bouvier81

Part of my itinerary for September of next year includes a stay in Llandudno and Chester. Currently we have booked one night with an extended day to explore Llandudno and Conwy and then drive to Chester to stay two nights with one whole day in between.

My question is posed to those who have been to both towns. Which town would you rather spend two nights with more time to visit? I may switch this around after hearing what others have to say.

Thanks!

Rubicund

This is like asking whether you'd like a punch in the face or a nice slice of cake! Llandudno is one of the several resorts along the North Wales coast that have seen better days, mostly a good while ago. It does offer access into Snowdonia, if that's your thing and while it is marginally better than Rhyl etc, I'd go for Chester every time.

Ackislander

Agree. Llandudno is an Edwardian resort. I love Edwardian resorts, but they are not for everyone.

But I would stay in Conwy or even, depending on season, even in a tourist town like Betwys y Coed to be in/close to Snowdonia.

hetismij2

Llandudno is actually undergoing a massive revival.
There are worse places to stay.
It really depends on what you want to see/do
One night in Chester is easily enough to enjoy the centre, visit the cathedral etc.
If you want to see more than say Great Orme and Conwy then I would opt for two nights in Llandudno. If you aren't interested in getting into the countryside at all (in which case I would just skip north Wales altogether) then stick with your current plan. Personally I would struggle to find enough to do in Chester to merit two nights there.

BritishCaicos

There isn't really enough to do in Chester for an extended stay. It does of course depend on you schedule and how busy it is.

I'd agree that somewhere like Conwy or the Conwy Valley makes more sense for 2 nights. Conwy is beautiful.

What's your budget? There are a couple if lovely hotels in Llandudno.

bouvier81

This is actually the last leg of our 16 day trip (35th anniversary) from Scotland to England planned for latter week of Aug 2016 into first week of Sept. I actually have our itinerary complete and all of our hotels booked but can move things around, of course. I've spent a lot of time reading posts! We do like to drive and see a lot of things in a short amount of time. We don't mind experiencing and getting a feel of all the different flavors of the UK! Can't wait! We've gone places where we thought it would be wonderful turn out not so great, while some of the places not hyped were the best.

Most of our trip except for a few stays in Edinburgh, Birmingham and Bristol are all B&Bs in the country. Believe it or not, we are not going to London!

This is what I have the last few days:

(Sep 4-5) Bristol (2 nights at Marriott Royal - using points) - using Bristol as base to see Castle Combe, Stonehenge, and Bath.

The next is where I struggled. We need to fill three nights before staying in Manchester one night to fly out the next day. This is what I have booked thus far:

- (Tues, Sept 6) Leave Bristol, drive to and tour Blists Hill Victorian town for a couple hours.
- Drive to LLandudno/Conwy area and stay at the Wildings Hotel on North Parade. Booked a sea view room. Hotel does look beautiful.
- Tour LLandudno area. I should mention that we do like to visit and try local pubs!
- (Wed, Sept 7) Depart the next day and tour Conwy (castle, etc.)
- Drive to Chester and stay night at the Pied Bull on Northgate.
- (Thurs, Sept 8) Tour Chester and stay another night.
- (Fri, Sept 9) Since it's my bday, it's appropriate that we drive to Lyme House for a tour. I love Jane Austen and especially P&P and the BBC version was the best. I had to juggle this visit around a bit because the house isn't open every day.
- Drive to Manchester Airport Marriott and depart for home (US) the next day.

Thanks so much for your suggestions already and any additional on the above is appreciated.

Thanks!

ESW

Sit down and make a list of all the things you want to do and see in each place. That may clarify matters for you.

I'm another vote for Llandudno/Conwy. It is quite easy to spend a full day in Conwy with its ruined castle, town walls, suspension bridge and toll house, Aberconwy House, Plas Mawr...
Have a look here for ideas:
http://www.silvertraveladvisor.com/r...0-review-conwy

Llandudno has the Great Orme reached either by the Victorian Tramway or Cable car. There is also Bodnant Gardens close by.
http://wasleys.org.uk/eleanor/garden...ant/index.html

You can also get the train up the Conwy Valley to Balenau Ffestiniog, with a stop at Betws-y-Coed. At Blaenau Ffestiniog is Lechwedd Slate Caverns which have an underground zip wire for those seeking an adrenaline rush as well as a tour deep into the Victorian slate caverns.
http://www.llechwedd-slate-caverns.co.uk/

AND I haven't even mentioned trips to Caernarfon (another walled town with a splendid castle), Beaumaris on Anglesey with its ruined castle and goal and then there is Snowdonia....

ESW

I've just read your post which crossed with my reply.

Blists Hill really needs a full day to do it justice as there is so much to see. If you can only afford a couple of hours there, then scrub out Blits Hill as at £15.40 it is expensive. Think about stopping to look at the Iron Bridge instead... This is free to admire!

Alternatively, take the 'slow' route up through mid Wales instead. You will see some superb scenery and Mid Wales is a much underrated and not very visited part of the UK.

Mimar

We loved Chester and spent 2 days/3 nights there. The town has many medieval half-timbered houses and Roman ruins. You can walk around the walls of the town, take walking tours from the tourist office, visit the church and the Grosvenor Museum of Roman remains.

We then moved on to north Wales, basing in Conwy. We liked that town too, but more as a base than a place to spend time in.

Depends on what you're interested in.

PalenQ

I've stayed in both and loved both but think most folks would vastly prefer Chester as a town and Llandudno/Conwy as a base- the Great orme, Conwy itwself, Mt Snowdon, Beaumarais Castle, Betsy-Coed area, etc are all wondrous day trips from Llandudno and Caernarferon (sp and its castle too.

More days in this area

One full day was great in Chester and two would be relaxing and of course there are day trips to do from there too.

bouvier81

Thanks so much for all your suggestions. I think we're going to leave our bookings as is with one night stay in Llandudno and two in Chester. Based on suggestions, I think we'll scrap Blists Hill, drive west from Bristol and come to Llandudno through Snowdonia. If we leave early enough, we'll have most of the afternoon and almost the whole day after to explore the area (Great Orme, Conwy, etc.). Then off to Chester for two nights were we can hopefully relax a couple days before our flight home.

stevelyon

If you get time see if you might visit Anglesey near Llandudno, its a stunning Island with beautiful scenery and great for walking. I'm not Chester's biggest fan as I have been totally spoiled by once living in York.