My husband and I are planning a tour thru England and afterwards would like to extend our trip by flying into Wales to rent a car for 3-4 days. Appreciate any ideas where to drive and see the most interesting monastic, castle and natural sights? Any recommendations on lodging and car rentals?

Maureen:

I would suggest you take the train -- not the plane -- to North Wales and use the time to explore Snowdonia and such wonderful castles as Carnarvon, Conwy, and Beaumaris. A nice hotel to make your headquarters is the Erylmor in Bangor.

A second possiblity would be to make Swansea your headquarters and use it to explore Dylan Thomas country, the Gower Penninsula, and the new Wales Botanical Gardens. All are well worth seeing.

Cardiff brings easy access to such castles as Cardiff and Caerphilly, the wonderful museum of folk life at St Fagins, and a taste of big city life, Welsh style. Swansea and Cardiff are also easly accessible from London by train.
No matter where you go in Wales, you'll never be far from a castle of some kind. I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time.

V.

vcl, thanks so much. Did you drive while touring thru Wales? How was the driving conditions--easy or difficult?

Maureen:

We don't drive in Britain; like the British too much to risk mowing them down.

You can do Cardiff or the North Wales castles using a combination of public transportation and cabs. We are fortunate to have friends in the Swansea area who have shown us their beautiful countryside.

Welsh roads can be narrow and finding a place to park withing reasonable walking distance of some of the castles can be an adventure. Dual motorways connect the major cities.

Add Harlech and Cricceth to the castles already listed by ycl. We loved North Wales. We drove it and did not have any trouble. You may want to reference other postings about peoples' experiences driving on the left. If you're comfortable with the idea, Wales did not pose any special challenges.