Wales Travel Guide: Is South Wales Worth the Detour?
Nobody goes to Wales on the way to the Cotswolds. We did. Our friend Katie had flown over to travel with us, we were spending New Year in the Cotswolds, and the four of us (plus Lisa’s dog Rex) decided a few days in South Wales first sounded like a good idea.
Getting there almost ended the idea. We drove from the Netherlands through Ghent. After spending the night in Ghent we drove on to the LeShuttle train in Calais, France. Once we arrived in the UK we sat in what felt like every car in England heading somewhere for the holidays. A drive that should have been a fraction of that took about nine hours. It was dark long before we arrived in Cardiff.
It was worth it. It was wet, gray and cold, but definitely worth it. We only had three nights, so this isn’t a complete guide to the country. It’s South Wales, seen from a cozy Airbnb, with day trips to the coast and a cheese-heavy lunch on the way out.
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South Wales at a Glance
- How long we stayed: 3 nights, right after Christmas
- Where we based ourselves: a rented row house about 10 minutes’ drive from central Cardiff
- Best thing we did: our walk down to Three Cliffs Bay on the Gower Peninsula
- Best thing we ate: Welsh rarebit at Madame Fromage in Abergavenny
- Traveling with a dog: easy. Rex came everywhere, including lunch
- Do you need a car? We were glad we had one for the coast and smaller towns
Our Tip: Rent a house instead of a hotel, especially in winter. Ours had a dark-painted library with a fireplace and leather couches you sink into, and on the rainy evenings we never left that room. Ordering takeaway and watching truly terrible British TV in there was one of the highlights of the trip. I’m not joking.
Cardiff at Christmas
We spent an afternoon walking around the center of Cardiff doing a lot of Christmas shopping. The old covered shopping arcades were probably my favorite part, especially since it was pouring. There were food trucks out too, and we had sausages from one of them for lunch.
We walked through Bute Park and around Cardiff Castle, where the Christmas market was set up. We saw plenty of the castle from the outside but never actually went in, which is something I’d do next time.
We also went tubing at the Cardiff Ski & Snowboard Centre and spent a morning at a huge antiques market. Somehow we managed to fit quite a lot into Cardiff considering how much it rained.
Everything we did, plus what we’d do next time, is in our Cardiff travel guide.
Swansea and Three Cliffs Bay
This was the day. We drove west toward Swansea and out onto the Gower Peninsula to a place called Three Cliffs Bay. We parked in a field, walked the cliff trails, took a couple of wrong turns and eventually hiked down to the beach. The sun even came out for a minute.
Lisa still calls it one of her favorite beach days ever. I agree. Katie went for a swim in the freezing water because of a TV show, which is a story of its own. We had lunch in Swansea on the way back.
The full day, with parking and dog notes, is in our Three Cliffs Bay and Swansea guide.
Castell Coch and Abergavenny
On our last morning we packed up and headed out with two stops before continuing to the Cotswolds. First was Castell Coch, just north of Cardiff. It looks like someone drew it for a children’s book, complete with red towers and a bright red drawbridge. We didn’t go inside, but walked around the outside before getting back on the road.
Then we stopped in Abergavenny for lunch at Madame Fromage. We all had the Welsh rarebit, which was enormous, and Rex sat under the table on his best behavior. We walked around town and did some shopping afterward before heading on to the Cotswolds.
Read more in our Abergavenny and Castell Coch guide.
Our South Wales Road Trip Route
We did this as three nights in one place with day trips, which I’d recommend over moving hotels every night, especially with a dog.
- Day 1: Arrive in Cardiff (late, after that drive)
- Day 2: Cardiff city center, arcades, Bute Park, Cardiff Castle and tubing
- Day 3: Drive to Three Cliffs Bay on the Gower, lunch in Swansea, back to Cardiff
- Day 4: Castell Coch, lunch in Abergavenny, then on to the Cotswolds
Somewhere in there Katie and I also spent a full morning at the antiques market while everyone else slept in.
Rough drive times from central Cardiff: Castell Coch is about 20 minutes, Abergavenny about 50 minutes, and Three Cliffs Bay a little over an hour. Swansea is roughly 25 minutes back toward Cardiff from the bay.
Visiting Wales in Winter
We were there the end of December. It rained every day. Not all day, but every day. Temperatures stayed around 5–10°C (40–50°F), and it got dark before 4:30. The upside: almost no crowds. We had Three Cliffs Bay nearly to ourselves. Cardiff was busy with holiday shoppers but not packed. Restaurants were easy to get into without reservations.
Pack a proper waterproof layer, not just an umbrella. If you want the full wild-swimmer look, a dry robe helps too (more on that in the Three Cliffs Bay post).
What We’d Do Next Time
Three nights was enough to get a feel for South Wales, but we left with a longer list than we arrived with.
- Go inside Cardiff Castle. We walked around the castle while we were at the Christmas market in Bute Park, but we never went inside.
- See more of the Gower Peninsula. Three Cliffs Bay was our favorite day of the trip, and next time we’d give the area more than one day.
- Spend more time in Cardiff. We packed a lot into one day, but there was plenty we didn’t get to.
- Go farther west. Pembrokeshire is high on the list for another trip.
If you’re from Wales and have ideas for our next trip, please tell us. We mean it.
Wales Travel FAQ
Yes. Cardiff is an easy city break, and within an hour you can be on the Gower Peninsula walking down to Three Cliffs Bay. It also worked well as part of our road trip to the Cotswolds.
We had three nights and fit in Cardiff, the Gower Peninsula, Swansea, Castell Coch and Abergavenny. Another night or two would have given us more time on the coast.
For the trip we did, yes. You can visit Cardiff without one, but having a car made Three Cliffs Bay, Castell Coch and Abergavenny much easier.
We found it very dog friendly. Rex came with us to the beach, around Cardiff and even to lunch at Madame Fromage in Abergavenny.
We think so. We went at the end of December and had plenty of rain and short days, but we also had Three Cliffs Bay almost to ourselves.
Listen to Our Wales Episode
Want to hear more about our trip? In this episode of The getAwayZ podcast, we talk about exploring Cardiff and the South Wales coast, from our cozy row house library to the long walk down to Three Cliffs Bay, trying Welsh rarebit in Abergavenny and hunting down a dry robe for Katie. We also share what we liked, what we’d do differently and whether South Wales is worth adding to a UK trip.
