You can't talk about things to do in Newquay without starting here. Fistral is the UK's most celebrated surf beach — a mile-long stretch of west-facing sand that picks up every Atlantic swell, hosts international surf competitions, and looks extraordinary at low tide when the full width of the beach opens up.

Several surf schools operate directly from the beach (Escape Surf School and Fistral Beach Surf School are both good), so a lesson is easy to arrange even on the day. Non-surfers are perfectly happy here too: the beach is wide enough that there's plenty of room for swimming in the designated areas, building sandcastles, or just sitting on the sand watching people attempt to stand up on surfboards.

Watergate Bay is Fistral's bigger, less crowded sibling. At nearly 2 miles long, it rarely feels packed even in August, and the approach — a steep path down from the cliff-top car park with the whole bay opening up below you — is one of the great arrival moments in Cornwall.

The surf here is gentler than Fistral on smaller swell days, making it a good choice for beginners. Watergate Bay Hotel sits on the cliff above (the on-site restaurant, Zacry's, is worth a stop for lunch), and the beach itself has a good café at the bottom of the access path. If you can only visit one beach beyond Fistral, make it this one.

Towan is Newquay's most accessible beach — it sits below the town centre, there's a small island connected by a suspension bridge (with a private house on it, which adds to the oddness), and it's the best beach for families with young children because it's more sheltered than the surf beaches and has lifeguards throughout summer.

It's smaller than Fistral or Watergate, and it gets busy in peak season, but its central location makes it the default option for an evening swim or a quick morning dip before exploring the town.

Newquay's best-kept secret is a dramatic cove reached by a long staircase cut into the cliffs. Most visitors walk past the entrance on the coastal path without realising it's there. The cove is private (there's a small entry fee in season), which keeps it quieter than the town beaches — and the cliff amphitheatre setting is genuinely spectacular.

There's a good café and bar at beach level, and in summer they run evening events including live music. It's also one of Newquay's main coasteering and sea kayak launch spots.

Every major surf school in Newquay runs beginner lessons and the format is remarkably similar: an hour on the beach learning to pop up, then an hour in the water with instructors. The quality of instruction at the main schools (Escape, Fistral Beach Surf School, Newquay Surf Academy) is genuinely good — most complete beginners can stand up within the first session.

Book your surf lesson in advance during July and August — spaces fill up quickly. Outside peak season you can usually walk up and get on the same day.

Coasteering — scrambling along cliff faces, swimming through sea caves, and jumping into deep water — is one of those activities that sounds terrifying and turns out to be brilliant. Newquay's rocky headlands are perfect for it, and several operators run sessions from Lusty Glaze. No experience needed; all equipment provided.

On calmer days, exploring Newquay's coastline by paddleboard or kayak gives you a completely different perspective — the sea caves, rock arches, and cliff faces are far more impressive from water level than from the coastal path above. Several hire companies operate from the town beaches and Lusty Glaze.

The South West Coast Path passes directly through Newquay, and the stretch either side of town is among its finest. Heading north from the headland, you get clifftop views over Fistral and then the full sweep of Watergate Bay — a 3-mile walk that most reasonably fit people can manage and which rewards you with one of the best views in Cornwall at the northern end.

Heading south from Towan Beach, the path winds past Great Western Beach and down towards Crantock — quieter, more dramatic, and surprisingly untouched given how close it is to the town centre.

Crantock is the beach that Newquay locals go to when they want to escape the crowds. It's a 20-minute walk from town across the Gannel estuary (there's a seasonal ferry at high tide) or a short drive. The beach is wide, the dunes behind it are good for exploring, and the village of Crantock itself — a handful of thatched cottages and a 12th-century church — is worth ten minutes of your time.

At low tide you can walk across the Gannel and back along the south bank — a beautiful 4-mile circular route that most people in Newquay somehow never do.

Porth is a quieter beach about 2 miles north of town, notable for the dramatic island stack at its northern end that's connected to the mainland at low tide. The walk out to Porth Island and up to the summit (it's more of a scramble than a walk) takes about 15 minutes and gives you views back across Porth Beach and north towards Watergate Bay. Go at low tide.

The best restaurant in Newquay sits on the cliff above Fistral Beach with floor-to-ceiling windows and a menu built around the day's catch. The Fish House does what good Cornish seafood restaurants do well — keeps it simple, sources locally, and lets the quality of the ingredients do the work. The whole grilled sea bass and the crab linguine are both excellent.

Book well ahead in summer, especially for the window tables. The terrace is worth waiting for on a sunny evening.

The Watergate Bay Hotel's beach-level restaurant has a view that makes everything taste better — the full 2-mile sweep of the bay through massive windows, with surfers in the distance and the Atlantic filling the horizon. The food is good (wood-fired pizzas, grilled fish, solid salads) and the vibe is relaxed rather than stuffy. Works well for lunch after a beach walk.

Perched on the edge of Pentire Headland above the Gannel estuary, Lewinnick Lodge has one of the most dramatic pub locations in Cornwall. You're essentially sitting on a cliff with nothing between you and the Atlantic except some rather nice cocktails. The food is decent; the location is exceptional. Come for a drink and stay for sunset.

You cannot visit Newquay and not eat a proper Cornish pasty. The rules are simple: it should be crimped on the side (not the top), contain beef skirt, swede, potato, and onion, and ideally be eaten while standing up in a car park. Pengenna Pasties on Bank Street is the local favourite — their traditional pasty is as good as it gets.

The Blue Reef Aquarium sits right on the harbourfront and is one of the better small aquariums in the UK — strong on local Cornish species (sharks, rays, sea horses), with good walk-through ocean tunnel sections and daily feeding talks. Not huge, but well done, and excellent for young children. Book online for the usual significant discount over the door price.

Set within the Trenance Leisure Park gardens, Newquay Zoo is compact but good — meerkats, red pandas, lemurs, and various exotic species in reasonably sized enclosures. Combine it with a walk through the Trenance Boating Lake gardens and the whole afternoon is sorted. The zoo also does keeper-for-a-day experiences if you want to book something special.

The park surrounding the zoo contains formal gardens, a boating lake with rowing boats for hire, a pitch-and-putt course, and a heritage railway. Entry to the park is free; individual attractions are reasonably priced. If you're planning the aquarium and zoo on the same trip, check for multi-attraction tickets to save money.