Getting to Padstow: Roads, Parking & Buses

Getting to Padstow well is the arrival half of the plan: which way you come in, where the car goes, and whether a bus is realistic on the day. It is not the full Padstow itinerary, and it is not a transport timetable. For the wider choices — harbour, ferry, Camel Trail and Hawker's Cove — use our Padstow Cornwall travel guide. A short orientation sits on visit Padstow.

Parking figures below come from Cornwall Council pages checked for this guide. They are dated, not a permanent promise. Check the live council pages before you travel.

By road

Padstow is a compact harbour town on the Camel. The useful driving decision is the last one: where the car is parkad, not a scenic route written up as if it were fixed. This page does not invent a road number, a journey time, a set of roadworks or a preferred approach. Conditions change, and no driving route was signed for this brief.

Plan to park once and walk. The quays and the older streets are a poor place to hunt for an unsigned space while the day is already under way. Choose a car park from the council's Padstow-area list before you arrive, pay what that car park's own page and the signs require, and let the town be on foot from there. If you are staying overnight, the same logic applies to luggage: pick the car park that matches the day, then use places to stay in Cornwall for the stay itself. This page does not become a stays guide.

What the Padstow-area index actually lists

Cornwall Council's page of council car parks in the Padstow area was updated on 16 April 2025. It lists three car parks:

• Link Road, Padstow, PL28 8AY
• Porthcothan Bay, PL28 8LW
• Polzeath Beach, PL27 6SS

The index does not show tariffs and it does not show opening hours. If a guide or a memory quotes a price "from the Padstow car parks page", check you are not looking at this index. The price lives on the individual car-park page.

For a day spent in Padstow, Link Road is the site the index names in the town. Porthcothan Bay and Polzeath Beach are separate listed car parks in the same area index. They are not a description of quay-side parking in Padstow, and this page does not invent a distance between them and the harbour. Match the car park to the day you are actually having, then open that site's own council page.

Link Road: 24 hours and the dated tariffs

The council's Link Road, Padstow (PL28 8AY) page was updated on 27 May 2026. It states that opening hours are 24 hours. The seasonal charges on that update are below. Check the page again before you travel; a later update replaces this table.

1 April to 31 October

From 9am to 6pm the page shows:

• Up to 1 hour: £2.50
• 1–2 hours: £5.10
• 2–4 hours: £7.50
• 24 hours: £11.50
• Weekly: £29.00

From 6pm to midnight the evening session is £2.30. From midnight to 9am there is no charge.

1 November to 31 March

From 9am to 4pm the page shows:

• Up to 1 hour: £1.00
• 1–2 hours: £1.80
• 2–4 hours: £3.00
• 24 hours: £4.20
• Weekly: £10.20

From 4pm to 9am there is no charge.

The same Link Road page also sets coach charges and motorhome charges. Those figures are on the council page and are not copied here. If you are bringing a coach or a motorhome, read that page on the day rather than assuming the car tariffs above cover you.

Nothing else in this cluster adds a Padstow tariff. If you see a price that is not in the list above, it is not one we are standing behind. Go back to the Link Road page updated 27 May 2026, or whatever date the council shows when you look.

By bus

Padstow can be part of a car-free trip, but this guide cannot name the service. No bus operator page was verified when these notes were signed on 3 October 2026, so there is no route number, no frequency and no stop list here. Confirm current services, the stop you need, and any disruption with the operator or a live journey planner before you travel.

Do not build a connection around a route you remember from a previous holiday. If the bus picture is unclear on the morning, that is a reason to change the plan, not a reason for us to guess a number. Once you are in the town, the day is still on foot: the harbour, a ferry, the trail or the cove, as set out in the Padstow Cornwall travel guide.

Final checks before you travel

Use the pages, not a screenshot from an old trip.

• Open the Padstow-area index for the three named car parks, and remember it will not show you a tariff or an opening hour.
• Open the Link Road page for the 24-hour statement and the seasonal table. The figures above match the 27 May 2026 update; confirm they are still the ones on screen.
• If you need a coach or motorhome charge, read it on that same page. We have not repeated it.
• If you are travelling by bus, confirm the service on the day. No route is stated in this article.

Parking is the arrival decision. It is not the whole visit. When the car is settled, go back to the Padstow Cornwall travel guide for the harbour, the Rock ferry, the Camel Trail and Hawker's Cove, or start from visit Padstow if you want the short card first. Stays stay on places to stay in Cornwall. That is the arrival note from Cornwall Travel Guide.