I forget just how I came across Skomer Island, but we absolutely had to make room for it during our trip to the UK. Actually, we completely redid our itinerary to fit Skomer in, because puffins! In their natural habitat! Absolutely had to go.

We went to Skomer Island on July 21, which is towards the end of Skomer Island’s puffin season, so we were worried we might not be able to see any. There were still many puffins to see and it was definitely worth the trip!

To get to the point, the first few parts of this post are informational and then the last part is where you can read about our day and of course see even more cute puffin pics.

What’s with all the puffins?

Skomer Island is rat free, a paradise by that right alone. But because it’s free of predators and vermin that eat eggs, puffins have found is a safe haven to lay their eggs.

The process happens rather fast: the puffins arrive in late March to April and start building their burrows. They incubate their eggs and then the chicks (“pufflings”) will be born about June. It doesn’t take them long to grow up, only about 6 weeks, and they’ll be ready to fly to sea in about mid July. The puffins then start leaving Skomer Island and will all be gone about the first week of August.

Because of this, the best time to visit Skomer Island is May to early July (and why we were anxious about going in mid July). This is when puffin numbers are at their height. When we visited in 2026, the puffin count was the highest yet at over 50,000 puffins!

Skomer Island is also home to other wildlife and seabirds but I, like many others, were primarily interested in the puffins.

Getting Tickets to Skomer Island

You can book your tickets from the Wildlife Trust of South & West Wales. On the linked page there are details for how you can stay the night on Skomer Island or scroll down to “Day trip information” for the boat trip to the island.

Tickets for the proceeding calendar year go on sale December 1st. So for any date in 2027, tickets will go on sale December 1, 2026, etc. We booked our ticket on January 13th and luckily there was availability for our date, but the prime dates from March to mid-July were all sold out. You’ll want to get your tickets as soon as you figure your schedule out.

Preparing For Your Trip

Trips are done on a 5-hour basis and run every hour. For example, our trip left the mainland at 10:00am and we were expected to be on the boat to leave by 3:00pm. You can try to catch and earlier or later boat but ultimately it’s “if you arrive at this time, then you’re expected to leave at this time.” Five hours is ample to spend on the island. You select your leaving time when you book your tickets (info for that above).

After a somewhat terrifying drive down a narrow lane lined with tall hedges, you’ll get to the parking lot. You can then cross the street to get to the visitor’s center and gift shop where you’ll check in at the register and they’ll give you your tickets for the day. They’ll also check your bags. All bags need to have a zipper or be sealable. This is to make sure that rats don’t make their way into your bag and onto the island (though just the idea of a rat in my bag gives me SO many chills…).

There is a bathroom on the island but no other facilities, e.g., nowhere to buy food and no trash cans. Five hours is a long time so I recommend bringing your own lunch and water. There are a handful of tables and you can also sit on the ground and eat. If you’re new to the UK, a place like Tesco is good to get some snacks (an authentic British experience…). There are no trash cans on the island to avoid attracting vermin and you’re expected to take your trash back with you, so you might also want to pack a plastic bag for trash.

The island is also unpaved terrain that goes up and down some pretty steep hills so you’ll need some tennis shoes or other stable footwear.

In short:

1. Put aside 5 hours for the trip.
2. Bring a zippered or otherwise sealable bag only.
3. Bring a lunch and water, and a bag for trash.
4. Wear stable footwear such as tennis shoes.

Since this is a natural habitat, it’s a huge privilege to be able to visit and see the puffin colonies up close. Please remember to be extra respectful while visiting.

Skomer Island Map

Image drawn from Google Maps.

Thanks for paying attention to this super mediocre map I put together because I didn’t take a photo of the map at Skomer itself. It’s important to note that these are basically the only routes are you absolutely cannot go off the paths. Not even an inch. There are bird burrows everywhere and you don’t want to step on one!

When you arrive at Skomer, a guide will also have a briefing with a map to show you what’s where. This is just so you know what to expect and put context to the extended version of our day below.

The red dot is where the ferry comes in, and then the orange dot in the center of the island is where the facilities are at. The pink dots are the ancient sites of human activity (more on that below). The yellow route to the north and center was recommended to us since it’s not the most strenuous and my mom has mobility issues. There is a lot of up and down and some sidling you have to do on the paths, but it wasn’t terrible. The green route was pretty much the same way.

The blue route was probably the most strenuous and the paths are very steep. It wasn’t so hard going up but going down a rocky path without steps, I thought I was going to fall and was even more worried about my mom. We went on a dry sunny day so I imagine it’s worse when it rains.

The purple route also had a lot of up and down, but probably as much as the yellow route.

Virtually all the puffins we saw were on the purple route and where the ferry gets in at the red dot. We also saw some along the green route, near the water that’s protected by land on 3 sides. I just went for one day so I’m obviously not an expert, but we did not see any puffins on the yellow or blue routes or towards the center of the island. I wish we’d known that before our trip, which is why I’m telling you now. If we do return, I’m going to spend more time along the purple route.

It looks like this matches up to puffin colony maps online, so I hope my personal experience wasn’t just some one-off.

Some of Skomer Island’s History

Skomer Island was inhabited tens of thousands of years ago when it wasn’t an island but part of mainland Wales. There are several remnants of Bronze Age activity from about 2500 BC (fyi, it was an island then). The two above – Harold Stone and Wick Cairn – are the ones you’ll get to see but there are more around the island. Interestingly enough, this seems to have been the island’s most populous moment in history.

It was deserted in the Middle Ages but did become the site of a rabbit farm for the same reasons the puffins find the island as a refuge. In the 1800s, it was used as a farm but was again abandoned during World War I.

And then the puffins took over….

Our Day on Skomer Island

I don’t want to waste your time, so all the important know-before-you-go info is all above. Here’s the full rundown of how our day in Skomer Island went!

We got to the island and the ferry ride up was pretty magical. Tonto the seagull will accompany you on the ferry to the island. When we pulled up, the sea was filled with puffins. The sky was filled with puffins. The sides of the island were filled with puffins. It was a puffin dreamland and it was such an amazing experience alone.

First you go up a tall set of stairs which is quite strenuous but the most strenuous climb of the day. We kept stopping to take photos and the guides said, “don’t worry, there’s more puffins we promise you!” Then you get to a briefing area where a guide will show you a map of the island (one that’s better than mine), talk about the routes and what to see, and of course go over the rules. First one, again, is don’t step off the path!

After the briefing, the path is up a some more of a strenuous area but that initial climb is the worst part. There is some more up and down around the island paths but nothing like the first climb. The first stop is the Harold Stone with is a monolith that is assumed to date back to the Bronze Age. It’s the earliest sign of human activity on Skomer Island.

Then we kept going and took at a stop at the facilities, which is the old barn that dates to about the 19th century. We took a rest here but you can go inside the barn ruins and there’s an interesting exhibit on the human history of the island. Given its unique circumstances, it’s interesting to see how it was used over the millennia. I definitely recommend a stop inside.

Then it was time to start on the trail. We headed north and quickly found out that the center of the island is very desolate. We also found out that there are a ton of seagulls that also call Skomer Island home, which makes sense. But we got along the coast and saw a bunch of seagulls and more seagulls.

I also peaked in the water to see if there were any seals bobbing or any dolphins popping up but unfortunately I didn’t see any. (As an aside, Skomer Island also has a cruise that takes you around the island on boat, so you might have an increased chance to see the seals and dolphins.)

Remember when I told you the guides said, “don’t worry, there’s more puffins we promise you!” Reader… there weren’t. I have to say, at this point I was getting irritated because we’d been walking and walking, it was tough for my mom who has mobility issues, and there were no puffins which is what we’d come for. A lot of people like the hike and the views, but my mom and I were a bit more basic (simple-minded even) with what we wanted.

So we went and we went and then started down to the southern end of the island. No puffins. We finally got to the Wick Cairn which is an ancient burial site, and it was around here and this little peninsula “the Wick” that we finally got to see some puffins. A few. But it was still like, “finally we get to see the little guys we came to see!” We stopped here to spend some time.

So we continued on to the southernmost part of the island which was also quite a steep climb up and a steep way down. For reference, we’d gotten to the island about 10:30am and it was now 12:30-1:00pm. Unfortunately we didn’t see puffins here either, and we decided to head back on the final stretch along the coast.

Reader… we found the puffins!

We found they were almost all along the eastern shore of the island. And we also found out we had, ironically, come on a great day. It was sunny and the puffins don’t like sun, but they had decided to emerge in large numbers that day. The few days before had been sunny and the puffins went into hiding. After that time of being irritated, we found out we’d actually really lucked out.

We sat on the path for a while and got to really enjoy watching the puffins in nature. They are such cute little guys, and I’d actually never seen one in person before. I wanted to pick them up and hug them and give them lots of kisses, but alas, I don’t think they’d like that and I don’t think it’s allowed. (Though the rules actually never specify, “don’t kiss the puffins”…)

The time we spent sitting here with all the puffins was the most memorable and really made it worth the whole trip.

The last bit of walking back to where the ferries are is also a lot of uphill. But we made it back near the ferry landing about an hour before we were to line up for the ferry back (about 1:45pm). We spent the last hour eating our lunch and watching the puffins along the cliffside. Five hours is a long time to spend on an island but we found it was a decent amount of time to do the whole trail, eat lunch, and spend time sitting and enjoying the wildlife.

We were definitely a lot more elementary with the reasons we came: puffins. But Skomer Island is also a refuge for other types of sea birds and is a hike of its own with top views around the beautiful Irish Sea. There are several reasons to visit.

Obviously we both really enjoyed our trip to Skomer Island and couldn’t recommend it enough. It’s such a unique place in Wales (and the world) and it was such an amazing opportunity to see puffins in their natural habitat. We were worried that going in mid-July was going to be a letdown but we were so happy with the puffins we got to see. They are such cute, charming little guys. It must be even more amazing during the prime puffin time.

Have you ever been to Skomer Island? What was your experience like?

Book Your Stay near Skomer Island

About the Author

Leave a Reply