When you’re planning a visit to Wales, then you definitely’ve come to the proper place! On this information we’re going to share every thing you must know to plan the proper Wales journey. That is primarily based on our experiences of touring in Wales and in addition my time dwelling in Wales, which I did for a few years. I used to be really born in Wales!
On this publish, we’ll cowl the most effective occasions of yr to go to Wales, highlights to not miss, how one can get round Wales, the place to remain in Wales, what to eat in Wales, how one can ebook excursions, and plenty of extra ideas that can assist you plan the proper Wales journey.
We’d counsel studying this information alongside our detailed Wales highway journey itinerary, which offers you extra concepts of a particular itinerary and sights to see.
Let’s begin with an 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 likely one of the 4 international locations (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 international locations border is made up of beautiful shoreline, principally alongside the Irish Sea.
The historical past of Wales is pretty advanced. Individuals have been dwelling right here for a whole lot of hundreds of years, with steady habitation for at the least 9,000 years. Because the 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 a variety of fascinating historical past and tradition which is exclusive to Wales.
Again to the current, and modern-day Wales exists as its personal nation with its personal language (Welsh) and, since 1999, its personal parliament. Nonetheless, there 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 probably the most extensively spoken language.
If you’re not that conversant in the historical past of Wales, we will extremely suggest studying a ebook on Welsh historical past earlier than or throughout your go to. This won’t solely assist 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’ll additionally assist you to higher perceive the fashionable tradition and politics in Wales.
What’s there to see in Wales?
There’s a lot to see in Wales, one thing actually for everybody.
To start out with, with a lot historical past spanning hundreds of years, Wales has an enormous quantity of cultural points of interest.
From iron age burial chambers to fascinating museums to distinctive cultural occasions just like the Eisteddfodd, there actually is a big quantity to select from.
In fact, the very first thing that seemingly springs to thoughts while 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 quite a lot of UNESCO listed medieval castles.
Actually, Wales has extra castles per sq. mile than some other nation in Europe! Suffice to say, for those who like exploring castles as a lot as we do, Wales has no scarcity to give you.
When you do plan on seeing a variety of castles, then we will extremely suggest selecting up a Cadw cross. This consists of entry to an enormous variety of historic websites in Wales, together with most the castles.
You should buy this on-line right here, or in 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 also discover lots 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 favor to wander alongside a beautiful little bit of seashore or climb to the highest of a mountain, Wales has you lined.
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 lined in pebbles. So for those who’re after 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 variety of totally different chook 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 chook and study them.
It’s extra than simply birds in fact, with viewing alternatives for every kind of wildlife, from seals and different marine life by way of to mammals, reptiles, and extra!
Lastly, Wales can also be an amazing vacation spot for lovers of mythology. This must be apparent from the flag, which is emblazoned with a pink dragon, arguably the world’s coolest flag. Naturally, you possibly can be taught all concerning the mythology of Wales, from the origin story of King Arthur by way of to dragons and druids.
Total, we expect it’s truthful to say that Wales isn’t a vacation spot the place you’ll run out of issues to do!
Some Primary 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 you have 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 (equivalent to for those who arrive into Cardiff Airport from outdoors the UK), then you definitely would want to undergo passport management and have the right visa and any essential documentation.
You’ll be able to see extra info on any required visas to your go to on the UK authorities web site right here or from your individual authorities’s official journey web site.
When you arrive into one other a part of the UK equivalent to England or Scotland, then you definitely don’t must undergo any additional controls while you journey to Wales, be that by automotive, prepare, or aircraft.
Attending to and from Wales
Wales is a straightforward nation to get to. By way of flights, the one business airport in Wales is Cardiff airport, which gives each native and worldwide flights to a restricted variety of locations.
Wales can also be nicely served by regional transport connections from the UK. By prepare, Cardiff is round 2.5 hours from London, 50 minutes from Bristol, and 4 hours from Liverpool.
North Wales locations like Conwy are round an hour by prepare from Chester, or 3.5 hours from London.
It’s also possible to simply drive to Wales from areas across the UK. It’s round 3 hours by automotive to from London to Cardiff, 4 hours from Liverpool to Cardiff and seven hours to Cardiff from Edinburgh.
Wales can 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 might allow you to join between Wales and the Republic of Eire.
There are additionally a number of excursions that embody Wales, departing from areas equivalent to London or Bristol. Extra on excursions in a while on this information. Suffice to say, you’ve got 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 actually hear Welsh being spoken throughout your go to.
The principle means you’ll encounter Welsh as a customer is more likely to be on indicators. Most indicators are supplied in each Welsh and English. Place names are additionally practically all the time written in Welsh.
Welsh is a reasonably difficult language to be taught and the pronunciation is certainly not all the time apparent! Place names can simply journey guests up, though the excellent news is that almost all Welsh individuals are fairly used to it.
When you’d like to enhance your pronunciation, this can be a good starter information. An excellent information ebook to Wales also needs to embody a information to pronunciation.
Driving in Wales
Driving in Wales is identical as driving in the remainder of the UK, with the primary distinction being that almost all of the highway indicators are in Welsh in addition to English.
When you drive in Wales, you’ll rapidly be taught some Welsh phrases from the highway indicators, notably “Araf” which suggests “Sluggish”. 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 highway and remember to observe all velocity limits and highway guidelines. Pace limits are usually posted, with the nationwide restrict at 60 miles per hour and limits for built-up areas usually 20 to 40 miles per hour. You’ll be able to see extra ideas in my information to driving within the UK.
If you’re renting a automotive (examine costs right here), you possibly can drive the automotive between England and Wales with none points.
Bear in mind that almost all of automobiles within the UK use a guide transmission, so remember to 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 frequent.
Relying on the place on this planet you might be visiting from and the language your license is in, you may additionally want a world 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’ll be able to 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 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 for those who ebook on-line upfront. We suggest the trainline web site for prepare and bus reserving, we’ve used them for years for our public transport wants within the UK.
Different choices to think about, particularly for lengthy distance bus journeys embody Nationwide Specific and Megabus.
Electrical energy in Wales
Wales makes use of the identical energy system as the remainder of the UK. It’s a 220v system which makes use of a three-pin plug (plug 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 also wish to test their tools helps the 220v normal, because the U.S. makes use of a 110v normal. The voltage a tool helps can be written clearly on the facility adapter, normally within the type of 110v – 240v.
In our expertise most fashionable laptops, telephone and digicam 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 finest journey 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 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 may 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 by way of to the final Sunday in October.
Greatest Instances to Go to Wales
You could be questioning when the most effective time to go to Wales is. While Wales is a year-round vacation spot, there are actually benefits and drawbacks to visiting at totally different occasions of yr.
Greatest for Climate
Wales has a comparatively gentle local weather year-round with out super extremes.
If you’d like hotter climate and longer hours of daylight for sightseeing, then the most effective time of yr to go to goes to be from late Might by way of to mid-September.
This time of yr offers you the most effective likelihood of excellent climate and sunny days, though observe that rain and cooler temperatures are doable year-round.
The summit of Snowdon in summer season – good climate not assured!
Avoiding Crowds
Wales is a well-liked vacation spot, particularly for guests from different areas of the UK. There are a variety of massive English cities close to Wales equivalent to Birmingham, Liverpool, Bristol, and Manchester, and guests from these cities often take journeys to Wales. It’s an particularly in style vacation spot for households.
Consequently, the busiest time of yr in Wales is usually going to be over the varsity holidays (faculty breaks) in England and Wales.
The precise timing of college 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 by way of to the top of August.
There are additionally “half-term” holidays which happen midway by way of every faculty time period and are typically every week in length. There may be 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 season months, and through faculty holidays, particularly the Easter holidays, spring half-term, and summer season holidays.
Consequently, if you wish to go to Wales when it’s more likely to be quieter then you definitely can be finest served avoiding these occasions.
When you nonetheless need good climate, we’d counsel June or September to be optimum months, though April and Might can provide good climate in case you 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 yr, we might counsel that the most effective occasions for mountain climbing are going to be much like that for visiting for the most effective climate. So that’s going to be from late Might to mid-September.
No matter time of yr you intend to go mountain climbing although, bear in mind that the climate can change in a short time. So you’ll want to be ready, guarantee somebody is aware of your route and the place you’re going, and pack appropriately. For extra info, this security information may be very useful.
The most well-liked hike in Wales by far is the hike up Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa in Welsh). You’ll be able to each hike and take a prepare to the summit, each of that are in style choices.
In our expertise, Snowdon may be busy yr spherical, however the hotter summer season months are positively 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 in style routes such because the Snowdon Ranger path or the Rhyd Ddu path.
In fact, Wales has an amazing many extra mountains you possibly can hike, the vast majority of that are far much less busy and in style than Snowdon. A private favorite is Cader Idris, which additionally gives spectacular views throughout the Snowdonia Nationwide Park, and attracts a fraction of the guests!
Main Festivals in Wales
Wales performs host to quite a 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 checklist of festivals in Wales right here).
The most important competition in Wales is generally the Nationwide Eisteddfod of Wales, which is held for round every week on the primary week of August every year. The situation for the competition modifications every year, and it usually attracts upwards of 100,000 guests. The competition celebrates Welsh tradition, with the occasions and actions all happening in Welsh.
When you plan on visiting the Eisteddfodd (or some other competition in Wales), you’ll positively wish to plan nicely 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 regular.
Conversely, it’s value being conscious when and the place festivals are being held even for those who 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 might simply spend many weeks exploring the nation with out operating out of issues to see and do.
Our advice can be to spend at the least 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 might suggest specializing in one space or area of the nation somewhat than making an attempt to cowl an excessive amount of floor.
So, for instance, with three days you would possibly 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.
You probably have every week or extra, then you possibly can develop your itinerary to cowl extra of the nation.
We are going to share some urged itineraries additional on on this information that can assist you plan, and we even have a 7 – 10 day Wales highway journey itinerary you need to discover useful. That itinerary can simply be expanded to 2 or extra weeks.
The place to Keep in Wales
Wales has a variety of lodging choices throughout all budgets. Whether or not you favor tenting, glamping, self-catered lodging, family-run guesthouses, nation home accommodations or common accommodations, you will discover one thing to go well with.
We’ve got stayed at an enormous vary of lodging choices throughout Wales, together with house leases, guesthouses, mattress and breakfasts and accommodations. Normally we favor to both keep at a regionally owned mattress and breakfast or small resort. However for longer stays, we usually ebook an house or cottage.
When searching for lodging, we suggest a mixture of the next websites:
Reserving.com – that is normally our first cease for all kinds of lodging sorts, from accommodations to company homes to flats. We just like the highly effective filter system that enables us to hone in on precisely what we would like in every location, in addition to the map device that lets us see totally different choices in numerous areas.
Sykes Vacation Cottages – for longer stays in Wales (and the broader UK) we additionally use Sykes. They specialise in vacation cottages, and we have now stayed at some actually pretty properties by way of their system.
Vrbo UK – if we’re particularly searching for an house or trip rental, we’ll additionally normally look on Vrbo. They provide a wide variety of choices and it’s good to have a comparability.
If you need extra choices for lodging reserving in Wales and the UK, see our information to reserving vacation properties within the UK for some concepts!
What to Eat in Wales?
You could be questioning what meals you need to attempt in Wales while you go to, and if there are any uniquely Welsh dishes. Properly, the reply is sure there are.
While there are actually a variety of similarities between Welsh meals and English meals, together with staples equivalent to fish and chips and the complete fried breakfast expertise, there are some dishes which can be frequent to Wales. Listed here are some to attempt:
Cawl – one among extra conventional Welsh dishes, cawl (pronounced cowl) dates again to the eleventh century at the least and is basically a stew made with meat, greens, and potatoes.
Welsh Rarebit – while this sounds prefer it’s going to contain rabbit, this quintessential Welsh dish is definitely melted cheese on toast. There are variations on the recipe, with mustard or a bechamel sauce added to the cheese. Scrumptious nonetheless it’s made!
Glamorgan sausage – this in style “sausage” is a conventional vegetarian sausage primarily produced from leeks, cheese, and breadcrumbs. It dates again to at the least the 18th century however rose in reputation throughout World Struggle II on account of meat rationing and stays in style at the moment.
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 commonly served with butter on it. It’s mainly a fruit cake crammed with raisins, currants and dried candied fruit peel.
Laverbread – It is a very fascinating delicacy, which regardless of the identify, isn’t a bread in any respect. As an alternative, it’s a puree produced from a particular kind of seaweed which grows alongside the Welsh shoreline. The seaweed is cooked for hours to type the puree, which is then mostly served with bread.
Welsh cheese – Wales is house to many milk producing animals, together with cows, goats, and sheep. As such, there are lots of conventional Welsh cheeses to get pleasure from. 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 regionally 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 usually identified for. These embody Welsh lamb and beef, seafood, seaweed, and leeks, the latter of which is definitely the nationwide image of Wales.
If you will be purchasing and cooking throughout your time in Wales, you should not have any drawback discovering some native Welsh produce.
We will additionally suggest The Welsh Home for making an attempt a wide range of Welsh meals. They’re in just a few areas, together with in Cardiff close to the fort. The final time we visited that they had a “Style of Wales” menu possibility which allow us to attempt a variety of totally different Welsh dishes for a really affordable worth.
Suffice to say, we don’t assume you’re going to go hungry throughout your keep in Wales.
get round Wales?
There are fairly just a few choices for getting round Wales, which we’ll undergo now.
By Automotive
Our most popular possibility for touring in Wales is to drive ourselves. Wales has a variety of points of interest which can be a bit of off the overwhelmed path, and a automotive makes it lots simpler to succeed in these tucked away castles or hidden seashores.
That mentioned, try to be conscious that the highway community in Wales is primarily made up of normal two-lane roads somewhat than multi-lane freeways (generally known as motorways within the UK).
As such, journey occasions can take a bit longer than in different components of the UK. It’s tough 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 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 may well take a little bit of time to get from place to put.
If you’re planning on touring by automotive and must hire, we suggest evaluating automotive rental costs right here.
Public Transportation
As talked about within the part on public transport, Wales has a reasonably good public transport community.
The principle factor to know in case you are planning to journey in Wales by public transport is that you simply’ll positively wish to plan nicely upfront. Additionally, you will wish to bear in mind that it may well take fairly a little bit of time to get between areas.
I’ve achieved a good bit of journey by prepare and bus in Wales, and while the surroundings is all the time very fairly, it may well take some time to get from location to location. So simply bear in mind that in case you are on a restricted timetable, you will have to plan fastidiously in order to not spend all of your time sitting on a bus or prepare.
It’s additionally value noting that while trains and buses join a variety of the nation, they don’t go completely in every single place. So if there may be someplace you actually wish to see, do test to make sure you can really get there by the mode of transport you want to use.
Total, while you possibly can positively get round Wales by public transport, for folk on a restricted timeframe who wish to see lots, we might most likely 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 could be questioning what the most effective areas are for doing so. Listed here are some ideas.
First, we’d counsel specializing in a particular area of Wales for those who 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 can simply discover alongside the south coast to Tenby and even St. David’s.
Alternatively, for those who’d favor to discover extra of the mountains, then head to North Wales. I’d suggest taking the prepare line alongside the north coast from the English metropolis of Chester (or Liverpool), which connects to quite a lot of different prepare and bus routes.
This can permit you to discover many highlights of the area, together with Conwy, Bangor, Caernarfon, the Snowdonia Nationwide Park, in addition to the northeast shoreline together with Harlech and Barmouth.
You might simply make a loop by way of North Wales by public transport, going into Wales from Chester throughout to Conwy and Bangor, then heading south down the coast to Barmouth and Aberdovey, after which lastly east by way of Machynlleth to Shrewsbury.
This route will allow you to discover castles, see shoreline and expertise the mountains, all with no need a automotive.
Be part of a Tour
The most effective method to see Wales in our opinion, particularly for those who favor 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 how one can 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 set itinerary. That is notably the case for those who be part of a gaggle 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 points of interest you actually wish to see in Wales.
We’ve got some advisable excursions of Wales within the part of this information on advisable excursions. It’s also possible to see a variety of excursions by varied suppliers at totally different worth factors and durations on TourRadar right here.
Greatest Guided Excursions of Wales
An effective way to see the highlights of Wales with out having to fret concerning the logistics of planning transport and lodging is to take a guided tour.
There are a variety of excursions to select from that go to Wales, of various length and worth.
The longer Wales excursions typically depart from London, Bristol, or Cardiff.
Some we recommend are as follows:
This 5 day highway journey with Rabbies can be our first decide of accessible small group excursions of Wales. We’ve taken an amazing many excursions with Rabbies and we love their educated driver guides and small group sizes. This tour departs from London and covers lots of the highlights of the nation, from Snowdonia all the way down to south west Wales.
This 8 day tour from Cardiff follows the same path to our personal urged Wales highway journey itinerary. This tour consists of time in Cardiff, the Brecon Beacons mountains, Snowdonia Nationwide Park, Conwy Citadel, St. Davids, Tenby, and the Pembrokeshire Coast Nationwide Park.
You probably have much less time to spare, then this 3 day tour with Rabbies departs from Bristol and focuses on the highlights of south Wales, together with Carreg Cennen Citadel, Hay on Wye, St. Davids, Tenby, and the Pembrokeshire Coast Nationwide Park.
That is one other 3 day tour with Rabbies which departs from Bristol and focuses on the highlights of North Wales. It consists of Snowdonia Nationwide Parks, Conwy Citadel, Harlech Citadel, the Slate Museum, and Portmeirion.
There are in fact extra excursions to select from in Wales. See this choice from a variety of operators on TourRadar which can allow you to type and filter by length, locations visited and worth.
Highlights in Wales
There’s lots to see in Wales, sufficient to fill many weeks of explorations. As it may be onerous to determine what to see, we needed to share a few of our private highlights within the nation. That is on no account an exhaustive checklist, however we do assume it covers a variety of what the nation has to supply.
We’ve divided it roughly into points of interest within the southern half of Wales (mainly every thing south of round Aberystwyth) and the northern half of Wales (every thing north of Aberystwyth).
We expect this is sensible 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 possibly can positively go to the entire nation!
South Wales Highlights
South Wales has lots to supply, from the cultural points of interest in and across the capital metropolis, by way of 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 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 Citadel
Cardiff Museum
St. Fagans (Nationwide Museum of Historical past)
Castell Carreg Cennen
Caerphilly Citadel
Tenby
Freshwater Seaside
Whitesands Seaside
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 maybe finest generally known as being how one can the spectacular Snowdonia Nationwide Park, which is truthful sufficient as it’s a really stunning a part of the world.
Nonetheless, there’s heaps extra to this area of the nation, from epic castles by way of to heritage steam railways and great seashores.
Listed here are just a few highlights to think about including to your itinerary for Wales!
Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railways
Caernarfon Citadel
Beaumaris Citadel
Conwy Citadel
Harlech Citadel
Mount Snowdon & Snowdonia Nationwide Park
Nationwide Slate Museum
Chook Watching within the Dyfi Valley & Coast
Centre for Various Expertise
Barmouth Seaside
Aber Falls
Portmeirion
Urged Itineraries for Wales
There’s a lot to see in Wales! We needed to share some urged itineraries for visiting the nation for various durations, so you 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 suggest 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 automobile, you’ll seemingly be capable of match extra in.
1 – 3 Day Wales Itineraries
With one to 3 days in Wales we might extremely suggest specializing in a particular space of the nation, equivalent 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.
An alternative choice can 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 among the most spectacular castles in Wales, in addition to the hike or prepare trip 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’d be capable of extra completely 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, deal with 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 counsel beginning in Cardiff, working your means alongside the south coast, after which heading up in direction of Aberystwyth.
Alongside the way in which 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 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 counsel basing your self in two or three areas, equivalent 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 high to backside for those who so wished. We’d counsel a loop alongside the coast, beginning in Cardiff, heading out to the Pembrokeshire Coast Nationwide Park, then all the way in which as much as Snowdonia Nationwide Park and north Wales.
We’ve got a urged 1 week Wales itinerary (may be adjusted to 10+ days) for doing simply that with plenty of detailed info, which we expect you’ll discover helps you get round.
What to Pack for Wales
Wales, like the remainder of the UK, is a rustic the place the climate may be extremely variable. Rain is feasible at any time of yr, as are cooler temperatures.
So while you plan what to pack to your journey to Wales you’ll want to be ready for a wide range of situations. Moreover, as a variety 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’d suggest studying our information to what to pack for the UK as a basic overview, but additionally to recollect the next gadgets:
Additional Sources for Visiting Wales and the UK
And that’s it for our detailed planning information for visiting Wales! We hope you discovered this information helpful. We additionally needed to share some extra sources we expect would possibly assist you to with planning this and future journeys within the UK.
We’ve got an in depth 7 – 10 day highway journey itinerary for Wales, with daily highlights, tips about the place to remain, and much extra.
When you’re searching for extra highway journey inspiration within the UK, we have now a two week UK highway journey itinerary and a one week UK highway journey itinerary. We even have a one week Cornwall itinerary
When you’re heading to Scotland, take a look at our 2 day Edinburgh itinerary, our Glasgow and Loch Lomond itinerary, our information to the finest day journeys from Glasgow, our information to issues to do in Edinburgh, our itinerary for Skye and the Highlands, our information to the finest day journeys from Aberdeen, and our information to the most effective day journeys from Edinburgh. We even have a North Coast 500 planning information and North Coast 500 seven day itinerary
When you’re not conversant in driving within the UK, see my information to driving within the UK for useful ideas.
We’ve got guides to many cities within the UK you possibly can take a look at! See our guides to issues to do in Manchester, issues to do in Stratford upon Avon, issues to do in Bristol, issues to do in Portsmouth, tips about a weekend in York, tips about Visiting Oxford on a Day Journey, and issues to do in Cambridge to get began
When you’re searching for a guidebook to your journey, take a look at the Tough Information to Wales
And that’s it! Have you ever ever visited Wales? Do you’ve got something you’d add to the above? Simply tell us within the feedback under, and protected travels!
