Margo

We are planning a trip to Wales this summer- what town would be good to stay in to use as a base for touring Wales? Any other info?

Tony

It really depends on what part of Wales you are planning to visit. If for instance you are looking at North Wales, you can either locate near the water in a city such as Conwy or be centrally located in a place like Betws-y-coed. Other areas of Wales would require different locations.

Ani

We were just in N. Wales last week, mainly visiting castles-and stayed in Betws-y-coed which was fantastic...we stayed at the Ty Gwyn hotel which is a landmark there-very old-great pub and great restaurant downstairs.

xxx

Hi Ani, <BR>Are you going to post about your visit to North Wales??

kam

I would stay in northern Wales but need to go back to further explore the south so perhaps not a fair assessment. Betws-Y-Coed is the perfect little town for Snodownia. We stayed at the charming Prince's Arms just outside of the busy little town. Good food, delightful hosts and a lovely black dog friend. You might want to spend one night or so over in Beaumaris and the Isle of Anglesey to be closer to more castles. Wales is very special. Have a great trip.

Ani

Hi again-I can certainly post about our trip to N. Wales!-WE only had 2 nights and about a day and a half-wish it could have been 2 weeks at least...it was incredible! We visited Conwy castle, Beaumaris and Caenarfon (sp)-and all were amazing. We actually preferred Beaumaris above all b/c it is so romantic-loved the white swans in the moat-and its smaller and just lovely. We were the only ones there!Luckily we stumbled across Dolbdarn (one of Llywelyn's castles) ruins on our way back to B-Y-C and that was very small but really special to see. We had wonderful food great ciders and ales-and B-Y-C was just beautiful-very rainy and wooded...our drive out of Wales toward Shrewsbury was incredible as well...we tried to pull over several times to take pictures of the valleys and rivers-truly a dream!

toldham

The castles of wales are fantastic--Conwy is right up there, adn close to ti it a magical place called Boddysgallen Hall, which is expensive but wonderful

Mo

As all said it does depend on where you are going. We just spent 3 weeks in the UK with 1 week in N. Wales. We rented a cottage in Cricceth on an Estate. It turned out great because the roads are wonderful and it is all so close compared to the US. As the others stated Bets-y-Coed is beautiful also Port Marion was a really odd but interesting place to visit. With all the castles in the area and Snowdonia the North was just wonderful. We all loved Beddgelert, it is a beautiful little town, great walking and biking. Cricceth is right on the bay and it has a wonderful little bakery and restaurant. Also from the castle one of the most spectacular views of both the bay and Snowdonia that we saw during the trip.<BR>We liked Conwy castle but Caenarfon was really a nice town and seemed more centrally located. Also Anglesey was a wonderful day trip for us. If you plan to spend a lot of time at castles and estates it is really worth the money to join the Nation Trust or the UK Trust. They both have a lot of sites in Wales and it is a substantual savings over full admission. You can join over the internet before going and also get a list of sites available. The Welsh tourism site is really helpful in planning. Good luck and you will have a wonderful trip.

Dallas, Texas

Hi, Mo. The information you gave for North Wales is very interesting. Do you know if Beddgelert is on the train line? Sounds like a place I would love to visit in September, but I will be doing all my travel via train.