Travel from Heathrow to Conwy, Wales

are you planning on time in London when you arrive, or do you want to get off the plane and go straight to North Wales?

What time of year?

Hi Nigel,

We are planning on going in mid-late September. We have been to London before so no time needed there. If timing is right and arrival is early enough we would go right up to Conwy. have looked at train and driving times so know that its not a long ride or drive.

It would be more my comfort level with driving in UK. I have done so twice before but its been a few years. That's why if its to be by car I would want to go outside London to rent one.

We rented at Heathrow and drove to Tintern upon arrival. One consideration on where you rent the car might be whether you plan any stops along the way. I wouldn’t attempt that long drive after a long flight. Excluding any construction, heavy traffic, wrong turns, etc. it’s about a 4.5 hours drive. Get stuck behind a couple slow vehicles on some of those roads and you can add a lot of time to the trip.

On our trip we spent three weeks touring Wales, not just visiting one area. We started in the south, went over to St. David’s, then up to Caernarfon before going along the north coast and back into England for a few days.

Rent at Heathrow, we did and had less city traffic. Head toward Oxford. 1st night we stayed near Woodstock which is about 100 miles, so we could visit Blenheim Palace in the morning. After that we drove north through the Cotswolds, visiting other sights, etc. and finally connecting with M5. We stayed overnight in Chester. Conwy Castle is just an hour or so drive west of Chester on a modern highway. You can buy a Welsh Castle Pass there. Conwy is small, so fewer choices for car rentals.

Thank you both. I will look into renting at Heathrow. I did understand that Landudno just across from Conwy had rental options.

Good idea about breaking up the drive to Conwy. Our plan is to tour N and S Wales for a week and a half, possibly two. Then on to N of London to visit a friend and travel to Scotland to visit some areas we missed on a tour in 23.

I figured a car either way. Looks like it would be more flexible than public trans. But the P Trans could be a great adventure too

Firstly, assuming that you can't have booked flights yet for 2016, consider flying into Manchester rather than London. I appreciate that you probably have a direct flight into LHR compared to one-stop options into MAN, but there are direct trains from MAN to Conway and it's the best part of 200 miles nearer.

In any case I really must emphasise what a bad idea it would be to get off a long haul overnight flight and get in a car driving on what for you is the wrong side of the road on some of the busiest roads in Europe for at least a 4 hour drive. Driving a short way before an overnight flight would work but then you have chewed up a day of your holiday before getting to Conwy.

Hi John

Thank you for your concern which I appreciate and the great suggestions. Nope, no flights are booked as of now. 2026 is too far off. I am just working on general planning at this time. I will look at going into Manchester and then leaving from LHR. My wife prefers a direct flight, no stops but could be persuaded. No need for the lecture though. I already had these thoughts about driving timing as expressed earlier. In the past I have driven on both the highways and backroads in England, both an automatic and a standard. However, it has been a few years. So, I am considering it or the options of public transportation. We have experience on public trans too. A year ago: train from Edinburgh to Hadrian's Wall area, then to York, then to London and Rugby. Had our passes too.

Manchester sounds like a good option to me, train down to Conwy and then rent a car at Conwy area.

Thanks again, A.J.

If you are going to Scotland after Wales, would it not make more sense to start at Heathrow and head for south Wales before heading to north Wales and then across to Chester, arrange to meet friend and then up to Scotland?

Note that Wales has a separate forum where you might like to read previous posts.

Kathleen. Where did you stop over in Chester?

James. Something to think about. Thank you

James. Where do I find the Wales forum?

Sorry, I don't remember the name of the Pub that we stayed at, but it was not that far out of town on the way to Conwy. It was before Covid so I don't know their situation now. Another time we stay at a B & B on the road from Manchester Airport to Chester. There are plenty of nice Hotels inside the Walls, too. Also we stay in Betws-y-coed which is close to Conwy. We mostly stayed in owner occupied B & Bs in Wales, once in a Farmhouse with Jacob Sheep. The Castles we saw were Flint, a ruin, Conwy, Beaumaris, Caernarfon and more, we drove back thru Horseshoe Pass. We didn't go to South Wales, but continued to the Lake District, Hadrian's Wall and Edinburgh. We didn't go to the Western Isles as we were driving and would have to take the car on the ferries. We saw plenty by just driving and serendipity.

Thank you. Good tips

James. I found the Wales forum. My bad. Thought it was all lumped under UK/England

Another option which dropped in my inbox yesterday.

I've looked at them seriously for TA flights into Stewart International, NY for 2026 or 2027.

Play airlines are currently trialling Iceland to Cardiff flights which connect into Play's flights to the US East Coast.

An interesting new option if the trial succeeds in attracting passengers.

Thanks for the tip on Play Air. I’ll check it out further. Looks like a possible adventure.