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Hiring a Driver from Marloes to Caernarfon or nearby

Hello. My mom and I will be spending 5 nights in Wales, 2 in south (Cardiff and Marloes) and 3 in North Coast/Snowdonia area. I am trying to finalize our 3 nights (quickly because of peak season).

We have a tour of Skomer Island scheduled on July 16th at 10 a.m., and want to travel afterward around 3:30 p.m. to our destination if possible. We are not renting a car. As Americans, we don't feel comfortable driving on left side.

We can go by train/bus, but will lose a day in travel. Does anyone know how I can get a quote for a driver from Marloes to let's say Caernarfon (who also would be willing to stop for a couple of photo ops and share what he/she knows of where we are passing)? Google is telling me it's about 152 miles.

Thank you in advance!

Posted by
2384 posts

Are you saying that you want to set off from Marloes at 3.30pm for north-west Wales?

Posted by
2384 posts

Yes, it is a terrible idea. Firstly, Marloes is a small village so not the kind of place where you are likely to find people offering ‘driver & car’ transportation. I have driven from Haverfordwest (the main town in the middle of Pembrokeshire) to Marloes and just that bit alone took about 35 to 40 minutes due to the winding road. To get from Marloes to say Porthmadog in north-west Wales would take around 4 hours and Caernarfon another 30 minutes or so. So, even if you could find a driver, they would not want to set off at 3.30pm on such a long drive and then have to return back south to base. It would also cost a fortune.

I think you have greatly underestimated how long it will take to get from place to place and are trying to cover too much territory in the time you have available. Just to get from Cardiff to Haverfordwest by train will take 2 hours 30 minutes by direct train. Then you would have to get out to Marloes. If no suitable bus can be found, they do have a Book A Bus system (which is written in Welsh just to confuse the vast majority) see:>https://www.fflecsi.wales/locations/pembrokeshire/

So, having reached Marloes where I presume your accommodation is in the village, you wish to get the boat out to Skomer. I drove to the place where the boats leave and it is not in the village. It is perhaps about 2 miles west. Look at this Google Map and you will see Marloes village and where it says ‘Dale Princess’ is the location of the little harbour (Martin's Haven) from which the boats go to the islands.

A small bus operates from Marloes to St.David’s. This is called Puffin service 400. (Only on Wednesdays in winter but more frequent in summer).

https://traws.cymru/en/services are the main longer distance bus routes in Wales. To get from Haverfordwest to north-west Wales, you would need T5 as far as Aberystwyth and then T2 to continue northward. So, select the northbound direction and note how long it takes. (It is also possible to get from Aberystwyth to Portmadog by train with one change. This Cambrian Coast Line is very scenic but also slow going).

So, with only 5 nights in Wales and such time consuming journeys by public transport - even by car it takes most of a day to get from south to north, you may like to consider modifying your plans.

I see that a company operate small mini bus guided tours out from Cardiff. It might be better to use these as they will stop for you to take photos and will know the places of interest. https://www.seewales.com
Of course, because the Cardiff area is more populated, it has good public transport if you wish to get about on your own. St.Fagans Castle & Museum (Cardiff Bus 32 every 30 minutes) should be at the top of the list. Caerphilly Castle - trains very 15 minutes for the 20 minute trip is another good one though the town of Caerphilly is a dump.

If you did want to go to Pembrokeshire, I would consider Tenby which is on the railway. Boats take people out to nearby Caldy Island. Tenby is obviously much more busy than Marloes so you may still prefer that option.

https://www.traveline.info will tell you how to get about.
Trains:> https://www.nationalrail.co.uk

Sometimes it is cheaper to split the train ticket. https://www.traintickets.com/?/
For longer journeys, it is usually cheapest to pre book Advance (specific train tickets) which get loaded around 10 weeks out.