To Wales or not? Crowded in August?

Wales certainly has fewer posts on this forum as it seems to be completely off the radar of north Americans. Wales does have many areas that can be fairly quiet in August but nevertheless, this is probably the most popular month for vacations. Pembrokeshire - the county in the far SW is a bit like Cornwall but less crowded - though Tenby can be crowded but I would certainly not miss it as it is so beautiful. I would consider staying in 3 locations - one in the SE to cover Cardiff and the lower Wye Valley and maybe the Brecon Beacons; another in the SW (Pembrokeshire) and another in the NW to cover the Snowdonia National Park.
http://www.visitwales.com

Yes yes yes! Come to Wales. If possible Avoid the last week in August as the Monday is a bank holiday. Good suggestion from James as to how to split your time. Sounds like you're not travelling with kids here are some suggestions for the South which I know best.:
Tintern Abbey
Canoe along the Wye of just drive it and enjoy the scenery and quaint towns
St Fagans folk museum, Cardiff
Castell Coch, Cardiff outskirts
Cardiff Castle
Cardiff museum and gallery
Drive through villages in the Vale of Glamorgan and a stroll around Cowbridge
Walk the sand dunes at Merthyr Mawr
The waterfalls at Pontneddfechen
Aberglasni gardens
The Botanical Garden of Wales in Llanarthne, including a trip to Paxtons Tower for the view, stop for food at Wrights Emporium
Drwslwn castle
Dinefor Castle
Castle cara cenin
Tenby
Caldey island
St Davids
Lots of lovely little villages and coves around Pembrokeshire. If you're happy walking 15 minutes to get to one it will still not be crowded even in August.

Having written all that down I think you could actually easily just spend two weeks in the South of Wales. You could add some walks at the Brecon Beacons if you like as well.

Well after those three endorsements how could you resist!
Going back to your original post, a couple of extra points.
There are definitely less foreign tourists but it is popular with brits, this unfortunately means that accommodation prices will be inflated for August. What sort of budget do you want to spend? Lots of people like camping and caravanning in Wales which can lead to slow car journeys if you get stuck behind a caravan especially as motorways are limited. With some forward research you can find some great places to eat, but don't just expect to turn up in a local pub for a good feed as it really is down to place by place. I can give some good re ommendations for South Wales, maybe Emma has some for north!

I adore Wales! I suspect you will too. It has stunning mountain and coastal scenery, wonderful pubs, and friendly people. A few years back I wrote a trip report called “Why Isn’t Everyone Raving About Wales?” If you click on my name and then my posts, you shoulf be able to find it. It might give you some ideas. We went in September, so I can’t speak to the crowds and weather in August, but I doubt it would be too bad on either score.

I did the RS Best of England tour by myself back in 2010 and N. Wales was my favorite stop of the tour. Taking my husband this time and we are spending 4 nights in N. Wales next month. Emma's post is getting me very excited for the trip!

Ah thanks everybody! Sounds wonderful! Re: budget: we figured Iceland would be $5000 per person and that just seems insane so Wales has to be much more reasonable, any place is.

And I guess a car is truly necessary? Easier to drive than Ireland? Last summer we trained it from dublin to Belfast and the Antrim coast and then picked up a car for donegal county. Previous trip had a car for all of dingle, south and cork. Always never as relaxing as public transport but I know one has more freedom.

Is parking difficult in many towns of Wales, such as Cardiff?

Thanks again!!!

I would definitely recommend a hire car. Parking is pretty good in Cardiff especially if you don't go on a weekend. There are real time parking signs on the approaches to the city which tell you which car parks are full and which have spaces. Whether you need to park and drive into the city though depends on where you want to stay. The city centre hotels have limited parking which you will have to pay for, but you could quite easily stay outside of the city centre (Feel free to message me for recommendations) and just take public transport into the city centre.

Wales is a wonderful place to visit. South and North Wales are both filled with adventure.

We did a 4 week drive tour of England and Wales that included five nights in South Wales. We spent two nights in Cardiff and two in the great little seaside city of Tenby (highly recommend staying here). Also, we visited the village in SW Wales where my paternal ancestors lived up until 1716 (they left for America). There are many wonderful castles all over Wales as well as scenic places. Don't miss St. David's Cathedral on the SW tip of Wales. Conway is a great city to visit in North Wales.

Hotel and restaurant prices are cheaper than in England and the people are very friendly.

We visited in October and it was not crowded.

Go to Wales! We took a day trip about 10 years ago to Cardiff to see the Doctor Who sites. Highly recommend the Parliament building, area around the bay and the Cardiff Castle tour. We had the set lunch at a fabulous small Italian restaurant called Casanova. Casanova

We rented a car, and I would say the driving is very similar to Ireland. If we ever go back - and we certainly hope to - I would go with public transportation. It may limit where we can go, but so be it. My husband enjoys vacations so much more if he doesn’t have to drive. Or drive with me. : )

If you drive in LA you can drive anywhere...I wouldn't give up the freedom of a rental car.

I spent all of September in Wales a few years ago and it was very beautiful and there were not many tourists at all. I recommend seeing as many castles as you can fit in. Also a drive through Snowdonia and Blaenau Ffestiniog is wonderful. I was only in North Wales so I'm not sure how the South is. I found that most of the tourists there were from elsewhere in Britain, but there were not many tourists.

Rental car is definitely the way to see Wales beyond Cardiff and Swansea. Just have a pocket of small denomination pound coins for the usual pay and display kiosks and be aware that your sat nav/GPS gives travel times based on speed limits rather than what might be a slower reasonable and prudent speed on a stretch of road.

If you like speculative and sometimes a bit weird television, watch The Prisoner before going to Portmerion. I’m enough of a geek that I got really excited to visit The Village from that show.

I was just in Wales, and I can't even describe how beautiful it is. We drove through Snowdonia National Park and it is sooo lovely. I highly recommend it.

Definitely visit Wales! We loved it. Personally I would not rent a car, but that's just me. Don't forget that there are many beautiful places near Wales on the England side of the border as well. If you like northern Wales, you might want to consider the trip up to Keswick, England. Or if you are down south, its not a terrible trip over to Stratford-upon-Avon which is great.

Whatever you decide, I believe you will not be disappointed in Wales. I certainly was not.

I love Wales. The last time I was there I stayed in Aberystwyth for a few nights. It was lovely. There was a special scenic train journey I took and it was amazing.

I'm in Wales right now.

I spent some time in Cardiff, then Caernarfon and now Conwy. Cardiff is an interesting city.. Caernarfon was wonderful. Conwy is good for a day trip. I'm spending three nights in Conwy which is three nights too many. (I hate my hotel.)

The Welsh are wonderful, friendly, polite people who are very welcoming. The scenery and history, especially in the North, is amazing.

I haven't seen any crowds. In fact, at night, Conwy almost feels deserted.Caernarfon didn't seem that crowded at any time.

We returned from Wales two weeks ago, very neat and scenic. Make sure and visit Llandudno, Llangollen and the Snowdonia National Park. We did two different hikes in the park. For $5,000 you could spend months there.

My reaction to Conwy was similar to Frank's. Luckily for me, I was on a day-trlp and had planned other stops that day. It's a cute little place with the accent on "little". There's a castle, I think. What can I say? Castles do nothing for me except as picturesque backdrops.

Just a follow up (now that I finally have a free moment to plan trip again!). THANK YOU to all of you that contributed to this great discussion. I SO appreciate it. Also, just to be clear, I was never planning on spending $5000/p for this trip or any trip to Europe! (I'm a RS reader, after all!) ; ))) This figure came from after I was researching us going to Iceland and that's how crazy expensive it was going to cost because everything is so crazy pricey on that island. Happily, all of our hotels in the UK and Wales are so economical! Yay! We also decided against a car. Too stressful, even if I'm from LA. ; )

Please see my other Wales post about our plan, if interested. Again, thanks to all of you who private messaged w/ me and posted here. I don't know where I'd be without my RS family!

We're excited to go somewhere new and to return to London as well! I'll be sure to come back and post after our trip!
THANKS a ton and happy travels!!!