Where to vacation in Cornwall?

Hubby and I have made the decision that the trip home to the States is out this year (believe me I still get teary thinking about it) so we decided to stay in the UK and try to find somewhere here to vacation (yep I still say vacation and probably always will) so my question is where is the best place to stay in Cornwall and what are some things that are on your "must do" list for Cornwall?

I've been to Cornwall a bunch of times.  It depends on your interests I guess, but I've been to the same area every time because I'm passionate about standing stones, stone circles, ancient holy wells and the like.  The West Penwith area (surrounding Penzance) has many of them which were accessible by walking and by bus (I don't drive).

Mostly I stayed in the YHA hostel in Penzance which was very nice and the YHA hostel in St. Just, which I practically had the whole place to myself.

I imagine you guys will want to stay in B&B's over hostels.  I stayed in 2 B&B's in St. Buryan just outside of Penzance.  The first was in an old farm house and was self-catering, the second was in a big house on a farm.  I can do a little research and get back to you on the exact places. 

Minack Theatre
Cotehele
Bodmin Moors Park (wild ponies, etc)
Plymouth docks
Bude (in my opinion, the easiest beach to park and walk to)
Tintagel
St Austells
Michaels Mount
not sure if you are interested in this, but there is a nice zoo in Torquay (or Torbay- can't remember) a nice walk through and at the end of the zoo, you are basically at the beach.
Tavistock- a very nice market town

Cool thanks, keep them coming.

I got to Cornwall a lot and will be moving there soon! (I'm heading to west Penwith, Andee - and I have to agree that it's the best part of the county!)

Here's my list of just a few of my favourite things to do in Cornwall:

See the Tate Modern in St. Ives

While in St. Ives, have lunch at the Porthminster Beach Cafe - and make sure you sit outside on the deck overlooking the beach

Go to the Eden Project (near St. Austell)

Splash out for a meal at either Rick Stein's restaurant in Padstow or Jamie Oliver's in Newquay (if you don't want to spend that kind of money, Rick Stein's fish & chip place in Padstow is incredible!)

Wander around the harbour in Padstow

Go to the Seal Sanctuary in Gweek

Have a pasty from Philp's in Hayle

Spend a day browsing the shops in Fowey (and make sure you have lunch at Sam's for some great seafood or a giant American-ish burger)

Go to the beach either at Porthkidney Sands or Gwithian (both near Hayle)

Visit some of Cornwall's amazing gardents: The Lost Gardens of Heligan or Trebah (my favourite)

Hire bikes and cycle the Camel Trail

not sure if you are interested in this, but there is a nice zoo in Torquay (or Torbay- can't remember) a nice walk through and at the end of the zoo, you are basically at the beach.
Tavistock- a very nice market town

Torquay is South Devon.  Wonder if you mean the little zoo at Newquay? The lions used to keep my other half awake at night as a boy so it's definitely an "in town" zoo.

I second, third and forth the Minack Theatre. Depending on what time of year you plan on going, you may be able to score tickets to a performance if you wish.

Here are a couple of photos we took on our visit in 2005.

I never did get to visit the Newquay zoo when we lived there.  It was the Paignton Zoo that I was referring to- I just remember visiting it with a 3 and 1 yr old and thinking how perfect it was for that age group especially.  (Sorry if that's not much help for you, OP)

I've stayed in St. Ives and LOVED IT.  It's such a cute town full of charm, but also full & busy enough to stay amused.  The beach/coastal paths are beautiful and the town is literally right on the ocean.  I can't recommend St. Ives enough as a great central point to stay in Cornwall.  From there you can easily reach Lands' End, St Austell, Penzance, St Michael's Mount and more.  It's even possible to do all those places from St. Ives by bus, but you'll have to plan carefully and go after April (I recommend...we went in March when the buses operate a 'low season' schedule, meaning sometimes they only come twice a day to some locations!!).

I can recommend the specific B&B we stayed in if you're looking for that sort of thing.  It had very reasonable rates and rooms with picturesque sea views!!

I'm sure you can tell I'm dying to go back and visit Cornwall...absolutely adored the place.

If you like wandering around scenic villages, some of my favourites are Megavissey, Marazion, Porthleven (stop in at The Ship Inn, a gorgeous old pub) and Mousehole. But the best of all is Charlestown (near St. Austell), a gorgeous Georgian village usually with a couple of tall ships in the harbour.

Another spot I love is Botallack, with its old tin mine ruins. If the weather's good, it's always a great spot for a walk and a picnic.

We stayed at the Driftwood Spars in St Agnes, excellent food and music!  We also had a nice view from the room.  We were dummies, though.. we couldn't get into the Minack Theatre, it was fully booked with tours/performances.  Check ahead of time! 

If you check my facebook albums, look at the one labeled 'Cornwall'.  We were there for the Steam Fair, just ignore all the pics of engines if that's not your thing.. but lots of other pics are there.

I went to the steam fair this year!  Though I thought it was a bit pants for the price, it was kind of amusing.  And there was a good waltzer!

I loved St Agnes...my boyfriend's Uncle lives just round the back of where the fair is held, and we will definitely be going back soon.  I also recommend Truro as a nice place to hang out, go on boat trips, eat etc.

Truro is quite a good place to make as a base for day trip to elsewhere in the county, as the bus/boat links are pretty good.

Vicky

If you're a hiker/walker, the South West Coastal Path is fabulous! You can pick up an OS map anywhere and plan a nice walk.

My husband and I walked from Land's End to Lulworth Cove one summer (!) and it was amazing.

If you like wandering around scenic villages, some of my favourites are Megavissey, Marazion, Porthleven (stop in at The Ship Inn, a gorgeous old pub) and Mousehole. But the best of all is Charlestown (near St. Austell), a gorgeous Georgian village usually with a couple of tall ships in the harbour.

 

Yes, yes, and yes! I loved all these places, Chary! We celebrated our first wedding anniversary in Charlestown (stayed at the hotel there by the harbour).

Let me know if you want to see some gorgeous pics of these places (hubby is a photographer).

I lived in Newquay for a year and in the summer it was so lovely. The beaches were amazing, but the town itself? Ehh -- and it gets really really crowded.

I back the recommendation of the Eden Project and the area around St. Austell, St. Ives and Penzence to be lovely.