If you happen to’re planning a visit to Wales, then you definitely’ve come to the suitable place! On this information we’re going to share all the pieces that you must know to plan the right Wales journey. That is primarily based on our experiences of touring in Wales and likewise my time residing in Wales, which I did for a few years. I used to be truly born in Wales!
On this put up, we’ll cowl the very best instances of yr to go to Wales, highlights to not miss, find out how to get round Wales, the place to remain in Wales, what to eat in Wales, find out how to guide excursions, and lots of extra suggestions that will help you plan the right Wales journey.
We’d counsel studying this information alongside our detailed Wales road trip itinerary, which gives you 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 folks. 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 whole 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, largely 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 at the least 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 uncomfortable side effects of all these wars is that Wales now has an enormous quantity of castles you’ll be able to go to which is nice as a vacationer. There’s additionally numerous 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 also be after all essentially the most extensively spoken language.
If you’re not that acquainted with the historical past of Wales, we will extremely suggest studying a book on Welsh history earlier than or throughout your go to. This is not going to solely assist you to higher perceive most of the locations you might be prone to go to in Wales (e.g., castles, museums, church buildings, Iron Age ruins), however it’s going to 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 events like the Eisteddfodd, there actually is a large quantity to select from.
After all, the very first thing that doubtless springs to thoughts whenever you consider Wales are the castles, a aspect impact of all the assorted wars over time. Wales has an enormous variety of castles, together with numerous UNESCO listed medieval castles.
Actually, Wales has extra castles per sq. mile than every other nation in Europe! Suffice to say, if you happen to like exploring castles as a lot as we do, Wales has no scarcity to give you.
If you happen to do plan on seeing numerous castles, then we will extremely suggest selecting up a Cadw cross. This contains entry to an enormous variety of historic websites in Wales, together with most the castles.
You should purchase this online 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 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 talents. 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 stunning sandy stretches to these coated in pebbles. So if you happen to’re after a superb 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 variability in panorama and habitat means there’s numerous completely different fowl species you’ll be able to spot, and there are numerous nature preserves you’ll be able to go to the place you’ll be able to spot varied varieties of fowl 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 via to mammals, reptiles, and extra!
Lastly, Wales can also be a fantastic vacation spot for lovers of mythology. This must be apparent from the flag, which is emblazoned with a crimson dragon, arguably the world’s coolest flag. Naturally, you’ll be able to study all concerning the mythology of Wales, from the origin story of King Arthur via to dragons and druids.
General, we predict it’s honest to say that Wales just isn’t a vacation spot the place you’ll run out of issues to do!
Some Fundamental Info 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’ll be able to journey out and in of Wales freely.
If Wales is your first level of entry into the UK (resembling if you happen to 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’ll be able to see extra info on any required visas on your go to on the UK government website here or from your individual authorities’s official journey web site.
If you happen to arrive into one other a part of the UK resembling England or Scotland, then you definitely don’t have to undergo any additional controls whenever you journey to Wales, be that by automobile, practice, 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 provides each native and worldwide flights to a restricted variety of locations.
Wales can also be effectively served by regional transport connections from the UK. By practice, 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 practice from Chester, or 3.5 hours from London.
You can even 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 also 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 embrace Wales, departing from places resembling London or Bristol. Extra on excursions in a while on this information. Suffice to say, you could have 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 actually hear Welsh being spoken throughout your go to.
The principle manner you’ll encounter Welsh as a customer is prone to be on indicators. Most indicators are supplied in each Welsh and English. Place names are additionally almost 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 almost all Welsh individuals are fairly used to it.
If you happen to’d like to enhance your pronunciation, this is a good starter guide. An excellent guide book to Wales must also 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 street indicators are in Welsh in addition to English.
If you happen to drive in Wales, you’ll shortly study some Welsh phrases from the street indicators, significantly “Araf” which suggests “Gradual”. Within the majority of circumstances although, indicators can be in each English and Welsh.
Apart from that, driving in Wales is identical as driving in the remainder of the UK. Drive on the left of the street and be sure you observe all pace limits and street 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’ll be able to see extra suggestions in my information to driving in the UK.
If you’re renting a automobile (compare prices here), you’ll be able to drive the automobile between England and Wales with none points.
Remember that almost all of automobiles within the UK use a handbook transmission, so be sure you specify an computerized if that’s what you might be used to driving. Simply observe that these do usually carry a worth premium as they don’t seem to be as widespread.
Relying on the place on the earth you might be visiting from and the language your license is in, you might also want an international 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 website here.
For journey planning by public transport in Wales (and the UK typically), we suggest and use the Traveline website. It’s a free service supplied 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’re going to get higher costs if you happen to guide on-line prematurely. We suggest the trainline website for practice 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 embrace National Express 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 may even wish to examine their gear helps the 220v customary, because the U.S. makes use of a 110v customary. The voltage a tool helps can 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 units like hair dryers and hair straighteners should not.
See extra on journey adapters and the way to decide on one on your journey in our information to the best travel adapters.
Foreign money 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 appears precisely the identical as that utilized in England.
Be aware 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, also referred to as British Summer time Time (BST).
BST runs from the final Sunday in March via to the final Sunday in October.
Greatest Occasions to Go to Wales
You is likely to be questioning when the very best time to go to Wales is. While Wales is a year-round vacation spot, there are actually benefits and downsides to visiting at completely different instances of yr.
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 very best time of yr to go to goes to be from late Could via to mid-September.
This time of yr gives you the very best likelihood of excellent climate and sunny days, though observe that rain and cooler temperatures are attainable 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 selection of huge English cities close to Wales resembling Birmingham, Liverpool, Bristol, and Manchester, and guests from these cities usually take journeys to Wales. It’s an particularly fashionable vacation spot for households.
In consequence, the busiest time of yr in Wales is usually going to be over the college holidays (faculty breaks) in England and Wales.
The precise timing of faculty holidays varies a bit of by space, however typically there are main holidays over the Easter interval, and over the summer season months from mid-July via to the top of August.
There are additionally “half-term” holidays which happen midway via every faculty time period and are typically every week in period. 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 folks to go to Wales is through the hotter summer season months, and through faculty holidays, particularly the Easter holidays, spring half-term, and summer season holidays.
In consequence, if you wish to go to Wales when it’s prone to be quieter then you definitely could be finest served avoiding these instances.
If you happen to nonetheless need good climate, we’d counsel June or September to be optimum months, though April and Could can provide good climate when you have a little bit of luck in your aspect!
Greatest for Climbing / Climbing Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa)
While you’ll be able to hike in Wales at any time of yr, we might counsel that the very best instances for mountaineering are going to be just like that for visiting for the very best climate. So that’s going to be from late Could to mid-September.
No matter time of yr you propose 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 info, this safety guide may 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 practice to the summit, each of that are fashionable choices.
In our expertise, Snowdon will be busy yr spherical, however the hotter summer season months are undoubtedly 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 fashionable routes such because the Snowdon Ranger path or the Rhyd Ddu path.
After all, Wales has a fantastic many extra mountains you’ll be able to hike, the vast majority of that are far much less busy and fashionable than Snowdon. A private favorite is Cader Idris, which additionally provides spectacular views throughout the Snowdonia Nationwide Park, and attracts a fraction of the guests!
Main Festivals in Wales
Wales performs host to numerous festivals and festivals all year long, together with music festivals, meals festivals, literary festivals, craft festivals, artwork festivals, and extra (see a reasonably complete list of festivals in Wales here).
The most important competition in Wales is often the National 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 happening in Welsh.
If you happen to plan on visiting the Eisteddfodd (or every other competition in Wales), you’ll undoubtedly wish to plan effectively forward as lodging can guide out, and the realm the place the occasion is being held is prone to be a lot busier than standard.
Conversely, it’s price being conscious when and the place festivals are being held even if you happen to 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 large quantity to see and do in Wales. You could possibly simply spend many weeks exploring the nation with out working out of issues to see and do.
Our suggestion could be to spend at the least every week if attainable to get a good suggestion of what’s on provide and to have time to discover a number of the nation’s highlights.
In case you have much less time, say three to 5 days, then we might suggest specializing in one space or area of the nation quite than attempting to cowl an excessive amount of floor.
So, for instance, with three days you may wish to deal with visiting Cardiff and south-west Wales or discover a part of north Wales with visits to Caernarfon and Snowdonia Nationwide Park.
In case you have every week or extra, then you’ll be able to broaden your itinerary to cowl extra of the nation.
We are going to share some steered itineraries additional on on this information that will help you plan, and we even have a 7 – 10 day Wales road trip itinerary you must 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 camping, glamping, self-catered accommodation, family-run guesthouses, country house hotels or regular hotels, you’ll discover one thing to swimsuit.
We now have stayed at an enormous vary of lodging choices throughout Wales, together with residence leases, guesthouses, mattress and breakfasts and resorts. Often we choose to both keep at a domestically owned mattress and breakfast or small lodge. However for longer stays, we usually guide an residence or cottage.
When on the lookout for lodging, we suggest a mixture of the next websites:
- Booking.com – that is often our first cease for all types of lodging sorts, from resorts to visitors homes to flats. 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 several areas.
- Sykes Holiday Cottages – for longer stays in Wales (and the broader UK) we additionally use Sykes. They focus on vacation cottages, and now we have stayed at some actually beautiful properties via their system.
- Vrbo UK – if we’re particularly on the lookout for an residence 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 want extra choices for lodging reserving in Wales and the UK, see our guide to booking holiday homes in the UK for some concepts!
What to Eat in Wales?
You is likely to be questioning what meals you must attempt in Wales whenever you go to, and if there are any uniquely Welsh dishes. Nicely, the reply is sure there are.
While there are actually numerous similarities between Welsh meals and English meals, together with staples resembling fish and chips and the total fried breakfast expertise, there are some dishes which can be widespread to Wales. Listed here are some to attempt:
- Cawl – one in all extra conventional Welsh dishes, cawl (pronounced cowl) dates again to the eleventh century at the least 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 nonetheless it’s made!
- Glamorgan sausage – this fashionable “sausage” is a standard vegetarian sausage primarily created from leeks, cheese, and breadcrumbs. It dates again to at the least the 18th century however rose in recognition throughout World Struggle II as a result of meat rationing and stays fashionable immediately.
- Welsh truffles – this small cake is created from dough, raisins, currant and candied fruit peel after which cooked on a griddle. It may be eaten sizzling or chilly and is texturally extra just like a shortbread than a cake. We prefer it served sizzling 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 crammed with raisins, currants and dried candied fruit peel.
- Laverbread – This can be a very attention-grabbing delicacy, which regardless of the title, isn’t a bread in any respect. As a substitute, it’s a puree created from a selected 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 house to many milk producing animals, together with cows, goats, and sheep. As such, there are a lot of conventional Welsh cheeses to get pleasure from. 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 domestically brewed beers and ciders. There are additionally over 20 vineyards in Wales producing Welsh wine, and Welsh whisky is rising in popularity as effectively!
In addition to particular dishes, there are additionally many meals that Wales is usually identified for. These embrace Welsh lamb and beef, seafood, seaweed, and leeks, the latter of which is definitely the nationwide image of Wales.
If you’ll be buying and cooking throughout your time in Wales, you should not have any drawback discovering some native Welsh produce.
Suffice to say, we don’t suppose you’re going to go hungry throughout your keep in Wales.
How one can get round Wales?
There are fairly a number of choices for getting round Wales, which we’ll undergo now.
By Automotive
Our most popular choice for touring in Wales is to drive ourselves. Wales has numerous sights which can be a bit of off the overwhelmed path, and a automobile makes it quite a bit simpler to succeed in these tucked away castles or hidden seashores.
That mentioned, try to be conscious that the street community in Wales is primarily made up of standard two-lane roads quite than multi-lane freeways (often known as motorways within the UK).
As such, journey instances can take a bit longer than in different components of the UK. It’s troublesome to zip throughout Wales and journeys could take longer that you simply 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 have a look at anyway. Nonetheless, you’ll simply wish to remember when planning that even when the distances don’t look significantly lengthy, it might take a little bit of time to get from place to position.
If you’re planning on touring by automobile and have to lease, we suggest comparing car rental prices 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 undoubtedly wish to plan effectively prematurely. Additionally, you will wish to remember that it might take fairly a little bit of time to get between places.
I’ve performed a good bit of journey by practice and bus in Wales, and while the surroundings is at all times very fairly, it might take some time to get from location to location. So simply remember that in case you are on a restricted timetable, you have to to plan rigorously in order to not spend all of your time sitting on a bus or practice.
It’s additionally price noting that while trains and buses join numerous the nation, they don’t go completely in all places. So if there’s someplace you actually wish to see, do examine to make sure you can truly get there by the mode of transport you want to use.
General, while you’ll be able to undoubtedly get round Wales by public transport, for folk on a restricted timeframe who wish to see quite a bit, we might in all probability 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 likely to be questioning what the very best places are for doing so. Listed here are some suggestions.
First, we’d counsel specializing in a selected area of Wales if you happen to 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 may simply discover alongside the south coast to Tenby and even St. David’s.
Alternatively, if you happen to’d choose to discover extra of the mountains, then head to North Wales. I’d suggest taking the practice line alongside the north coast from the English metropolis of Chester (or Liverpool), which connects to numerous different practice and bus routes.
It will let you 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 could possibly simply make a loop via 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 via Machynlleth to Shrewsbury.
This route will allow you to discover castles, see shoreline and expertise the mountains, all with no need a automobile.
Be part of a Tour
Among the finest strategy to see Wales in our opinion, particularly if you happen to choose 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 find out how to get from place to position.
You do lose a little bit of flexibility when taking a tour after all, as they typically observe a hard and fast itinerary. That is significantly the case if you happen to be a 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 mentioned, in our expertise most group excursions deal with the highlights that guests wish to see anyway. Simply ensure when selecting a tour to make sure it visits the vast majority of sights and sights you actually wish to see in Wales.
We now have some really helpful excursions of Wales within the part of this information on really helpful excursions. You can even see a variety of excursions by varied suppliers at completely different worth factors and durations on TourRadar here.
Greatest Guided Excursions of Wales
A good 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 selection of excursions to select from that go to Wales, of various period and worth.
The longer Wales excursions typically depart from London, Bristol, or Cardiff.
Some we propose are as follows:
- This 5 day road trip with Rabbies could be our first decide of obtainable small group excursions of Wales. We’ve taken a fantastic 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 suggested Wales road trip itinerary. This tour contains time in Cardiff, the Brecon Beacons mountains, Snowdonia Nationwide Park, Conwy Fort, St. Davids, Tenby, and the Pembrokeshire Coast Nationwide Park.
- In case 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 Fort, 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 Fort, Harlech Fort, the Slate Museum, and Portmeirion.
There are after all extra excursions to select from in Wales. See this selection from a range of operators on TourRadar which can allow you to type and filter by period, 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 exhausting to determine what to see, we needed to share a few of our private highlights within the nation. That is in no way an exhaustive listing, however we do suppose it covers numerous what the nation has to supply.
We’ve divided it roughly into sights within the southern half of Wales (mainly all the pieces south of round Aberystwyth) and the northern half of Wales (all the pieces north of Aberystwyth).
We expect this is smart as a result of in case you are on a shorter timetable you’ll want to deal with a extra manageable space.
If you’re fortunate sufficient to have extra time then you’ll be able to undoubtedly 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, via 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 also be house to historical burial grounds, stunning church buildings, castles, seashores, and extra!
Listed here are some highlights to think about including to your Wales itinerary.
- Cardiff Fort
- Cardiff Museum
- St. Fagans (Nationwide Museum of Historical past)
- Castell Carreg Cennen
- Caerphilly Fort
- Tenby
- Freshwater Seashore
- Whitesands Seashore
- 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 probably finest often known as being find out how to the spectacular Snowdonia Nationwide Park, which is honest sufficient as it’s a actually stunning a part of the world.
Nonetheless, there’s heaps extra to this area of the nation, from epic castles via to heritage steam railways and great seashores.
Listed here are a number of highlights to think about including to your itinerary for Wales!
- Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railways
- Caernarfon Fort
- Beaumaris Fort
- Conwy Fort
- Harlech Fort
- Mount Snowdon & Snowdonia Nationwide Park
- Nationwide Slate Museum
- Chook Watching within the Dyfi Valley & Coast
- Centre for Different Expertise
- Barmouth Seashore
- Aber Falls
- Portmeirion
Prompt Itineraries for Wales
There’s a lot to see in Wales! We needed to share some steered itineraries for visiting the nation for various durations, so you’ll be able to profit from your go to.
After all, 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 undoubtedly suggest specializing in a smaller space so you’ll be able to spend extra time seeing sights and fewer time touring.
If you’re on a tour or in your individual automobile, you’ll doubtless be capable to match extra in.
1 – 3 Day Wales Itineraries
With one to 3 days in Wales we might extremely suggest specializing in a selected space of the nation, resembling 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 beautiful coastal village of Tenby.
Another choice could be to deal with the mountains and castles of north Wales.
Basing your self in Caernarfon for instance would put you in straightforward attain of a number of the most spectacular castles in Wales, in addition to the hike or practice journey up Snowdon. You could possibly 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’d be capable to extra completely discover a area of Wales.
Once more, we wouldn’t essentially suggest attempting to see the entire nation on this time interval as it would really feel a bit rushed. As a substitute, deal with a selected space and hone in on a number of 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 manner 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 numerous castles.
Alternatively, head as much as north Wales. With a bit extra time you’ll be able to 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 counsel basing your self in two or three places, resembling Caernarfon, Porthmadog, Conwy, or Barmouth, and exploring from there.
6 Day+ Wales Itineraries
With greater than six days in Wales, you’d be capable to discover from high to backside if you happen to 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 steered 1 week Wales itinerary (will be adjusted to 10+ days) for doing simply that with numerous 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 will be extremely variable. Rain is feasible at any time of yr, as are cooler temperatures.
So whenever you plan what to pack on your journey to Wales you’ll want to be ready for quite a lot of situations. Moreover, as numerous the actions in Wales contain time spent outside and significantly mountaineering, you’ll wish 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 common 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 predict may assist you to with planning this and future journeys within the UK.
- We now have an in depth 7 – 10 day road trip itinerary for Wales, with daily highlights, recommendations on the place to remain, and plenty extra.
- If you happen to’re on the lookout for extra street journey inspiration within the UK, now we have a two week UK road trip itinerary and a one week UK road trip itinerary. We even have a one week Cornwall itinerary
- If you happen to’re heading to Scotland, take a look at our 2 day Edinburgh itinerary, our Glasgow and Loch Lomond itinerary, our information to the best day trips from Glasgow, our information to things to do in Edinburgh, our itinerary for Skye and the Highlands, our information to the best day trips from Aberdeen, and our information to the very best day trips from Edinburgh. We even have a North Coast 500 planning guide and North Coast 500 seven day itinerary
- If you happen to’re not acquainted with driving within the UK, see my guide to driving in the UK for useful suggestions.
- We now have guides to many cities within the UK you’ll be able to take a look at! See our guides to things to do in Manchester, things to do in Stratford upon Avon, things to do in Bristol, things to do in Portsmouth, recommendations on a weekend in York, recommendations on Visiting Oxford on a Day Trip, and things to do in Cambridge to get began
- If you happen to’re on the lookout for a guidebook on your journey, take a look at the Rough Guide to Wales
And that’s it! Have you ever ever visited Wales? Do you could have something you’d add to the above? Simply tell us within the feedback under, and protected travels!
