Wales travel guide: The best things to see and do in Wales

Only 160 miles in length and 50 miles wide, Wales is a small but mighty coun­try. From its wild moun­tain ranges, quaint vil­lages and mar­ket towns, to bustling cities, rugged coast­lines and an abun­dance of ancient cas­tles, Wales is the per­fect loca­tion for a break. And for­tu­nate­ly for us, our mem­bers have some great Welsh home swap prop­er­ties to make your trav­els even more spe­cial. So whether you’re hunt­ing for the ide­al stay­ca­tion or you’re trav­el­ling from fur­ther afield, make sure you check out this roundup of just a few of the top things to see and do in Wales.

We’ve high­light­ed a hand­ful of our favourite things to vis­it and expe­ri­ence in Wales, but no mat­ter how long you stay in this gor­geous coun­try, there will always be so much more that you can do! So to make it easy for you to plan your ide­al jour­ney and itin­er­ary, we’ve added our top picks to Love Home Swap’s Best places to vis­it in Wales map.

Next, take a cycle along Swansea Bay and pay a vis­it to the charm­ing fish­ing town of Mum­bles. Whilst there, soak up the his­to­ry with a vis­it to the 12^th Cen­tu­ry Oys­ter­mouth Cas­tle, win­dow shop the bou­tiques and art gal­leries, and enjoy a bite to eat in the many eater­ies. And don’t even con­sid­er leav­ing until you’ve had a tra­di­tion­al ice-cream from one the many Ital­ian Welsh cafes — Joe’s Ice-Cream and Verdi’s are exceptional!

Fan­cy work­ing from a home swap in Gow­er? Read Swap­star Ellena’s expe­ri­ence work­ing in Gow­er, Wales dur­ing lockdown.

If you’re look­ing for a Welsh city break, then a vis­it to the country’s cap­i­tal Cardiff is a must. For his­to­ry buffs, make time to vis­it the 11^th Cen­tu­ry Cardiff Cas­tle in the heart of the city where you can enjoy the exten­sive grounds, a Nor­man keep and bomb shel­ters from WWII. If you’re look­ing for some retail ther­a­py, pay a vis­it to St David’s Shop­ping Cen­tre which is home to all the big brands, or explore the many famous Vic­to­ri­an and Edwar­dian arcades, includ­ing Cas­tle Arcade, Mor­gan Arcade, Roy­al Arcade and High Street Arcade. After all that shop­ping you’re bound to be thirsty, so enjoy a drink at Cof­fee Bark­er or Wright’s Wines — then head to the infa­mous Spillers Records to browse the records.

Snow­do­nia is the ulti­mate trav­el spot for thrill-seek­ers. Sur­round­ed by stun­ning moun­tain ranges, Snow­do­nia has become a mec­ca for those look­ing for an adren­a­line rush. It’s home to theworld’s fastest zipline in Pen­rhyn Quar­ry where you can enjoy tak­ing in the Welsh views at speeds of up to 100mph! If that’s a bit too heart-rac­ing, the cen­tre also offers activ­i­ties like tram­polin­ing in the caves or tobog­gan­ing through the forests.

Nes­tled in the Bre­con Bea­cons Nation­al Park, Car­marthen­shire is a coun­ty rich in his­to­ry and cul­ture. First stop would be to mar­vel at Car­marthen Cas­tle in the ancient town of Car­marthen – the old­est town in Wales and the sup­posed birth­place of Celtic magi­cian Mer­lin. Oth­er charm­ing mar­ket towns in the region include Llan­dei­lo that offers bou­tique stores, bistros and cafes and local art gal­leries. Pick up some sweet treats from choco­latiers Heav­en­ly then enjoy some retail ther­a­py in Pep­per­corn and TOAST (the orig­i­nal store before it grew nationwide.)

Whilst vis­it­ing Llan­dei­lo, take the short detour to Dine­fwr Cas­tle, which fea­tures a cas­tle ruin and a his­toric New­ton house set in a nature reserve and deer park. Enjoy the spa­cious grounds and remem­ber to climb the hill to the ruin to enjoy panoram­ic views over the Riv­er Tywi and Pax­ton Tow­er.