Marinas in Cardiff Bay: Getting There, Harbour Information and Sailing Destinations

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Cardiff Bay is the bay in front of the Welsh capital, Cardiff, on the Bristol Channel. Since the Cardiff Bay Barrage was built, it has been a tideless freshwater lake that yachts enter through a lock, and Penarth Marina and two yacht clubs lie along its shores. Here you can read how to get to the start of your trip in Cardiff Bay, where each marina is, where to park and shop, how the lock works, what the sailing weather is like and which sailing destinations are nearby, plus information for skippers.

Which marinas are there in Cardiff Bay?

Yachts berth at three places in Cardiff Bay: at Penarth Marina at the south end of the bay, right next to the barrage locks; at Cardiff Bay Yacht Club just next door on the peninsula by the River Ely; and at Cardiff Yacht Club further north on the Hamadryad peninsula.

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Feature	Penarth Marina	Cardiff Bay Yacht Club	Cardiff Yacht Club
Location	Penarth Docks, at the barrage locks	Peninsula by the River Ely, Ferry Road	Hamadryad Peninsula, Windsor Esplanade
Operator	Marina with staff on site around the clock	Yacht club	Yacht club
Visitor berths	yes, from £4 per metre per night	at the breakwater pontoon	by prior arrangement only
VHF channel	80	37	–
Fuel station	Petrol and diesel, daily 9am to 5pm	–	–
Technology	Boat hoist up to 20 tonnes, crane up to 1 tonne	Boatyard services	Boat hoist and telehandler
Phone	+44 29 2070 5021	+44 29 2066 6627	+44 29 2046 3697

Arriving for the start of your sailing trip in Cardiff Bay

Cardiff has its own airport, a mainline railway station and a railway line that runs right down to the bay.

From Cardiff Airport to the bay

Cardiff Airport is in the Vale of Glamorgan, about 13 miles west of the city. A bus runs from the terminal to Rhoose Cardiff International Airport station, as long as trains are running there. Trains towards Cardiff leave from platform 1. You can hire a car directly at the airport.

By car, train, bus or ferry

By train, Cardiff is less than two hours from London, with services every 30 minutes to Cardiff Central in the city centre. From the other main station, Cardiff Queen Street, a train runs regularly to Cardiff Bay station on Lloyd George Avenue. By bus, you can reach the bay on the Baycar 6 line from the centre to the Wales Millennium Centre stop next to Mermaid Quay. On foot, it takes around 30 minutes from the city centre.

To get to Penarth Marina, take the train: during the day, trains run between Penarth and Cardiff Central every 30 minutes. The nearest station is Cogan, by the Tesco supermarket, and from there it is a walk of around 15 minutes to the marina; it can also be reached on foot from Penarth station. By car, it is around 7 miles from junction 33 of the M4 motorway to the marina, and around 3.8 miles to Cardiff city centre.

By ferry, you can travel from Rosslare in Ireland to Fishguard or Pembroke in West Wales, and from there continue to Cardiff by train or car.

Which marina is where?

The addresses: Penarth Marina (CF64 1TQ), Cardiff Bay Yacht Club, Ferry Road (CF11 0JL), Cardiff Yacht Club, Windsor Esplanade (CF10 5BG). It is around 500 metres from the Penarth Marina office to Cardiff Bay Yacht Club, and around one kilometre from Cardiff Yacht Club to Mermaid Quay.

Parking in Penarth and Cardiff Bay

Penarth Marina has three car parks: at the edge of the outer basin, opposite the main gate to the inner basin, and at the south-western end of the inner basin. Visitors park there with a pay-and-display ticket. Another car park, Northcliffe, is around 250 metres from the marina. Cardiff Yacht Club has a large club car park.

There are plenty of car parks on the Cardiff side of the bay. There is a pay-and-display car park right by Mermaid Quay, and more on Bute Place and Pierhead Street, around 250 metres away.

Shopping for the trip

From Penarth Marina, Tesco is around 1 kilometre away and Morrisons around 1.2 kilometres. For a big shop by car, Asda is about 1.5 kilometres away; all distances are as the crow flies.

On the Cardiff side, a Co-op food store is around 500 metres from Mermaid Quay, and the Cardiff Food Centre around 600 metres.

Doctor, pharmacy and emergency services

Two pharmacies, Boots and Pearn’s Pharmacy, are in the centre of Penarth, around 800 metres from the marina. The nearest GP surgery, Redlands Surgery, is around 1.7 kilometres away. Llandough Hospital is around 2.3 kilometres away.

Healthwise Pharmacy is around 250 metres from Mermaid Quay, the nearest GP surgery, Grangetown Health Centre, is around 1.3 kilometres away, and Cardiff Royal Infirmary is around 2.5 kilometres away.

• 999: emergency number, also for the fire brigade and coastguard
• If your life is in danger on the water: contact the coastguard on VHF channel 16
• Incidents in the bay that are not life-threatening: Barrage Control on VHF channel 18 or on +44 29 2070 0234

Where is Penarth Marina?

Penarth Marina lies in the historic basins of Penarth Docks at the southern end of Cardiff Bay. If you enter through the Barrage locks, the marina entrance is immediately to port. Beyond the marina lock are the outer basin with pontoons A and B and, past Town Quay, the inner basin with pontoons C to J.

The water level in the marina is normally the same as in the bay, so you can usually go straight through the marina lock on a green light. Staff are on hand around the clock. A visitor berth on the pontoon costs £4 per metre per night or £24 per metre per week, and a short stay of up to four hours is a flat £15, all year round (as of November 2026).

Facilities at Penarth Marina

The visitor berths have all connections. There are toilets, showers and a launderette, a restaurant with a café and free Wi-Fi; you can get the access code from the marina office. The fuel pontoon sells petrol and diesel daily from 9 am to 5 pm, and the office at the lock sells gas bottles. The boatyard lifts boats of up to 20 tonnes and 5 metres beam and can step masts. There are also floating hotel rooms on site.

Where is the Cardiff Bay Yacht Club?

The Cardiff Bay Yacht Club is on Ferry Road, on the peninsula by the River Ely, right next to Penarth Marina. Its facilities are open to members and guests. Visiting yachts moor at the breakwater pontoon, the easternmost pontoon of the club marina.

Facilities at the Cardiff Bay Yacht Club

The club has a bar with a restaurant, offers courses on keelboats and motorboats, and provides mooring buoys as well as pontoon berths.

Where is the Cardiff Yacht Club?

The Cardiff Yacht Club is on Windsor Esplanade on the Hamadryad peninsula, with views over the wetland on the shore, the bay and the Bristol Channel. Founded in 1900, the club has around 300 yachts and motorboats permanently berthed at its pontoons. Its facilities are intended for members and for sailors affiliated through the RYA, the British sailing association, and only by prior arrangement.

Facilities at the Cardiff Yacht Club

The club includes a boatyard with a boat hoist and a telehandler. The clubhouse has two bars, a kitchen, Wi-Fi, toilets and showers.

For short visits, the harbour authority also operates visitor pontoons at Roald Dahl Plass in front of Mermaid Quay and in the Graving Docks, without electricity or water, for a maximum of 24 hours. The first two hours cost £2, and each additional hour £1 (as of November 2026). Cardiff Marina also offers visitor berths for longer stays.

How does the Cardiff Bay Barrage lock work?

The Barrage is a dam 1.1 kilometres long between the docks of Cardiff to the north and Penarth to the south. It keeps the tides of the Bristol Channel out of the bay, and its three locks connect the bay with the Severn Estuary. Each lock is 40 metres long; two are 8 metres wide and one is 10.5 metres. A chamber holds up to ten boats of average size.

Passage takes 5 to 20 minutes, depending on the tide. Because the tidal range outside is large, the gates are up to 16 metres high. Boats leave on the hour and the half hour, and come in at quarter past and quarter to. The control room is staffed around the clock.

Boats with a draught of less than 2 metres can normally get in and out at any state of the tide. If the outer harbour silts up, access may be restricted. If the Rivers Taff and Ely are running low, the harbour authority has to maintain the water level of the bay and locks less often, often at short notice and most likely around high water; this is announced on VHF.

What is the weather like for sailing in Cardiff Bay?

Wales is one of the windier parts of Britain, and the coasts open to the northwest through to south get the most wind. The strongest winds come with deep low-pressure systems, which are most frequent and most powerful from November to February. When a low passes through, the wind usually veers from south or southwest to west or northwest. Over the year, southwesterlies prevail, and in spring northerly to northeasterly winds are common.

The tidal range in the Bristol Channel is large, but you will notice nothing of it in the bay behind the Barrage. In its coastal waters forecast, the Met Office highlights wind from force 6 and issues gale warnings from force 8.

Where can you go from Cardiff Bay?

From Cardiff Bay you can sail to harbours on both shores of the Bristol Channel and to its islands. The distances are rounded figures over water on the usual course; for precise planning, rely on the chart.

• Swansea: The second-largest city in Wales lies to the west along the Welsh coast and has a marina close to the city centre.
• Ilfracombe: The harbour on the south side of the Bristol Channel is around 40 nautical miles away. It dries out at low water; the inner harbour is accessible two to three hours either side of high water, and the outer harbour except at low water springs.
• Lundy: The largest island in the Bristol Channel lies around 60 nautical miles away, off the coast of North Devon. The main anchorage is in the bay on the southeast side and gives shelter in westerly and southwesterly winds.
• Milford Haven: This large natural deep-water harbour on the Pembrokeshire coast is around 84 nautical miles away and offers many anchorages, for example at Dale at the western end. It is a good starting point for longer sailing trips to Ireland.
• Flat Holm: This small island in the Bristol Channel is a nature reserve with seabird colonies, Victorian barracks and wartime bunkers.

You can read more about berths in Ireland in our profile of the harbours in Cork. If you want to sail further on to the English south coast, read our profile of the Harbours in Cowes more about the berths on the Isle of Wight.

What can you do ashore in Cardiff Bay?

For a day in port, almost everything is right by the water, and the circular route around the bay is about 10 kilometres long.

• Cardiff Bay Barrage: The barrage right in front of Penarth Marina is flat and step-free, ideal for a stroll with views across the bay and the Severn Estuary.
• Wales Millennium Centre: The national home of the performing arts stages musicals, opera, ballet, circus and dance, and many performances are free.
• Mermaid Quay: On the waterfront next to the Wales Millennium Centre you will find restaurants, bars and cafés, and the water bus to the city centre departs from here.
• Penarth Pier and Esplanade: From the seafront promenade in Penarth you look out across the Bristol Channel to Flat Holm and Steep Holm. The pavilion on the pier has a café and a cultural programme.

For skippers: berthing and sea weather in Cardiff Bay

Off Cardiff, keep a listening watch on VHF channel 68, the South Wales Radio channel for Cardiff harbour. For the lock, call Barrage Control on channel 18. In the bay, monitor channels 16 and 18; for ship-to-ship calls use channel 8, 72 or 77.

Locks and reporting in

On the final stretch to the outer harbour, call Barrage Control on channel 18. They will tell you which lock is free next and how to enter the outer harbour. Boats with a draught of more than 2 metres should call early. In the lock chamber, make fast as far forward as possible with at least two lines, forward and aft, and switch off the engine. As you may have to moor alongside another boat, it is best to prepare lines and fenders on both sides.

Call Penarth Marina on channel 80, either while still in the lock or just after entering the bay. Guests may have to wait at a reception pontoon in the marina lock, where staff will meet them and assign a berth. If the water level in the bay has been lowered, the marina is also locked into as normal, and a slight current may be running in the lock chamber. At the marina lock, double red means danger, single red means occupied, and green means entry on instruction. For Cardiff Bay Yacht Club, either register by telephone beforehand or call on channel 37 on arrival during office hours.

Harbour rules

• Anchoring or lying at buoys in Cardiff Bay is only permitted with written permission from the harbour master, and in the outer harbour only with permission from Barrage Control.
• Without a berthing licence from the harbour master, you may moor in the bay for a maximum of 28 days.
• Refuelling and pumping out bilges are not permitted in the lock, and the ladders are for emergencies and staff only.
• Swimming and jumping into the water of the bay is prohibited because of the risk of drowning.

Approaching Cardiff Bay

For the approach you will need Admiralty charts 1182 and 1176. Watch out for ships to and from Cardiff docks. Coming from the south, the port-hand buoy Ranie (Fl(2)R.5s) marks the rocks and the sandbank off Lavernock Point, while the south cardinal buoy South Cardiff marks the southern end of the Cardiff Grounds. Between the two, head for the west cardinal buoy Outer Wrach, follow the Wrach Channel and then the buoyed secondary channel into the outer harbour. Parts of the outer harbour dry out at low water, and three flashing red lights at the entrance mean stop immediately and wait for instructions.

Arriving from abroad

If you arrive in Cardiff Bay from outside Great Britain, for example from Ireland or France, report your arrival to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) and Border Force with a Pleasure Craft Report. From the 12-mile limit, fly the yellow Q flag and only take it down once the report has been completed. Anyone on board who is not a British or Irish national needs permission from a Border Force officer to enter the country, except when arriving from Ireland, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands.

Which sea weather forecast applies in Cardiff Bay?

For coastal waters up to 12 nautical miles, the Met Office issues the inshore waters forecast four times a day, each covering 24 hours from 0, 6, 12 and 18 UTC. Cardiff lies in the area “Lands End to St Davids Head including the Bristol Channel”. You can read the Met Office inshore waters forecast online. Further offshore, the Shipping Forecast applies, issued four times a day at 23, 5, 11 and 17 UTC, and gale warnings from Force 8 are added at any time as required. The British Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) is responsible for broadcasting by radio.

Sailing trips from Cardiff Bay on Törnfinder

You can find all current dates starting in Cardiff, Penarth and other ports on the Bristol Channel in the Overview of all trips.

Frequently asked questions

How do I get from Cardiff Airport to Penarth Marina?

Take the bus from the terminal to Rhoose Cardiff International Airport station, then the train towards Cardiff. The nearest station to the marina is Cogan, from where it is about a 15-minute walk. Hire cars are available directly at the airport.

Where do I park at the start of the trip in Cardiff Bay?

At Penarth Marina, in one of the three marina car parks with a parking ticket; another car park (Northcliffe) is about 250 metres away. Cardiff Yacht Club has a large club car park, and Mermaid Quay has several public car parks.

Are there showers at Penarth Marina?

Yes, Penarth Marina has toilets, showers and a launderette. The Cardiff Yacht Club clubhouse also has showers, but it is open to visitors only by prior arrangement.

How long does the lock in Cardiff Bay take?

Passing through the Barrage lock takes 5 to 20 minutes, depending on the tide. You also need to allow for the waiting time: outbound, the lock operates on the hour and half hour, and inbound at quarter past and quarter to.