Tips for visiting Skomer Island, Wales

Skomer is a magical island. Ravens call from lichen-clad rocks, choughs glide along the cliff edges, kittiwakes cry from their ledges and, of course, ground-nesting puffins wander around your feet.

If you get a landing ticket for Skomer, there are five hours between your outward and homeward boats. Here are my tips for making the most of your time in this incredible place.

1. Enjoy every moment

Take in the sights, sounds and smells of this beautiful place. The views are incredible and the puffins closer than you can believe, but don't spend the whole time looking through a viewfinder or at a phone screen. Memories of immersing yourself in the experience are even more special than photographs.

2. Book two trips

I'm only half joking. You won't feel dissatisfied with one - I did one, and have memories and photos I'll cherish forever. That said, Skomer is a big island. According to the guidebook, the island loop is around 4 miles, taking approximately 2.5-3 hours, but it feels a lot further and certainly takes longer. My stopping time for looking at birds and views was reasonably conservative (by my standards), and I still spent just over 4 of my 5 hours walking the perimeter loop of the island (the rest was spent standing still marvelling at the puffins). There were parts of the interior paths of the island that I didn't get chance to see.

In a way, it's nice to have the experience bundled in one amazing day - perhaps not going back makes it even more special.

If you really want to have a slow experience of the island, or want to dedicate a high proportion of your time there to photography, it's worth seeing if you can get two tickets (if you can afford it). The puffins, so often the intended subject of visiting photographers, are concentrated around the Landing and the Wick, but it would be a crying shame to miss walking the perimeter loop.

3. Pack light

When offered the opportunity to see seabirds in such close quarters, and in such an amazing location, it's tempting to pack all the camera equipment you own. Together with the fact that you're reminded several times during booking that there's no cafe on the island, and the fact that (particularly if you live far away) you're unlikely to be able to get back to Skomer for a few years (if at all), you can end up packing a very heavy bag.

Unless weight doesn't bother you, resist the urge to pack the kitchen sink. Skomer is a reasonably big island and if you choose to walk the paths during your visit you'll be standing for most of your time there. There are very few benches once you get away from the landing and picnic areas, and you can't sit on the floor due to the risk of collapsing burrows.

A puffin shouting on Skomer

3. Cover up

Skomer is an exposed island; there's little shade. There are also few stopping places on most of the route around the island, especially if reapplying suncream means shedding camera harnesses, backpacks and binoculars. You can stop on the path (as long as you don't put your bag or anything else off the edges of the path), but it's best to cover your back and shoulders.

4. Check your equipment before you go

There's no need to pile pressure on the trip - it's an incredible experience, and you'll have a great time no matter what.

I realised my binoculars were broken while waiting for the boat to Skomer, and when we arrived at the island somebody was unable to take photos because their camera was failing to communicate with the lens.

Neither of these things mattered - you can rent binoculars, and you'll never forget what you see on Skomer even if you can't take a single photo. But check your equipment before you leave, if only to avoid upsetting or distracting problems when you arrive.

If something goes wrong, don't let it affect your experience. Skomer is fantastic even without binoculars or cameras.

5. Appreciate the landscape views

Skomer visits are puffin-focused because the island offers such a rare opportunity to see these small, colourful birds up close, but don't neglect the incredible views on the way. Dramatic coastlines, nearby islands, and deep blue sea make for fantastic scenes.

Look inland, too. The island feels like an alien landscape, the burrows of 40,000 puffins and 700,000 manx shearwaters make the ground look like it's bubbling.

6. Look at the plants and lichen

Skomer has some incredible lichen-clad rocks and beautiful wildflowers. Don't miss them as you make your way around the island.

7. Don't get puffin tunnel vision

The experience with puffins on Skomer is unlike anything I've ever experienced, but don't neglect the curlews, ravens, coughs, fulmars, kittiwakes, gulls, seals, butterflies, and other wildlife that call Skomer home. A race around the island focusing solely on puffins would be a disservice.

A curlew on Skomer

8. Grasp the opportunity to watch puffin behaviour

When you are watching the puffins, spend some time focusing on a few individuals and watch their behaviour. They have low, mooing growls entirely at odds with their charming face. After they land, they stand uncertainly, like a high jumper who can't believe they just cleared the bar. You'll hear their soft pitter patter steps as they scuttle around, their whispering beak taps and loud flapping. You might see them collecting bedding material or bringing back sand eels and fish for pufflings.

Beak tapping puffins on Skomer

9. Don't forget about manx shearwaters

700,000 manx shearwaters nest in burrows on the island, and when they have chicks there could be a million of these birds. During the day, they'll either be in their burrows or out fishing, only leaving or returning under the cover of darkness.

You'll see some manx shearwater remains along the path - fascinating to look at - but when you're looking over the undulating burrows take a moment to think of the hundreds of thousands of sleepy shearwaters below ground.

A footpath on Skomer

When on Skomer, it is imperative that you stay on the path. A foot, bag, or tripod leg even a few centimetres off the path can collapse a burrow, trapping or even killing an adult or chick inside. Sadly, I saw someone walking off the path, burrows collapsing beneath his feet as the volunteer warden called him back and other visitors looked on in horror. I also saw more respectful people step off the path to get out of the way or put their backpack off the path on top of a burrow. Stay in the middle of the path and don't leave it for any reason.

Enjoy your visit!