Travel to the Isles of Scilly
I’ve never really understood why people wonder whether the journey or the destination is better. After all, who really goes, ah, those six hours stuck on the motorway were fabulous compared to the week at the beach at the end of it.
But occasionally I do get to do a journey which is such a part of the travel experience that the holiday really does begin when I board.
review/press trip*
And that’s exactly what happened with our recent trip with Isles of Scilly Travel, clambering into a tiny prop plane to speed over the Cornish coast and to St Mary’s.
We’d chosen our Isles of Scilly flights out of Exeter airport, as it’s only about two hours away on the train from west London, but you can also board the little planes in Newquay or do the very short 15-minute hop from Land’s End.
Read my complete guide to visiting the Isles of Scilly with kids here including more information on travel to the Isles of Scilly, or my guide to Cornwall with kids
And even before we climbed the steps to our seats, things were different than your standard flight.
There’s a strict policy on hand luggage, which is minimal at only 3kg, as well as a maximum of 15kg hold baggage as part of the Skybus luggage allowance. When you see the plane, you understand why.
The Twin Otter, the bigger of the two Skybuses has room for 19 passengers (plus pilot and co-pilot), while the smaller Islander can only fit eight. There are no toilets, no meal service, no in-flight entertainment.
Actually, that’s not quite true as I had a bird’s eye view of the cockpit. On the return flight, I could have reached out and touched the pilot. (I didn’t.)
But who cares? I love little planes, Minnie promptly dozed off to the whirr of the propellers and I got to gaze out of the window watching the coastline, the expanse of sea and finally – the Isles of Scilly, dotted on the water.
We didn’t even have the best weather on the way out, hazy and cloudy, so I can imagine how spectacular it is in sun.
On the return, one bay around Land’s End was gloriously emerald and turquoise, although sadly I didn’t have a view of the islands as we took off.
After years of impersonal, hectic, strict mega airports, this really took me back to the joy of flying.
Oh, there’s still scanning and X-raying at Exeter airport but it’s far more relaxed than Heathrow, while at St Mary’s we were given a colour coded plastic card in place of a boarding pass, which they collected again to reuse.
Both ways we watched the safety demo on TV before boarding – no screens on board remember, and no room for cabin crew.
It was also incredibly smooth and friendly, our suitcases whisked off to await us, and the pilot joking with Minnie about the no smoking sign (she very seriously promised not to smoke while it was on).
We were then met at St Mary’s by one of the many transfer buses which shuttles travellers to various hotels or to the quay to reach the other islands.
Although you can take the ferry if you prefer (or need a bigger luggage allowance), I wouldn’t have swapped this for the world.
As the propellers started whirring, my holiday really began – and didn’t end until the Cornish coast and Devon countryside had finally been replaced with runway once again on St Mary’s.
Need to know: Isles of Scilly travel
Adult fares for planes to Isles of Scilly one-way start from £134 from Land’s End, £189 from Newquay and £273 from Exeter. Children and infants (under two) both pay reduced fares, and there are also lower day trip fares from Land’s End.
There’s usually at least one flight from each airport every day, significantly more from Land’s End during peak season.
Infants are allowed a buggy free, although children in their own seat must take one as part of their luggage allowance of 15kg.
Pregnant women can fly up to and beyond their due date, subject to medical verifications and only on the shortest flights from Land’s End towards the end of the pregnancy. Check the plan your trip section for more details.
Dogs can also travel on the Land’s End and Newquay routes.
The Scillonian III ferry travels from Penzance to St Mary’s, with fares starting at £83.90. It does not sail from around mid November until at least March, and there is one daily sailing the rest of the year.
PIN FOR LATER: ISLES OF SCILLY TRAVEL
Disclosure: Our flights were courtesy of Isles of Scilly travel. All opinions and choice of catchy music in the video of our plane to the Isles of Scilly are my own.
Images and video copyright MummyTravels
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I think I would much rather copy you and catch the plane to Scilly, much more fun! What a view – so I can’t imagine what it would be like on a clear, sunny day!
Definitely – the thought of maybe spotting dolphins on the ferry is tempting, but I don’t see how it can beat this flight. Scilly’s beaches are so beautiful it would be amazing on a clear day.
What an exciting way to travel! It looks far more interesting than your regular flights.
It really was great. Flights have started to become something to get over before the holiday starts I think, this was something to enjoy the experience.
Gosh you are brave. Those tiny planes freak me out although they are a lot faster to get to the Isles of Scilly than the Scillonian which took about 4 hours for us. Love the video
Thanks! Definitely a lot faster, especially if you’re close to Land’s End, although I loved the planes – like a mini adventure to start the trip.
I’m thinking about flying to Scillies, being claustrophobic I am concerned whether you can stand as you are getting in? Are the ceilings low and claustrophobic.
I don’t remember it feeling claustrophobic at all – they are small planes but there’s no sense of the ceiling feeling low as you sit down, and I don’t remember having to duck as I got in, or walking to the seat (although I’m not the tallest!)
How long was the flight? I’m not very good in flights, I have a mild case of claustrophobia but if it’s less than an hour I think I would love to try this. 🙂
Our one was about an hour but the flights from Newquay and Land’s End were both shorter – worth a try!
I’d like to get the ferry one way and fly the other – seeing Land’s End and the Minack Theatre from the sea must be a bit special, but so must seeing dogs on the plane!
I think that’s a fun idea – the ferry is slower but you’d get such a great (if different) experience doing that too.
I love flying on little planes like this, so much more fun than the hectic mass movement of people that commercial flights from busy airports have become. I didn’t realise there were so many Scilly Isles, somehow I imagined there’d only be a couple, but the view down on to them even in less than perfect weather is wonderful. You made me chuckle with your analogy of sitting in a traffic jam for 6 hours as the journey that’s better than the destination! #MondayEscapes
Definitely – I have always loved flying, but this really seems to take you back to the heart of what it’s about, rather than cramming tetchily onto a jumbo. If you count all the islands (some of which are pretty much big rocks), there’s about 140! Only five now inhabited though. And thank you 🙂
What a fantastic trip, the view is amazing! 😀 I hope monkey fit the hand luggage restrictions 😉
Thanks Vlad! He may have been borderline, but I reckoned the plane would need to be pretty full before someone tried to take a monkey from a three-year-old… 😀
What amazing scenery! The video really shows off what an exciting flight it must have been! I just can’t believe Minnie fell asleep!! #mondayescapes
I know – spark out with the engines whirring. That background noise really seems to trigger something for her. And meant I could enjoy the gorgeous views.
So cool, I’d like to travel in one of those planes! Thanks for sharing 🙂
#MondayEscapes
They are so much fun – a lovely bonus to the holiday
I have to say whilst the scenery from the little plane looks great. I would have been so green around the gills I wouldn’t have got to enjoy it. Those little planes reek havoc with my tummy.
It’s definitely an either/or, I think – people love flying in these or can’t even imagine getting on board.
The plane ride alone looks absolutely stunning! You were so lucky to have such a lovely clear day! #bestandworst
It was wonderful – and the weather wasn’t even the best it could be. So lovely…
I think I’d be scared,I hate flying at the best of times, bet it was exciting though 🙂 Thanks for linking up to the #bestandworst and hope you’ll pop by again! x
Ah, probably not ideal for someone who hates flying I admit! But I loved it – and the ferry sounds a great alternative if you don’t want to try the planes.
Wow, this looks cool! Have realised there’s a lot more of England to see 🙂
Absolutely! It’s so easy to miss what’s on the doorstep – I know I’ve still got whole swathes of England to discover yet.
I love flying over to the scillys even thow I got suck few times due to weather staff are friendly and lovely. I go over each month for work.
Lucky you! I loved the islands and the flight was so much fun – although not so much in bad weather…
Great post! I try to do carry-on only when I travel. I hate waiting for checked bags at the airport, and the possibility of my bag getting damaged or not arriving on my flight is enough to make me do carry-on.
Thanks! Always trickier to get everything into carry-on when you have kids, but much easier if you can.