For those who’re planning a visit to Wales, then you definately’ve come to the appropriate place! On this information we’re going to share all the things you might want to know to plan the right Wales journey. That is based mostly on our experiences of touring in Wales and likewise my time dwelling in Wales, which I did for a few years. I used to be really born in Wales!
On this publish, we’ll cowl the most effective instances of 12 months to go to Wales, highlights to not miss, how you can get round Wales, the place to remain in Wales, what to eat in Wales, how you can e-book excursions, and plenty of extra suggestions that can assist you plan the right Wales journey.
We’d recommend studying this information alongside our detailed Wales street journey itinerary, which gives you extra concepts of a selected 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 total east coast, from round Chester within the north down to close Bristol within the south. The remainder of the nations border is made up of beautiful shoreline, largely alongside the Irish Sea.
The historical past of Wales is pretty complicated. Folks have been dwelling right here for tons of of 1000’s of years, with steady habitation for a minimum of 9,000 years. For the reason that Roman instances, many battles had been fought between the Welsh and the English as all sides fought for management over what’s current day Wales.
One of many negative 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 a number of fascinating historical past and tradition which is exclusive to Wales.
Again to the current, and modern-day Wales exists as its personal nation with its personal language (Welsh) and, since 1999, its personal parliament. Nonetheless, there are not any border controls or something like that when touring from England to Wales (they’re each a part of the UK), and English can be in fact probably the most extensively spoken language.
In case you are not that aware of the historical past of Wales, we will extremely suggest studying a e-book on Welsh historical past earlier than or throughout your go to. This is not going to solely enable 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 should additionally enable 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 start out 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 once you consider Wales are the castles, a facet impact of all the varied wars through the years. Wales has an enormous variety of castles, together with quite a lot of UNESCO listed medieval castles.
Actually, Wales has extra castles per sq. mile than every other nation in Europe! Suffice to say, in the event you like exploring castles as a lot as we do, Wales has no scarcity to give you.
For those who do plan on seeing a number of castles, then we will extremely suggest selecting up a Cadw go. This contains entry to an enormous variety of historic websites in Wales, together with most the castles.
You should purchase this on-line right here, or in particular person at most Cadw websites. We discovered this saved us some huge cash on our most up-to-date journeys.
Lovers of the outside, like us, may even discover loads 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 excellent for hikers of all talents. So whether or not you favor to wander alongside a stunning little bit of seashore 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 in the event you’re after an excellent swim or only a good stroll on the seashore, there are many choices for you.
All that pretty outdoor area additionally means Wales is a superb vacation spot for wildlife. The variability in panorama and habitat means there’s a number of totally different chook 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 sorts of chook 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 via to mammals, reptiles, and extra!
Lastly, Wales can be a terrific vacation spot for lovers of mythology. This ought to be apparent from the flag, which is emblazoned with a purple dragon, arguably the world’s coolest flag. Naturally, you’ll be able to be taught all concerning the mythology of Wales, from the origin story of King Arthur via to dragons and druids.
General, we predict it’s truthful to say that Wales shouldn’t be a vacation spot the place you’ll run out of issues to do!
Some Fundamental Data for Touring in Wales
Let’s cowl some 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’ll be able to journey out and in of Wales freely.
If Wales is your first level of entry into the UK (akin to in the event you arrive into Cardiff Airport from outdoors the UK), then you definately would want to undergo passport management and have the proper visa and any crucial documentation.
You may see extra info on any required visas to your go to on the UK authorities web site right here or from your personal authorities’s official journey web site.
For those who arrive into one other a part of the UK akin to England or Scotland, then you definately don’t have to undergo any additional controls once you journey to Wales, be that by automotive, practice, or airplane.
Attending to and from Wales
Wales is a simple nation to get to. When it comes to flights, the one business airport in Wales is Cardiff airport, which presents each native and worldwide flights to a restricted variety of locations.
Wales can be nicely 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 may as well 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 be served by ferry routes which hyperlink Wales with the Republic of Eire. So if you’re 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 akin to London or Bristol. Extra on excursions afterward on this information. Suffice to say, you’ve gotten 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.
Nonetheless you’ll nearly definitely hear Welsh being spoken throughout your go to.
The principle method you’ll encounter Welsh as a customer is more likely to be on indicators. Most indicators are supplied in each Welsh and English. Place names are additionally almost at all times written in Welsh.
Welsh is a reasonably difficult language to be taught and the pronunciation is unquestionably 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.
For those who’d like to enhance your pronunciation, this can be a good starter information. A great information e-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.
For those who drive in Wales, you’ll rapidly be taught some Welsh phrases from the street indicators, notably “Araf” which suggests “Gradual”. Within the majority of circumstances although, indicators will likely be in each English and Welsh.
Aside from that, driving in Wales is similar as driving in the remainder of the UK. Drive on the left of the street and make sure you observe all velocity 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 suggestions in my information to driving within the UK.
In case you are renting a automotive (evaluate costs right here), you’ll be able to drive the automotive between England and Wales with none points.
Remember that almost all of vehicles within the UK use a handbook transmission, so make 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 aren’t 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 an worldwide 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 may 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 normally), we suggest and use the Traveline web site. It’s a free service supplied by a partnership of public transport operators within the UK, and can enable 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 the event you e-book on-line upfront. We suggest the trainline web site for practice and bus reserving, we’ve used them for years for our public transport wants within the UK.
Different choices to contemplate, particularly for lengthy distance bus journeys embody Nationwide Specific and Megabus.
Electrical energy in Wales
Wales makes use of the identical energy system as the remainder of the UK. It’s a 220v system which makes use of a three-pin plug (plug 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 examine their tools helps the 220v customary, because the U.S. makes use of a 110v customary. The voltage a tool helps will likely be written clearly on the ability adapter, often within the type of 110v – 240v.
In our expertise most trendy laptops, cellphone 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 to your journey in our information to the greatest journey adapters.
Foreign money in Wales
Wales makes use of the identical foreign money as the remainder of the UK, specifically Pound Sterling, or GBP (Nice British Kilos). Wales makes use of the financial institution notes issued by the Financial institution of England, so the foreign money in use in Wales appears to be like precisely the identical as that utilized in England.
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 will also be utilized in the remainder of the UK (and Financial institution of England notes can be utilized in Scotland and Northern Eire).
Time Zone in Wales
Wales is on the identical time zone as the remainder of the UK, which is both GMT, or GMT+1, also called British Summer season Time (BST).
BST runs from the final Sunday in March via to the final Sunday in October.
Greatest Instances to Go to Wales
You is likely to be questioning when the most effective time to go to Wales is. While Wales is a year-round vacation spot, there are definitely benefits and drawbacks to visiting at totally different instances of 12 months.
Greatest for Climate
Wales has a comparatively delicate local weather year-round with out super extremes.
In order for you hotter climate and longer hours of daylight for sightseeing, then the most effective time of 12 months to go to goes to be from late Might via to mid-September.
This time of 12 months gives you the most effective probability of excellent climate and sunny days, though be aware 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 selection of huge English cities close to Wales akin to Birmingham, Liverpool, Bristol, and Manchester, and guests from these cities repeatedly take journeys to Wales. It’s an particularly well-liked vacation spot for households.
In consequence, the busiest time of 12 months in Wales is mostly going to be over the varsity holidays (college breaks) in England and Wales.
The precise timing of college holidays varies somewhat by space, however usually there are main holidays over the Easter interval, and over the summer season months from mid-July via to the tip of August.
There are additionally “half-term” holidays which happen midway via every college time period and are usually every week in length. There’s usually one in mid-February, one across the finish of Might and one across the finish of October.
The preferred time for folks to go to Wales is throughout the hotter summer season months, and through college holidays, particularly the Easter holidays, spring half-term, and summer season holidays.
In consequence, if you wish to go to Wales when it’s more likely to be quieter then you definately can be greatest served avoiding these instances.
For those who nonetheless need good climate, we’d recommend June or September to be optimum months, though April and Might can provide good climate if in case you have a little bit of luck in your facet!
Greatest for Mountain climbing / Climbing Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa)
While you’ll be able to hike in Wales at any time of 12 months, we’d recommend that the most effective instances for mountain climbing are going to be just like that for visiting for the most effective climate. So that’s going to be from late Might to mid-September.
No matter time of 12 months you propose to go mountain climbing although, bear in mind that the climate can change in a short time. So it would be best to be ready, guarantee somebody is aware of your route and the place you’re going, and pack appropriately. For extra info, this security information could be very useful.
The preferred hike in Wales by far is the hike up Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa in Welsh). You may each hike and take a practice to the summit, each of that are well-liked choices.
In our expertise, Snowdon could be busy 12 months spherical, however the hotter summer season months are undoubtedly the preferred 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 preferred, and taking one of many different much less well-liked routes such because the Snowdon Ranger path or the Rhyd Ddu path.
In fact, Wales has a terrific many extra mountains you’ll be able to hike, nearly all of that are far much less busy and well-liked than Snowdon. A private favorite is Cader Idris, which additionally presents spectacular views throughout the Snowdonia Nationwide Park, and attracts a fraction of the guests!
Main Festivals in Wales
Wales performs host to quite a lot of 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 adjustments annually, and it usually attracts upwards of 100,000 guests. The competition celebrates Welsh tradition, with the occasions and actions all going down in Welsh.
For those who plan on visiting the Eisteddfodd (or every other competition in Wales), you’ll undoubtedly wish to plan nicely 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 typical.
Conversely, it’s price being conscious when and the place festivals are being held even in the event you don’t plan on attending them, so that you don’t get caught up within the crowds!
How Lengthy to Spend in Wales
As ought to hopefully be apparent by now, though Wales is a comparatively small nation, there’s a big quantity to see and do in Wales. You might simply spend many weeks exploring the nation with out operating out of issues to see and do.
Our suggestion can be to spend a minimum of every week if doable to get a good suggestion of what’s on provide and to have time to discover among the nation’s highlights.
You probably have much less time, say three to 5 days, then we’d suggest specializing in one space or area of the nation slightly than making an attempt to cowl an excessive amount of floor.
So, for instance, with three days you would possibly wish to concentrate on visiting Cardiff and south-west Wales or discover a part of north Wales with visits to Caernarfon and Snowdonia Nationwide Park.
You probably have every week or extra, then you’ll be able to develop your itinerary to cowl extra of the nation.
We’ll share some prompt itineraries additional on on this information that can assist you plan, and we even have a 7 – 10 day Wales street 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 favor tenting, glamping, self-catered lodging, family-run guesthouses, nation home resorts or common resorts, you’re going to discover one thing to go well with.
We have now stayed at an enormous vary of lodging choices throughout Wales, together with condominium leases, guesthouses, mattress and breakfasts and resorts. 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 on the lookout for lodging, we suggest a mixture of the next websites:
- Reserving.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 permits us to hone in on precisely what we would like in every location, in addition to the map instrument that lets us see totally 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’ve got stayed at some actually pretty properties via their system.
- Vrbo UK – if we’re particularly on the lookout for an condominium or trip rental, we’ll additionally often look on Vrbo. They provide a wide variety of choices and it’s good to have a comparability.
If you need extra choices for lodging reserving in Wales and the UK, see our information to reserving vacation houses within 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 once you go to, and if there are any uniquely Welsh dishes. Properly, the reply is sure there are.
While there are definitely a number of similarities between Welsh meals and English meals, together with staples akin 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 strive:
- Cawl – one in all extra conventional Welsh dishes, cawl (pronounced cowl) dates again to the eleventh century a minimum of and is basically a stew made with meat, greens, and potatoes.
- Welsh Rarebit – while this sounds prefer it’s going to contain rabbit, this quintessential Welsh dish is definitely melted cheese on toast. There are variations on the recipe, with mustard or a bechamel sauce added to the cheese. Scrumptious nevertheless it’s made!
- Glamorgan sausage – this well-liked “sausage” is a standard vegetarian sausage primarily produced from leeks, cheese, and breadcrumbs. It dates again to a minimum of the 18th century however rose in reputation throughout World Struggle II on account of meat rationing and stays well-liked right now.
- 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 just like a shortbread than a cake. We prefer it served scorching and eaten with butter!
- Bara brith – this fruit loaf is a well-liked choice to have with afternoon tea and is commonly served with butter on it. It’s principally a fruit cake stuffed with raisins, currants and dried candied fruit peel.
- Laverbread – This can be a very fascinating delicacy, which regardless of the title, isn’t a bread in any respect. As an alternative, it’s a puree produced from a selected 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 various conventional Welsh cheeses to take pleasure in. Probably the most well-known is Caerphilly, which is a tough however crumbly white cheese. Others embody Y Fenni, Tintern and Pantysgawn
- Native drinks – Wales produces a variety of native drinks, together with domestically brewed beers and ciders. There are additionally over 20 vineyards in Wales producing Welsh wine, and Welsh whisky is gaining popularity as nicely!
In addition to particular dishes, there are additionally many meals that Wales is mostly identified for. These embody Welsh lamb and beef, seafood, seaweed, and leeks, the latter of which is definitely the nationwide image of Wales.
If you’re going to be procuring and cooking throughout your time in Wales, you should not have any drawback discovering some native Welsh produce.
We will additionally suggest The Welsh Home for making an attempt quite a lot of Welsh meals. They’re in just a few places, together with in Cardiff close to the citadel. The final time we visited they’d a “Style of Wales” menu choice which allow us to strive a number of totally different Welsh dishes for a really affordable value.
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 just a few 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 a number of points of interest which might be somewhat off the overwhelmed 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 street community in Wales is primarily made up of standard two-lane roads slightly than multi-lane freeways (often called motorways within the UK).
As such, journey instances can take a bit longer than in different components of the UK. It’s tough to zip throughout Wales and journeys might take longer that you simply count on from simply trying on the map.
This isn’t a nasty factor, because the surroundings is mostly pretty, and there are many issues to cease and have a look at anyway. Nonetheless, you’ll simply wish to bear in mind when planning that even when the distances don’t look notably lengthy, it could possibly take a little bit of time to get from place to put.
In case you are planning on touring by automotive and have to 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 value 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 if you’re planning to journey in Wales by public transport is that you simply’ll undoubtedly wish to plan nicely upfront. Additionally, you will wish to bear in mind that it could possibly 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 could possibly take some time to get from location to location. So simply bear in mind that if you’re 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 price noting that while trains and buses join a number of 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 really 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’d most likely suggest both driving or taking a tour.
Best Locations to go to in Wales by public transport?
In case you are planning on visiting Wales by public transport, you is likely to be questioning what the most effective places are for doing so. Listed here are some suggestions.
First, we’d recommend specializing in a selected area of Wales in the event you plan on visiting by public transport, as then you definately’ll be capable of spend extra time sightseeing and fewer time touring.
Cardiff is a really well-connected metropolis, after which from right here you would simply discover alongside the south coast to Tenby and even St. David’s.
Alternatively, in the event you’d desire 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 quite a lot of different practice and bus routes.
This can permit you to discover many highlights of the area, together with Conwy, Bangor, Caernarfon, the Snowdonia Nationwide Park, in addition to the northeast shoreline together with Harlech and Barmouth.
You might simply make a loop 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 while not having a automotive.
Be part of a Tour
The most effective method to see Wales in our opinion, particularly in the event you desire to not drive, is to affix a tour. A tour lets another person deal with all of the logistics, from planning what to see and do to how you can get from place to put.
You do lose a little bit of flexibility when taking a tour in fact, as they often observe a hard and fast itinerary. That is notably the case in the event you be a part of a gaggle tour. A personal tour will usually provide much more customization, with the draw back that they are usually dearer.
That mentioned, in our expertise most group excursions concentrate on the highlights that guests wish to see anyway. Simply make sure when selecting a tour to make sure it visits nearly all of sights and points of interest you actually wish to see in Wales.
We have now some really helpful excursions of Wales within the part of this information on really helpful excursions. You may as well see a spread of excursions by varied suppliers at totally different value 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 selection of excursions to select from that go to Wales, of various length and value.
The longer Wales excursions usually depart from London, Bristol, or Cardiff.
Some we propose are as follows:
- This 5 day street journey with Rabbies can be our first choose of accessible small group excursions of Wales. We’ve taken a terrific 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 right down to south west Wales.
- This 8 day tour from Cardiff follows the same path to our personal prompt Wales street 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 spread of operators on TourRadar which can allow you to kind and filter by length, locations visited and value.
Highlights in Wales
There’s quite a bit to see in Wales, sufficient to fill many weeks of explorations. As it may be exhausting to determine what to see, we needed to share a few of our private highlights within the nation. That is under no circumstances an exhaustive record, however we do suppose it covers a number of what the nation has to supply.
We’ve divided it roughly into points of interest within the southern half of Wales (principally all the things south of round Aberystwyth) and the northern half of Wales (all the things north of Aberystwyth).
We predict this is smart as a result of if you’re on a shorter timetable it would be best to concentrate on a extra manageable space.
In case you are fortunate sufficient to have extra time then you’ll be able to 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, via to the beautiful landscapes of the Pembrokeshire Nationwide Park the place you can find ample mountain climbing and wildlife viewing alternatives.
This a part of Wales can be residence to historic burial grounds, stunning church buildings, castles, seashores, and extra!
Listed here are some highlights to contemplate 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 probably greatest often called being how you can the spectacular Snowdonia Nationwide Park, which is truthful sufficient as it’s a actually stunning a part of the world.
Nonetheless, there’s tons extra to this area of the nation, from epic castles via to heritage steam railways and great seashores.
Listed here are just a few highlights to contemplate including to your itinerary for Wales!
- Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railways
- Caernarfon Fortress
- Beaumaris Fortress
- Conwy Fortress
- Harlech Fortress
- Mount Snowdon & Snowdonia Nationwide Park
- Nationwide Slate Museum
- Chook Watching within the Dyfi Valley & Coast
- Centre for Different Expertise
- Barmouth Seashore
- Aber Falls
- Portmeirion
Advised Itineraries for Wales
There’s a lot to see in Wales! We needed to share some prompt itineraries for visiting the nation for various durations, so you’ll be able to profit from your go to.
In fact, your mode of transport will dictate precisely how far you’ll be able to go and what you’ll be able to see. In case you are 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.
In case you are on a tour or in your personal car, you’ll possible be capable of match extra in.
1 – 3 Day Wales Itineraries
With one to 3 days in Wales we’d extremely suggest specializing in a selected space of the nation, akin 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 gorgeous coastal village of Tenby.
Another choice can 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 among the most spectacular castles in Wales, in addition to the hike or practice experience up Snowdon. You might simply spend an exquisite one to 3 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 of extra totally discover a area of Wales.
Once more, we wouldn’t essentially suggest making an attempt to see the entire nation on this time interval as it’d really feel a bit rushed. As an alternative, concentrate on a specific space and hone in on among 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 method 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 points of interest, expertise stunning coastal walks and absorb quite a lot of 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 traces.
We’d recommend basing your self in two or three places, akin to Caernarfon, Porthmadog, Conwy, or Barmouth, and exploring from there.
6 Day+ Wales Itineraries
With greater than six days in Wales, you’ll be capable of discover from high to backside in the event you so wished. We’d recommend a loop alongside the coast, beginning in Cardiff, heading out to the Pembrokeshire Coast Nationwide Park, then all the best way as much as Snowdonia Nationwide Park and north Wales.
We have now a prompt 1 week Wales itinerary (could be adjusted to 10+ days) for doing simply that with plenty of detailed info, which we predict you’ll discover helps you get round.
What to Pack for Wales
Wales, like the remainder of the UK, is a rustic the place the climate could be extremely variable. Rain is feasible at any time of 12 months, as are cooler temperatures.
So once you plan what to pack to your journey to Wales it would be best to be ready for quite a lot of situations. Moreover, as a number of the actions in Wales contain time spent outdoor and notably mountain climbing, you’ll wish to plan and pack accordingly to make sure you are ready.
We might suggest studying our information to what to pack for the UK as a basic overview, but 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 would possibly enable you to with planning this and future journeys within the UK.
- We have now an in depth 7 – 10 day street journey itinerary for Wales, with day-to-day highlights, recommendations on the place to remain, and much extra.
- For those who’re on the lookout for extra street journey inspiration within the UK, we’ve got a two week UK street journey itinerary and a one week UK street journey itinerary. We even have a one week Cornwall itinerary
- For those who’re heading to Scotland, try our 2 day Edinburgh itinerary, our Glasgow and Loch Lomond itinerary, our information to the greatest day journeys from Glasgow, our information to issues to do in Edinburgh, our itinerary for Skye and the Highlands, our information to the greatest day journeys from Aberdeen, and our information to the most effective day journeys from Edinburgh. We even have a North Coast 500 planning information and North Coast 500 seven day itinerary
- For those who’re not aware of driving within the UK, see my information to driving within the UK for useful suggestions.
- We have now guides to many cities within the UK you’ll be able to 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
- For those who’re on the lookout for a guidebook to your journey, try the Tough Information to Wales
And that’s it! Have you ever ever visited Wales? Do you’ve gotten something you’d add to the above? Simply tell us within the feedback under, and secure travels!