For those who’re planning a visit to Wales, then you definately’ve come to the precise place! On this information we’re going to share every little thing you might want to know to plan the right Wales journey. That is based mostly on our experiences of touring in Wales and in addition my time residing in Wales, which I did for a few years. I used to be really born in Wales!
On this submit, we’ll cowl one of the best instances of 12 months to go to Wales, highlights to not miss, easy methods to get round Wales, the place to remain in Wales, what to eat in Wales, easy methods to ebook excursions, and lots of extra ideas that will help you plan the right Wales journey.
We’d counsel studying this information alongside our detailed Wales highway journey itinerary, which gives you extra concepts of a particular itinerary and sights to see.
Let’s begin with an summary of Wales.
A Fast Overview of Wales
Wales is a rustic with a inhabitants of round three million folks. It’s a part of the Island of Nice Britain together with England and Scotland. It is likely one of the 4 international locations (together with England, Scotland, and Northern Eire) that make up the UK.
Geographically, Wales borders England alongside its complete east coast, from round Chester within the north down to close Bristol within the south. The remainder of the international locations border is made up of beautiful shoreline, principally alongside the Irish Sea.
The historical past of Wales is pretty advanced. Individuals have been residing right here for a whole lot of hundreds of years, with steady habitation for a minimum of 9,000 years. Because the Roman instances, many battles have been fought between the Welsh and the English as both sides fought for management over what’s current day Wales.
One of many uncomfortable side effects of all these wars is that Wales now has an enormous quantity of castles you possibly can go to which is nice as a vacationer. There’s additionally a variety of fascinating historical past and tradition which is exclusive to Wales.
Again to the current, and modern-day Wales exists as its personal nation with its personal language (Welsh) and, since 1999, its personal parliament. Nevertheless, there are not any border controls or something like that when touring from England to Wales (they’re each a part of the UK), and English can be after all essentially the most broadly spoken language.
If you’re not that conversant in the historical past of Wales, we are able to extremely suggest studying a ebook on Welsh historical past earlier than or throughout your go to. This won’t solely provide help to higher perceive most of the locations you might be more likely to go to in Wales (e.g., castles, museums, church buildings, Iron Age ruins), however it’ll additionally provide help to higher perceive the trendy tradition and politics in Wales.
What’s there to see in Wales?
There’s a lot to see in Wales, one thing actually for everybody.
To begin with, with a lot historical past spanning hundreds of years, Wales has an enormous quantity of cultural sights.
From iron age burial chambers to fascinating museums to distinctive cultural occasions just like the Eisteddfodd, there actually is a large quantity to select from.
In fact, the very first thing that probably springs to thoughts whenever you consider Wales are the castles, a aspect impact of all the varied wars over time. Wales has an enormous variety of castles, together with a variety of UNESCO listed medieval castles.
In truth, Wales has extra castles per sq. mile than some other nation in Europe! Suffice to say, in the event you like exploring castles as a lot as we do, Wales has no scarcity to give you.
For those who do plan on seeing a variety of castles, then we are able to extremely suggest selecting up a Cadw cross. This consists of entry to an enormous variety of historic websites in Wales, together with most the castles.
You should purchase this on-line right here, or in individual at most Cadw websites. We discovered this saved us some huge cash on our most up-to-date journeys.
Lovers of the outside, like us, may even discover loads to do in Wales. There’s an enormous quantity of pure landscapes to discover, from beautiful coastal surroundings to lovely hills and mountains. It’s excellent for hikers of all skills. So whether or not you like to wander alongside a stunning little bit of seaside or climb to the highest of a mountain, Wales has you coated.
Talking of seashores, with a lot shoreline, as you may think there are many seashores to select from. These run the total gamut, from lovely sandy stretches to these coated in pebbles. So in the event you’re after a great swim or only a good stroll on the seaside, there are many choices for you.
All that beautiful outdoor area additionally means Wales is a good vacation spot for wildlife. The variability in panorama and habitat means there’s a variety of totally different chicken species you possibly can spot, and there are numerous nature preserves you possibly can go to the place you possibly can spot varied forms of chicken and study them.
It’s extra than simply birds after all, with viewing alternatives for all types of wildlife, from seals and different marine life by way of to mammals, reptiles, and extra!
Lastly, Wales can be an incredible vacation spot for lovers of mythology. This needs to be apparent from the flag, which is emblazoned with a crimson dragon, arguably the world’s coolest flag. Naturally, you possibly can study all in regards to the mythology of Wales, from the origin story of King Arthur by way of to dragons and druids.
Total, we predict it’s honest to say that Wales will not be a vacation spot the place you’ll run out of issues to do!
Some Fundamental Data for Touring in Wales
Let’s cowl some primary data for touring in Wales.
Wales and the broader UK
Wales is part of the UK (UK), so upon getting entered the UK then you possibly can journey out and in of Wales freely.
If Wales is your first level of entry into the UK (similar to in the event you arrive into Cardiff Airport from outdoors the UK), then you definately would wish to undergo passport management and have the right visa and any crucial documentation.
You may see extra data on any required visas to your go to on the UK authorities web site right here or from your personal authorities’s official journey web site.
For those who arrive into one other a part of the UK similar to England or Scotland, then you definately don’t have to undergo any additional controls whenever you journey to Wales, be that by automotive, prepare, or aircraft.
Attending to and from Wales
Wales is a straightforward nation to get to. When it comes to flights, the one industrial airport in Wales is Cardiff airport, which affords each native and worldwide flights to a restricted variety of locations.
Wales can be effectively served by regional transport connections from the UK. By prepare, Cardiff is round 2.5 hours from London, 50 minutes from Bristol, and 4 hours from Liverpool.
North Wales locations like Conwy are round an hour by prepare from Chester, or 3.5 hours from London.
You too can simply drive to Wales from areas across the UK. It’s round 3 hours by automotive to from London to Cardiff, 4 hours from Liverpool to Cardiff and seven hours to Cardiff from Edinburgh.
Wales can be served by ferry routes which hyperlink Wales with the Republic of Eire. So in case you are doing a visit like our two week UK itinerary, this is able to allow you to join between Wales and the Republic of Eire.
There are additionally a number of excursions that embrace Wales, departing from areas similar to London or Bristol. Extra on excursions in a while on this information. Suffice to say, you may have loads of choices for attending to and from Wales!
Language in Wales
Wales has two official languages: Welsh and English. Just below 20% of the inhabitants of Wales speaks Welsh, however just about everybody additionally speaks English.
Nevertheless you’ll nearly definitely hear Welsh being spoken throughout your go to.
The principle method you’ll encounter Welsh as a customer is more likely to be on indicators. Most indicators are offered in each Welsh and English. Place names are additionally almost all the time written in Welsh.
Welsh is a fairly difficult language to study and the pronunciation is unquestionably not all the time apparent! Place names can simply journey guests up, though the excellent news is that almost all Welsh persons are fairly used to it.
For those who’d like to enhance your pronunciation, it is a good starter information. A superb information ebook to Wales also needs to embrace a information to pronunciation.
Driving in Wales
Driving in Wales is identical as driving in the remainder of the UK, with the principle distinction being that almost all of the highway indicators are in Welsh in addition to English.
For those who drive in Wales, you’ll shortly study some Welsh phrases from the highway indicators, significantly “Araf” which suggests “Sluggish”. Within the majority of instances although, indicators will likely be in each English and Welsh.
Aside from that, driving in Wales is identical as driving in the remainder of the UK. Drive on the left of the highway and you’ll want to observe all pace limits and highway guidelines. Pace limits are usually posted, with the nationwide restrict at 60 miles per hour and limits for built-up areas usually 20 to 40 miles per hour. You may see extra ideas in my information to driving within the UK.
If you’re renting a automotive (evaluate costs right here), you possibly can drive the automotive between England and Wales with none points.
Bear in mind that almost all of vehicles within the UK use a guide transmission, so you’ll want to specify an computerized if that’s what you might be used to driving. Simply word that these do usually carry a worth premium as they aren’t as frequent.
Relying on the place on this planet you might be visiting from and the language your license is in, you may additionally want an worldwide driver’s license from the nation which points your driver’s license.
Public Transporation in Wales
Wales has a fairly good public transport community, with each buses and trains which hyperlink most of the cities and cities throughout the nation. You may see the principle transport routes on the Transport for Wales web site right here.
For journey planning by public transport in Wales (and the UK typically), we suggest and use the Traveline web site. It’s a free service offered by a partnership of public transport operators within the UK, and can provide help to plan your journey between just about any two factors within the nation.
For almost all of public transport in Wales and the UK (particularly on longer distance routes) you’ll get higher costs in the event you ebook on-line prematurely. We suggest the trainline web site for prepare and bus reserving, we’ve used them for years for our public transport wants within the UK.
Different choices to contemplate, particularly for lengthy distance bus journeys embrace Nationwide Categorical and Megabus.
Electrical energy in Wales
Wales makes use of the identical energy system as the remainder of the UK. It’s a 220v system which makes use of a three-pin plug (plug sort G).
Travellers from many of the remainder of the world, together with mainland Europe and the US will want an adapter like this.
American travellers may even need to test their gear helps the 220v commonplace, because the U.S. makes use of a 110v commonplace. The voltage a tool helps will likely be written clearly on the ability adapter, normally within the type of 110v – 240v.
In our expertise most trendy laptops, cellphone and digicam chargers, and different small electronics are common, while bigger gadgets like hair dryers and hair straighteners are usually not.
See extra on journey adapters and the way to decide on one to your journey in our information to the finest journey adapters.
Forex in Wales
Wales makes use of the identical foreign money as the remainder of the UK, specifically Pound Sterling, or GBP (Nice British Kilos). Wales makes use of the financial institution notes issued by the Financial institution of England, so the foreign money in use in Wales appears to be like precisely the identical as that utilized in England.
Notice that that is totally different to Scotland and Northern Eire, the place financial institution notes are issued by Scottish and Irish banks respectively. These financial institution notes will also be utilized in the remainder of the UK (and Financial institution of England notes can be utilized in Scotland and Northern Eire).
Time Zone in Wales
Wales is on the identical time zone as the remainder of the UK, which is both GMT, or GMT+1, also called British Summer time Time (BST).
BST runs from the final Sunday in March by way of to the final Sunday in October.
Greatest Occasions to Go to Wales
You is perhaps questioning when one of the best time to go to Wales is. While Wales is a year-round vacation spot, there are definitely benefits and downsides to visiting at totally different instances of 12 months.
Greatest for Climate
Wales has a comparatively delicate local weather year-round with out large extremes.
If you’d like hotter climate and longer hours of daylight for sightseeing, then one of the best time of 12 months to go to goes to be from late Might by way of to mid-September.
This time of 12 months gives you one of the best likelihood of excellent climate and sunny days, though word that rain and cooler temperatures are attainable year-round.
The summit of Snowdon in summer time – good climate not assured!
Avoiding Crowds
Wales is a well-liked vacation spot, particularly for guests from different areas of the UK. There are a variety of massive English cities close to Wales similar to Birmingham, Liverpool, Bristol, and Manchester, and guests from these cities often take journeys to Wales. It’s an particularly in style vacation spot for households.
In consequence, the busiest time of 12 months in Wales is usually going to be over the varsity holidays (college breaks) in England and Wales.
The precise timing of college holidays varies just a little by space, however usually there are main holidays over the Easter interval, and over the summer time months from mid-July by way of to the tip of August.
There are additionally “half-term” holidays which happen midway by way of every college time period and are usually per week in period. There’s usually one in mid-February, one across the finish of Might and one across the finish of October.
The most well-liked time for folks to go to Wales is through the hotter summer time months, and through college holidays, particularly the Easter holidays, spring half-term, and summer time holidays.
In consequence, if you wish to go to Wales when it’s more likely to be quieter then you definately could be finest served avoiding these instances.
For those who nonetheless need good climate, we’d counsel June or September to be optimum months, though April and Might can supply good climate if in case you have a little bit of luck in your aspect!
Greatest for Climbing / Climbing Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa)
While you possibly can hike in Wales at any time of 12 months, we might counsel that one of the best instances for mountaineering are going to be much like that for visiting for one of the best climate. So that’s going to be from late Might to mid-September.
No matter time of 12 months you intend to go mountaineering although, remember that the climate can change in a short time. So you’ll want to be ready, guarantee somebody is aware of your route and the place you’re going, and pack appropriately. For extra data, this security information may be very useful.
The most well-liked hike in Wales by far is the hike up Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa in Welsh). You may each hike and take a prepare to the summit, each of that are in style choices.
In our expertise, Snowdon might be busy 12 months spherical, however the hotter summer time months are positively the most well-liked time to sort out the hike.
If you wish to keep away from the crowds on the hike itself, then we’d counsel avoiding the Llanberis path which tends to be the most well-liked, and taking one of many different much less in style routes such because the Snowdon Ranger path or the Rhyd Ddu path.
In fact, Wales has an incredible many extra mountains you possibly can hike, the vast majority of that are far much less busy and in style than Snowdon. A private favorite is Cader Idris, which additionally affords spectacular views throughout the Snowdonia Nationwide Park, and attracts a fraction of the guests!
Main Festivals in Wales
Wales performs host to a variety of festivals and gala’s all year long, together with music festivals, meals festivals, literary festivals, craft gala’s, artwork festivals, and extra (see a reasonably complete checklist of festivals in Wales right here).
The biggest competition in Wales is generally the Nationwide Eisteddfod of Wales, which is held for round per week on the primary week of August annually. The placement for the competition modifications annually, and it usually attracts upwards of 100,000 guests. The competition celebrates Welsh tradition, with the occasions and actions all going down in Welsh.
For those who plan on visiting the Eisteddfodd (or some other competition in Wales), you’ll positively need to plan effectively forward as lodging can ebook out, and the world the place the occasion is being held is more likely to be a lot busier than standard.
Conversely, it’s value being conscious when and the place festivals are being held even in the event you don’t plan on attending them, so that you don’t get caught up within the crowds!
How Lengthy to Spend in Wales
As ought to hopefully be apparent by now, though Wales is a comparatively small nation, there’s a enormous quantity to see and do in Wales. You might simply spend many weeks exploring the nation with out working out of issues to see and do.
Our advice could be to spend a minimum of per week if attainable to get a good suggestion of what’s on supply and to have time to discover among the nation’s highlights.
When you have much less time, say three to 5 days, then we might suggest specializing in one space or area of the nation fairly than making an attempt to cowl an excessive amount of floor.
So, for instance, with three days you may need to give attention to visiting Cardiff and south-west Wales or discover a part of north Wales with visits to Caernarfon and Snowdonia Nationwide Park.
When you have per week or extra, then you possibly can develop your itinerary to cowl extra of the nation.
We’ll share some advised itineraries additional on on this information that will help you plan, and we even have a 7 – 10 day Wales highway journey itinerary it’s best to discover useful. That itinerary can simply be expanded to 2 or extra weeks.
The place to Keep in Wales
Wales has a variety of lodging choices throughout all budgets. Whether or not you like tenting, glamping, self-catered lodging, family-run guesthouses, nation home resorts or common resorts, you’re going to discover one thing to swimsuit.
We now have stayed at an enormous vary of lodging choices throughout Wales, together with condo leases, guesthouses, mattress and breakfasts and resorts. Normally we favor to both keep at a regionally owned mattress and breakfast or small resort. However for longer stays, we usually ebook an condo or cottage.
When on the lookout for lodging, we suggest a mixture of the next websites:
- Reserving.com – that is normally our first cease for all types of lodging varieties, from resorts to company homes to residences. We just like the highly effective filter system that permits us to hone in on precisely what we wish in every location, in addition to the map instrument that lets us see totally different choices in numerous areas.
- Sykes Vacation Cottages – for longer stays in Wales (and the broader UK) we additionally use Sykes. They specialise in vacation cottages, and we’ve got stayed at some actually beautiful properties by way of their system.
- Vrbo UK – if we’re particularly on the lookout for an condo or trip rental, we’ll additionally normally look on Vrbo. They provide a wide selection of choices and it’s good to have a comparability.
If you need extra choices for lodging reserving in Wales and the UK, see our information to reserving vacation properties within the UK for some concepts!
What to Eat in Wales?
You is perhaps questioning what meals it’s best to attempt in Wales whenever you go to, and if there are any uniquely Welsh dishes. Effectively, the reply is sure there are.
While there are definitely a variety of similarities between Welsh meals and English meals, together with staples similar to fish and chips and the total fried breakfast expertise, there are some dishes which are frequent to Wales. Listed here are some to attempt:
- Cawl – one in every of extra conventional Welsh dishes, cawl (pronounced cowl) dates again to the eleventh century a minimum of and is actually a stew made with meat, greens, and potatoes.
- Welsh Rarebit – while this sounds prefer it’s going to contain rabbit, this quintessential Welsh dish is definitely melted cheese on toast. There are variations on the recipe, with mustard or a bechamel sauce added to the cheese. Scrumptious nevertheless it’s made!
- Glamorgan sausage – this in style “sausage” is a standard vegetarian sausage primarily made out of leeks, cheese, and breadcrumbs. It dates again to a minimum of the 18th century however rose in recognition throughout World Struggle II on account of meat rationing and stays in style immediately.
- Welsh truffles – this small cake is made out of dough, raisins, currant and candied fruit peel after which cooked on a griddle. It may be eaten scorching or chilly and is texturally extra much like a shortbread than a cake. We prefer it served scorching and eaten with butter!
- Bara brith – this fruit loaf is a well-liked choice to have with afternoon tea and is commonly served with butter on it. It’s mainly a fruit cake full of raisins, currants and dried candied fruit peel.
- Laverbread – It is a very attention-grabbing delicacy, which regardless of the identify, isn’t a bread in any respect. As an alternative, it’s a puree made out of a particular sort of seaweed which grows alongside the Welsh shoreline. The seaweed is cooked for hours to type the puree, which is then mostly served with bread.
- Welsh cheese – Wales is house to many milk producing animals, together with cows, goats, and sheep. As such, there are various conventional Welsh cheeses to take pleasure in. Essentially the most well-known is Caerphilly, which is a tough however crumbly white cheese. Others embrace Y Fenni, Tintern and Pantysgawn
- Native drinks – Wales produces a variety of native drinks, together with regionally brewed beers and ciders. There are additionally over 20 vineyards in Wales producing Welsh wine, and Welsh whisky is gaining popularity as effectively!
In addition to particular dishes, there are additionally many meals that Wales is usually recognized for. These embrace Welsh lamb and beef, seafood, seaweed, and leeks, the latter of which is definitely the nationwide image of Wales.
If you’re going to be purchasing and cooking throughout your time in Wales, you shouldn’t have any downside discovering some native Welsh produce.
We are able to additionally suggest The Welsh Home for making an attempt a wide range of Welsh meals. They’re in just a few areas, together with in Cardiff close to the fort. The final time we visited they’d a “Style of Wales” menu choice which allow us to attempt a variety of totally different Welsh dishes for a really affordable worth.
Suffice to say, we don’t suppose you’re going to go hungry throughout your keep in Wales.
The way to get round Wales?
There are fairly just a few choices for getting round Wales, which we’ll undergo now.
By Automobile
Our most popular choice for touring in Wales is to drive ourselves. Wales has a variety of sights which are just a little off the overwhelmed path, and a automotive makes it lots simpler to achieve these tucked away castles or hidden seashores.
That stated, you need to be conscious that the highway community in Wales is primarily made up of standard two-lane roads fairly than multi-lane freeways (generally known as motorways within the UK).
As such, journey instances can take a bit longer than in different components of the UK. It’s tough to zip throughout Wales and journeys might take longer that you just count on from simply wanting on the map.
This isn’t a foul factor, because the surroundings is usually beautiful, and there are many issues to cease and take a look at anyway. Nevertheless, you’ll simply need to remember when planning that even when the distances don’t look significantly lengthy, it may possibly take a little bit of time to get from place to put.
If you’re planning on touring by automotive and have to lease, we suggest evaluating automotive rental costs on Uncover Automobiles right here. They evaluate all the principle suppliers so you will get one of the best worth to your journey.
Public Transportation
As talked about within the part on public transport, Wales has a fairly good public transport community.
The principle factor to know in case you are planning to journey in Wales by public transport is that you just’ll positively need to plan effectively prematurely. Additionally, you will need to remember that it may possibly take fairly a little bit of time to get between areas.
I’ve executed a good bit of journey by prepare and bus in Wales, and while the surroundings is all the time very fairly, it may possibly take some time to get from location to location. So simply remember that in case you are on a restricted timetable, you will have to plan fastidiously in order to not spend all of your time sitting on a bus or prepare.
It’s additionally value noting that while trains and buses join a variety of the nation, they don’t go completely in all places. So if there’s someplace you actually need to see, do test to make sure you can really get there by the mode of transport you want to use.
Total, while you possibly can positively get round Wales by public transport, for people on a restricted timeframe who need to see lots, we might most likely suggest both driving or taking a tour.
Best Locations to go to in Wales by public transport?
If you’re planning on visiting Wales by public transport, you is perhaps questioning what one of the best areas are for doing so. Listed here are some ideas.
First, we’d counsel specializing in a particular area of Wales in the event you plan on visiting by public transport, as then you definately’ll be capable of spend extra time sightseeing and fewer time touring.
Cardiff is a really well-connected metropolis, after which from right here you possibly can simply discover alongside the south coast to Tenby and even St. David’s.
Alternatively, in the event you’d favor to discover extra of the mountains, then head to North Wales. I’d suggest taking the prepare line alongside the north coast from the English metropolis of Chester (or Liverpool), which connects to a variety of different prepare and bus routes.
It will assist you to discover many highlights of the area, together with Conwy, Bangor, Caernarfon, the Snowdonia Nationwide Park, in addition to the northeast shoreline together with Harlech and Barmouth.
You might simply make a loop by way of North Wales by public transport, going into Wales from Chester throughout to Conwy and Bangor, then heading south down the coast to Barmouth and Aberdovey, after which lastly east by way of Machynlleth to Shrewsbury.
This route will allow you to discover castles, see shoreline and expertise the mountains, all with no need a automotive.
Be a part of a Tour
Among the finest method to see Wales in our opinion, particularly in the event you favor to not drive, is to affix a tour. A tour lets another person deal with all of the logistics, from planning what to see and do to easy methods to get from place to put.
You do lose a little bit of flexibility when taking a tour after all, as they typically comply with a hard and fast itinerary. That is significantly the case in the event you be part of a gaggle tour. A non-public tour will usually supply much more customization, with the draw back that they are typically costlier.
That stated, in our expertise most group excursions give attention to the highlights that guests need to see anyway. Simply make sure when selecting a tour to make sure it visits the vast majority of sights and sights you actually need to see in Wales.
We now have some advisable excursions of Wales within the part of this information on advisable excursions. You too can see a spread of excursions by varied suppliers at totally different worth factors and durations on TourRadar right here.
Greatest Guided Excursions of Wales
An effective way to see the highlights of Wales with out having to fret in regards to the logistics of planning transport and lodging is to take a guided tour.
There are a variety of excursions to select from that go to Wales, of various period and worth.
The longer Wales excursions usually depart from London, Bristol, or Cardiff.
Some we advise are as follows:
- This 5 day highway journey with Rabbies could be our first choose of obtainable small group excursions of Wales. We’ve taken an incredible many excursions with Rabbies and we love their educated driver guides and small group sizes. This tour departs from London and covers most of the highlights of the nation, from Snowdonia right down to south west Wales.
- This 8 day tour from Cardiff follows an identical path to our personal advised Wales highway journey itinerary. This tour consists of time in Cardiff, the Brecon Beacons mountains, Snowdonia Nationwide Park, Conwy Citadel, St. Davids, Tenby, and the Pembrokeshire Coast Nationwide Park.
- When you have much less time to spare, then this 3 day tour with Rabbies departs from Bristol and focuses on the highlights of south Wales, together with Carreg Cennen Citadel, Hay on Wye, St. Davids, Tenby, and the Pembrokeshire Coast Nationwide Park.
- That is one other 3 day tour with Rabbies which departs from Bristol and focuses on the highlights of North Wales. It consists of Snowdonia Nationwide Parks, Conwy Citadel, Harlech Citadel, the Slate Museum, and Portmeirion.
There are after all extra excursions to select from in Wales. See this choice from a spread of operators on TourRadar which can allow you to kind and filter by period, locations visited and worth.
Highlights in Wales
There’s lots to see in Wales, sufficient to fill many weeks of explorations. As it may be onerous to determine what to see, we wished to share a few of our private highlights within the nation. That is in no way an exhaustive checklist, however we do suppose it covers a variety of what the nation has to supply.
We’ve divided it roughly into sights within the southern half of Wales (mainly every little thing south of round Aberystwyth) and the northern half of Wales (every little thing north of Aberystwyth).
We predict this is sensible as a result of in case you are on a shorter timetable you’ll want to give attention to a extra manageable space.
If you’re fortunate sufficient to have extra time then you possibly can positively go to the entire nation!
South Wales Highlights
South Wales has lots to supply, from the cultural sights in and across the capital metropolis, by way of to the beautiful landscapes of the Pembrokeshire Nationwide Park the place you will discover ample mountaineering and wildlife viewing alternatives.
This a part of Wales can be house to historic burial grounds, lovely church buildings, castles, seashores, and extra!
Listed here are some highlights to contemplate including to your Wales itinerary.
- Cardiff Citadel
- Cardiff Museum
- St. Fagans (Nationwide Museum of Historical past)
- Castell Carreg Cennen
- Caerphilly Citadel
- Tenby
- Freshwater Seaside
- Whitesands Seaside
- St. David’s Cathedral
- Climbing in Pembrokeshire Coast Nationwide Park
- Pentre Ifan Burial Chamber
- Amgueddfa Ceredigion Museum, Aberystwyth
- Elan Valley
- Brecon Beacons
- Hay on Wye
North Wales Highlights
North Wales is maybe finest generally known as being easy methods to the spectacular Snowdonia Nationwide Park, which is honest sufficient as it’s a really lovely a part of the world.
Nevertheless, there’s tons extra to this area of the nation, from epic castles by way of to heritage steam railways and great seashores.
Listed here are just a few highlights to contemplate including to your itinerary for Wales!
- Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railways
- Caernarfon Citadel
- Beaumaris Citadel
- Conwy Citadel
- Harlech Citadel
- Mount Snowdon & Snowdonia Nationwide Park
- Nationwide Slate Museum
- Hen Watching within the Dyfi Valley & Coast
- Centre for Different Expertise
- Barmouth Seaside
- Aber Falls
- Portmeirion
Prompt Itineraries for Wales
There’s a lot to see in Wales! We wished to share some advised itineraries for visiting the nation for various durations, so you possibly can benefit from your go to.
In fact, your mode of transport will dictate precisely how far you’ll be able to go and what you’ll be able to see. If you’re counting on public transport, we’d positively suggest specializing in a smaller space so you possibly can spend extra time seeing sights and fewer time touring.
If you’re on a tour or in your personal automobile, you’ll probably be capable of match extra in.
1 – 3 Day Wales Itineraries
With one to 3 days in Wales we might extremely suggest specializing in a particular space of the nation, similar to an space of south Wales or north Wales.
For instance, for south Wales you may contemplate spending a day in Cardiff after which a day or two exploring the Pembrokeshire Coast Nationwide Park, overnighting in St. David’s or the gorgeous coastal village of Tenby.
An alternative choice could be to give attention to the mountains and castles of north Wales.
Basing your self in Caernarfon for instance would put you in simple attain of among the most spectacular castles in Wales, in addition to the hike or prepare experience up Snowdon. You might simply spend an exquisite one to 3 days visiting castles, exploring seashores and mountaineering within the mountains of Snowdonia.
3 – 6 Day Wales Itineraries
With three to 6 days you’ll be capable of extra totally discover a area of Wales.
Once more, we wouldn’t essentially suggest making an attempt to see the entire nation on this time interval as it’d really feel a bit rushed. As an alternative, give attention to a selected space and hone in on among the sights you have an interest in.
For instance, if you wish to expertise tradition and coastal surroundings, then we’d counsel beginning in Cardiff, working your method alongside the south coast, after which heading up in direction of Aberystwyth.
Alongside the best way you’ll be capable of go to cultural sights, expertise lovely coastal walks and soak up a variety of castles.
Alternatively, head as much as north Wales. With a bit extra time you possibly can discover extra of this lovely a part of the world, from the peaks of the Snowdonia Nationwide Park to the UNESCO listed castles to the heritage steam railway traces.
We’d counsel basing your self in two or three areas, similar to Caernarfon, Porthmadog, Conwy, or Barmouth, and exploring from there.
6 Day+ Wales Itineraries
With greater than six days in Wales, you’ll be capable of discover from high to backside in the event you so wished. We’d counsel a loop alongside the coast, beginning in Cardiff, heading out to the Pembrokeshire Coast Nationwide Park, then all the best way as much as Snowdonia Nationwide Park and north Wales.
We now have a advised 1 week Wales itinerary (might be adjusted to 10+ days) for doing simply that with a number of detailed data, which we predict you’ll discover helps you get round.
What to Pack for Wales
Wales, like the remainder of the UK, is a rustic the place the climate might be extremely variable. Rain is feasible at any time of 12 months, as are cooler temperatures.
So whenever you plan what to pack to your journey to Wales you’ll want to be ready for a wide range of eventualities. Moreover, as a variety of the actions in Wales contain time spent outdoor and significantly mountaineering, you’ll need to plan and pack accordingly to make sure you’re ready.
We’d suggest studying our information to what to pack for the UK as a basic overview, but in addition to recollect the next gadgets:
Additional Sources for Visiting Wales and the UK
And that’s it for our detailed planning information for visiting Wales! We hope you discovered this information helpful. We additionally wished to share some extra sources we predict may provide help to with planning this and future journeys within the UK.
- We now have an in depth 7 – 10 day highway journey itinerary for Wales, with day-to-day highlights, recommendations on the place to remain, and plenty extra.
- For those who’re on the lookout for extra highway journey inspiration within the UK, we’ve got a two week UK highway journey itinerary and a one week UK highway journey itinerary. We even have a one week Cornwall itinerary
- For those who’re heading to Scotland, take a look at our 2 day Edinburgh itinerary, our Glasgow and Loch Lomond itinerary, our information to the finest day journeys from Glasgow, our information to issues to do in Edinburgh, our itinerary for Skye and the Highlands, our information to the finest day journeys from Aberdeen, and our information to one of the best day journeys from Edinburgh. We even have a North Coast 500 planning information and North Coast 500 seven day itinerary
- For those who’re not conversant in driving within the UK, see my information to driving within the UK for useful ideas.
- We now have guides to many cities within the UK you possibly can take a look at! See our guides to issues to do in Manchester, issues to do in Stratford upon Avon, issues to do in Bristol, issues to do in Portsmouth, recommendations on a weekend in York, recommendations on Visiting Oxford on a Day Journey, and issues to do in Cambridge to get began
- For those who’re on the lookout for a guidebook to your journey, take a look at the Tough Information to Wales
And that’s it! Have you ever ever visited Wales? Do you may have something you’d add to the above? Simply tell us within the feedback under, and secure travels!
