Getting around Eryri national park on the Sherpa Bus from Caernarfon

https://snowdoninfo.com/snowdon-sherpa-timetables/

I’ve seen these timetables before and I just can’t follow them. For instance we would want to take S1 from Caernarfon to Llanberis to take the Snowdon Mountain Railway. If I’m reading it correctly it looks like we could get on at 7:40 and arrive in Llanberis at 8:05. But I don’t know what the column called THEN AT and a column that says UNTIL. And if we can’t make the 7:40 when is the next bus?

It means that buses leave from Caernarfon at 40 minutes past each hour (so an hourly service)- the next one therefore being at 0840.

I highly recommend The Welsh Highland Railway >https://www.festrail.co.uk

https://www.traveline.cymru is an excellent website that will help you find public transport in Wales. Also note that if you go to the area on Google Maps and zoom down - you can click on bus stops and it will tell you what number bus calls and where it is going.

https://bustimes.org is a useful site for finding bus routes in Britain.

Ok great. Thank you both. We are considering the welsh highland railway. And someone else told us about a bus tour that takes you around the national park. Do either of you know about that?

I've never heard of a tour.

What people tend to do is use the Sherpa as a round trip- there are basically three versions of it-
S1 Caernarfon to Pen-y-Pass via Llanberis, then the S4 to Beddgelert then the S3 back to Caernarfon,
OR
S1 Caernarfon to Betwys-y-Coed via Llanberis and Pen-y-Pass, then the T10 to Bangor then the S2 or S3 to Llanberis for the S1 to Caernarfon
OR
S1 Caernarfon to Betwys-y-Coed via Llanberis and Pen-y-Pass, then the 19 to Conwy/Llandudno then the 5 to Bangor or Caernarfon

Another variant is the train from Betwys-y-Coed to Blaenau Ffestiniog then the Ffestiniog Railway to Porthmadog then the T2 back to Caernarfon, or there is also the T22 back from Blaenau Ffestiniog to Caernarfon.

Another variant is that the S4 continues on from Beddgelert to Porthmadog, then as above.

Lots of glorious round trips you can do- all the buses are covered by the 1Bws scheme.- one of the best bargains in Wales.

There are no 'official' tour companies but a few private ones who will take you around the main sights eg. Adventure Tour Snowdonia (they are reputable!)

The Sherpa buses will get you most places from Caernarfon with a bit of effort but - whilst not cheap - it would be worth considering a private tour as you will cover a lot more and get to places public transport may not take you?

So I see how we can use the Sherpa bus to get everywhere we want to go. And I downloaded the timetables. But there aren’t any for the T2 or the T22 or the T10. I’m assuming those are trains maybe? But where are their timetables?

The T prefix routes across Wales are the Traws Cymru services- https://traws.cymru/en

So I have 2 questions about the Isle of Anglesey Coastal Path. First the most important. Is there any way to get there from Caernarfon without a car? I don’t see a bus or train route.
And the other question is if we find a way to get there does anyone have a favorite section or have a referral on what’s a good one?

From Caernarfon you would go on the frequent bus service, mainly the #5.

All buses stop at Bangor Station for trains to Holyhead- most are express but some stop at every village station on the island.

If you stay on the bus to central Bangor you connect with the #4 to Holyhead, the #42 to Llangefni, the #58 to Beaumaris and the #6 to Amlwch.

These are the Anglesey bus timetables (shame there is no obvious map)- https://www.anglesey.gov.wales/en/Residents/Parking-roads-and-travel/Travel/Bus-timetables.aspx

and all of Gwynedd county timetables (including the #5) are here- https://www.gwynedd.llyw.cymru/en/Residents/Parking-roads-and-travel/Bus-timetables/Bus-timetables.aspx

isn31c: can that tour of Anglesey by transit be done in one day, or is that too much?

@Susan- It is 30 minutes on the bus to Bangor Station then 30 minutes by train (at least hourly, sometimes as many as three an hour) so you should get to Holyhead within 90 minutes.
What I would suggest is to do the Breakwater/South Stack lighthouse walk from Holyhead and ending at Treaarrdur Bay for bus back to Holyhead, or it is on the 4 route back to Bangor. But what took 30 minutes by train takes two hours by bus visiting every village on the way (and RAF Valley, until Covid a civilian airport as well for the only Welsh domestic flight-to Cardiff).

The other easy Anglesey trip I suggest from Bangor is the bus to Beaumaris Castle and the boat trips out to Puffin Island in nesting season.

If you wanted to do a coastal bus trip the first choice would probably be north coast (which briefly includes Wylfa Nuclear Power Station) or south coast where the more recent Welsh part of my family history is (and a lot of prehistoric stuff as well).

The North coast would be bus #61 to Amlwch every 3 hours- journey time 60 minutes, then the #62 to Bangor every 45 minutes, journey 75 minutes.

If going to Anglesey I suppose you have to stop off at Llanfair PG (the place with the exceedingly long name)- gimmick or not. Buses and the local train service stop there.

The South coast takes a bit of careful timing between buses, but can be done. Or use the village stations at Bodorgan, Ty Croes and Rhosneigr. But I wouldn't see the south coast as a first or second tie visit to the island- more for a seasoned visitor IMO.

I will be coming from Bristol airport and skipping Cardiff and anything east of it. Not sure where to spend the first night. Swansea?
I have read the Gower peninsula is worth visiting but maybe less so on a bus.
I think I will focus on the SW area of St Davids and Fishguard/Newport area. I would like to do some coastal walks.
I realize I have diverged from the topic of the original question. Sorry folks!

I like your suggestion to do the Breakwater/South Stack lighthouse then to Treaarrdur Bay. But that walk looks long. How long is it?

This is a different version of the walk - a circular version- which is 10 miles- https://www.walescoastpath.gov.uk/plan-your-visit/itineraries/cadw/holyhead-and-mountain-circular-walk/?lang=en

https://walescoastpathv13-hqcnhydyfebqh0a9.a02.azurefd.net/1961/04-holyhead-and-mountain-loop.jpg

So diverting to and ending at Trearddur Bay is around 8 miles as a linear walk.

Some versions I've seen add walking the Breakwater itself out to the Lighthouse- over a mile in each direction- so adds almost 2 1/2 miles. But you see all of that when you leave by ferry anyway, so I personally don't see the point.

Ok great. We’ll figure that out. Now another question. We want to take the 19 from Betws-y-coed up to Llandudno. I can’t find how to buy the 19 bus nor any timetables.

The #19 is run by Llew Jones- https://llewjones.com/bus-timetables/

It is included in your 1Bws day ticket for all buses in north Wales including the Sherpas and the Traws Cymru buses, otherwise just pay the driver

Again, I can’t say thank you enough!

At one point during all my questions you mentioned a very frequent bus from Bangor to Caernarfon. Is it a bus I need to get a ticket for? And what is the name of the bus so I can look at their timetables?

You want a 5c bus. Download a timetable here. As you can see it is a very frequent service. Buy a ticket when you get on the bus - they take both cash and credit cards.

The buses are in the Gwynedd Timetables Link above-
The main service is the 5/5C/5D- https://diogel.gwynedd.llyw.cymru/GwasanaethauGwe/FfeiliauSystemau.Allanol/AmserlenBws/Ffeil?iaith=en&llwybr=%5B05_5C_5D%5D-%5BLlandudno_-_Conwy_-_Bangor_-_Caernarfon%5D-%5BLlandudno_-_Conwy_-_Bangor_-_Caernarfon%5D%2Epdf

This is a summary timetable showing the start point of Bangor Y Cloc [The Clock- Town Centre] but all services also call at the Station a few minutes later.

with the other service being the T2- https://diogel.gwynedd.llyw.cymru/GwasanaethauGwe/FfeiliauSystemau.Allanol/AmserlenBws/Ffeil?iaith=en&llwybr=%5BT02%5D-%5BAberystwyth_-_Dolgellau_-_Porthmadog_-_Bangor%5D-%5BAberystwyth_-_Dolgellau_-_Porthmadog_-_Bangor%5D%2Epdf

Just pay on the bus either a single fare or buy a daily or weekly 1Bws ticket on that bus as above

Got it! Thanks again!