I've spent 57 years here and I love it. Have to go to work now. More tonight

I love Wales having spent many happy holidays in and around Snowdonia in the north and in mid-Wales.

I would recommend at least two bases. In the north we've stayed by the sea ( Llandudno and Conwy) and in Snowdonia in Betws y coed. All good bases to explore the area.

In mid-Wales we rented a cottage on a working sheep farm that was ideal for exploring the west coast, the borders--Ludlow, Powys Castle, Hay on Wye--easy day trips. Great food, people, gardens, castles. Did I mention I love Wales?

Here's a link to the cottage, it was wonderful, immaculate, great value, charming owner who checked on us but did not hover. http://www.hoseasons.co.uk/cottages/cefn-cottage-hw7433?PCODE=311&LAT=52.1306607&LNG=-3.78371170000003&DIST=40&FREET=wales&ACODE=HW7433

For Pembrokeshire and Snowdonia, where do you suggest to stay as a location? If possible somewhere close to some restaurants for dinner and easy to do day trips from there.

Thea...looking at my pics of Scotland which I had sent to you on your Scotland thread,(including the Lakes and Wales), there are some recommendations for lodgings which you might wish to pursue. One is in Betws-y-Coed (facetiously called "Betsy Coed")..a delightful little town. Another is the gorgeous hotel in Port Meirion which I also had pictured, and the third is a most beautiful manor home in Crioccieth, ("Mynydd Ednyfed")also pictured. Any of the three could serve well as a Northern Wales base. Very close to Llanberis Pass in the Snowdonia region. You'll notice the notable Bodnant Gardens pix therein, also..a not to miss colorful garden/park between Conwy and Betws-y-Coed...and the unusual slate quarries in Ffestiniog.

Driving in Wales is comfortable and easy. In two visits to Wales, we throughly enjoyed being there. You will, too.

stu

Sorry Thea..it was someone elses Scotland thread...I answered your Bulgaria thread with pix. Slight difference between the two!! So I'll dig up the Scotland Wales pix and send.
stu

In Llandudno we've stayed at the Marrion, St. George's and St Tudno hotels, in Betws y coed at the Ty Gwyn Inn and in Beaumaris on Anglesey Island, the Bull Inn.

All were fine--Llandudno is an old farts' haven but I grew to really like it over the past 20 years we've been going (relative lives there) and am now almost an old fart myself! The front is very pretty and on a sunny day, great views from the Orme. Very good meals at the Marrion and St. George's.

Thea, I further edited the Scotland-Wales pics for just Wales (and Chester, England)...they cover from the early 1980's to more recently. (Now that we have the Bulgarian-Wales subject straightened out!)
Stu tower

https://picasaweb.google.com/stuarttower/Wales#

Hi! It all depends on what you like. I'm a sucker for beautiful scenery, and loved going to Rhossili beach in the Gower (South Wales). We stayed at Fairy Hill (http://www.fairyhill.net), which we thought was great (excellent food, rooms and overall ambiance).
If you'll be in North Wales a drive into Ruthin (lovely village in the Welsh countryside) and to Chester (rather special Roman town on the English side) would be nice. I really like driving in the area around Betws-y-Coed, and living in Chester I always take friends and family who visit over there.
Beware of distances, though. Even though they may seem like not to big in km, when driving in winding country roads, it takes forever to get from point A to B. I would also plan so as to not find myself in those small country roads at night because you can easily get lost.

You need to fly open-jaw to make the most of your time-into Manchester out of Cardiff/ Bristol or vice versa. I don't know where you are coming from but KLM is one of the major European hub carriers who do this. They also do Liverpool.

For three separate locations including Cardiff then I would choose from Beaumaris Anglesey,(from where you can reach all of North Wales easily-it's only 1.75 hours from Manchester Airport),Aberdyfi which will give you access to mid-Wales but slower travelling as there are no dual-carriageways here and Tenby in Pembrokeshire (which opens up that county and Cardiganshire too as you travel down from Aberdyfi). Both Beaumaris and Tenby have good restaurants and pubs, Aberdyfi has some but is smaller.
VERY generally we have our better weather in May/June but all Summer is warmer than Winter!If you are lucky it is also drier!
Bluestones is not a national park it is a holiday resort and as far as I remember it is not within walking distance of pubs and restaurants but will probably have its own facilities.
How much do you want to spend on your accomodation and how many travelling? Any children?
You will inevitably get more out of this if you hire a car.

I'm coming over with my wife between 20th September and 7th October, no children. We are 30 yrs old.

What do you think about Conwy, to cover the Snowdonia, and St. Davids to cover Pemrokeshire? I would like to check on nice guesthouse with parking facilities, do you think it will be difficult to find? Are there restaurants for Dinner in the mentioned cities? Which is better to be near Snowdonia Conwy or Betws y coed? Do you think if I make - 5 nights Snowdonia Area, 5 nights Pembrokeshire Area and 5 nights Cardiff Area, will that be a good plan?

There's more choice in Conwy, I would prefer that as a base to Betws. But do plan to spend a day in and around Betws. Can't remember where we stayed in Conwy.

Small question..don't know whether I'm too mad...I found out that the plane (leaving from Malta) will land at London Heathrow at 9.45am...then I have to take a train to Cardiff and pick a car from there. Do you suggest to start with Pembrokeshire first and then to Snowdonia and Cardiff at last, so I can go back with train to London?

You don't have to back-track to Cardiff from the north--check into returning the car in Chester and taking the train back to London from there. For that matter, return itje car in Conwy, train requires a change in Birmingjam, I believe.

It doesn't matter whether you start in Cardiff or up here in the north. Returning your car in Chester (as per Cathinjoetown) will give you a chance to spend some hours in that city which is quite lovely. You can get a train from there either through or connecting approximately once an hour.
Otherwise you may find depending on the company you hire from that you can turn it in elsewhere.
The train journey to the south of Crewe passes through some beautiful stretches of middle England and if you have a lovely autumn day you will think that you are blessed.
Conwy is a more flexible location to base yourself in the north than Betws Y Coed. It is on (or actually over) the dual carriageway as that is run through a tunnel under the town.It has a larger number of eating places although is not a big town. The Castle Hotel has very good food.
Conwy is also on the railway line making it easy to travel in all directions- Llandudno,Chester and beyond, the Conwy valley and Llanrwst and Betws, and Anglesey
Finding guesthouses with parking will be easy- most people arrive by car.
St David's is tiny and even though there are eating places it is more remote than somewhere like Tenby. You will not find the eastern parts of Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire as close but you will be near to Cardiganshire.
Again loads of accomodation.
Whilst I love cardiff as a city if you are basing around there I would actually stay outside. Lots of options here. Muddy is the resident expert on Cardiff.

We enjoyed our short stay in Conwy. We stayed in the Castlebank Hotel. Convenient and functional; not spectacular.

We ate twice at the wonderful Watson's Bistro. Do give it a try.
http://www.watsonsbistroconwy.co.uk/

Conwy trip:
http://ukfrey.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/conwy-north-wales-round-2.html

previous trip (Criccieth base):
http://ukfrey.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/north-wales.html

And Chester for good measure:
http://ukfrey.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/chester.html

Good luck.

We spent a couple of days in northern Wales in 2007, spending two nights at the Snowdon Ranger YHA hostel. On the way there, we stopped in Conwy to visit the castle. We spent a chunk of a day at Portmeirion and looked around Beddgelert a bit.

Here's a link to my trip report. Scroll down a bit until you get to the Wales section: http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/roundabout-the-uk-p-p-the-professor-and-some-p-ob-may-2007.cfm

Lee Ann

Wow..car rentals are toooo expensive..after £400 I then have to add the Super Insurance....am I missing something..never rented a car and I drive only automatic. £400 for me is ok...but well when you add the Super CDW and petrol it will shoot up.

Is a small car OK for Wales or should an SUV (4x4) be better? We are only 2 people, with 2 80x45cm suit cases.

A small car is by far best for Wales, in my opinion. Many rural roads are quite narrow.

Rather than train from London to Cardiff, I always do this: Fly to Heathrow, then at the Heathrow Central Bus Terminal (part of the airport), take a coach (comfy long-distance bus) directly to Cardiff. It's cheaper and lots more convenient than a train. Sometimes I fly in late and so doing this involves staying overnight at an airport hotel and going back to Heathrow in the morning to catch the coach.