I have been reading some of the comments on similar topics and hope to get input for our itinerary. We are less comfortable driving compared to previous trips where we have rented a car, so for this vacation we thought taking trains and buses would be an adventure in itself. We enjoy history, natural beauty, walks, castles and quaint towns.
We will be arriving from Bristol Airport and would take the train to Cardiff and beyond, to spend about 4 days on the south coast of Wales. We have visited Cardiff, Caerphilly, Raglan and the Big Pit on a previous trip. Any recommendations on a base from which to do day trips in this area? What do you think are the highlights to visit?
Then we will head up the coast and would like to do 2 days somewhere on the way to north Wales. Looking for a quaint, historic and pretty town.
I am most excited about the castles, history and beauty of north Wales and am thinking about staying in Conwy for about 4-5 nights and visiting the castles in Caernarfon, Beaumaris and Harlech. We would also like to visit and walk in Snowdonia NP. How easy is it to get to these towns using buses and/or trains? A friend thinks we could be spending a lot of time waiting around and wasting time.
We also hope to visit Wrexham and Chester on our way to Manchester to fly home. We would likely spend an overnight in one of these.
I am looking for advice on the efficiency of using trains/buses and for comments on the itinerary itself.
Thanks!
Posted by
2709 posts
It looks like you did not visit >https://www.visitcardiff.com/highlights/st-fagans-national-museum-history/ on the previous visit - highly recommended - Cardiff Bus 32 (not Sundays) but note that last bus back is about 3pm so suggest you go out on an early bus ready for opening at 10am. Castell Coch near the village of Tongwynlais is also worth a visit - but you will have a 17 minute walk up the hill from the village. The beaches near Cardiff are not the best although good remote ones can be reached by car in about 35 minutes.
You have 3 ways of getting from Cardiff to N Wales. The fastest and easiest way is direct train up The Marches Line to Chester where the train then goes onto the north Wales Coast line to Llandudno Junction and Conwy to end up at Holyhead (Usually). The other way of doing it is train from Cardiff to Pembrokeshire (SW Wales) - I would suggest heading to the beautiful town of Tenby. To then reach N Wales - either train to Carmarthen and then Traws Cymru bus northward or Tenby to Haverfordwest by bus and then bus north up the west coast - on this route - Aberaeron is worth a look.
The 3rd way is train from Cardiff up the Marches Line as far as Shrewsbury (worth a look) - where you change trains for one going west on the Cambrian Line. If going this way, suggest you head to Porthmadog to make a base for a few nights. (This is handy for Portmeirion Italian style village and 2 narrow gauge steam railways > https://www.festrail.co.uk
https://www.visitpembrokeshire.com/explore-pembrokeshire/towns-and-villages/tenby-and-penally
https://traws.cymru/en
https://www.traveline.cymru
Posted by
Lake District, England
9191 posts
Between Barmouth and Porthmadog (Main Line and Steam Train) Stations there is an hourly bus- #G23 for Harlech Castle.
Caernarfon would be a better base, although Conwy would also work.
From Caernarfon there is a very regular bus service to Conwy and a bus every two hours (which continues forward to Aberystwyth). At Aberystwyth there is a connection hourly to Carmarthen, and another hourly one to Cardigan for Haverfordwest and Fishguard.
For Beaumaris take the frequent bus to Bangor then the roughly hourly #58/58L/58P bus. If you time it carefully you can explore more of Anglesey by taking the #50 from Beaumaris to Llangefni and then the hourly 4A back to Bangor.
For Snowdonia there is the hourly Sherpa bus from Caernarfon to Llanberis and Betwys y Coed and another hourly Sherpa to Beddgelert.
In North Wales (and as far as Chester and Aberystwyth) use the 1 Bws Ticket for £7 a day or £30 for a week. Or tap on tap off each bus with your credit card, which will be capped at the £7 a day/£30 a week rate.
As well as the obvious route from Caernarfon to Wrexham by train via Bangor and Chester there is a scenic bus route to see more of Wales- the Aberystwyth bound T2 to Dolgellau then the every two hours T3 to Wrexham via Bala (and there is also the lovely Bala Lake Steam Railway at Bala).
Posted by
OP
Canada
19 posts
Thanks so much for the responses. I am thankful for the details offered!
One thing I fear is spending a long time on transit for distances that would be much shorter by car. Am I right to be concerned about that?
In terms of passes, I am somewhat confused about what would suit us, assuming we would likely be going daily someplace reasonably local from our home bases. It seems some places are served by buses and others by train.
How would basing ourselves around Haverfordwest or Fishguard for a few days and traveling to St David's, as well as doing some coastal walks? Ideally we would love to stay on the coast, but in terms of radiating day trips maybe Haverfordwest is better situated. Would we be able to go to Tenby and Pembroke from there on a day trip and not spend too much time in transit?
Posted by
Lake District, England
9191 posts
The Snowdon Sherpa buses are designed to and do get people out of their cars as the pressure of car borne travel was becoming problematical.
In West Wales Haverfordwest works as you have the hourly T11 bus to St Davids and the 349 to Tenby and Pembroke. There is the West Wales Rover Ticket- https://traws.cymru/en/west-wales-rover-ticket
Until recently there was an All Wales every Bus and Train Rover Ticket, but the permitted buses have been heavily cut back so it now has limited usefulness.
From Haverfordwest the best way north by transit (and Transport for Wales sell through rail/bus tickets) is Haverfordwest to Carmarthen then the hourly T1 express bus to Aberystwyth. From there either the train or the T2 to Caernarfon.
If you still want to stay in Conwy it's the train. All trains stop at Llandudno Junction across the bridge from Conwy (which has far fewer trains) and there are through Advance Train specific fares.
Driving north to south in Wales isn't fast due to the nature of the roads, so the train (even by it's long route) is probably not an awful lot slower.
This is details of the coastal buses- and note the new demand responsive services as well- https://www.pembrokeshire.gov.uk/bus-routes-and-timetables/bus-routes-list-coastal-buses
Many of the north to south trains actually route through Wrexham, so whether that is a better way to add Wrexham is a possibility.
Posted by
Lincolnshire, UK
2550 posts
If you are planning to visit Harlech Castle, make sure you do it by bus, which will drop you off in the centre of the village. The train station is on the coast and there is a very steep hill to walk up to reach the village and castle which is built on top of a cliff overlooking the coast... (The road is also very narrow and bendy with no footpath for pedestrians.)
Posted by
OP
Canada
19 posts
great tip Wasleys!
Posted by
OP
Canada
19 posts
to isn31c:
would it be possible to take a bus from Aberystwyth and stop in Harlech to see the castle and then continue to stay in Porthmadog? we would require luggage storage while in Harlech.
If we were to split our time between 2 bases in Northern Wales would Caernarfon and Llandudno make sense?
I am not sure where the best access point into Snowdonia NP is?
I think your advice to base ourselves in Caernarfon may be quite suitable in order to visit some of the 13th C castles nearby.
Posted by
Lake District, England
9191 posts
Susan,
I didn't see your follow up question-
Aberystwyth to Harlech is a bit difficult due to topography-
It is Aberystwyth to Dolgellau on the T2 at 35 minutes past the odd hour, then the T3 Dolgellau to Barmouth then the G23 Barmouth to Harlech-
eg- Aber. depart 0735, Dolgellau arrive 0858, depart 0903 and hourly Barmouth arrive 0927, depart 0933, Harlech arrive 1000.
The Barmouth to Harlech (and on to Porthmadog) bus is hourly.
The train (changing at Dovey Junction) at least as far as Barmouth may be easier, or even to Harlech. Much is made of the fact that it is a climb up from Harlech Station to the town and castle, as if people don't do that walk daily. But the G23 as part of it's route also does that journey from the station at 52 minutes past each hour.
There are many possible access points to Snowdonia but Caernarfon is as good as any with the Snowdon Sherpa buses.
Your luggage is the biggest issue here.