north wales base with teens
 

I am searching for a good base for touring north wales by car for three days in June. My family of four includes two teenage daughters. Ideally we would like accommodations from which the girls could spend a couple of hours safely exploring on their own. They would be content if they could walk to town, browse a few shops and stop for ice cream without mom and dad. I have seen many recommendations here for basing ourselves in Conwy, LLandudno, Betws-y-Coed, Beddgelert, and others but I am having difficulty determining how well they meet this criteria.

Hi and lucky you!
We've based ourselves in B-Y-C the 2 times we've visited N. Wales and really enjoy that little town. BUT...its just that...little. We've decided next time to base in Conwy as we just adore it-its larger and probably holds a lot more interest for teenagers.

You would be better off at one of the sea-side resorts with the teenagers - either Conwy or Llandudno. There's probably more for them to do at Llandudno - more shops, a long sea front promenade and a pier as well as more shops to browse. There are plenty of B&Bs and hotels for all budgets there too.

Thanks. I will confine my search to LLandudno and Conwy. They both look great.

Conwy is small and quiet - nothing much to do for teens - a very small but neat castle town. Llandudno is as hopping as North Wales gets, especially in season - lots of shops, a compact area you can't get lost in - the perfect place for you and a ton of cheap accommodations as opposed to tony conwy - conwy is but a few miles from Llandudno. Llandudno is pronounced with a clicking c sound at its front - kind of like "Clan-dudno" - a Welsh expert could pin it down better but it's not "landudno"

Llandudno is quite a couth place which has retained a lot of its old character due to most of the land belonging to one owner who has regulated development carefully (or some such story). Quite good shops. Largest of those chosen. Quite upmarket seaside resort. (Re "Clan-dudno" as a non expert I would say a cross betwen Clan and Hlan, but note is then didno, not dudno.)

Conwy smallish, historic, pleasant little town.

Don't know B-y-C.

Beddgelert is little more than a village with little in the way of shops to browse, and can be very busy in summer.

I've done a similar thing several years ago, I based myself in Beddgelert, and stayed at the Royal Goat, which boasts Clint Eastwood as its most famous guest. The hotel itself (unless it's been refurbished...and I doubt that) has a staff a la Crossroads (a short-lived British soap opera) and bedrooms from the 60s - buttermilk bathrooms with carpet on the floor. Nothing remotely luxurious about it. The food wasn't bad though. The bar was dire, and their idea of entertainment was a Welsh pianist who played music akin to that at a funeral. Mind you, one must admire him, when I went to play a piano, half of the keys were stuck, and it wasn't in tune.

That aside, I found it convenient to tour all around, including the area where the Welsh gold is mined (I forget the name), Snowdonia, and Anglessy to name but a few.

Three days isn't a long time so I'm sure there will be plenty to keep you entertained.