Is there anywhere in Cornwall that is better than St Ives?

[LemonCake91]

We are planning a UK holiday with the dog and our favourite place in Cornwall is St Ives. Is there anywhere that might be better that we haven’t discovered?

Penzance was lovely but didn’t match our expectations after being to St Ives. We didn’t like Newquay.

For context, two youngish adults and a dog, we love food, nice beaches and that small village feel. Plenty of walks and things to explore.

We have started to look at Fowey, Looe, Padstow, Port Isaac, Mousehole, Porthcurno.

I live in Cornwall and I would say what you’ve said about Padstow about St Ives. Bucket & spade bridge, terrible coffee, and awful access.

Padstow gets busy but what you have staying in that area is stunning beaches down the coast and cliff top walks, great foodie destinations (ignore Stein’s fish & chips and think Paul Ainswortg etc), plus access to the moors for wider exploration

For me, it's always Fowey. It's gorgeous, with lovely places to eat, shop and walk. But the only beach is very small and has a dog ban for part of the summer at specific times (I think). It's still a fab place with a great beach shop for ice cream or hot chocolate, depending on the weather!!

I thought Fowey too.
Although if you fancy a change from Cornwall, I like Tenby a lot.

Tenby is my local beach 😂

Haha that's funny.
You have good taste.

Polperro is awful now IMO and I used to love going there a few years back . I like Polruan and have a soft spot for Looe as we went loads when I was a kid .

I didn't rate St Ives when we went there last weekend. Too busy and not particularly pretty compared to other places we visited. We stayed in St Anthony which was lovely and peaceful with great walks and some lovely pubs. Yes it is a bit of a drive to get anywhere else but that didn't bother us. You can go to St Mawes and get a ferry over to Falmouth or there is a car ferry to jump over that bit of water called King Harry Ferry.

Portwenn, and if you have medical issue you can just turn up at the doctor's surgery - no appointment necessary. He welcomes dogs too.

Port Isaac is lovely. Especially if you liked Doc Martin!

I live in Cornwall and Porthtowan is my go to beach! Stunning beach and beautiful walks. And delicious moomaid ice cream! Friends have also found air bnbs at reasonable prices outside of holidays.
But the problem for OP is dogs are banned between mid May - end of sept.

Perranporth is lovely and dog friendly year round. (Need to stay on lead at certain areas of the beach July and aug)

We stayed there the week but we were with elderly parents and had a car so popped off to visit other places too. It has a big village feel, but has a few pubs and enough cafés/restaurants to keep you going all week if you're just based there. I'd probably split the week between two places though - gives you chance to experience more places for future holidays.