Tell me about Wales

Gary - what a good try! I'll answer so it goes to the top and maybe takes people's mind off other posts.

So, Wales is wonderful! We went to mostly Northern Wales as part of a 3 1/2 week trip to the UK. Went with our kids (young teens) and all enjoyed it. We saw 3 of Edward's castles - Conwy, Caernaerfon & Beauvis. We LOVED walking among these semi-ruined castles more than the more elaborately preserved ones that we had seen in England.

The other thing that was great for us was even though we were there in summer (late July/early August) we found it to be very uncrowded, and the people who were there were mostly British - very few Americans. We had a great night in one of the pubs in Conwy. We had gone in and were sat in the "family area" so my husband went into the bar to get us a drink. Someone recognized us as the American family they had seen earlier and started talking to us. Ended up with many "locals" coming over to us, talking, asking us why we had come to Wales, even bought us a drink! It was a fun night.

So - great castles, great people - I'd sure go back!

So you don't miss a sight that might be important to you, do a google search for "Cardiff sights" or attractions and read about places of interest. Then do the same for the other towns you want to see.

Half the sights I suggest for you may be of no interest to you.

I saw mainly N. Wales 5 days and enjoyed it very much as an addition to Lake district. Stayed at RS lodging recom. Did lots of driving.Had good fd, saw castles, great pubs. Preferrable to attach to Ireland or Lake district trip.

Wales seems to be an underated destination for many travelers. We loved our visit there in October 2006. Started at Tintern Abbey and drove though the Brecons to Landovery. From there we saw as many castles as possible, Portmerion, stayed a night in Caenarfon, Conwy, Bodnant Gardens, and ended up in Betys-y-coed for several nights. Snowdonia is such a beautiful place, food was great,lots of charm, people very friendly, and Wales seems less expensive than England. We definitely plan to return someday.

I have only been once and seem to remember lots of beautiful castles. I really want to go back and see Cardiff as it's become very trendy in the last few years. Doctor Who and Torchwood are filmed there so you can go along and get in touch with your inner geek. You can even book a hotel room that comes with it's own dalek!

Cardiff and 250 pubs, need I say more? Try 1/2 pint of Brains Beer. Unique, I must say.

There are some great Roman Bath ruins about an hour from Cardiff. The castle in Cardiff has been rebuilt. There is an open air mall area, that is actually covered in the middle of Cardiff. Met several nice people there, ate lunch and bought some food to take home and cook. I love shopping in open air market type areas. We went to Swansea for a day trip. I would like to go back and visit more. Interesting town.
Northern Wales is nice also. Rhyl and surrounding towns have few visitors other than English. Each little town have old and wonderful down towns. the Welch as a whole seem to like visitors and are very friendly. They enjoy talking with you if given a chance. Be up on your politics! They seem to follow ours well.
One day, in Cardiff, we were walking down the street and saw several young ladies going by in formal dresses. We stopped and asked a group of women, who were sitting around a table, drinking a glass of wine each, what was going on? They said that the young people had adopted an American tradition -the formal prom- for the senior class in school. That led to more discussions and a wonderful hour chat.

I am in total agreement with all of the others. Wales is well worth the trip. We were there last June and encountered very few tourists during the week. Weekends were a little more busy of course.

In addition to the other suggestions above,if you are in the Llangollen area, I recommend Chirk Castle and Erddig Castle.

What a timely posting! I've been to Wales twice but usually because it was between where I was and where I needed to be. Fishguard for a night in order to catch the early morning ferry to Ireland, and the second time as a scenic route between Liverpool and Bath. There is no other reason to go to Fishguard other than that it's a lovely town full of friendly people and wonderful views of the sea. It all left me wanting more so this Sept my sister and I are going to spend time there, probably at least a week. On my list of things to see are some of Edwards Castles. Also we want to take the cog railroad up (and probably down) Mt Snowden and visit a slate mine. We want to see Portmeirion, Porthmadog and Bedgelert. I'm not nearly through researching.

I agree that Cardiff is a marvelous city!Check out the newly restored harbor area. I love the markets -some are in "arcades" and one of my favorites is in the old St. David's church. There are some great restruants, too. But you may also want to consider The Snowdonia area. It is beautiful. We stayed in a little village called Betwys-y-Coed. Lovely walks down beautiful streams. You can visit Mt. Snowdon and take a steam train up to the top for wonder views. I aslo agree that Swansee is worth a day trip from Cardiff.

I'll echo some of the other posts. Wales is really lovely. We spent a few days there, in the late summer, about four years ago. We stayed in Conwy and in Holyhead (we were on our way to Ireland). We loved exploring Conwy Castle and Caernarfon. The people are just wonderful and you'll bump into very few Americans. In Holyhead, we stayed at Orotavia B&B. The owner, Shirley, was fabulous. She tried to teach us some Welsh and showed us around a bit. It's a beautiful place with wonderful people.

Regarding the Snowdon Mtn. Railroad: Be aware that the traincar itself is very cramped. Get a window seat if at all possible, as you're riding in a narrow compartment with two benches facing each other. "Packed like sardines" is a good description. Make no mistake, the views are gorgeous, the recorded audio tour is interesting, and the cramped quarters really didn't bother me on the way up. If you can, though, I'd recommend walking back down. There's no more audio to hear and the train makes several stops to wait for the ascending car to pass on the single track, during which time you'll be staring longingly at the people on the foot trail passing you by. :)

This is based on a May 2006 experience, so things may have changed since.