Hi all, my spouse and I are looking to visit Wales for about two weeks next year. We haven't even decided on a region yet but I was thinking mid-Wales because we love forests and lakes. We would be flying from the Eastern U.S. and we're flexible on the dates. I don't like crowds, so we were hoping to go during a less-busy time of year but a time with a few possible nice days (not too cold). What we are interested in: Nature, easy walks and hikes, beautiful scenery, the countryside, quaint farms, quaint towns, arts & crafts, organic food, not too many tourists. As for towns, we are more "bakeries, bookstores and thrift shops," rather than "big museums, gourmet food and nightlife." My main questions are > One: If we fly into Cardiff, how do we get out of town? I am an excellent driver (if I do say so myself, I have been driving for 40 years) but I cannot drive stick, and I am sure left-side-of-the-road driving will take me some getting used to. Do we take a cab to a smaller town and rent a car from there? Two: Any recommendations on areas and towns? Has anyone happened to stay anywhere wonderful in mid-Wales they can recommend? I am happy to answer any additional questions. Thanks in advance for your advice.

Mid Wales is one of the quieter areas in the UK to visit so you’re never going to be finding a lot of visitors as long as you avoid the Hay Festival in Hay-on-Wye at the end of May.

I would look to fly into Manchester rather than Cardiff. It’s bigger so has better connections to the US including some direct flights. But, more importantly there are direct trains to mid Wales from the airport. Probably the best plan would be the train to Shrewsbury to pick up a car. Shrewsbury is in England but close to the Welsh border. I would not worry about a manual car. Whilst historically most cars in the UK have been manual in fact these days around 75% of new cars sold are now automatic. This is a general trend which has been speeded up by the growth in electric cars which have to be automatic.

Mid-Wales is never crowded really so not an issue if you'd like to go later in the Spring or early summer. Except for right around the Hay Festival as mentioned. I definitely agree that flying into MAN makes more sense.

Just one possible issue. Shrewsbury only has 2 or 3 car rental agencies and they are small locations so the chance of not having an automatic available on arrival is always a possibility. If you book an automatic they'll get you one but it might have to be ferried in from another location. The smaller the rental agency the higher the odds of a specific type of car not being available. So I'd just build in maybe a night in Shrewsbury 'just in case' -- it would be a nice place to relax and recover from jet lag for a day or two before collecting the car and heading out..

you could always choose an electric and thus ensure access to automatic

mid Wales is generally very calm, note that Wales has a lot of 20 mph roads at the moment and one of the lowest rates of car related deaths in the world

This B&B is pretty good https://www.midwalesarts.org/home/?lang=En

In April 2022, we stayed in Dolgellau (west/central) and found it a nice base for hiking nearby in the national park and sightseeing along the coast, as well as a charming town to hang out in. We only had three nights, but I could have happily stayed longer. I'm not sure what type of accommodations are available, but we had a lovely house via Airbnb (photo is of the town, not the specific house).

We had a short stay in Dolgellau last November. My younger son had a birthday celebration weekend there and rented out a house with I think 15 bedrooms for lots of his mates. Obviously not much use for most visitors but the town is big enough to have a range of places to stay and to eat whilst still being very much a small town. In truth there are lots of other places which could give you the same.