmouth guide

Going the other way: Falmouth to Penzance

Falmouth to Penzance reverses the A39 and A30 and takes much the same fifty minutes. Truro makes a natural halfway stop in either direction, and Mount's Bay opens up ahead on the final run west into Penzance.

Related journeys

Falmouth to Penzance27 miles

Falmouth to Penzance

50 mins by car (About 50 minutes)2hr 45mins by bike (About 2 hours 45 minutes)

Falmouth to Penzance is 27 miles and about 50 minutes by car via the A394. Compare the fastest and coastal routes, the main line train, parking and stops.

Penzance to Truro26 miles

Penzance to Truro

40 mins by car (About 40 minutes)2hr 45mins by bike (About 2 hours 45 minutes)

Penzance to Truro is 26 miles and about 40 minutes by car via the A30. Compare the fastest and coastal routes, the direct train, parking and stops.

Penzance to St Ives10 miles

Penzance to St Ives

20 mins by car (About 20 minutes)1hr by bike (About 1 hour)

Penzance to St Ives is 10 miles and about 20 minutes by car via the A30 and A3074. Compare the fastest route, the branch line, Park & Ride, parking and stops.

See every Cornwall journey →

Article Sources
  1. Falmouth Week (no date). Home page [online]. Available at: https://www.falmouthweek.co.uk Falmouth Week[↩]
  2. OpenStreetMap contributors (2026). Road network, road classifications and place names. Copyright and licence [online]. Available at: https://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright OpenStreetMap[↩]
  3. Historic England (no date). The National Heritage List for England [online]. Available at: https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list Historic England[↩]
  4. St Michael’s Mount (no date). Home page [online]. Available at: https://www.stmichaelsmount.co.uk St Michael’s Mount[↩]
  5. Keep Britain Tidy (no date). Blue Flag and Seaside Awards [online]. Available at: https://www.keepbritaintidy.org/blue-flag-and-seaside-awards Keep Britain Tidy[↩]
  6. Fal River (no date). Ferries, Park & Float and getting around the Fal [online]. Available at: https://www.falriver.co.uk Fal River[↩]
  7. Great Western Railway (no date). Plan your journey: timetables and branch-line services in Cornwall [online]. Available at: https://www.gwr.com/plan-journey Great Western Railway[↩]
  8. National Rail Enquiries (no date). Train times and journey planner [online]. Available at: https://www.nationalrail.co.uk National Rail[↩]
  9. First Kernow (no date). Bus services, routes and timetables in Cornwall [online]. Available at: https://www.firstbus.co.uk/cornwall First Kernow[↩]
  10. National Maritime Museum Cornwall (no date). Home page [online]. Available at: https://nmmc.co.uk National Maritime Museum Cornwall[↩]
  11. English Heritage (no date). Pendennis Castle [online]. Available at: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/pendennis-castle English Heritage[↩]
  12. Falmouth Harbour (no date). Home page [online]. Available at: https://falmouthharbour.co.uk Falmouth Harbour[↩]
  13. Project OSRM (no date). Open Source Routing Machine: route shape and detour calculations [online]. Available at: https://project-osrm.org Project OSRM
  14. 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
  15. Google (no date). Google Maps: live traffic and turn-by-turn directions [online]. Available at: https://www.google.com/maps Google Maps