The Best of North Wales | Perfect 4 Day Snowdonia 360 Road Trip Itinerary
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North Wales has contrasting landscapes from sweeping stretches of sandy beaches to monumental mountainous terrain. Among the rolling green pasture valleys, castles stand proud, mining heritage sites hold a key to the past and wildlife roam their territory.
Eryri Snowdonia 360 is the perfect road trip route around north Wales and can be easily adapted to your travel interests and preferences. Along the route you’ll discover delicious local Welsh produce, phenomenal coastal views and learn all about the rich heritage of this proud nation.
This guide will show you the ultimate 4 day road trip along the Snowdonia 360 route, taking time to travel slow and experience this incredible part of Wales. The guide includes exciting attractions, food stops and recommended campsites you should stay at in your campervan.
Read more of our guides around Wales, a guide to Anglesey a beautiful island part of north Wales, best places to visit along the Pembrokeshire coast and top beaches in Wales to discover. If you’re planning to do this road trip over the summer you might find our essential summer road trip packing list useful.
If you’re looking for more road trip inspiration around the UK, we have written guides for; Northumberland 250, Isle of Mull, Cornwall, Cairngorms National Park and Dartmoor National Park.
ROAD TRIP SUMMARY
Duration | 4 days
Distance | 360 miles
Highlights | Beaches, Mountains, Adventure, Wildlife, Heritage, Food
Where is North Wales?
North Wales, referred to as Gogledd Cymru in Welsh is part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and is located west of England. The Welsh coast is surrounded by the Irish Sea and is home to Eryri (pronounced ‘Eh-ruh-re’) National Park known in English as Snowdonia National Park.
What is North Wales known for?
North Wales has the best of both mountains and beautiful beaches but that’s not all! There are castles, waterfalls, wildlife, endless trails and heritage sites across north Wales. The landscape is distinctive with predominantly agricultural rural land and mountains lining the horizon.
As one of the adventure capitals of the UK, north Wales offers many unique activities to get your heart racing. Rich in culture and heritage, the Welsh language is still spoken by many and is home to three UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
WHAT IS THE SNOWDONIA 360 ROUTE?
The Eryri Snowdonia 360 is an epic 360 mile route not only through Snowdonia National Park but covers Anglesey, Llŷn Peninsula and the coast of north Wales. The route is nothing short of adventure, delicious food and rich heritage to discover. The Eryri Snowdonia 360 website has an interactive map which allows you to customise your trip showing places to eat, attractions and accommodation along the route.
In this guide we’ve put together a personalised itinerary where you can experience the highlights on what is on offer in north Wales along the Eryri Snowdonia 360 route. There are beautiful coastal and rural towns, heritage sites, local cuisine, adventure and awe-inspiring nature spots.
WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO VISIT NORTH WALES?
North Wales isn’t lush green by chance, there is plenty of rain throughout the year and even in the summer months there is a chance for a splash of rain. The best months with little chance of rain are between April and September with warmer temperatures to enjoy it to the fullest.
If you want to avoid the crowds then plan your visit between April and June, September and October avoiding school holidays and with the likelihood of better weather. During the spring months wildflowers blanket the floor including bluebells and snowdrops, whereas in the autumn months trees transition to warm shades of red, orange and yellow.
WHAT TO TAKE WITH YOU TO SNOWDONIA?
We’ve put together some of the essentials you should bring with you on your road trip to north Wales and if you’d like a more detailed summer road trip list together read here.
Raincoat - there is a good chance it might rain!
Bike - if you have room for your bike, bring it along to ride along many of the beautiful bike routes
Hiking boots - bring your already worn in boots to take a walk along the coast or mountains
Sandals for the beach and good weather
Beach towels
Wetsuit - as a water sports hub there are plenty of surf and paddle boarding spots
Camera
Reusable water bottle
Reusable shopping bag
How to get to Snowdonia?
By car
Travelling by car to north Wales will give you the freedom to set your own plans and travel at your own pace. You can take scenic detours through the rural countryside and discover hidden gems. North Wales is the perfect place for a road trip with a variety of incredible landscapes, driving along this route is an adventure in itself.
From London, the quickest route is via the M40, M6 and A55 and takes approximately 4 hours. If you're travelling from Scotland, take the A74 and M6 which is the best route and the drive is around 4.5 hours. From Birmingham, it takes around 2.5 hours and just under 4 hours from Cardiff to Colwyn Bay (north Welsh coast). If you plan on renting a car, check online for the best deals.
By Train
If you’d rather travel by train and then rent a car, there are plenty of direct train services to north Wales. Train services include London Euston to Llandudno Junction with car rental options available in the town only a short 10 minute walk from the train station. Other routes include from London to Bangor, a historic city set facing the scenic Menai Strait also with car rental options close to the station.
Trains from Manchester have direct links to Llandudno, Colwyn Bay and Prestatyn and from Liverpool trains run to Bangor. Llandudno and Bangor are the main places with car rental options and good train line connections making them a great base to start your journey along the Eryri Snowdonia 360 route.
By Air
The nearest airports to north Wales are Liverpool John Lennon Airport, Manchester Airport and Birmingham Airport. Car rental services are available at each airport and with great train connections to north Wales.
From Birmingham airport, trains take over 3 hours to Llandudno with one or two changes depending on the route you choose. Trains from Manchester airport take around 2.5 hours with a change at Chester. Liverpool Airport has the shortest train transfer journey time taking 2 hours 20 minutes with a change at Chester.
By Ferry
Holyhead in Anglesey is the closest harbour by ferry including services from Irish Ferries and Stena Line from Dublin which takes 2 hours. If arriving in South Wales by ferry, there are routes to Pembroke Dock and Fishguard.
Tips on how to make the most of your trip
BE RESPONSIBLE AND ECO-CONSCIOUS
Whilst driving along the Eryri Snowdonia 360 route, there will be a number of things you can do to make the most of your trip and also ensure that you can enjoy it in a safe and responsible way. We’ve put together some tips on how to be a responsible and eco-conscious traveller whilst exploring this incredible part of Wales.
When taking photographs, make sure you stop in a suitable, safe place and not on grass verges, passing places or block gates or entrances.
Whilst driving on country roads, look out and slow down for wildlife, livestock, pedestrians, horses, cyclists on the road and give plenty of room when overtaking.
No overnight parking is permitted on roadsides or car parks and all caravans, campervans and motorhomes must use campsites with the correct disposal of waste at campsites and not in nature.
Pack light, as the heavier your car is the more fuel it consumes. Make sure to only bring what you need and leave unnecessary large things at home.
Bring your reusable water bottle where you can refill at your accommodation or at the local pub or café. Use the refill app to find nearby free refilling drinking water stations.
Bring reusable bags for your shopping and items to reduce the need to buy any single-use plastic bags at the supermarket or shops.
Take your time and travel slow through the region, this reduces your fuel consumption but also allows you to really experience places in depth.
Eat at local restaurants, cafés, buy local produce and try Welsh food to get a flavour of the country and a real local experience.
Leave no trace by taking all your rubbish with you, leaving it better than you found it and recycle where possible.
If you have a dog, make sure to keep your dog on a lead near livestock to minimise disturbance to wildlife and clean up after them as it poses a risk to human and livestock health.
As a result of following these tips, you can be sure to show respect to the locals, reduce your environmental impact and enjoy your road trip whilst knowing you’ve been a responsible and eco-conscious traveller.
WHAT TO KNOW WHEN DRIVING IN WALES?
Driving in Wales is similar to the rest of the UK, where the speed limits and general rules are the same with keeping to the left hand side of the road.
When you reach single track country roads, reduce your speed anticipating oncoming traffic and other obstacles including pedestrians, horses, livestock and cyclists. Be patient when you come across other road users, reduce your speed and do not use your horn. There are passing places or lay bys which you can pull into letting oncoming traffic pass which can mean driving takes much longer than on the motorway.
When using google maps or a sat nav in Wales make sure to check the places that are taking you to the car park and not a random spot on the beach or middle of a mountain. We’d recommend downloading google maps before you set off on your journey so you don’t have to rely on signal, as in some remote locations it can be unreliable.
Day 1 - Travel to Bodnant WELSH food centre
The road trip starts in the Conwy Valley, a peaceful rural setting not far from the north Welsh coastline. The first stop is the Bodnant Welsh Food centre, which is found just off the north Wales expressway along the A470, a short 10 minute drive from Colwyn Bay.
Bodnant Welsh Food is an 18th century farmhouse B&B with plenty of free parking and is set on the side of a hill with wonderful views over the River Conwy.
As a champion of local produce, Bodnant Welsh Food showcases produce made within the region and has a large selection of fresh produce and homemade high quality products. There is a well-stocked farm shop, featuring their own butchers, cheese, fresh fruit and vegetables, breads, honey, chutneys and even their own wine cellar.
The Furnace café is a great lunch spot to enjoy an afternoon tea in a beautiful setting and is dog-friendly. For dinner the Hayloft Grill restaurant serves the best local and seasonal produce on the menu.
You can also stay on site at the Bed and Breakfast, there is a cookery school and arts and crafts workshops on offer throughout the year.
If you have time in the afternoon head over to Adventure Parc Snowdonia which is a 10 minute drive from Bodnant Welsh Food centre and within the Conwy valley. The artificial surf lagoon allows you to surf perfect waves throughout the day and is the ultimate adrenaline fuelled activity.
If you aren’t an experienced surfer don’t worry, they offer surf lessons which we really enjoyed with a group of others who were at a similar ability. The setting of the Adventure Parc Snowdonia is surrounded by lush greenery and mountains which is not the typical place you’d expect to be able to surf!
There is also a zip line that runs over the surf lagoon and an indoor play area that has a climbing wall, extreme slides, a ninja assault course, high ropes, caving and soft play areas. You can also try Stand Up Paddle boarding on the lagoon without waves. If you want to book a lesson make sure to book it in advance before arriving at Adventure Parc Snowdonia.
There is a surf-side Deli and Bar & Kitchen which serves delicious food from locally sourced ingredients including sandwiches, pastries, pizza, burgers, cakes with hot and cold drinks available.
If you’re looking for a more relaxing experience after a long journey, there is a scenic spa which has an outdoor area where you can soak your muscles whilst watching the waves roll in and surfers attempting to catch them.
STAY | Plas Gwyn Caravan & Camping Park, Caernarfon
A cosy and friendly family-owned campsite with all the facilities you will need during your stay, Plas Gwyn has electrical hook up, waste disposal, hot showers, toilets and also the chance to stay in a wooden glamping pod, caravan or B&B room.
We stayed in our campervan on a gravel pitch which had beautiful views of Snowdonia and was surrounded by grass which the cats loved! The campsite is in a great location with easy access to public transport and many nearby attractions in north Wales.
Day 2 - Menai Strait and Nant Gwrtheyrn
In the morning, make your way to Menai Bridge for a very unique and exciting experience at RibRide. As the first e-foil school in the UK, RibRide offer lessons to learn how to e-foil which is basically an electric surfboard that flies above the water!
Our friendly instructor went over the E-foil safety demonstration and gave us instructions on how the session would run. Once we were kitted out with wetsuits, lifejackets, boots and helmets we were then taken out by a boat out onto the scenic Menai Strait to a sheltered spot.
We took it in turns to learn to use the e-foil lying down, kneeling and then eventually standing which is not something I thought I’d be able to do! We would really recommend this experience, be warned e-foiling is quite addictive and we enjoyed every minute of it. The lesson lasted 3 hours which was enough time to get familiar with how it works and attempt standing up which we managed (photo evidence below!).
Each group is limited to 3 people to allow each person in the group to get direction and feedback which helps to speed up learning how to use the e-foil. Prices start from £185 per person and is a private lesson with your instructor for the ultimate e-foil learning experience in a stunning setting.
After a quick shower onsite at Ribride, we made our way towards the Llŷn Peninsula with our next destination Nant Gwrtheyrn. The drive along this route has incredible views across to Snowdonia along with extensive views of the beautiful coastline, we were lucky enough to experience this on a sunny day in May.
There are two car parks in this area, if you are not comfortable driving steep hills or have a heavy vehicle for example a campervan or motorhome we would not advise you driving all the way down to Nant Gwrtheyrn. We would advise parking in the Yr Eifl car park which is on the left hand side before the signed gate and is also a great starting point for walking to Tre’r Ceiri Iron Age Hillfort.
We walked down the road to Nant Gwrtheyrn and were blown away by the views from one of the hairpin bends in the road. From the side of the hill you could look down the cliffs across the ocean and admire the beautiful coastline. There is a café at the bottom Caffi Meinir which serves panini’s, sandwiches and cakes which is usually open from 10am until 4pm and has spectacular views of the sea in a wonderful peaceful setting.
Nant Gwrtheyrn is an abandoned former quarry village where over 2,000 people worked onsite to extract granite which today is now used as the Welsh Heritage Centre as an emblem to preserve the Welsh language and features exhibitions on the story of the quarry village of Port Nant.
STAY | Portmeirion Motorhome Campsite
After a day of exploration and adrenaline-fuelled adventure, make your way to Portmeirion for late afternoon and check into their on-site campsite. The Portmeirion campsite has great facilities including showers, toilets, waste disposal, picnic benches and spacious pitches.
There are gravel pitches which vary in size from small, medium and large and are priced according to their size. Each pitch includes electric hook-up, tv hook-up, drinking water tap and booking the campsite includes entry to Portmeirion. Another perk to staying overnight at Portmeirion gives you access to the outdoor heated swimming pool which is located in the hotel at the waterfront.
Once you arrive at the campsite, you can enjoy a quiet evening around Portmeirion without the crowds as it is closed to the general public after 6:30pm. This was a wonderful and unique experience which is only available to those staying overnight at Portmeirion. Check in is from 2pm and check out is at 10am and no dogs are allowed onsite.
Day 3 - Portmeirion and Sygun Copper Mine
Have a slow morning on the Portmeirion campsite and once you check out of the campsite at 10am you can park in the main car park for free and re-enter Portmeirion (also for free) for more exploring quaint shops, charming cafés and find delicious Italian style ice cream in the village.
The Mediterranean-inspired architecture is painted in beautiful pastel colours and feels like you’ve stepped into a fairytale. Portmeirion is an art-lovers paradise blending nature and architecture and artwork into a masterpiece of charm and beauty. Walk along the streets where you’ll discover sculptures, mosaics and allow you to let your imagination go wild.
Portmeirion was designed by the architect Sir Clough Williams-Ellis who had a vision to transform the space to have a harmonious relationship between nature and architecture. Immerse yourself into nature by exploring the extensive gardens and woodlands which cover more than 70 acres and have many hidden surprises to uncover whilst you walk among one of the many walking paths. Climb up to the beautiful gazebo with lovely views over the village and estuary.
There is a coastal path which runs past the hotel and has wonderful views of the Dwyryd Estuary which has a lovely sandy beach, caves and home to a variety of wildlife and plants.
A 30 minute drive from Portmeirion, you’ll discover Sygun Copper Mine and along the way the drive will take you through the picturesque village of Beddgelert which is famed to be named after a faithful wolfhound Gelert and you can visit his grave.
Sygun Copper Mine is found in the heart of the breathtaking Snowdonia National Park and is a unique experience. This historic mine offers self guided tours through the old mine tunnels and takes you right into the depths of the mine. Wrap up warm as it can get cold underground and takes you on a journey to a depth of 150 metres below ground. As you descend you will wander through tunnels, passageways, chambers and witness the magical natural geological formations such as stalagmites and stalactites.
This underground adventure is an impressive feat where you’ll hear the stories of the miners who would work in the mines only by candlelight! There are steep metal stairs which take you up and deeper into the mine and eventually a tunnel will show you natural daylight and you can truly appreciate the hard work it must have been for miners during that time.
Later in the afternoon head to Black Rock Sands, a vast expanse of golden sands which you can drive your car onto and enjoy having everything with you and have a lovely chilled time on the beach. Typically it is free to park on the beach outside of peak season. Be careful not to drive on soft sand as you could get stuck, if you do don’t worry there are tractors which can pull you out (we know from experience)!
Black Rock Sands has wonderful panoramic views of Cardigan Bay with a backdrop of the towering Snowdonia mountains on the horizon. Soak up the sun, walk along the shoreline or enjoy the beautiful sand dunes.
In the evening, we’d recommend stopping at the Victoria Inn, a locally owned pub with a charming and cosy feel which is the perfect way to end your day with delicious food. The Victoria Inn is a traditional village pub set on the bank of the River Artro serving high-quality home-cooked food.
The Victoria Inn is open from 12:00-23:00 every day and is worth booking a table if you are visiting in peak season to avoid disappointment, we would recommend their steak pies and the chips are crunchy and so tasty. They also offer en-suite rooms for the night if you are not staying in a campsite or campervan.
STAY | Nantcol waterfall campsite
A short 5 minute drive down the road from the Victoria Inn, stay in the peaceful setting of Nantcol Waterfall Campsite, set in the heart of Welsh countryside. Choose a spot where nature is right at your doorstep and enjoy beautiful views of the River Artro.
Nantcol waterfall campsite has toilets, showers and washing up areas and there is the option to stay in a glamping pod. Enjoy a short 10 minute walk to the nearby Nantcol waterfalls, a wild cascading beauty. This campsite is the perfect place for nature lovers as you can be soothed by the sound of the babbling brook and trees whistling in the wind.
Day four - Zip World
On the last day of your road trip, we will finish it on a high…quite literally 152 metres high off the ground flying on the world’s fastest zipline Velocity 2. The Velocity 2 zipline gives the most incredible injection of adrenalin as you speed up to 100 miles per hour over the Penrhyn Quarry in Bethesda. Penrhyn Quarry used to be the world’s largest slate mine and is still Britain’s largest slate quarry but is not operating at the same rate as it was in its prime.
There are many more activities on offer at Zip World including Quarry Karts, where you’ll ride a truck to the top of the slate quarry and steer your way down the track using a kart whilst going through tunnels and you navigate twisting turns down the hill competing to get first place.
There are two other Zip World sites, firstly Llechwedd offers exhilarating experiences below ground for slate cavern adventures where you can Bounce Below, zipline from the top of Titan and explore the Caverns, an underground adventure course. This is the perfect spot if the weather isn’t great, you can still have an adventure no matter what!
The final Zip World site is Fforest in Betws-y-Coed which has a toboggan coaster that takes you through the forest, treetop nets, a vertical freefall drop experience on Plummet 2 and Skyride which will give you a rush of adrenaline.
Once you have enjoyed the incredible activities that Zip World has to offer (which is a lot), unfortunately this is now the end of your epic North Wales road trip around Eryri Snowdonia 360.
So, whether you’re exploring the depths of a copper mine, captivated by the beauty of the beaches or cosying up in a local pub, Snowdonia 360 has an abundance of gems waiting for you to discover. Immerse yourself in the local history, embrace the warmth of the local Welsh people and indulge in the spectacular sites of nature.
We hope you have a great road trip around Wales and read about our Anglesey weekend itinerary which you could add onto this road trip, best places to visit along the Pembrokeshire coast, top beaches in Wales to discover.
If you’re looking for other road trip inspiration in the UK, check out our Northumberland NLAND 250 guide, best things to do on the isle of Mull, an incredible 2 week road trip around Cornwall, the wild Cairngorms National Park and rugged Dartmoor National Park.
