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Summer 2020 in Tenby

Hi

We are a couple (both 53 years old) from Hamburg and want to travel to Tenby for 14 days next summer.
We have some questions or need some tips:

What's the best way to get from London to Tenby (without a car)? By bus or by train?

We want to hike the Coast Path in stages and visit some attractions near Tenby. Different daily start and end points, with the home base in Tenby. Of course you have to have public transport. Is there a public transport network in Wales?

thank you in advance
Hartmut

Posted by
26840 posts

I haven't been to that part of Wales, but it looks like the train (change in Swansea) will be faster than a bus. You can check rail schedules at nationalrail.co.uk . If you're willing to take the 10:48 departure, or later, the current Off-Peak fare is about £55. Last-minute purchase of a ticket on the 6:48 or 8:48 trains would cost about £142; early purchase of an Advance ticket would cost £82.

In the UK it is sometimes possible to save money on long-distance train tickets by purchasing them in two segments. I don't know whether that is the case on this route, but it would be worth checking the fares for London-Swansea plus Swansea-Tenby.

There is bus service in Wales. The Traveline Cymru website seems to provide schedules for all the Welsh buses.

Posted by
2384 posts

Rather than fly Hamburg to London and then a long train journey - like 5 to 6 hours to Tenby, it may be more convenient & cheaper to fly from Berlin to Bristol with Easyjet. It looks like they have flights starting on 26 June with Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays & Sundays being the days of operation. From Bristol Airport, I would suggest that you take the shuttle bus into the downtown station (Temple Meads) and then take a train to Cardiff - trains every 30 minutes & it takes just under an hour. (Cheaper to purchase an Anytime Return). Stay a night or 2 in Cardiff and then take a train to Tenby - which, even from Cardiff, is about a 3 hour journey.

Alternatively, go to Amsterdam Airport which has direct flights by KLM to Cardiff Airport. If you land at Cardiff Airport at an inconvenient time, I suggest you book into the Holiday Inn Express at the airport for 1 night. From Cardiff Airport, a shuttle T9 bus does go into Cardiff but as you are heading west, you do not need to go into Cardiff - which is east of the airport. Instead, your easiest option is to take the NAT shuttle bus to nearby Rhoose railway station (RIA). Trains are only 1 per hour. Go to the platform on the seaward side and a train will come to take you to the main line at Bridgend. From here, some trains go direct to Tenby but the odds are that you would have to change trains en route - probably at Swansea. www.nationalrail.co.uk will have the train fares.

Please note that the Tenby branch line has only 1 train every 2 hours and rail services can be poor on Sundays. From London & Reading - a through express runs all the way to Tenby on summer Saturdays only. (Only the rear 5 coaches will go all the way).
You may also find cheaper flights from Amsterdam to Bristol using Easyjet.

The Pembrokeshire coast is spectacular and I particularly like the sections west of Tenby such as the Stackpole area / Barafundle Bay.
Milford Haven is an oil port and Pembroke Dock is not attractive to say the least.
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.6591621,-4.8744738,18688m/data=!3m1!1e3!5m1!1e1

Posted by
392 posts

Don't know when you plan to go in the summer but there are two big triathlon events in Tenby on the first weekend of July and first weekend of September. It makes for a great atmosphere in the town but can make accommodation more tricky to find and there will be road closures.

Posted by
7595 posts

We rented a car, so can't help you with your question. However, we spent two nights in Tenby in October 2017 and loved it there.
South Wales is great. Be sure to visit St. David's as well.

We stayed at the Coach Guest House, which was at a great location, parking was free and just across the street.
Breakfast was excellent. Recommend considering it.

Posted by
6386 posts

We too had a rental car. Not certain how much of the trail you want to walk, but the portion by St. Davids is very pretty. My wife and I walked it last May. Maybe consider two bases for the trip since St. Davids is closer to the majority of the trail than Tenby. If you enjoy castles, Pembroke castle is a nice one to visit and it is fairly close to Tenby. Tenby is a nice, small, town, but not worth 14 days. It is larger than St. Davids.

Posted by
2384 posts

As stated above, it may be best to have two bases, one being Tenby & the other being perhaps St.David’s. For St. David’s, the nearest rail station would be Haverfordwest - and then use the bus. To get from Tenby to Haverfordwest/St. David’s - it is best to use the bus.

Posted by
3 posts

Thanks a lot for all the answers. fantastic how friendly you are.
I've known Wales a bit since my army time in the 80's because I was for a short time in Camp Merrion near Castle Martin. But we never had much time for sightseeing.
We want to do this sightseeing now with Tenby as our "Homebase".
Yesterday we booked a little Flat in the center of Tenby and now we are going to plan the details for the two weeks - with yourinformations in mind.

Cheers
Hartmut and Monika

Posted by
2384 posts

As you may know, the army ranges at Castlemartin are closed to the public - BUT this area is often open at weekends & during the main summer holiday period. It contains the spectacular cliff formations of The Green Bridge of Wales (an arch) and The Stack Rocks. Not sure how you would get down there without a car.