Helford River Cruises
Helford River Cruises
5
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Monday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
About
One and half cruise along the Helford River and creeks including Daphne du Maurier's inspiration Frenchman's Creek.Launching from the Budock Vean Hotel foreshore, after a lovely stroll through award winning gardens. Comfy seats, the Hannah Molly seats up to 12 people. Private Charters are available. Cruises daily, times will vary due to tides. Please contact us for cruise times. The Koru Cafe is open 11am-4pm Monday to Friday at the foreshore serving up Lavazza coffee, Roskillys ice cream, pastries, croissants, pastries, hot and cold drinks and snacks. Pre order a pasty (meat or vegan) or Koru Picnic by 5pm the day before.
Mawnan Smith, Cornwall, England

Awards
Travelers' Choice
2023

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Travelers talk about
(34 reviews)

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

5.0
5.0 of 5 bubbles332 reviews
Excellent
312
Very good
17
Average
3
Poor
0
Terrible
0

susanwC8764TK
Cornwall, UK16 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2020 • Couples
Highly recommend this trip.
Firstly, our guide Hetti was lovely! Usually dogs are not allowed onboard, but our assistance dog in training was warmly welcomed. I was with my adult daughter who is autistic and Hetti did everything in her power to make her comfortable. We boarded first and my daughter was encouraged to sit wherever she felt most comfortable. Hetti also spoke directly to her instead of speaking to me. This was very much appreciated by my daughter as she is an intelligent adult and it’s very patronising when people speak to me on her behalf, so thank you for that Hetti!

We had a lovely time on the water and Hetti gave us lots of interesting information about the landmarks and sights as we came across them. She also pointed out local wildlife which we would of probably missed had she not shown us.

A very enjoyable trip that I would recommend to everyone and that was down to Hetti
Written September 5, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Ang K
Gloucester, UK8 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2020 • Friends
A great 90 minute tour by skipper Roger around the creeks of the Helford River, which launched from Budock Vean Hotel Quay at Mawnan Smith. Roger was informative as well as fun and told us numerous stories and history of the houses along the different creeks. The weather was kind to us and it was a pleasant way to spend the time on a boat leisurely sailing the river. We finished our tour with afternoon tea at the Budock Vean Hotel which again was extremely nice. We thoroughly enjoyed this tour and can recommend to anyone.
Written September 12, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Clive Vanstone
1 contribution
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2020
My husband arranged this trip for my Birthday. We were both delighted with the experience. 'Roger' our 'Captain of the ship' was so pleasant and informative about all the flora and fauna. We were really lucky with the weather and were 'blessed' with a rainbow appearing in the sky for a large part of the entire trip. We would thoroughly recommend this beautiful river experience.
Written October 19, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Ruth P
Helston, UK8 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2020
A very enjoyable and informative boat trip on the Helford River which lasted 90+ minutes for a very reasonable price. There were only 6 of us in the boat so it felt like a VIP cruise. Beautiful scenery and it was lovely and quiet when the engine was switched off to enjoy. Tom, our guide, was full of interesting facts about the area and very knowledgeable about the wildlife. We saw plenty of birds including an Osprey, and some lovely houses and villages. Would thoroughly recommend this trip.
Written September 10, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

EricaGale22
Minehead, UK24 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2020
What a relaxed, enjoyable and informative time we had on the water with Roger as our boatman and guide. I loved how, several times, he lined up the boat to a particular background and then showed us an old photograph of the exact same view while telling us a story behind it. He is so knowledgeable about the whole area and what's going on, and clearly loves sharing his anecdotes and facts about geology, history and more.
Written September 30, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Sb50
Exmouth, UK165 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2021 • Family
There were 8 of us for an evening cruise to celebrate a birthday. It was flat calm and we cruised from the pick up point at Budock Vean hotel to Helford Passage then upto Frenchman’s Creek and finally Port Navas. Roger was the perfect skipper taking his time to tell us about the Helford River and many of the interesting houses and sights along the way. We took our own refreshments and had the most enjoyable 1.5 hours. There was plenty of room for 8 of us. I would highly recommend this trip if you are in the area. It is dependent upon the state of the tides so you may need to plan your day accordingly.
Written May 31, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Massimo P
Berkhamsted, UK61 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2022
My wife and I just had a break in St Ives. We hadn't planned a river cruise but some guests at our hotel recommended Helford River Cruises so we took a punt. Looking at the boat from a distance was slightly offputting but later we discovered that it did an excellent job. And we were very pleased with our choice, all thanks to Roger who was extremely generous with information and even treated with a glass of Prosecco to celebrate two Italian guests on the boat. A very enjoyable 90 minutes, thoroughly recommended!
Written August 1, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Katherine J
9 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2022
The Helford River cruise was a revelation. Limited to a maximum of 10 people on a very small river boat, it is both personal, friendly and very informative. We were met at the jetty by Roger, and made very welcome. There is so much to see, and his explanations and historical knowledge of the river's history were fascinating. He is really well informed and very entertaining! We had a great 90 minutes, including cruising to Frenchman's Creek, and would highly recommend this excursion. We had lunch at the Budock Vean Hotel first and enjoyed the walk both ways through their beautiful grounds. A word of warning - it is quite steep in places for anyone with mobility issues, so check out the approach from the hotel.
Otherwise a wonderful excursion.
Written April 26, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

mumssecret
Borobudur, Indonesia15 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2022 • Family
It was a great trip in a beautiful part of the country. All three generations in our party enjoyed it and our host Roger was, as always, knowledgeable, sociable and entertaining. This trip is becoming an annual event for us with whichever visitors we have staying, and everyone always enjoys it.
Written September 3, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Mary
Dorking, UK19 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2020 • Couples
We had a fantastic tour around the creeks with Tom, who provided lots of interesting info about the history of the area. We saw some interesting wildlife, including herons and an osprey, and generally just had a lovely time. Afterwards we had lunch at the Shipwrights in Helford as recommended by Tom, which was a great shout. I would thoroughly recommend this tour - and they also do kayak tours, which look fun.
Written September 9, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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Helford River Cruises - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)