St Michael's Mount island and castle on a guided sightseeing tour of West Cornwall

Private Guided Tours of Cornwall

Explore Cornwall with a Local Guide

Cornwall Discovery Tours offers private guided tours of Cornwall with local guide Barry Pengelly. Explore dramatic coastlines, historic towns, fishing villages and hidden places, with a route planned around your interests.

Travel on a private day tour in a comfortable, air-conditioned vehicle, choose a multi-day itinerary or arrange step-on guiding for a larger group. Every tour is relaxed and flexible, helping you see more of Cornwall without the stress of planning routes, parking or navigating unfamiliar roads.

Visit the Real Portwenn on a Doc Martin Tour

Our private Doc Martin tour of Cornwall takes you to Port Isaac, the real village behind Portwenn. See familiar filming locations including Fern Cottage, the harbour and the narrow village lanes, while also exploring Boscastle, Tintagel, Port Quin, Polzeath and Padstow.

You can also follow in the footsteps of Ross and Demelza on our Poldark tours of Cornwall, visiting mining landscapes, historic harbours and dramatic stretches of coastline seen in the television series.

Meet Barry, Your Local Cornwall Guide

Barry was born and raised in Cornwall and has spent his life working across the county, from Delabole slate quarry and fishing boats to film locations. His local knowledge and easy manner give guests a genuine insight into Cornwall that goes far beyond the guidebooks.

Cornwall Discovery welcomes visitors from around the world, including many from the USA who recognise the tours from recommendations in Rick Steves’ England guidebook.

A Cornwall Tour Shaped Around You

Your tour can focus on coastlines and historic villages, gardens, food and drink, family history or Cornwall’s many film and television locations. Whether you already know what you would like to see or need help choosing a route, Barry can plan a day around your interests and preferred pace.

Step-on guiding, airport transfers and private shore excursions for cruise ship passengers are also available.

ENQUIRE ABOUT & BOOK YOUR TOUR TODAY

Bonnie S

19 June 2026

Just call Barry! Barry is a gem! This is the way to see Cornwall: Barry knows every spot to see and gets you there safely. My husband and I travelled with our sister in law to from Virginia to Cornwall primarily to see Port Isaac where Doc Martin was filmed but we experienced so much more! We had Barry for two days and I can say we feel that we’ve really seen Cornwall. It’s beautiful and worth the trip. He also drove us to Bath and on the way saw Dartmoor and lovely villages. I wish we had discovered Barry on our own (we were connected via a travel agent). If you’re lucky enough to go to Cornwall just call Barry- he will make your trip memorable!

JenMarch23

17 June 2026

Private tour from Falmouth Cruise Port Terminal We had the best day with Barry from Cornwall Discovery Tours. He showed us so much of the area in the van that we would have never been able to see if we were on the cruise ship bus. Barry made sure we tasted authentic local food, stopped in cute, picturesque towns, and had fun! I would 100% recommend a private tour. Be sure to allow enough time to get off the ship, as this is a tender port. It is worth getting in line early so that your group can get one of the first tenders off the boat. Princess will post what time the first tender is available. When Princess distributes the tender tickets, your whole group needs to be ready to leave (esp. if you get the #1-#5 tender ticket). If you get a tender ticket that is greater than 10, you may be waiting for a while to disembark. The Princess Tour Groups have priority over the general people waiting to use the tender. The only other way around this wait is to book a suite category on the ship. This tender was the easiest to use. We got in line about one hour before distribution, and we could have had tender boat number one. However, our entire group was not ready to leave. Once we had our entire group, the wait was not terrible, but it did increase quickly. The tender boat ride from Falmouth was about 40 minutes long. The tender for Dublin was CRAZY! The tender ride took about 25 minutes. Princess did have some of the earlier ticket tenders called almost as soon as the tender boats started. The tender for Edinburgh was worse than Dublin. The line for the tender tickets for Edinburgh was HUGE. People were in line for the tender tickets more than one hour before distribution began. Get in line early for Dublin and Edinburgh. Once the tenders started in Edinburgh (8:00am), Princess did not call any tender ticket holders for at least 35 minutes.

Wander68209957156

14 June 2026

Cornish adenture Five wonderful days spent around Cornwall with our expert guide. Got to experience everything that the region had to offer and more. Our guide Mike went above and beyond with his extensive knowledge of the area. All around a great experience that we won't forget.

gillumco

12 June 2026

Cornwall for an Old Man We thoroughly enjoyed our three days with Mike driving us, guiding us, advising us, and caring for us just like we were forever friends or kindly family. Mike took on the daily burdens of travel stress and rewarded us with his kindness, knowledge, and personable care. When the steps and stoney walks became challenging for this old man, Mike put my wife and me on his arm or in his hands, and ensured us that we were safe and secure. If and when we return to wonderful Cornwall, we will again seek the help of Mike and the company he represents. We are grateful for this new friend and for everything he gave us. Thank you! Larry Gillum

Emily H

8 June 2026

Family Trip to Cornwall We had a wonderful time exploring Cornwall for 2 days with Mike. I traveled with my mother and my two young children, and Mike did an excellent job of helping us find activities that everyone could enjoy, which was no easy feat. Experiencing Cornwall was truly one of the highlights of our trip to England.

Joyce J

7 June 2026

Wonderful Cornwall! Barry shared the highlight and hidden places in Cornwall with enthusiasm and knowledge. I saw moors in mist, tiny fishermen’s coves, mining ruins, and seaside towns and much more! It was absolutely fabulous and I’d recommend it without reservation.

Tom C

4 June 2026

Expert & excellent guide made the trip amazing. Barry @ Cornwall Discovery EXPERTLY and ELEGANTLY guided my parents through their first trip to Cornwall. He was quick with daily suggestions for destinations of interest, based on both my parents' desired itinerary AND cross-referenced with the day's weather... important in this part of the world! Barry is fully knowledgeable regarding the history of the region, and quick with a charming anecdote. In short, my parents LOVED having Barry as a tour guide and were utterly thrilled with their time in Cornwall. The rest of our family will likely join them on their next trip down!

guidothecat

14 May 2026

9 days with Barry Pengelly in Cornwall was not enough. He’s the Best guide we’ve had out of scores of them worldwide. My partner and I traveled with Barry for 9 days and are grateful to him for making our tour an extraordinary experience. He made Cornwall come alive with descriptions, stories, history, local culture and humor. We’ve read many of the wonderful reviews posted about Barry Pengelly and they articulately describe the many aspects of Barry’s style, knowledge, flexibility, adaptability, focus, cleverness, depth, ability to read people and their preferences and needs, and more. One thing I didn’t see in other reviews is Barry’s attention to safety. Great driver with a fine balance of assertiveness and caution. 9 days in Cornwall with Barry and we felt we only scratched the surface. We’ve traveled to 100 or so countries and have used scores of guides. We think Barry made our trip very special indeed. Go no further. Barry is the best. Dan and Caron from ME FL OH and airplanes.

Carrie W

13 May 2026

Guided week in Cornwall We had a wonderful week with Barry! He was the perfect guide for our first trip to Cornwall, sharing lots of great stories and taking us to so many places we never would have found on our own. (Not the least of which were the best places to get pasties…) He was always kind and patient with our 10,000 questions, rambling ideas of what we wanted to see and where we wanted to go, and all the shopping we decided to do along the way! To list all the places we went and things we saw with Barry's help would would take way too much space, but we loved it all. The van was always spotless, he was always on time, and we always knew he would get us safely where we needed to go. We're pretty sure he even arranged the perfect weather. :-) We were honestly so sad to have the week come to an end, and if there was a way to have him as our guide wherever we go next in the world, we’d do it in a heartbeat! At any rate, we would never, ever consider asking anyone else to be our guide in Cornwall, and can’t wait to go back. Thanks again for the most marvelous time, Barry!

Julie T

12 May 2026

Cornwall What an amazing day we had discovering Cornwall and the surrounding areas with an amazing tour guide. Mike was knowledgeable and went out of his way to accommodate all our requests and needs, personalising the tour specifically for us. A dream come true to visit all of the Doc Martin and Fishermans Friends locations. We also learnt so much of the history of the area. Couldn’t have asked for a better day🥰

See all our reviews on Tripadvisor, or take a look at our testimonials from around the world.

We spent a day traversing Cornwall, from Port Issac to Lands End, returning to New Quay with Barry and it was one of the best travel experiences we’ve ever had. Barry was cordial, informed and accommodating. He showed us lots of Poldark and Doc...

Cornish Hospitality and Expertise! Tom, New York

Porthcurno Beach, in Penwith, part of the West Cornwall guided tour

OUR FEATURED TOUR

Corners of Cornwall – Multi Day Tours

Private tours designed for our guests to see all the corners of Cornwall, including many hidden gems only known by “locals”. If you have more time to spend in this picturesque county, why not...

Fishing boats in Sennen Cove harbour, on the West Cornwall guided tour

An 18th century Cornish farmhouse in Penwith, part of the West Cornwall guided tour

Okay, thank you

This website uses cookies, to read our privacy policy please click here.