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A walker on the clifftop edge looking across to castle ruins and the footbridge spanning the gorge to the sea
Kernara

Private

Private Driving Tour

The Grand Tour

The complete Cornwall in a single week, chauffeured throughout.

6 days

Recommended duration

From £7,450* Based on a booking of 2 guests

From per personPer person

Overview

Six days discovering the best of Cornwall from coast to coast, with a private driver-guide so you never have to think about the road. From the legendary ruins of Tintagel and the fishing harbours of the north coast to Daphne du Maurier's Fowey, the tidal island of St Michael's Mount, the Minack Theatre carved into granite cliffs, and the galleries of St Ives, this tour covers the Cornwall most visitors spend years piecing together. Evenings bring the best of the region's food and wine, from Michelin-starred harbourside restaurants to acclaimed clifftop gastropubs, each one reserved in your name. This is a Kernara Private tour: your party only, your dates, and an itinerary that flexes around you.

Tour Highlights

Tintagel & the Arthurian Coast

Castle ruins on the headland, the legendary birthplace of King Arthur.

St Michael's Mount

Across the ancient causeway to the tidal island, its castle and gardens.

The Minack Theatre

The open-air amphitheatre carved into granite cliffs above Porthcurno.

Michelin-Starred Port Isaac

Dinner at Outlaw's Fish Kitchen, in a 15th-century fisherman's cottage.

Your bespoke itinerary

Our local experts have created a spectacular itinerary that is designed to inspire your Cornish adventure. Luxury hotels, breathtaking experiences, and handpicked restaurants, all thoughtfully considered. The tour is fully customisable below: select your hotels, experiences, and more.

TintagelNorth CornwallThe legend coast

Location: 1 of 3

Days:
2
A footbridge crossing the chasm to the castle ruins on the headland at Tintagel, high above the sea

Nowhere in Britain wears its myths so openly. Tintagel Castle, the legendary birthplace of King Arthur, stands on a headland the Atlantic has been carving at for centuries, its ruins reached by a footbridge slung across the void. And the coast around it earns every mile: Boscastle's smugglers' harbour squeezed between towering cliffs, and Port Isaac, the impossibly pretty fishing village millions know as Portwenn, where dinner is Michelin-starred fish in a 15th-century cottage above the harbour.

Select Your Hotel

Select Your Kernara Experiences

  • A ruined castle wall and archway on the clifftop at Tintagel, wildflowers in the foreground and the sea beyondIncluded

    Tintagel Castle

    Cross the bridge to the clifftop ruins, the legendary birthplace of King Arthur

  • Whitewashed cottages around a tidal creek of moored boats at duskIncluded

    Boscastle Harbour

    The atmospheric smugglers' inlet, now cared for by the National Trust

  • An afternoon tea of sandwiches and scones on a tiered stand, laid out in an elegant sitting roomIncluded

    Cream tea in Port Isaac

    Above the harbour in Doc Martin's Portwenn

  • Sharing plates of oysters, bread and olives laid out beside an Outlaw's menuIncluded

    Dinner at Outlaw's Fish Kitchen

    Michelin-starred fish in a 15th-century cottage on the harbour

  • Passengers boarding a small ferry boat at a quayside

    Sea safari from Padstow

    Seals, dolphins and, if the sea is kind, a basking sharkA wildlife boat in search of seals, dolphins and, if the sea is kind, a basking shark

  • A sandy path along a grassy dune above the beach at sunset

    Camel Trail bike hire

    Level, traffic-free cycling along the estuary from PadstowLevel, traffic-free cycling along the estuary, with bikes and e-bikes from the Padstow trailhead

  • A chef grating cheese over a plated dish of meat, mash and greens

    Rick Stein'sRick Stein's Cookery School

    A half-day cookery class in Padstow, fish off the day boatsA half-day class in Padstow where the fish comes off the day boats

    Seasonal availability

  • A guided group of walkers descending a clifftop path above the sea, headlands stretching away along the coast

    Tintagel to Boscastle cliff walkThe Tintagel to Boscastle clifftop walk

    Two guided hours on the wildest stretch of the coast pathTwo guided hours on the wildest stretch of the north coast path, castle behind you, harbour ahead

FoweySouth CoastDu Maurier's harbour town

Location: 2 of 3

Days:
2
A hillside of pastel-painted houses above a harbour of small moored boats

Cornwall's gentler coast, and its most storied. Fowey was Daphne du Maurier's home town, a deep-water harbour of narrow streets and sailing boats where the evenings are as good as the days. From here the south coast unfolds in every direction: the National Trust's grandest Cornish estate at Lanhydrock, gardens lost for seventy-five years under the brambles at Heligan, tall ships at their moorings in Georgian Charlestown, and the creeks and church towers of the Roseland, reached by chain ferry across the Fal.

Select Your Hotel

Select Your Kernara Experiences

  • Included

    Lanhydrock House & Gardens

    The National Trust's grandest Cornish estate, kitchens to gatehouse

  • A rope bridge through tree ferns and Japanese maples at the Lost Gardens of HeliganIncluded

    The Lost Gardens of Heligan

    200 acres rediscovered after seventy-five years under the brambles

  • An aerial view of a harbour town with a curved stone breakwater and moored boatsIncluded

    Charlestown

    The preserved Georgian harbour, tall ships at their moorings, Poldark on screen

  • A chain ferry crossing a wooded river estuary lined with housesIncluded

    The Roseland & King Harry Ferry

    The chain ferry across the Fal, St Just in Roseland and St Mawes

  • A white house with blue shutters on the wooded bank of the Fowey estuary, yachts moored on the river

    Fowey estuary river cruise

    An hour on the water du Maurier loved, past PolruanAn hour on the water du Maurier loved, past Polruan and the china clay ships

  • Cornish pasty masterclass

    Learn the crimp at Philleigh Way on the RoselandLearn the crimp at Philleigh Way, a farmhouse cookery school on the Roseland

  • The Eden Project

    Rainforest and Mediterranean under one roof, with lunch in the biomesThe world's largest indoor rainforest and the Mediterranean under one roof, with lunch in the biomes

  • Pastel houses climbing a hillside above a harbour of moored fishing boats, seen from across the water

    The Hall Walk

    Fowey's four-mile circuit by ferry and field path, across to Polruan and backFowey's famous four-mile circuit by ferry and field path, across the water to Polruan and back, with the estuary below the whole way

St IvesCarbis Bay & St IvesThe Far WestThe crescendo, at the end of the land

Location: 3 of 3

Days:
2
Fishing boats moored in St Ives harbour at dusk, the town behind

The Far West is where Cornwall saves its best. St Michael's Mount rises from the bay on its tidal causeway, the Minack Theatre clings to granite cliffs above the turquoise water of Porthcurno, and Land's End marks the final full stop of mainland Britain. Then the little branch line train curves along the coast into St Ives, where the Tate and the Barbara Hepworth Museum sit among the galleries, boutiques and cobbled lanes of Cornwall's most celebrated town.

Select Your Hotel

Select Your Kernara Experiences

  • St Michael's Mount at sunset, the castle on its tidal island above the harbour and causewayIncluded

    St Michael's Mount

    Across the causeway to the castle, chapel and gardensAcross the ancient causeway to the castle, chapel and subtropical gardens

  • An open-air stone amphitheatre cut into the cliff above the sea, with a sandy cove beyondIncluded

    The Minack Theatre

    The clifftop amphitheatre above Porthcurno, by dayThe clifftop amphitheatre above Porthcurno, visited by day

  • A white beacon tower on a grassy clifftop above the sea, a rock standing offshoreIncluded

    Land's End

    The most south-westerly point of mainland Britain

  • Stone cottages on a hillside above a harbour of small boats and a sandy beachIncluded

    St Ives by branch line

    The coastal train from St Erth, then the Tate and the HepworthThe fifteen-minute coastal train from St Erth, then the Tate and the Barbara Hepworth

  • A ruined mine engine house with a brick chimney on the coastal cliff above the seaIncluded

    Wheal Coates

    The most photographed engine house in Cornwall, on the St Agnes cliffsThe most photographed engine house in Cornwall, on the clifftop path at St Agnes

  • The stage of the Minack Theatre, cut into the granite cliff with the sea behind it

    Minack by nightAn evening show at the Minack

    Theatre under the stars, the sea behind the stageTheatre under the stars with the sea behind the stage

    Easter to SeptemberSeason runs roughly Easter to September

  • The St Ives to Zennor walk

    Six miles of coast path to Zennor and its mermaid legendThe celebrated six-mile stretch of coast path to a moorland village and the legend of the Zennor mermaid

  • Cornish gin school

    Distil your own bottle at Tarquin's working distillery in St Ives

Featured hotels are occasionally subject to change; any alternative will be of equal or higher standard, confirmed with you in advance.

Frequently asked questions

You'll see the best of Cornwall from coast to coast in a single week, with a professional driver-guide, stopping for short strolls, village walks and coastal paths as you go. It's designed for guests who want the full Cornwall experience without the daily hiking.

On Kernara Private tours, every meal is included: all breakfasts and lunches, and dinner every evening, from hotel dining rooms to the coast's best tables, each reserved in your name.

Short walks and strolls throughout: harbour walks, garden visits, clifftop paths, castle grounds, nothing strenuous, at whatever pace suits you.

A high-end, comfortable vehicle with your driver-guide, yours for the week. No sharing, no fixed schedule; if you want to linger somewhere longer, you can.

Choose your hotels, adjust the days in each location, and add or remove experiences, then send it to us as an enquiry. We'll come back with your personal quote, and everything stays flexible until you confirm.

Most guests take the train from London Paddington and are met at the station, or we can arrange a private transfer from London with a stop at Stonehenge.