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Cardiff - St. David's - Conwy: Distance advice

Posted by on

Hi. Planning a trip to Wales in May. We are experienced travelers and experienced with driving in the UK (2 of the group lived there for multiple years).

After a couple of days in London, we are planning:
Cardiff -- 3 nights, 2 full days: Castle and St. Fagan's as priorities
Drive to St. Davids: 3 nights, 2 days: Hiking and a puffin cruise

The plan then is to drive along the west coast from St. Davids to Conwy in a day. We would then base in Conwy for 5 nights, 4 days of day trips around the northern part of wales.

Question: Is it reasonable to do any sightseeing on the way from St. Davids to Conwy? On a map, it looks like a reasonable enough drive, but I understand that distance doesn't equate time when driving in Wales.

Posted by
1518 posts

Check the locations of Edward's Castles in the North of Wales. I think that you could make a few overnight stops on your way to Conwy instead of having to backtrack. Especially Harlech, Caernarvon and Beaumaris. You could make a stop on Anglesey Island, We stayed on a sheep farm there. Betws-y- Coed is another charming place to stay, not that far from Conwy.

Posted by
28065 posts

You can use ViaMichelin.com to get driving-time estimates. It will also highlight in green especially scenic roads. You'll need to zoom way in to see that.

Posted by
7146 posts

When we did the drive we stopped at Pentre Ifan burial chamber, St. Brynach’s church in Nevern to see the weeping yew tree, Dyfi furnace, and Pont Minllyn pack horse bridge. We also drove through Snowdonia park. We split the trip and stayed in Aberystwyth for a night.

Posted by
2574 posts

Plenty to see on the way up the west coast such as Aberaeron, Aberdovey (Aberdyfi in Welsh), Barmouth, Harlech (Castle) and Portmeirion. Doing those places on the way and trying to reach Conwy in 1 day is virtually impossible. You could drive from st. David’s to Conwy in a day but stops would have to be limited.

Conwy is not particularly central for Snowdonia if you have a car. Consider somewhere further south such as Porthmadog area - which is reachable in a day from St. David’s with time allowed to sight see en-route.

Posted by
2280 posts

The trip is going to take 5-6 hours plus any time for stops. As already pointed out, there's lots of potential for stops along the way. Prioritise with one major stop or possible two shorter stops.

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