A Detailed Information to Planning a Journey to Wales

If you happen to’re planning a visit to Wales, then you definitely’ve come to the correct place! On this information we’re going to share all the pieces you want to know to plan the proper Wales journey. That is based mostly on our experiences of touring in Wales and in addition my time residing in Wales, which I did for a few years. I used to be truly born in Wales!

On this submit, we’ll cowl one of the best occasions of 12 months to go to Wales, highlights to not miss, the right way to get round Wales, the place to remain in Wales, what to eat in Wales, the right way to ebook excursions, and plenty of extra ideas that will help you plan the proper Wales journey.

We’d recommend studying this information alongside our detailed Wales road trip itinerary, which provides you with extra concepts of a particular itinerary and sights to see.

Let’s begin with an summary of Wales.

A Fast Overview of Wales

Wales is a rustic with a inhabitants of round three million folks. It’s a part of the Island of Nice Britain together with England and Scotland. It is without doubt one of the 4 nations (together with England, Scotland, and Northern Eire) that make up the UK.

Geographically, Wales borders England alongside its complete east coast, from round Chester within the north down to close Bristol within the south. The remainder of the nations border is made up of gorgeous shoreline, principally alongside the Irish Sea.

The historical past of Wales is pretty advanced. Individuals have been residing 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 occasions, 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 possibly can 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. Nevertheless, there are not any border controls or something like that when touring from England to Wales (they’re each a part of the UK), and English can also be in fact essentially the most extensively spoken language.

If you’re not that aware of the historical past of Wales, we are able to extremely advocate studying a book on Welsh history earlier than or throughout your go to. This won’t solely provide help to higher perceive most of the locations you might be more likely to go to in Wales (e.g., castles, museums, church buildings, Iron Age ruins), however it’ll additionally provide help to higher perceive the 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 big quantity to select from.

In fact, the very first thing that seemingly springs to thoughts if you consider Wales are the castles, a aspect impact of all the varied wars over time. Wales has an enormous variety of castles, together with quite a few UNESCO listed medieval castles.

In truth, Wales has extra castles per sq. mile than every 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 numerous castles, then we are able to extremely advocate selecting up a Cadw go. This consists of entry to an enormous variety of historic websites in Wales, together with most the castles.

You should buy this online 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, may even discover loads to do in Wales. There’s an enormous quantity of pure landscapes to discover, from gorgeous coastal surroundings to stunning hills and mountains. It’s good for hikers of all talents. So whether or not you favor 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 complete gamut, from stunning sandy stretches to these coated in pebbles. So in case you’re after a very good swim or only a good stroll on the seaside, there are many choices for you.

All that beautiful outside house additionally means Wales is a superb vacation spot for wildlife. The variability in panorama and habitat means there’s numerous totally different fowl species you possibly can spot, and there are numerous nature preserves you possibly can go to the place you possibly can spot varied kinds 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 means of to mammals, reptiles, and extra!

Lastly, Wales can also be an excellent vacation spot for lovers of mythology. This needs to be apparent from the flag, which is emblazoned with a pink dragon, arguably the world’s coolest flag. Naturally, you possibly can be taught all in regards to the mythology of Wales, from the origin story of King Arthur by means of to dragons and druids.

Total, we expect it’s honest to say that Wales just isn’t a vacation spot the place you’ll run out of issues to do!

 

Some Primary Info for Touring in Wales

Let’s cowl some fundamental data for touring in Wales.

Wales and the broader UK

Wales is part of the UK (UK), so after getting entered the UK then you possibly can journey out and in of Wales freely.

If Wales is your first level of entry into the UK (comparable to in case you arrive into Cardiff Airport from exterior the UK), then you definitely would want to undergo passport management and have the proper visa and any crucial documentation.

You may see extra data 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 comparable to England or Scotland, then you definitely don’t have to undergo any additional controls if you journey to Wales, be that by automotive, practice, 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 provides each native and worldwide flights to a restricted variety of locations.

Wales can also be properly 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 too can simply drive to Wales from places 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 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 is able to allow you to join between Wales and the Republic of Eire.

There are additionally a number of excursions that embody Wales, departing from places comparable to London or Bristol. Extra on excursions afterward on this information. Suffice to say, you will have loads of choices for attending to and from Wales!

 

Language in Wales

Wales has two official languages: Welsh and English. Just below 20% of the inhabitants of Wales speaks Welsh, however just about everybody additionally speaks English.

Nevertheless you’ll nearly definitely hear Welsh being spoken throughout your go to.

The primary approach you’ll encounter Welsh as a customer is more likely 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 be taught 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 embody a information to pronunciation.

 

Driving in Wales

Driving in Wales is similar as driving in the remainder of the UK, with the primary 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 be taught some Welsh phrases from the street indicators, significantly “Araf” which implies “Gradual”. Within the majority of instances although, indicators might be in each English and Welsh.

Apart from that, driving in Wales is similar 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 may see extra ideas in my information to driving in the UK.

If you’re renting a automotive (compare prices here), you possibly can drive the automotive between England and Wales with none points.

Remember that almost all of vehicles within the UK use a guide transmission, so be sure you specify an automated if that’s what you might be used to driving. Simply be aware that these do usually carry a value premium as they don’t seem to be as frequent.

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 may see the primary transport routes on the Transport for Wales website here.

For journey planning by public transport in Wales (and the UK typically), we advocate and use the Traveline website. It’s a free service supplied by a partnership of public transport operators within the UK, and can provide help to plan your journey between just about any two factors within the nation.

For almost all of public transport in Wales and the UK (particularly on longer distance routes) you’ll get higher costs in case you ebook on-line upfront. We advocate 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 embody 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 kind G).

Travellers from a lot of the remainder of the world, together with mainland Europe and the USA will want an adapter like this.

American travellers may even wish to test 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 facility adapter, normally within the type of 110v – 240v.

In our expertise most fashionable laptops, cellphone and digicam chargers, and different small electronics are common, while bigger units like hair dryers and hair straighteners usually are 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 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 to be precisely the identical as that utilized in England.

Be aware that that is totally different to Scotland and Northern Eire, the place financial institution notes are issued by Scottish and Irish banks respectively. These financial institution notes 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 called British Summer season Time (BST).

BST runs from the final Sunday in March by means of to the final Sunday in October.

 

Greatest Occasions to Go to Wales

You is likely to be questioning when one of the best time to go to Wales is. While Wales is a year-round vacation spot, there are definitely benefits and downsides to visiting at totally different occasions of 12 months.

Greatest for Climate

Wales has a comparatively gentle local weather year-round with out large extremes.

If you need hotter climate and longer hours of daylight for sightseeing, then one of the best time of 12 months to go to goes to be from late Might by means of to mid-September.

This time of 12 months provides you with one of the best likelihood of excellent climate and sunny days, though be aware that rain and cooler temperatures are doable 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 selection of huge English cities close to Wales comparable to Birmingham, Liverpool, Bristol, and Manchester, and guests from these cities recurrently take journeys to Wales. It’s an particularly common vacation spot for households.

Because of this, the busiest time of 12 months in Wales is mostly going to be over the varsity holidays (faculty breaks) in England and Wales.

The precise timing of college holidays varies just a little by space, however usually there are main holidays over the Easter interval, and over the summer time months from mid-July by means of to the top of August.

There are additionally “half-term” holidays which happen midway by means of every faculty time period and are usually every week in period. There’s usually one in mid-February, one across the finish of Might and one across the finish of October.

The most well-liked time for folks to go to Wales is throughout the hotter summer time months, and through faculty holidays, particularly the Easter holidays, spring half-term, and summer time holidays.

Because of this, if you wish to go to Wales when it’s more likely to be quieter then you definitely could be greatest served avoiding these occasions.

If you happen to nonetheless need good climate, we’d recommend June or September to be optimum months, though April and Might can supply good climate you probably have a little bit of luck in your aspect!

 

Greatest for Climbing / Climbing Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa)

While you possibly can hike in Wales at any time of 12 months, we’d recommend that one of the best occasions for climbing are going to be much like that for visiting for one of the best climate. So that’s going to be from late Might to mid-September.

No matter time of 12 months you intend to go climbing although, remember that the climate can change in a short time. So you’ll want to be ready, guarantee somebody is aware of your route and the place you’re going, and pack appropriately. For extra data, this safety guide could be very useful.

The most well-liked hike in Wales by far is the hike up Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa in Welsh). You may each hike and take a practice to the summit, each of that are common 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 common routes such because the Snowdon Ranger path or the Rhyd Ddu path.

In fact, Wales has an excellent many extra mountains you possibly can hike, nearly all of that are far much less busy and common 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 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 list of festivals in Wales here).

The biggest competition in Wales is generally the National Eisteddfod of Wales, which is held for round every week on the primary week of August every year. The placement 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.

If you happen to plan on visiting the Eisteddfodd (or every other competition in Wales), you’ll positively wish to plan properly forward as lodging can ebook out, and the realm the place the occasion is being held is more likely to be a lot busier than standard.

Conversely, it’s value being conscious when and the place festivals are being held even in 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 big quantity to see and do in Wales. You may simply spend many weeks exploring the nation with out operating out of issues to see and do.

Our suggestion could be to spend a minimum of 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.

When you’ve got much less time, say three to 5 days, then we’d advocate specializing in one space or area of the nation relatively than making an attempt to cowl an excessive amount of floor.

So, for instance, with three days you would possibly wish to give attention to visiting Cardiff and south-west Wales or discover a part of north Wales with visits to Caernarfon and Snowdonia Nationwide Park.

When you’ve got every week or extra, then you possibly can increase 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 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 favor 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 condominium leases, guesthouses, mattress and breakfasts and resorts. Normally we choose to both keep at a domestically owned mattress and breakfast or small resort. However for longer stays, we usually ebook an condominium or cottage.

When searching for lodging, we advocate a mixture of the next websites:

• Booking.com – that is normally our first cease for all kinds of lodging varieties, from resorts to friends homes to residences. We just like the highly effective filter system that permits us to hone in on precisely what we wish in every location, in addition to the map instrument that lets us see totally different choices in several areas.
• Sykes Holiday Cottages – for longer stays in Wales (and the broader UK) we additionally use Sykes. They focus on vacation cottages, and we have now stayed at some actually beautiful properties by means of their system.
• Vrbo UK – if we’re particularly searching for an condominium or trip rental, we’ll additionally normally look on Vrbo. They provide a wide selection of choices and it’s good to have a comparability.

If you need extra choices for lodging reserving in Wales and the UK, see our guide to booking holiday homes in the UK for some concepts!

 

What to Eat in Wales?

You is likely to be questioning what meals it is best to strive in Wales if you go to, and if there are any uniquely Welsh dishes. Nicely, the reply is sure there are.

While there are definitely numerous similarities between Welsh meals and English meals, together with staples comparable to fish and chips and the complete fried breakfast expertise, there are some dishes which might be frequent to Wales. Listed here 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 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 common “sausage” is a conventional vegetarian sausage primarily produced from leeks, cheese, and breadcrumbs. It dates again to a minimum of the 18th century however rose in reputation throughout World Battle II attributable to meat rationing and stays common at present.
• Welsh desserts – this small cake is produced from 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 usually served with butter on it. It’s mainly a fruit cake full of raisins, currants and dried candied fruit peel.
• Laverbread – It is a very attention-grabbing delicacy, which regardless of the title, isn’t a bread in any respect. As a substitute, it’s a puree produced from a particular kind 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 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 rising in popularity as properly!

In addition to particular dishes, there are additionally many meals that Wales is mostly recognized 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 downside discovering some native Welsh produce.

We are able to additionally advocate The Welsh House for making an attempt quite a lot of Welsh meals. They’re in a number of places, together with in Cardiff close to the fortress. The final time we visited that they had a “Style of Wales” menu possibility which allow us to strive numerous totally different Welsh dishes for a really cheap value.

Suffice to say, we don’t assume you’re going to go hungry throughout your keep in Wales.

 

 

 

 

How you can 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 possibility for touring in Wales is to drive ourselves. Wales has numerous sights which might be just a little off the crushed path, and a automotive makes it loads simpler to achieve these tucked away castles or hidden seashores.

That mentioned, you ought to be conscious that the street community in Wales is primarily made up of normal two-lane roads relatively than multi-lane freeways (often known as motorways within the UK).

As such, journey occasions 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 anticipate 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. Nevertheless, you’ll simply wish to remember when planning that even when the distances don’t look significantly lengthy, it may well take a little bit of time to get from place to put.

If you’re planning on touring by automotive and have to hire, we advocate comparing car rental prices on Discover Cars here. They evaluate all the primary suppliers so you will get one of the best value on your journey.

 

Public Transportation

As talked about within the part on public transport, Wales has a fairly good public transport community.

The primary factor to know in case you are planning to journey in Wales by public transport is that you simply’ll positively wish to plan properly upfront. Additionally, you will wish to remember that it may well take fairly a little bit of time to get between places.

I’ve achieved a good bit of journey by practice 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’ll need to plan rigorously in order to not spend all of your time sitting on a bus or practice.

It’s additionally value noting that while trains and buses join numerous the nation, they don’t go completely in every single place. So if there’s someplace you actually wish to see, do test to make sure you can truly get there by the mode of transport you want to use.

Total, while you possibly can positively get round Wales by public transport, for people on a restricted timeframe who wish to see loads, we’d most likely advocate 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 one of the best places 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 of spend extra time sightseeing and fewer time touring.

Cardiff is a really well-connected metropolis, after which from right here you might simply discover alongside the south coast to Tenby and even St. David’s.

Alternatively, in case you’d choose to discover extra of the mountains, then head to North Wales. I’d advocate taking the practice line alongside the north coast from the English metropolis of Chester (or Liverpool), which connects to quite a few different practice and bus routes.

This may help 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 may simply make a loop by means 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 means of 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

Probably the greatest approach to see Wales in our opinion, particularly in case you 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 the right way to get from place to put.

You do lose a little bit of flexibility when taking a tour in fact, as they typically comply with a hard and fast 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 typically costlier.

That mentioned, in our expertise most group excursions give attention to the highlights that guests wish to see anyway. Simply ensure when selecting a tour to make sure it visits nearly all of sights and sights you actually wish to see in Wales.

We now have some really useful excursions of Wales within the part of this information on really useful excursions. You too can see a variety of excursions by varied suppliers at totally different value 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 in regards to 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 value.

The longer Wales excursions usually depart from London, Bristol, or Cardiff.

Some we advise are as follows:

• This 5 day road trip with Rabbies could be our first choose of accessible 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 an analogous path to our personal suggested Wales road trip itinerary. This tour consists of time in Cardiff, the Brecon Beacons mountains, Snowdonia Nationwide Park, Conwy Fort, St. Davids, Tenby, and the Pembrokeshire Coast Nationwide Park.
• When you’ve got 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 consists of Snowdonia Nationwide Parks, Conwy Fort, Harlech Fort, the Slate Museum, and Portmeirion.

There are in fact extra excursions to select from in Wales. See this selection from a range of operators on TourRadar which can allow you to kind and filter by period, locations visited and value.

 

Highlights in Wales

There’s loads to see in Wales, sufficient to fill many weeks of explorations. As it may be laborious 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 assume 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 predict this is sensible as a result of in case you are on a shorter timetable you’ll want to give attention to a extra manageable space.

If you’re fortunate sufficient to have extra time then you possibly can positively go to the entire nation!

 

South Wales Highlights

South Wales has loads to supply, from the cultural sights in and across the capital metropolis, by means of to the gorgeous landscapes of the Pembrokeshire Nationwide Park the place you will see ample climbing and wildlife viewing alternatives.

This a part of Wales can also be residence 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 greatest often known as being the right way to the spectacular Snowdonia Nationwide Park, which is honest sufficient as it’s a actually stunning a part of the world.

Nevertheless, there’s heaps extra to this area of the nation, from epic castles by means of 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
• Hen Watching within the Dyfi Valley & Coast
• Centre for Different Know-how
• 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 possibly can 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. If you’re counting on public transport, we’d positively advocate specializing in a smaller space so you possibly can spend extra time seeing sights and fewer time touring.

If you’re on a tour or in your individual car, you’ll seemingly be capable of match extra in.

 

1 – 3 Day Wales Itineraries

With one to 3 days in Wales we’d extremely advocate specializing in a particular space of the nation, comparable to an space of south Wales or north Wales.

For instance, for south Wales you would possibly 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 give attention to the mountains and castles of north Wales.

Basing your self in Caernarfon for instance would put you in simple attain of a few of the most spectacular castles in Wales, in addition to the hike or practice experience up Snowdon. You may simply spend a beautiful one to 3 days visiting castles, exploring seashores and climbing within the mountains of Snowdonia.

 

3 – 6 Day Wales Itineraries

With three to 6 days you’d be capable of extra completely discover a area of Wales.

Once more, we wouldn’t essentially advocate making an attempt to see the entire nation on this time interval as it’d really feel a bit rushed. As a substitute, give attention to a selected 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 approach alongside the south coast, after which heading up in the direction of Aberystwyth.

Alongside the best way you’ll be capable of 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 possibly can 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, comparable to Caernarfon, Porthmadog, Conwy, or Barmouth, and exploring from there.

 

6 Day+ Wales Itineraries

With greater than six days in Wales, you’d be capable of 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 steered 1 week Wales itinerary (might be adjusted to 10+ days) for doing simply that with a lot of detailed data, 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 12 months, as are cooler temperatures.

So if you plan what to pack on your journey to Wales you’ll want to be ready for quite a lot of eventualities. Moreover, as numerous the actions in Wales contain time spent outside and significantly climbing, you’ll wish to plan and pack accordingly to make sure you are ready.

We might advocate studying our information to what to pack for the UK as a normal overview, but in addition to recollect the next objects:

 

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 provide help 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 day-to-day highlights, recommendations on the place to remain, and plenty extra.
• If you happen to’re searching for extra street journey inspiration within the UK, we have now 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, try 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 one of the 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 aware of driving within the UK, see my guide to driving in the UK for useful ideas.
• We now have guides to many cities within the UK you possibly can try! 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 searching for a guidebook on your journey, try the Rough Guide to Wales

And that’s it! Have you ever ever visited Wales? Do you will have something you’d add to the above? Simply tell us within the feedback under, and protected travels!