Pembrokeshire’s coastal buses run for part of the year, and every plan you make with them hangs on the season. The summer network that links St Davids, the Strumble coast, the Marloes peninsula and the Stackpole cliffs runs from 23 May to 27 September 2026. When it stops, most of it stays stopped until the following spring. This guide covers what runs now, what replaced the services old guidebooks still list, and how to use a bus to walk a stretch of the Coast Path in one direction rather than out and back.
Four summer services carry walkers along the coast. The 400 Puffin Shuttle runs from St Davids to Marloes and Martin’s Haven. The 404 Strumble Shuttle links Fishguard and St Davids through Strumble Head and the Porthgain coast. The 403 Celtic Coaster loops around the St Davids peninsula, and the 387/388 Coastal Cruiser covers the Angle and Stackpole corner in the south. All four run daily through the season, which in 2026 runs 23 May to 27 September. Their stated purpose is walkers: the council describes them as a way to ride out and walk back in your own time. The 400 and 404 are provided by Pembrokeshire County Council with contributions from the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority, and operated by Richards Brothers on 01239 613756.
After 27 September only the 387/388 keeps going, on a reduced timetable from 1 October 2026 to 28 May 2027. Download the timetables from the council’s coastal-bus page rather than trusting a search result, because several travel sites still list services that no longer exist. The year-round trains and town routes that feed these buses sit in the without a car guide.
The Puffin Shuttle is the bus for the Marloes peninsula and the Skomer boats. It runs daily, three journeys each way. Leaving St Davids New Street at 08:40, 12:40 and 16:40, it calls at Solva, Newgale, Nolton Haven, Druidston Haven, Broad Haven, Little Haven and St Bride’s, then reaches Marloes at 10:05, 14:05 and 18:05 and Martin’s Haven car park five minutes later. Martin’s Haven is where the Skomer and Skokholm boat trips leave from, so the shuttle is the practical way to reach the islands without a car; those boats are covered in the islands guide. The beaches the shuttle passes — Newgale, Broad Haven, Marloes — are covered in the beaches guide. The return leaves Marloes at 10:15, 14:15 and 18:15. In the countryside the service is hail and ride: stand by the road and flag it down, no stop needed.
The Strumble Shuttle covers the north-west corner between Fishguard and St Davids, daily, three journeys each way. From Fishguard’s Ffordd yr Efail stop it leaves at 07:35, 11:10 and 16:00, calling at Goodwick, Strumble Head, St Nicholas, Tregwynt, Mathry, Abercastle, Trefin, Llanrhian, Porthgain (the Sloop Inn stop) and Abereiddi before St Davids New Street at 08:43, 12:48 and 17:38. The return from St Davids leaves Caerfai Road at 09:05, 13:45 and 17:45, reaching Fishguard at 10:50, 15:30 and 19:30. This is the service for the Porthgain harbour and the Abereiddi coast.
The Celtic Coaster loops around the St Davids peninsula roughly every half hour, daily. It serves St Non’s, Porthclais Harbour, St Justinian car park — where the Ramsey Island boats leave — the Cathedral, Nun Street and Whitesands Beach. The first departure is 08:25 from Nun Street. Extra mid-day departures apply from 23 to 31 May and 1 July to 31 August only. The city behind the route is in the St Davids piece.
The Coastal Cruiser works the south. It runs daily from Pembroke Dock Rail Station at 10:25 and 12:50, through Pembroke Town Hall, Hundleton, West Angle Bay, Angle, Freshwater West, Castlemartin, Bosherston, Stackpole, Stackpole Quay, Freshwater East and Lamphey. On Saturdays and Sundays it also serves Stack Rocks and St Govan’s Head. One note in the timetable matters for August: because the MOD are inactive that month, service 387 operates a weekend timetable daily, so the Stack Rocks and St Govan’s stops run every day.
The Poppit Rocket has gone. The council page says plainly that the 315, 360, 361 and 405 services have been replaced with Fflecsi Pembrokeshire, a bookable, zone-based bus running 7.30am to 6.30pm Monday to Saturday. Book it through the Fflecsi app or by phone on 0300 234 0300 (Monday to Saturday 7am to 7pm, Sunday 9am to 6pm). The fixed 408 still runs between Cardigan, St Dogmaels and Poppit Sands, Monday to Saturday, operated by Richards Bros. Do not stand at a Poppit stop expecting a numbered rocket; book Fflecsi or catch the 408.
The council’s own method is the simplest: “you catch a bus out to the start of your walk and you can then walk back in your own time without the worry of having to catch the bus at a set time.” Bus out, walk back. Leave the car at the finish, or walk towards your lodging. Because the shuttles run only three times a day, the outward leg is the one to timetable; the walk back has no deadline. Drivers will help with where to get off for a walk. The routes themselves are in the day sections and walks guides.
On the Puffin, catch the 08:40 from St Davids to Martin’s Haven for 10:10, walk the Marloes headland looking out towards Skomer, and pick up the return at Marloes at 14:15 or 18:15. On the Strumble, take the 11:10 from Fishguard, get off at Porthgain, walk the coast to Abereiddi, and catch the 18:06 back to St Davids. On the Cruiser, take the 10:25 from Pembroke Dock to Stackpole Quay, walk the coast round to Bosherston, and meet the return through the village — the timetable on the council page carries both directions. Each works because the outward bus is the only leg with a timetable.
The coastal buses are registered local services, and fares vary by route. The council’s advice is to ring the bus operator directly rather than rely on a published figure — Richards Brothers on 01239 613756. Some travel sites quote fixed single and return fares as if they were stable; they are not. All Wales Bus Pass holders travel free. The West Wales Rover is Adult £9.00, Child £4.75, Adult Weekly £36.00 and Child Weekly £17.00. The Wales Flexi Pass is accepted on all the coastal buses.
Dogs are welcome at the driver’s discretion, provided they are clean, kept on a lead and sit on the floor. Only fold-up bikes are carried; the council says the buses cannot take non-fold-up bikes under current legislation. On the trains it is two bikes on Transport for Wales and six on First Great Western. Groups of eight or more should contact the operator in advance during office hours.
The summer network ends on 27 September 2026. From 1 October 2026 to 28 May 2027 only the Coastal Cruiser runs, Thursdays and Saturdays only. The Puffin, the Strumble and the Coaster are summer services. If your visit falls after the season, your linear Coast Path days shrink to whatever the Cruiser’s winter timetable allows, or they wait until May.
Timetables for all four services can be downloaded from the council’s coastal-bus page, or a printed leaflet can be requested by emailing [email protected]. That page is also where anything that changes gets announced, and these services change at the season boundary every year. Richards Brothers, the operator, is at Molygrove Garage, Pentood Enterprise Park, Cardigan SA43 3AG, and on [email protected]. Read the timetable for the day you are travelling, not the one you remember from last summer.