Visiting Wales Without a Car [2 Itineraries By Train]

Chepstow

Things To Do in Chepstow Without a Car:

Chepstow is home to Chepstow Castle, a medieval castle which is one of the oldest surviving stone fortresses in Britain.

The most popular attraction in Chepstow is Tintern Abbey, the ruins of the 12th-century Cistercian monastery which have featured in many pieces of literature, including a poem by William Wordsworth.

The abbey is about 10 minutes away by taxi or you can walk there via the Tintern Abbey and Devil’s Pulpit circular trail which takes 2hrs30 roundtrip.

Swansea

Things To Do in Swansea Without a Car:

My self-guided walking tour of Swansea will take you around the highlights on Swansea City Centre and the Maritime Quarter.

Visit the museums and galleries including the National Waterfront Museum, Swansea Museum, Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, and the Dylan Thomas Centre. They are all in the city centre and easily accessible by walking.

Go to the LC, Swansea’s indoor water park (don’t forget to pack swimwear).

Spend time on Swansea Beach which is walkable from the city centre. I recommend visiting the cafe inside the old Swansea Observatory which has beautiful beach views from the upper floor.

Also Read: Things To Do in Swansea

Trips From Swansea:

In peak season, the Swansea Bay Rider is a hop-on hop-off train that runs around Swansea Bay to Mumbles. At Mumbles you can visit Oystermouth Castle and Mumbles Pier.

See the waterfalls in the Brecon Beacons with Andy’s Eight Waterfall Tour which begins in Glynneath. There is a local bus (service X7) from Swansea to Glynneath where the tour begins. The bus takes around 1 hour due to so many stops.

Also Read: Best Day Trips From Swansea

Tenby

Things To Do in Tenby Without a Car

Explore the beautiful beaches Tenby is known for. The three main ones are North Beach, South Beach, and Castle Beach. My favourite is South Beach as it's much quieter. Walk all the way to the end of the beach and you can climb

Built around 1500, the three-storey Tudor Merchant House shows family life in Tudor Tenby with Tudor-style décor, furniture, painted clothes, and a Tudor herb garden. It's run by National Trust - I recommend booking in advance to guarantee the time you want.

On Tenby’s Castle Beach you can visit St. Catherine’s Fort, a Napoleonic fortress which was built in 1870 and fully armed 16 years later. You can only visit the fort a low tide as it's on a tidal island.

In the evenings, take the Ghost Walk of Tenby to hear about some spooky stories from Tenby's past.

Also Read: Things To Do in Tenby

Trips From Tenby

If you're coming from Swansea - make a stop at Kidwelly Castle. The castle is just a 15 minute walk from the train station and it's very impressive.

Caldey Island is one of just two inhabited islands to visit in Wales, with a population of just 40 people. Boats run from Tenby at least once per hour throughout summer (except Sundays). Find out more about how to get there in this guide.

Pembroke

Things To Do in Pembroke Without a Car

Explore Pembroke Castle which is one of my favourite castles in West Wales and famed as the birthplace as Henry Tudor. There's lots to do here so you can spend several hours exploring. You can also rent a boat from Paddle West and row around the lake beneath the castle.

Housed inside an old magistrates court in the town hall, Pembroke museum has a collection of artefacts that detail the history of the town from 1093 when the Normans took over right up until the modern day.

One of the ways to explore the town is with the town trail. This is a 3 mile route the encompasses about 30 different landmarks around the town centre marked by bronze plaques. Landmarks include churches in the town, statues, the castle, town hall, and more.

Also Read: Things To Do in Pembroke

Trips From Pembroke

From Pembroke, you can take The Coastal Cruiser (387/388) bus service to explore the Limestone Coast of Wales. Here, you'll find some of our best natural landmarks including the Green Bridge of Wales and Stack Rocks.

These buses only operate a few times per day, so you will need to plan your trip precisely to ensure you don't miss your bus and have to get a taxi. Use Traveline Cymru to plan your trip - the stop you need to visit is Stack Rocks Car Park.

Conwy

Things To Do in Conwy Without a Car:

Conwy is a beautiful medieval walled town with its town walls still largely intact. You can visit Conwy Castle, walk along the town walls, and the Thomas Telford Suspension Bridge in front of the castle.

Plas Mawr is a restored Elizabethan townhouse that’s considered one of the finest examples of its kind in Britain. You can visit the house, which is right int he town centre, to get a fascinating glimpse into the lives of the wealthy merchants who once lived here.

You can also walk along Conwy Quay where you'll find the Smallest House in Great Britain.

RSPB Conwy, a small nature reserve where you can enjoy beautiful walks and spot wading birds, ducks, and geese. You can get there by taking bus no.27 from Conwy and getting off at Tesco Superstore, Llandudno Junction.

Also Read: Things To Do in Conwy

Llandudno *Best*

Llandudno is the best spot to base yourself in North Wales if you don't have a car because it has good infrastructure for tourists.

There is lots to do in the town itself, Conwy is just a short bus ride away, and there are a ton of day trips that include pick-up in Llandudno.

Things To Do in Llandudno Without a Car

Visit the North Shore promenade for a beautiful beach and Wales' longest Victorian pier full of shops and amusements.

Head up to the summit of the Great Orme headland. You can take a cable car or the Great Orme Tramway to reach the summit. Both are easily accessed from the centre of town.

Less than a 20 minute walk from North Shore Beach is the Llandudno Snowsports Centre where you can try your hand at skiing or snowboarding year-round. They also have the longest toboggan run in Wales and alpine minigolf.

There are lots of other hidden gems around Llandudno town centre including the Llandudno Museum, Penderyn Distillery (where you can take a whiskey tour) the Happy Valley Botanical Gardens, and the Llandudno Chocolate Experience.

Trips From Llandudno

If you're not planning to spend time staying in Conwy, you can always visit on a day trip from Llandudno.

There are frequent public bus services running between Llandudno and Conwy or you can use City Sightseeing Hop-On Hop-Off service which will take you to the best spots and provide an audio guide for some background information.

If you fancy a morning walk, use the public train to get to Deganwy and walk up the ruins of Deganwy Castle. There's little left of the castle, but you get an excellent view from the top.

Adventure Tour Snowdonia also run tours across North Wales that all begin in Llandudno. A few include:

• The Portmeirion, Snowdonia, and Castles Tour where you'll visit two iconic castles in Conwy and Caernarfon before heading to the colourful Italian-style village of Portmeirion and ending with some scenic photo spots in the national park. This is a group trip that runs up to 4 times per week.
  ㅤ
• The Three Castles Tour which also visits Conwy and Caernarfon Castle but goes deeper into Snowdonia to visit Llyn Ogwen (a very beautiful lake) and Llanberis where you'll find the National Slate Museum and the ruins of Dolbadarn Castle.
  ㅤ
• The Scenic Anglesey & Ancient Relics Tour where you'll see the highlights of the island including South Stack Lighthouse, Beaumaris Castle, and Eglwys Cwyfan. This is a private tour for up to 8 people.

Betws-y-Coed

Betws-y-Coed is the best place to stay in Eryri (Snowdonia) if you don't have a car as there's a train station to get there and it's got decent local connectivity via the Sherpa'r Wyddfa (Snowdon Sherpa) bus.

Things To Do in Betws-y-Coed Without a Car

The cute Snowdonia village is beautiful to explore with stone houses and cobbled streets. The area around the train station is home to lots of independent shops and cafes. It's also where you'll find the Conwy Valley Railway Museum.

Betws-y-Coed borders Gwydir Forest Park and many of the walking routes start directly in the centre of the village near the Pont-y-Pair car park.

The Fairy Glen, Swallow Falls, and Conwy Falls are all close to Betws-y-Coed. The roads around here are very flat so I recommend hiring a bicycle from Beics Betws. You can also take the Sherpa'r Wyddfa to Swallow Falls.

Also Read: Things To Do in Betws-y-Coed

Trips From Betws-y-Coed

Zip World Fforest is home to an alpine roller coaster, a zip safari, and several other adrenaline activities. It's just a 5 minute drive from the centre of Betws-y-Coed so a taxi won't be too expensive. There's no Uber here, so you can ask at your accommodation or contact Betws Taxi directly.

You can easily visit Llanberis from Betws-y-Coed with a direct route on the Sherpa'r Wyddfa. Here, you can find the Llanberis Lake Railway, Dolbadarn Castle, and Llyn Padarn (Padarn Lake) which is a great spot for kayaking or paddleboarding.

Porthmadog

Porthmadog doesn't have a lot to shout about other than being a great place to base yourself for taking trips across the northern coastline of Snowdonia and the Llyn Peninsular.

Things To Do in Porthmadog Without a Car

The only must-do activity in Porthmadog itself is the Porthmadog Maritime Museum where you can learn about seafaring activities in the area including the once-thriving shipbuilding industry in Porthmadog.

Trips From Porthmadog

The best day trip from Porthmadog is to Portmeirion, a picturesque Italian-style village in Snowdonia. Regular trains and buses run from Porthmadog to Minffordd. From here, there is a walking route directly to Portmeirion which takes about 20 minutes each way.

Another great trip is to Harlech, a coastal town that's dominated by an enormous castle that's part of the UNESCO heritage site with castles in Caernarfon, Conwy, and Beaumaris. The castle overlooks Harlech Beach, a beautiful 4-mile stretch of sand (although be prepared for a steep walk down!). There are direct trains from Porthmadog to Harlech that take about 25 minutes.

In the opposite direction, at the mouth of the Llyn Peninsula, I recommend visiting the small town of Criccieth. One of the top things to do here is visit the small castle and check out the beaches which are much easier to reach than Harlech. You'll also find one of my favourite restaurants here, Dylans Criccieth.

You can also hop on both the Ffestiniog Railway (to Bleanau Ffestiniog) or the Welsh Highland Railway (to Caernarfon via Snowdonia). These are heritage railway lines that offer scenic routes on steam trains. Both are run by the same company and some trains cross both lines. More on this below.