2 weeks in Wales

I spent a month in Wales a number of years ago; utterly ADORED it! I was based up north in Denbighshire, but also went south. Wales has an excellent website: http://www.visitwales.co.uk/things-to-do-in-wales/ Things I loved, in no particular order: Castles: Powys, Caernarfon, Conwy, Denbigh (loved Denbighshire in general, saw Rhuddlan Castle, Ruthin Castle, Castell Dinas Bran and Bodelwyddan Castle too), Harlech... well, I'm wasting space. Wales is STUFFED with great old piles of stone in various states of upkeep. Randomly, more: Betws-y-Coed, discussed a lot on this board, is just as charming and delightful as folks say. Denbigh, for the castle. Town center is very charming and fun for a ramble, but the focus is the castle. Llandudno is a Victorian tourist resort and a lot of fun. There's an elegant old boardwalk, great architecture, and you should definitely climb up Great Orme. Llangollen, in Denbighshire. I went for the Eisteddfod, and checked out the famous and atmospheric bridge over the River Dee, the old steam railway, and the cool canal that runs over an aqueduct. And a couple of pubs. ;-) Llanrwst: nice market town between Betws-y-Coed and Llandudno, on the edge of Snowdonia. Prestatyn: spent a night on the beach, roasting sausages over a bonfire. Not sure how amazing the town is, but the beach is excellent! Ruthin, also up north, amazing old half-timbered buildings and ultra-cute. Wrexham, for the Church of St Giles and their super little local museum. St. David's, which is about 4 hours south of Denbigh, is a wonderful and extremely picturesque little village in Pembrokeshire with a cathedral (!) and some stunning coastline. Really a stand-out. Okay, I am going to be cut off here soon... suffice that you can EASILY find a TON of stuff to do for 2 weeks!

After reading Kira's reply...I want to go again! We went to Wales for probably a total of 2 weeks; 2 different times. I think that it is the closest you are going to get to the Hobbit's Middle Earth in Great Britain. All of Edward's Castles are evocative of "days of yore". You can almost see the fairies in the green woods. Even the coal mining history is awesome to see. Driving wasn't that hard...beware of sheep! We stayed on a sheep farm on Anglessy...they were Jacob Sheep with coats of many colors. Some of my most vivid memories of travel are from Wales...have a wonderful time!

We went to Wales for three weeks a couple of years ago. I used a timeshare to stay in Snowdonia (SP) area. We then drove down to Cardiff and spend two weeks in the area. Loved both areas. Want to go back, but do not have the time at the moment. You will need a car to see Wales as it should be seen.

For Pembrokeshire and Snowdonia, where do you suggest to stay as a location? If possible somewhere close to some restaurants for dinner and easy to do day trips from there.

In Cardiff, I rented a house listed on gumtree.com. It was kinda ok, but at the bottom of ok. I would suggest, and I would look into airbnb for finding cheap lodgings or look at homelidays.com. You do not say when you are going, so if in the late fall/winter or spring, sometimes hotels have specials that can be enticing. Cardiff was interesting and the covered open air market was a joy to walk through and shop. Go to a pub and try a Brains beer. Makes Guinness look pale. There is restored castle in Cardiff, if you like such things. Also, about an hours drive or less, there are some Roman Bath Ruins. We took the first bus or train, I cannot remember which, out and the last bus/train back and went to London for the day, shopping at Harrods and Harvey Nicks for lunch at the moving feast. We had tea later in the evening, then took the last bus/train back.

What do you think about Conwy, to cover the Snowdonia, and St. Davids to cover Pemrokeshire? I would like to check on nice guesthouse with parking facilities, do you think it will be difficult to find? Are there restaurants for Dinner in the mentioned cities? Which is better to be near Snowdonia Conwy or Betws y coed? Do you think if I make - 5 nights Snowdonia Area, 5 nights Pembrokeshire Area and 5 nights Cardiff Area, will that be a good plan?

Either Betws-y-Coed or Conwy would be a great base. Conwy's on the caost, near Llandudno, so it's a great location. It's a larger town than Betws-y-Coed and not quite as "ootsie cutsie." It's also further from the "heart" of Snowdonia, but not by much. You should be able to find a nice guest house in either place with ease - there are lots in the vicinity. And St. David's is a perfect base for Pembrokeshire, IMHO. Five days per location would be great. A goodly amount of time.