In case you’re planning a visit to Wales, then you definitely’ve come to the proper place! On this information we’re going to share all the pieces that you must know to plan the proper Wales journey. That is based mostly on our experiences of touring in Wales and likewise my time dwelling in Wales, which I did for a few years. I used to be really born in Wales!
On this submit, we’ll cowl the most effective 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 e book excursions, and plenty of extra ideas that can assist you plan the proper Wales journey.
We’d recommend studying this information alongside our detailed Wales highway journey itinerary, which will provide you with extra concepts of a selected itinerary and sights to see.
Let’s begin with an outline of Wales.
A Fast Overview of Wales
Wales is a rustic with a inhabitants of round three million individuals. It’s a part of the Island of Nice Britain together with England and Scotland. It is likely one of the 4 nations (together with England, Scotland, and Northern Eire) that make up the UK.
Geographically, Wales borders England alongside its total east coast, from round Chester within the north down to close Bristol within the south. The remainder of the nations border is made up of beautiful shoreline, principally alongside the Irish Sea.
The historical past of Wales is pretty complicated. Individuals have been dwelling right here for a whole bunch of hundreds of years, with steady habitation for a minimum of 9,000 years. For the reason that Roman instances, many battles had been fought between the Welsh and the English as all sides fought for management over what’s current day Wales.
One of many unwanted side effects of all these wars is that Wales now has an enormous quantity of castles you may go to which is nice as a vacationer. There’s additionally quite a lot 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. Nonetheless, 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 in fact essentially the most extensively spoken language.
In case you are not that aware of the historical past of Wales, we will extremely suggest studying a e book on Welsh historical past earlier than or throughout your go to. This won’t solely assist you 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 assist you to higher perceive the fashionable 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 start out 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 possible springs to thoughts whenever you consider Wales are the castles, a facet impact of all the varied wars over time. Wales has an enormous variety of castles, together with quite a few UNESCO listed medieval castles.
Actually, Wales has extra castles per sq. mile than every other nation in Europe! Suffice to say, when you like exploring castles as a lot as we do, Wales has no scarcity to give you.
In case you do plan on seeing quite a lot of castles, then we will extremely suggest selecting up a Cadw move. 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 particular person 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, can even discover a lot to do in Wales. There’s an enormous quantity of pure landscapes to discover, from beautiful coastal surroundings to stunning hills and mountains. It’s good for hikers of all skills. So whether or not you like to wander alongside a beautiful 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 stunning sandy stretches to these coated in pebbles. So when you’re after an excellent swim or only a good stroll on the seaside, there are many choices for you.
All that beautiful outside area additionally means Wales is a superb vacation spot for wildlife. The range in panorama and habitat means there’s quite a lot of completely different fowl species you may spot, and there are numerous nature preserves you may go to the place you may spot numerous sorts of fowl and find out about them.
It’s extra than simply birds in fact, with viewing alternatives for every kind of wildlife, from seals and different marine life by way of to mammals, reptiles, and extra!
Lastly, Wales can be an excellent vacation spot for lovers of mythology. This must be apparent from the flag, which is emblazoned with a pink dragon, arguably the world’s coolest flag. Naturally, you may study all in regards to the mythology of Wales, from the origin story of King Arthur by way of to dragons and druids.
General, we predict it’s truthful to say that Wales will not be a vacation spot the place you’ll run out of issues to do!
Some Primary Data for Touring in Wales
Let’s cowl some fundamental info for touring in Wales.
Wales and the broader UK
Wales is part of the UK (UK), so after getting entered the UK then you may journey out and in of Wales freely.
If Wales is your first level of entry into the UK (reminiscent of when you arrive into Cardiff Airport from exterior the UK), then you definitely would wish to undergo passport management and have the proper visa and any crucial documentation.
You’ll be able to see extra info on any required visas in your go to on the UK authorities web site right here or from your individual authorities’s official journey web site.
In case you arrive into one other a part of the UK reminiscent of England or Scotland, then you definitely don’t must undergo any additional controls whenever you journey to Wales, be that by automobile, prepare, or aircraft.
Attending to and from Wales
Wales is a straightforward nation to get to. When it comes to flights, the one business airport in Wales is Cardiff airport, which gives each native and worldwide flights to a restricted variety of locations.
Wales can be nicely 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.
It’s also possible to simply drive to Wales from places across the UK. It’s round 3 hours by automobile 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 could allow you to join between Wales and the Republic of Eire.
There are additionally a number of excursions that embody Wales, departing from places reminiscent of London or Bristol. Extra on excursions in a while on this information. Suffice to say, you’ve loads of choices for attending to and from Wales!
Language in Wales
Wales has two official languages: Welsh and English. Slightly below 20% of the inhabitants of Wales speaks Welsh, however just about everybody additionally speaks English.
Nonetheless you’ll virtually 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 practically at all times written in Welsh.
Welsh is a fairly difficult language to study and the pronunciation is certainly not at all times apparent! Place names can simply journey guests up, though the excellent news is that the majority Welsh individuals are fairly used to it.
In case you’d like to enhance your pronunciation, this can be a good starter information. information e book to Wales also needs to embody a information to pronunciation.
Driving in Wales
Driving in Wales is similar 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.
In case you drive in Wales, you’ll shortly study some Welsh phrases from the highway indicators, notably “Araf” which implies “Gradual”. Within the majority of circumstances although, indicators will likely be in each English and Welsh.
Aside from that, driving in Wales is similar as driving in the remainder of the UK. Drive on the left of the highway and you’ll want to observe all velocity limits and highway guidelines. Velocity 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’ll be able to see extra ideas in my information to driving within the UK.
In case you are renting a automobile (evaluate costs right here), you may drive the automobile between England and Wales with none points.
Bear in mind that almost all of automobiles within the UK use a handbook transmission, so you’ll want to specify an automated if that’s what you might be used to driving. Simply word that these do usually carry a value premium as they aren’t as frequent.
Relying on the place on the planet you might be visiting from and the language your license is in, you might also want a global 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’ll be able to 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 usually), 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 assist you 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 when you e book 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 embody Nationwide Specific 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 america will want an adapter like this.
American travellers can even wish to examine their gear helps the 220v normal, because the U.S. makes use of a 110v normal. The voltage a tool helps will likely be written clearly on the facility adapter, often within the type of 110v – 240v.
In our expertise most fashionable laptops, telephone and digital camera chargers, and different small electronics are common, while bigger gadgets like hair dryers and hair straighteners usually are not.
See extra on journey adapters and the way to decide on one in your journey in our information to the greatest journey adapters.
Forex in Wales
Wales makes use of the identical forex 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 forex in use in Wales seems precisely the identical as that utilized in England.
Observe that that is completely different to Scotland and Northern Eire, the place financial institution notes are issued by Scottish and Irish banks respectively. These financial institution notes can 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, often known as British Summer season 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 likely to be questioning when the most effective time to go to Wales is. While Wales is a year-round vacation spot, there are definitely benefits and drawbacks to visiting at completely different instances of 12 months.
Greatest for Climate
Wales has a comparatively delicate local weather year-round with out great extremes.
If you need hotter climate and longer hours of daylight for sightseeing, then the most effective time of 12 months to go to goes to be from late Might by way of to mid-September.
This time of 12 months will provide you with the most effective probability of excellent climate and sunny days, though word that rain and cooler temperatures are potential 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 huge English cities close to Wales reminiscent of Birmingham, Liverpool, Bristol, and Manchester, and guests from these cities usually take journeys to Wales. It’s an particularly well-liked vacation spot for households.
Consequently, the busiest time of 12 months in Wales is mostly going to be over the college holidays (college breaks) in England and Wales.
The precise timing of college holidays varies a bit by space, however typically 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 typically every week in period. There may be usually one in mid-February, one across the finish of Might and one across the finish of October.
The preferred time for individuals to go to Wales is in the course of the hotter summer time months, and through college holidays, particularly the Easter holidays, spring half-term, and summer time holidays.
Consequently, if you wish to go to Wales when it’s more likely to be quieter then you definitely could be greatest served avoiding these instances.
In case you nonetheless need good climate, we’d recommend June or September to be optimum months, though April and Might can provide good climate when you’ve got a little bit of luck in your facet!
Greatest for Mountaineering / Climbing Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa)
While you may hike in Wales at any time of 12 months, we might recommend that the most effective instances for mountaineering are going to be much like that for visiting for the most effective climate. So that’s going to be from late Might to mid-September.
No matter time of 12 months you propose to go mountaineering although, remember that the climate can change in a short time. So it would be best to be ready, guarantee somebody is aware of your route and the place you’re going, and pack appropriately. For extra info, this security information could be very useful.
The preferred hike in Wales by far is the hike up Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa in Welsh). You’ll be able to each hike and take a prepare to the summit, each of that are well-liked 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 deal with the hike.
If you wish to keep away from the crowds on the hike itself, then we’d recommend avoiding the Llanberis path which tends to be the most well-liked, and taking one of many different much less well-liked routes such because the Snowdon Ranger path or the Rhyd Ddu path.
In fact, Wales has an excellent many extra mountains you may hike, the vast majority of that are far much less busy and well-liked than Snowdon. A private favorite is Cader Idris, which additionally gives spectacular views throughout the Snowdonia Nationwide Park, and attracts a fraction of the guests!
Main Festivals in Wales
Wales performs host to quite a few 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 record of festivals in Wales right here).
The most important competition in Wales is generally the Nationwide Eisteddfod of Wales, which is held for round every week on the primary week of August every year. The situation for the competition modifications every year, and it usually attracts upwards of 100,000 guests. The competition celebrates Welsh tradition, with the occasions and actions all going down in Welsh.
In case you plan on visiting the Eisteddfodd (or every other competition in Wales), you’ll positively wish to plan nicely forward as lodging can e book out, and the world the place the occasion is being held is more likely to be a lot busier than traditional.
Conversely, it’s price being conscious when and the place festivals are being held even when 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 suggestion could be to spend a minimum of every week if potential to get a good suggestion of what’s on provide and to have time to discover a few of the nation’s highlights.
You probably have much less time, say three to 5 days, then we might suggest specializing in one space or area of the nation quite than making an attempt to cowl an excessive amount of floor.
So, for instance, with three days you may wish to concentrate on visiting Cardiff and south-west Wales or discover a part of north Wales with visits to Caernarfon and Snowdonia Nationwide Park.
You probably have every week or extra, then you may increase your itinerary to cowl extra of the nation.
We’ll share some urged itineraries additional on on this information that can assist you plan, and we even have a 7 – 10 day Wales highway journey itinerary you need 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 accommodations or common accommodations, you’ll discover one thing to swimsuit.
We have now stayed at an enormous vary of lodging choices throughout Wales, together with condo leases, guesthouses, mattress and breakfasts and accommodations. Often we want to both keep at a domestically owned mattress and breakfast or small lodge. However for longer stays, we usually e book an condo or cottage.
When in search of lodging, we suggest a mixture of the next websites:
- Reserving.com – that is often our first cease for all kinds of lodging sorts, from accommodations to friends homes to residences. We just like the highly effective filter system that enables us to hone in on precisely what we wish in every location, in addition to the map software that lets us see completely different choices in numerous areas.
- Sykes Vacation Cottages – for longer stays in Wales (and the broader UK) we additionally use Sykes. They concentrate on vacation cottages, and we’ve stayed at some actually beautiful properties by way of their system.
- Vrbo UK – if we’re particularly in search of an condo or trip rental, we’ll additionally often 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 likely to be questioning what meals you need to strive 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 quite a lot of similarities between Welsh meals and English meals, together with staples reminiscent of fish and chips and the total fried breakfast expertise, there are some dishes which are frequent to Wales. Listed below are some to strive:
- Cawl – one in all extra conventional Welsh dishes, cawl (pronounced cowl) dates again to the eleventh century a minimum of and is basically 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 well-liked “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 reputation throughout World Conflict II on account of meat rationing and stays well-liked at the moment.
- Welsh desserts – 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 principally a fruit cake stuffed with raisins, currants and dried candied fruit peel.
- Laverbread – This can be a very fascinating delicacy, which regardless of the title, isn’t a bread in any respect. As a substitute, it’s a puree made out of a selected 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 residence to many milk producing animals, together with cows, goats, and sheep. As such, there are lots of conventional Welsh cheeses to take pleasure in. Essentially the most well-known is Caerphilly, which is a tough however crumbly white cheese. Others embody Y Fenni, Tintern and Pantysgawn
- Native drinks – Wales produces a variety of native drinks, together with domestically brewed beers and ciders. There are additionally over 20 vineyards in Wales producing Welsh wine, and Welsh whisky is gaining popularity as nicely!
In addition to particular dishes, there are additionally many meals that Wales is mostly identified for. These embody Welsh lamb and beef, seafood, seaweed, and leeks, the latter of which is definitely the nationwide image of Wales.
If you’ll be procuring and cooking throughout your time in Wales, you shouldn’t have any drawback discovering some native Welsh produce.
Suffice to say, we don’t assume you’re going to go hungry throughout your keep in Wales.
Tips on how to get round Wales?
There are fairly a number of choices for getting round Wales, which we’ll undergo now.
By Automotive
Our most popular possibility for touring in Wales is to drive ourselves. Wales has quite a lot of sights which are a bit off the crushed path, and a automobile makes it quite a bit simpler to succeed in these tucked away castles or hidden seashores.
That stated, try to be conscious that the highway community in Wales is primarily made up of standard two-lane roads quite than multi-lane freeways (often called motorways within the UK).
As such, journey instances can take a bit longer than in different elements of the UK. It’s troublesome to zip throughout Wales and journeys might take longer that you simply count on from simply wanting on the map.
This isn’t a nasty factor, because the surroundings is mostly beautiful, and there are many issues to cease and have a look at anyway. Nonetheless, you’ll simply wish to remember when planning that even when the distances don’t look notably lengthy, it may well take a little bit of time to get from place to position.
In case you are planning on touring by automobile and must hire, we suggest evaluating automobile rental costs right here.
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 simply’ll positively wish to plan nicely prematurely. Additionally, you will wish to remember that it may well take fairly a little bit of time to get between places.
I’ve performed a good bit of journey by prepare and bus in Wales, and while the surroundings is at all times very fairly, it may well 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 rigorously in order to not spend all of your time sitting on a bus or prepare.
It’s additionally price noting that while trains and buses join quite a lot of the nation, they don’t go completely all over the place. So if there’s someplace you actually wish to see, do examine to make sure you can really get there by the mode of transport you want to use.
General, while you may positively get round Wales by public transport, for folk on a restricted timeframe who wish to see quite a bit, we might most likely suggest both driving or taking a tour.
Best Locations to go to in Wales by public transport?
In case you are planning on visiting Wales by public transport, you is likely to be questioning what the most effective places are for doing so. Listed below are some ideas.
First, we’d recommend specializing in a selected area of Wales when you plan on visiting by public transport, as then you definitely’ll be capable to 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, when you’d want 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 quite a few different prepare and bus routes.
This can permit 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 automobile.
Be a part of a Tour
Among the best method to see Wales in our opinion, particularly when you want to not drive, is to hitch 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 position.
You do lose a little bit of flexibility when taking a tour in fact, as they typically observe a set itinerary. That is notably the case when you be part of a bunch tour. A non-public tour will usually provide much more customization, with the draw back that they are typically costlier.
That stated, in our expertise most group excursions concentrate on the highlights that guests wish to see anyway. Simply be certain when selecting a tour to make sure it visits the vast majority of sights and sights you actually wish to see in Wales.
We have now some really helpful excursions of Wales within the part of this information on really helpful excursions. It’s also possible to see a variety of excursions by numerous suppliers at completely different value factors and durations on TourRadar right here.
Greatest Guided Excursions of Wales
A good 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 value.
The longer Wales excursions typically depart from London, Bristol, or Cardiff.
Some we recommend 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 excellent 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 all the way down to south west Wales.
- This 8 day tour from Cardiff follows the same path to our personal urged 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.
- You probably 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 in fact extra excursions to select from in Wales. See this choice from a variety of operators on TourRadar which can allow you to type and filter by period, locations visited and value.
Highlights in Wales
There’s quite a bit to see in Wales, sufficient to fill many weeks of explorations. As it may be onerous to determine what to see, we needed to share a few of our private highlights within the nation. That is on no account an exhaustive record, however we do assume it covers quite a lot of what the nation has to supply.
We’ve divided it roughly into sights within the southern half of Wales (principally all the pieces south of round Aberystwyth) and the northern half of Wales (all the pieces north of Aberystwyth).
We predict this is smart as a result of in case you are on a shorter timetable it would be best to concentrate on a extra manageable space.
In case you are fortunate sufficient to have extra time then you may positively go to the entire nation!
South Wales Highlights
South Wales has quite a bit 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 one can find ample mountaineering and wildlife viewing alternatives.
This a part of Wales can be residence to historical burial grounds, stunning church buildings, castles, seashores, and extra!
Listed below 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
- Mountaineering 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 probably greatest often called being easy methods to the spectacular Snowdonia Nationwide Park, which is truthful sufficient as it’s a really stunning a part of the world.
Nonetheless, there’s heaps extra to this area of the nation, from epic castles by way of to heritage steam railways and great seashores.
Listed below are a number of 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
- Fowl Watching within the Dyfi Valley & Coast
- Centre for Different Know-how
- Barmouth Seaside
- Aber Falls
- Portmeirion
Prompt Itineraries for Wales
There’s a lot to see in Wales! We needed to share some urged itineraries for visiting the nation for various durations, so you may take advantage of 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. In case you are counting on public transport, we’d positively suggest specializing in a smaller space so you may spend extra time seeing sights and fewer time touring.
In case you are on a tour or in your individual car, you’ll possible be capable to match extra in.
1 – 3 Day Wales Itineraries
With one to a few days in Wales we might extremely suggest specializing in a selected space of the nation, reminiscent of 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.
Another choice could be to concentrate on the mountains and castles of north Wales.
Basing your self in Caernarfon for instance would put you in straightforward attain of a few of the most spectacular castles in Wales, in addition to the hike or prepare trip up Snowdon. You might simply spend an exquisite one to a few 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 to 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 a substitute, concentrate on a specific space and hone in on a few of the sights you have an interest in.
For instance, if you wish to expertise tradition and coastal surroundings, then we’d recommend beginning in Cardiff, working your method alongside the south coast, after which heading up in the direction of Aberystwyth.
Alongside the best way you’ll be capable to go to cultural sights, expertise stunning coastal walks and soak up quite a few castles.
Alternatively, head as much as north Wales. With a bit extra time you may discover extra of this stunning a part of the world, from the peaks of the Snowdonia Nationwide Park to the UNESCO listed castles to the heritage steam railway strains.
We’d recommend basing your self in two or three places, reminiscent of Caernarfon, Porthmadog, Conwy, or Barmouth, and exploring from there.
6 Day+ Wales Itineraries
With greater than six days in Wales, you’ll be capable to discover from high to backside when you so wished. We’d recommend 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 have now a urged 1 week Wales itinerary (might be adjusted to 10+ days) for doing simply that with plenty of detailed info, 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 in your journey to Wales it would be best to be ready for a wide range of situations. Moreover, as quite a lot of the actions in Wales contain time spent outside and notably mountaineering, you’ll wish to plan and pack accordingly to make sure you are ready.
We might suggest studying our information to what to pack for the UK as a basic overview, but additionally 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 needed to share some extra assets we predict may assist you to with planning this and future journeys within the UK.
- We have now an in depth 7 – 10 day highway journey itinerary for Wales, with day-to-day highlights, tips about the place to remain, and plenty extra.
- In case you’re in search of extra highway journey inspiration within the UK, we’ve a two week UK highway journey itinerary and a one week UK highway journey itinerary. We even have a one week Cornwall itinerary
- In case you’re heading to Scotland, try our 2 day Edinburgh itinerary, our Glasgow and Loch Lomond itinerary, our information to the greatest day journeys from Glasgow, our information to issues to do in Edinburgh, our itinerary for Skye and the Highlands, our information to the greatest day journeys from Aberdeen, and our information to the most effective day journeys from Edinburgh. We even have a North Coast 500 planning information and North Coast 500 seven day itinerary
- In case you’re not aware of driving within the UK, see my information to driving within the UK for useful ideas.
- We have now guides to many cities within the UK you may try! 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, tips about a weekend in York, tips about Visiting Oxford on a Day Journey, and issues to do in Cambridge to get began
- In case you’re in search of a guidebook in your journey, try the Tough Information to Wales
And that’s it! Have you ever ever visited Wales? Do you’ve something you’d add to the above? Simply tell us within the feedback under, and secure travels!
