Newport to Conwy Wales, but is Aberystwyth worth an overnight?

Have you worked out how to do this journey by public transport? It is horrendous and there is no easy route unless you go via Birmingham.

There is a map of railway lines in Wales here.
There is no obvious route along the coast from Bath to Aberystywth. You would need to get a bus from Carmarthen to Aberystwyth.

From Aberystwyth you can catch a train to Porthmadog changing at Dovey Junction , then catch a bus to Blaenau Ffestiniog and then catch a train from Blaenau Ffestiniog to Llandudno Junction with a mile walk to Conwy.

The other alternative would be to catch a train from Bath to Newport (changing at BristolmPArkway., From Newport catch a train to Shrewsbury along the Mid Wales Line. At Shrewsbury change and catch a train to Portmadog and then as above.

Use the Train Line to check out times, routes and fares.

I personally would do a different 2 day route to Aber, from Bath-
Day 1- Train Bath to Fishguard, 1 change at Swansea, Overnight. (ideally at least 2 nights to explore more of Pembrokeshire).
Day 2- Fishguard to Aber by a succession of 3 buses which all neatly connect. Overnight, preferably 2 nights to have a full day in Aber.
Day 3- The through bus T2 from Aber to Bangor Station, train to Conwy. It's a through bus but I would stop in Dolgellau or Porthmadog for an hour or so to break up the journey and for the restroom!

While Aber is a nice enough place, as you are travelling with luggage, unless you are up for an adventure, I am not at all sure it is worth it.

Each day is unhurried and a nice and actually very easy journey- but..... If you're weren't encumbered with luggage and had the time I'd say go for it.

I think it's more practicable to go direct to Conwy from Bath (1 change at Newport) and have extra nights there to explore the North Wales Coast and Snowdonia.

PS- you don't have to change at Bristol Parkway to go from Bath to Newport- it's straight through.

We spent a night in Aberystwyth while driving between St. Davids and Caernarfon back in 2019. We stayed at the Maes Y Mor hotel. It was quirky and consisted of multiple buildings. We got a room, actually an efficiency apartment, right on the promenade. Once we adjusted to the quirkiness we enjoyed it. That was the only accommodation where we had to pay in cash. We walked around the town and were not impressed. The beach and pier were nice to walk on, but one night in the town was more than enough.

Your title says “Newport to Conwy”. I hope that you are not staying in Newport as it is an absolute dump. If you are say coming by train from Bath, you would be better off going the extra 15 minutes to stay in Cardiff. Direct trains go from Cardiff to Conwy with Newport being the first stop. If you wanted to hop off en route, you would need to split the ticket or have some kind of Rover. Interesting places to hop off en-route would be Ludlow, Shrewsbury and Chester with Chester being the best of the bunch. (Trains from Cardiff to Manchester are on the same line as far as Shrewsbury).

You have already seen some suggestions about heading to the west coast and then north but this can be slow going although you would pass through some scenic areas. Having said that, the line from Cardiff to Conwy via Shrewsbury also passes through attractive countryside. Aberystwyth is OK but not wonderful. However, anyone staying for a day in the town would surely enjoy a ride on the Vale of Rheidol steam railway to Devil’s Bridge.

The ‘normal railway’ going up the west coast from Dovey Junction is called the Cambrian Coast Line and is very scenic. From Portmadog you could take the Ffestiniog steam railway to Blaenau Ffestiniog where you change to the normal railway for the journey down to Llandudno Junction - which a 1 mile east of Conwy.

You could go by train from Cardiff to Shrewsbury - have a look around and then take the train going west to the Cambrian Coast and spend a night or 2 in Porthmadog before heading to Conwy. It all depends on how long you have to do the journey. When in Conwy - try and visit Bodnant Gardens - bus from Llandudno Junction.

Some longer Bus services in Wales have been branded as Trans Cymru. These are not like the National Express Coaches but more like local buses. If you click the routes on the website you will get maps of the routes.
https://traws.cymru/en/services

Train Rovers - tick box for Wales:> http://www.railrover.org/index.html
The main train company in Wales is:> https://tfw.wales

Thanks for all the info, much more than I would have expected, not to mention, really helpful!