North Wales for 3 days - help needed with accommodations
Jul 1st, 2008, 04:35 PM
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North Wales for 3 days - help needed with accommodations
So the original plan was to spend 7/4, 7/5 and 7/6 in and around northern wales (mostly Conwy, Llandudno and Caerforn) enjoying the scenery, Snowdon, and castles. I didn't have a chance to reserve in advance, and have been informed by a lot of places in Conwy that there is a bluegrass festival in town this weekend... so I'm out of luck!
Plan B - Base in Llandudno, Caernforn or Betws-y-Coed... I would appreciate any help or advise that fellow fodorites could offer.
based on an earlier post, this is (or was) my itinerary. I'm open to making some changes and fine-tuning it. Only two things are fixed: arrive july 4 in the morning (7 AM) and I have to be back in manchester by sometime Sunday night (july 6).
7/4 - arrive, divest myself of luggage at hotel in manchester that i'm coming back to, and take train to ... Conwy was original plan. Check into hotel, take bus to Beaumaris [maybe - depends on timing].
7/5 - take early AM bus to see Beaumaris [if not done] and Caernforn castles.
7/6 - Conwy/Llandudno - take train back to Manchester - stopping in Chester if time / train schedules allow.
It's a little on the packed end, but I'm flexible - I like to have options in case something doesn't work out. Based upon the issues with staying in Conwy, a couple of questions -
- is caernforn a good place to use as a base? I'm concerned with Sunday bus/train schedules and wuold prefer to be closer to 'main' lines.
- my itinerary above doesn't really mention spending much time in snowden, but i could rearrange things, if it is more convenient for transportation. Would likely go to Betws-y-Coed on 7/4 and explore the area and snowden. 7/5 - Caernforn, Beaumaris. 7/6 - stop at Conwy/Llandudno on the way to Manchester.
Any assistance/advise would be greatly appreciated. PS -Llandudno & Betw-y-Coed because of availability.
Thank you!
Plan B - Base in Llandudno, Caernforn or Betws-y-Coed... I would appreciate any help or advise that fellow fodorites could offer.
based on an earlier post, this is (or was) my itinerary. I'm open to making some changes and fine-tuning it. Only two things are fixed: arrive july 4 in the morning (7 AM) and I have to be back in manchester by sometime Sunday night (july 6).
7/4 - arrive, divest myself of luggage at hotel in manchester that i'm coming back to, and take train to ... Conwy was original plan. Check into hotel, take bus to Beaumaris [maybe - depends on timing].
7/5 - take early AM bus to see Beaumaris [if not done] and Caernforn castles.
7/6 - Conwy/Llandudno - take train back to Manchester - stopping in Chester if time / train schedules allow.
It's a little on the packed end, but I'm flexible - I like to have options in case something doesn't work out. Based upon the issues with staying in Conwy, a couple of questions -
- is caernforn a good place to use as a base? I'm concerned with Sunday bus/train schedules and wuold prefer to be closer to 'main' lines.
- my itinerary above doesn't really mention spending much time in snowden, but i could rearrange things, if it is more convenient for transportation. Would likely go to Betws-y-Coed on 7/4 and explore the area and snowden. 7/5 - Caernforn, Beaumaris. 7/6 - stop at Conwy/Llandudno on the way to Manchester.
Any assistance/advise would be greatly appreciated. PS -Llandudno & Betw-y-Coed because of availability.
Thank you!
Jul 1st, 2008, 11:31 PM
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Caernarfon would be a better base for what you plan than Betws, also for Snowdon. However, although it is not a very inspiring city maybe Bangor would be a good option - if you only want a base that is. It is on the mainline and close to the bridges for Beaumaris, buses run to Llanberis for Snowdon, and to Caernarfon.
Jul 1st, 2008, 11:37 PM
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I'm not an expert on public transport in the area but I would think you will be more likely to be better served from Llandudno. It also has a huge choice of accommodation, from basic B&Bs to luxury hotels - literaly 100s of places to stay. The local tourist information centre could assist in finding somewhere.
Apart from the castle, I have never been fond of Caernarfon. It always has a bit of a run down town feel to me. Betwys-y-Coed is nice but there is less accommodation than Llandudno and if the weather is changeable, there can be more of a chance of escaping the rain on the coast, plus more to do in town.
Apart from the castle, I have never been fond of Caernarfon. It always has a bit of a run down town feel to me. Betwys-y-Coed is nice but there is less accommodation than Llandudno and if the weather is changeable, there can be more of a chance of escaping the rain on the coast, plus more to do in town.
Jul 1st, 2008, 11:49 PM
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Jul 2nd, 2008, 01:09 AM
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Where are you arriving from? Re-reading your post I see you are arriving, going to your hotel in Manchester, then on to North Wales all in one day, and hoping to get to Beaumaris? If you arriving from the US I doubt you'll be in much state to do all of that on your first day, and even if you arriving from Elsewhere in Europe or the UK it seems a lot to achieve. Effectively you are giving yourself just one full day to cover a large area and see a lot of things. It is an area where you could easily spent two weeks and still not see it all.
I think you need to make some choices - why see so many castles for instance - miss out on Beaumaris and use the Sherpa bus (if you are staying in Llandudno) to see Caernarfon and the Snowdon area.
I think you need to make some choices - why see so many castles for instance - miss out on Beaumaris and use the Sherpa bus (if you are staying in Llandudno) to see Caernarfon and the Snowdon area.
Jul 2nd, 2008, 05:42 AM
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The best base for public transport is Bangor: it's on the main railway line and has frequent buses to Caernarfon, and slightly less frequent buses to Beaumaris, Llanberis, etc. It's not really a very attractive town, but it's a convenient transport hub.
I was there recently and travelled from London by train to Chester where I had lunch then went on to Bangor. We went by bus to Beaumaris in the evening for dinner (there are late buses back). The next day, we went by bus to Caernarfon, then on the Welsh Highland Railway. On the last day, we went to Conwy and back by bus for sightseeing and lunch, then home on the train. We spent very little time in Bangor.
I was there recently and travelled from London by train to Chester where I had lunch then went on to Bangor. We went by bus to Beaumaris in the evening for dinner (there are late buses back). The next day, we went by bus to Caernarfon, then on the Welsh Highland Railway. On the last day, we went to Conwy and back by bus for sightseeing and lunch, then home on the train. We spent very little time in Bangor.
