If you happen to’re planning a visit to Wales, then you definitely’ve come to the appropriate place! On this information we’re going to share every part you want to know to plan the right Wales journey. That is primarily based on our experiences of touring in Wales and in addition my time dwelling in Wales, which I did for a few years. I used to be truly born in Wales!
On this submit, we’ll cowl the most effective instances of yr 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 will help you plan the right Wales journey.
We’d recommend studying this information alongside our detailed Wales highway journey itinerary, which offers you extra concepts of a particular 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 without doubt one of the 4 international locations (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 international locations border is made up of gorgeous shoreline, largely alongside the Irish Sea.
The historical past of Wales is pretty advanced. Folks have been dwelling right here for a whole bunch of 1000’s of years, with steady habitation for not less than 9,000 years. Because the Roman instances, many battles had been fought between the Welsh and the English as both 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 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. Nonetheless, there aren’t 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 probably the most broadly spoken language.
In case you are not that conversant in the historical past of Wales, we are able to extremely suggest studying a e book on Welsh historical past earlier than or throughout your go to. This is not going to solely allow you to higher perceive lots of the locations you might be more likely to go to in Wales (e.g., castles, museums, church buildings, Iron Age ruins), however it is going to additionally allow you 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 1000’s of years, Wales has an enormous quantity of cultural points of interest.
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 while you consider Wales are the castles, a aspect impact of all the varied wars through the years. Wales has an enormous variety of castles, together with quite a few UNESCO listed medieval castles.
In reality, Wales has extra castles per sq. mile than some other nation in Europe! Suffice to say, in case you like exploring castles as a lot as we do, Wales has no scarcity to give you.
If you happen to do plan on seeing a variety of castles, then we are able to extremely suggest choosing up a Cadw go. This contains entry to an enormous variety of historic websites in Wales, together with most the castles.
You should buy 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 gorgeous 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 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 lovely sandy stretches to these coated in pebbles. So in case you’re after a superb swim or only a good stroll on the seaside, there are many choices for you.
All that pretty outdoor house additionally means Wales is a superb vacation spot for wildlife. The range in panorama and habitat means there’s a variety of completely different fowl species you may spot, and there are numerous nature preserves you may go to the place you may spot numerous forms of fowl and study them.
It’s extra than simply birds in fact, with viewing alternatives for all types of wildlife, from seals and different marine life by to mammals, reptiles, and extra!
Lastly, Wales can be an important 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 may be taught all concerning the mythology of Wales, from the origin story of King Arthur by to dragons and druids.
General, we expect it’s truthful to say that Wales isn’t a vacation spot the place you’ll run out of issues to do!
Some Fundamental 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 upon 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 (corresponding to in case you arrive into Cardiff Airport from exterior the UK), then you definitely would want to undergo passport management and have the right visa and any needed documentation.
You possibly can see extra info on any required visas to your go to on the UK authorities web site right here or from your individual authorities’s official journey web site.
If you happen to arrive into one other a part of the UK corresponding to England or Scotland, then you definitely don’t must undergo any additional controls while you journey to Wales, be that by automotive, prepare, or aircraft.
Attending to and from Wales
Wales is a straightforward nation to get to. By way of flights, the one business 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 might allow you to join between Wales and the Republic of Eire.
There are additionally a number of excursions that embody Wales, departing from areas corresponding to London or Bristol. Extra on excursions in a while on this information. Suffice to say, you have got 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 means 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 all the time written in Welsh.
Welsh is a reasonably difficult language to be taught and the pronunciation is certainly 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.
If you happen to’d like to enhance your pronunciation, this can be a good starter information. An excellent information e book to Wales must also embody a information to pronunciation.
Driving in Wales
Driving in Wales is identical as driving in the remainder of the UK, with the primary distinction being that almost all of the highway indicators are in Welsh in addition to English.
If you happen to drive in Wales, you’ll shortly be taught some Welsh phrases from the highway indicators, significantly “Araf” which implies “Gradual”. Within the majority of circumstances although, indicators might 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 be sure you observe all velocity 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 possibly can see extra ideas in my information to driving within the UK.
In case you are renting a automotive (evaluate costs right here), you may drive the automotive between England and Wales with none points.
Remember that almost all of vehicles within the UK use a handbook transmission, so be sure you specify an automated if that’s what you might be used to driving. Simply notice that these do usually carry a worth premium as they don’t seem to be as widespread.
Relying on the place on this planet you might be visiting from and the language your license is in, you may additionally want a global driver’s license from the nation which points your driver’s license.
Public Transporation in Wales
Wales has a reasonably good public transport community, with each buses and trains which hyperlink lots of the cities and cities throughout the nation. You possibly can see the primary 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 allow 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 in case you e book on-line upfront. 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 think about, 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 need to verify their gear helps the 220v commonplace, because the U.S. makes use of a 110v commonplace. The voltage a tool helps might be written clearly on the ability adapter, normally within the type of 110v – 240v.
In our expertise most trendy laptops, telephone and digicam chargers, and different small electronics are common, while bigger units 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, particularly 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 seems to be precisely the identical as that utilized in England.
Word 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 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, often known as British Summer time Time (BST).
BST runs from the final Sunday in March by to the final Sunday in October.
Greatest Instances to Go to Wales
You is perhaps 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 yr.
Greatest for Climate
Wales has a comparatively delicate local weather year-round with out super extremes.
If you’d like hotter climate and longer hours of daylight for sightseeing, then the most effective time of yr to go to goes to be from late Could by to mid-September.
This time of yr offers you the most effective probability of fine climate and sunny days, though notice that rain and cooler temperatures are doable year-round.
The summit of Snowdon in summer season – 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 corresponding to Birmingham, Liverpool, Bristol, and Manchester, and guests from these cities usually take journeys to Wales. It’s an particularly fashionable vacation spot for households.
Consequently, the busiest time of yr in Wales is mostly going to be over the college holidays (college breaks) in England and Wales.
The precise timing of faculty holidays varies a little bit by space, however usually there are main holidays over the Easter interval, and over the summer season months from mid-July by to the top of August.
There are additionally “half-term” holidays which happen midway by every college time period and are usually every week in length. There may be usually one in mid-February, one across the finish of Could and one across the finish of October.
The preferred time for individuals to go to Wales is in the course of the hotter summer season months, and through college holidays, particularly the Easter holidays, spring half-term, and summer season holidays.
Consequently, if you wish to go to Wales when it’s more likely to be quieter then you definitely could be finest served avoiding these instances.
If you happen to nonetheless need good climate, we’d recommend June or September to be optimum months, though April and Could can supply good climate when you’ve got a little bit of luck in your aspect!
Greatest for Mountain climbing / Climbing Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa)
While you may hike in Wales at any time of yr, we might recommend that the most effective instances for mountain climbing are going to be much like that for visiting for the most effective climate. So that’s going to be from late Could to mid-September.
No matter time of yr you propose to go mountain climbing although, bear in mind 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 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 possibly can each hike and take a prepare to the summit, each of that are fashionable choices.
In our expertise, Snowdon might be busy yr spherical, however the hotter summer season months are undoubtedly the preferred time to sort out 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 preferred, and taking one of many different much less fashionable routes such because the Snowdon Ranger path or the Rhyd Ddu path.
In fact, Wales has an important many extra mountains you may hike, nearly all of that are far much less busy and fashionable 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 quite a few festivals and festivals all year long, together with music festivals, meals festivals, literary festivals, craft festivals, artwork festivals, and extra (see a reasonably complete record of festivals in Wales right here).
The biggest competition in Wales is often the Nationwide Eisteddfod of Wales, which is held for round every week on the primary week of August annually. The situation 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.
If you happen to plan on visiting the Eisteddfodd (or some other competition in Wales), you’ll undoubtedly need to plan effectively forward as lodging can e book out, and the realm the place the occasion is being held is more likely to be a lot busier than ordinary.
Conversely, it’s price being conscious when and the place festivals are being held even in case 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 can simply spend many weeks exploring the nation with out operating out of issues to see and do.
Our advice could be to spend not less than every week if doable to get a good suggestion of what’s on supply 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 fairly than making an attempt to cowl an excessive amount of floor.
So, for instance, with three days you would possibly need 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 recommended itineraries additional on on this information that will help you plan, and we even have a 7 – 10 day Wales highway journey itinerary it is 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 lodges or common lodges, you will discover one thing to go well with.
We now have stayed at an enormous vary of lodging choices throughout Wales, together with condominium leases, guesthouses, mattress and breakfasts and lodges. Often we desire to both keep at a domestically owned mattress and breakfast or small resort. However for longer stays, we usually e book an condominium or cottage.
When in search of lodging, we suggest a mixture of the next websites:
- Reserving.com – that is normally our first cease for all types of lodging varieties, from lodges to company homes to flats. We just like the highly effective filter system that permits us to hone in on precisely what we would like in every location, in addition to the map device that lets us see completely different choices in several areas.
- Sykes Vacation Cottages – for longer stays in Wales (and the broader UK) we additionally use Sykes. They specialise in vacation cottages, and we have now stayed at some actually pretty properties by their system.
- Vrbo UK – if we’re particularly in search of an condominium or trip rental, we’ll additionally normally look on Vrbo. They provide a wide variety of choices and it’s good to have a comparability.
If you want extra choices for lodging reserving in Wales and the UK, see our information to reserving vacation houses within the UK for some concepts!
What to Eat in Wales?
You is perhaps questioning what meals it is best to attempt in Wales while you go to, and if there are any uniquely Welsh dishes. Nicely, the reply is sure there are.
While there are definitely a variety of similarities between Welsh meals and English meals, together with staples corresponding to fish and chips and the total fried breakfast expertise, there are some dishes which might be widespread to Wales. Listed here are some to attempt:
- Cawl – certainly one of extra conventional Welsh dishes, cawl (pronounced cowl) dates again to the eleventh century not less than 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 nonetheless it’s made!
- Glamorgan sausage – this fashionable “sausage” is a standard vegetarian sausage primarily comprised of leeks, cheese, and breadcrumbs. It dates again to not less than the 18th century however rose in recognition throughout World Battle II resulting from meat rationing and stays fashionable right this moment.
- Welsh desserts – this small cake is comprised 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 full of raisins, currants and dried candied fruit peel.
- Laverbread – It is a very fascinating delicacy, which regardless of the identify, isn’t a bread in any respect. As a substitute, it’s a puree comprised of a particular sort of seaweed which grows alongside the Welsh shoreline. The seaweed is cooked for hours to kind the puree, which is then mostly served with bread.
- Welsh cheese – Wales is dwelling to many milk producing animals, together with cows, goats, and sheep. As such, there are lots of conventional Welsh cheeses to get pleasure from. 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 effectively!
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 will be purchasing and cooking throughout your time in Wales, you should not have any downside discovering some native Welsh produce.
We are able to additionally suggest The Welsh Home for making an attempt quite a lot of Welsh meals. They’re in a number of areas, together with in Cardiff close to the fortress. The final time we visited that they had a “Style of Wales” menu choice which allow us to attempt a variety of completely 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.
Methods to get round Wales?
There are fairly a number of choices for getting round Wales, which we’ll undergo now.
By Automotive
Our most well-liked choice for touring in Wales is to drive ourselves. Wales has a variety of points of interest which might be a little bit off the crushed path, and a automotive makes it quite a bit simpler to achieve these tucked away castles or hidden seashores.
That mentioned, you ought to be conscious that the highway community in Wales is primarily made up of normal two-lane roads fairly 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 tough to zip throughout Wales and journeys could take longer that you just anticipate from simply wanting on the map.
This isn’t a nasty factor, because the surroundings is mostly pretty, and there are many issues to cease and take a look at anyway. Nonetheless, you’ll simply need to bear in mind when planning that even when the distances don’t look significantly lengthy, it could possibly take a little bit of time to get from place to position.
In case you are planning on touring by automotive and must lease, we suggest evaluating automotive rental costs on Uncover Automobiles right here. They evaluate all the primary suppliers so you will get the most effective worth to your journey.
Public Transportation
As talked about within the part on public transport, Wales has a reasonably 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 undoubtedly need to plan effectively upfront. Additionally, you will need to bear in mind that it could possibly take fairly a little bit of time to get between areas.
I’ve completed a good bit of journey by prepare and bus in Wales, and while the surroundings is all the time very fairly, it could possibly take some time to get from location to location. So simply bear in mind that in case you are on a restricted timetable, you will want 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 a variety of the nation, they don’t go completely in every single place. So if there’s someplace you actually need to see, do verify to make sure you can truly get there by the mode of transport you want to use.
General, while you may undoubtedly get round Wales by public transport, for folk on a restricted timeframe who need 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 perhaps questioning what the most effective areas are for doing so. Listed here are some ideas.
First, we’d recommend specializing in a particular area of Wales in case 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, in case you’d desire 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.
It will mean you can 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 can simply make a loop by 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 Machynlleth to Shrewsbury.
This route will allow you to discover castles, see shoreline and expertise the mountains, all without having a automotive.
Be a part of a Tour
Among the best method to see Wales in our opinion, particularly in case you desire 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 comply with a set itinerary. That is significantly the case in case you be part of a gaggle tour. A non-public tour will usually supply much more customization, with the draw back that they are usually costlier.
That mentioned, in our expertise most group excursions concentrate on the highlights that guests need to see anyway. Simply be certain when selecting a tour to make sure it visits nearly all of sights and points of interest you actually need to see in Wales.
We now have some beneficial excursions of Wales within the part of this information on beneficial excursions. You too can see a variety of excursions by numerous suppliers at completely 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 concerning 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 length and worth.
The longer Wales excursions usually depart from London, Bristol, or Cardiff.
Some we propose are as follows:
- This 5 day highway journey with Rabbies could be our first choose of accessible small group excursions of Wales. We’ve taken an important many excursions with Rabbies and we love their educated driver guides and small group sizes. This tour departs from London and covers lots of the highlights of the nation, from Snowdonia all the way down to south west Wales.
- This 8 day tour from Cardiff follows an identical path to our personal recommended Wales highway journey itinerary. This tour contains time in Cardiff, the Brecon Beacons mountains, Snowdonia Nationwide Park, Conwy Fortress, 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 Fortress, 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 contains Snowdonia Nationwide Parks, Conwy Fortress, Harlech Fortress, 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 is able to allow you to kind and filter by length, locations visited and worth.
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 not at all an exhaustive record, however we do suppose it covers a variety of what the nation has to supply.
We’ve divided it roughly into points of interest within the southern half of Wales (principally every part south of round Aberystwyth) and the northern half of Wales (every part north of Aberystwyth).
We expect this is smart as a result of in case you are on a shorter timetable you’ll want to concentrate on a extra manageable space.
In case you are fortunate sufficient to have extra time then you may undoubtedly go to the entire nation!
South Wales Highlights
South Wales has quite a bit to supply, from the cultural points of interest in and across the capital metropolis, by to the gorgeous landscapes of the Pembrokeshire Nationwide Park the place you will see that ample mountain climbing and wildlife viewing alternatives.
This a part of Wales can be dwelling to historic burial grounds, lovely church buildings, castles, seashores, and extra!
Listed here are some highlights to think about including to your Wales itinerary.
- Cardiff Fortress
- Cardiff Museum
- St. Fagans (Nationwide Museum of Historical past)
- Castell Carreg Cennen
- Caerphilly Fortress
- Tenby
- Freshwater Seashore
- Whitesands Seashore
- St. David’s Cathedral
- Mountain 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 often called being easy methods to the spectacular Snowdonia Nationwide Park, which is truthful sufficient as it’s a really lovely a part of the world.
Nonetheless, there’s tons extra to this area of the nation, from epic castles by to heritage steam railways and fantastic seashores.
Listed here are a number of highlights to think about including to your itinerary for Wales!
- Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railways
- Caernarfon Fortress
- Beaumaris Fortress
- Conwy Fortress
- Harlech Fortress
- Mount Snowdon & Snowdonia Nationwide Park
- Nationwide Slate Museum
- Chicken Watching within the Dyfi Valley & Coast
- Centre for Various Expertise
- Barmouth Seashore
- Aber Falls
- Portmeirion
Steered Itineraries for Wales
There’s a lot to see in Wales! We needed to share some recommended 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 undoubtedly 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 automobile, 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 particular space of the nation, corresponding to an space of south Wales or north Wales.
For instance, for south Wales you would possibly think about spending a day in Cardiff after which a day or two exploring the Pembrokeshire Coast Nationwide Park, overnighting in St. David’s or the beautiful 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 can simply spend an exquisite one to a few days visiting castles, exploring seashores and mountain climbing 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 would really feel a bit rushed. As a substitute, concentrate on a selected space and hone in on a few of the points of interest 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 means alongside the south coast, after which heading up in direction of Aberystwyth.
Alongside the best way you’ll be capable to go to cultural points of interest, expertise lovely coastal walks and absorb quite a few castles.
Alternatively, head as much as north Wales. With a bit extra time you may 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 recommend basing your self in two or three areas, corresponding 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 to discover from prime to backside in case 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 now have a recommended 1 week Wales itinerary (might be adjusted to 10+ days) for doing simply that with numerous detailed info, which we expect 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 yr, as are cooler temperatures.
So while you plan what to pack to your journey to Wales you’ll want to be ready for quite a lot of situations. Moreover, as a variety of the actions in Wales contain time spent outdoor and significantly mountain climbing, you’ll need to plan and pack accordingly to make sure you are ready.
We’d suggest studying our information to what to pack for the UK as a normal overview, but in addition to recollect the next gadgets:
Additional Assets 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 expect would possibly allow you 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 daily highlights, recommendations on the place to remain, and much extra.
- If you happen to’re in search of extra highway journey inspiration within the UK, we have now a two week UK highway journey itinerary and a one week UK highway journey itinerary. We even have a one week Cornwall itinerary
- If you happen to’re heading to Scotland, try 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 the most effective day journeys from Edinburgh. We even have a North Coast 500 planning information and North Coast 500 seven day itinerary
- If you happen to’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 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, recommendations on a weekend in York, recommendations on Visiting Oxford on a Day Journey, and issues to do in Cambridge to get began
- If you happen to’re in search of a guidebook to your journey, try the Tough Information to Wales
And that’s it! Have you ever ever visited Wales? Do you have got something you’d add to the above? Simply tell us within the feedback under, and protected travels!
