Start from 39 curated places around Newquay, GB, then choose the recommendations that fit your guests.
Restaurants & cafés
The Fish House Fistral
A small seafood spot just above Fistral Beach run by a chef who spent years with Rick Stein, cooking locally landed fish and shellfish straight from Newquay Harbour. Rustic, simple plates with the Atlantic in front of you; it tends to top the town's restaurant lists.
Ugly Butterfly by Adam Handling
Adam Handling's Michelin-starred dining room inside the Headland Hotel, looking out over Fistral, with a sustainability-driven modern British menu of tasting and a la carte. This is the destination dinner in town when you want an occasion.
Trails & outdoors
Towan Head
The short, flat clifftop walk out to the tip of Towan Head from the harbour, taking in the Huer's Hut and wide views over Fistral and the bay. The easy in-town leg-stretch when you do not want a full hike.
Trevelgue Head
A small Iron Age promontory fort at Porth, just north of town, with a near-360-degree viewpoint between Porth Beach and Watergate. A quick, easy headland walk that packs in archaeology and big coast views.
Things to do
Blue Reef Aquarium
A compact aquarium on Towan Promenade built around a 250,000-litre tropical tank with a walk-through tunnel, reef sharks, an octopus and a rescued loggerhead turtle. A solid rainy-day hour, especially with younger kids, with regular talks and feeds.
Newquay Zoo
Cornwall's largest zoo, set in 13 acres of sub-tropical gardens in the Trenance valley, with a conservation focus and species from red pandas and lemurs to penguins. The right size for younger children to walk round in a morning, with keeper talks through the day.
Landmarks & sights
Fistral Beach
The wide Atlantic-facing beach that made Newquay Britain's surf capital, backed by dunes between Towan Head and Pentire. North Fistral draws the experienced surfers and the Boardmasters crowd; the southern end is calmer for swimming and watching the lineup.
Towan Beach
Newquay's most sheltered town beach, tucked beside the harbour with The Island and its private house perched on a rock out front, reached by a footbridge. The harbour wall shelters it, so the water is calmer here than the surf beaches, which makes it the family pick.