For a small country, Wales packs a lot in. It’s a Celtic country located to the west of England and is about 180 miles (250 km) long and 60 miles (90 km) wide. It’s easy to travel around and the scenery is constantly changing too.
Travelling north to south takes about four and a half hours. From mountains to coastline, small communities to cities, and road signs in Welsh and English, your clients will have to account for photo opportunities, coffee and local pub stops en-route.
1. Sit back and enjoy the coast and countryside by travelling by train in Wales. Transport for Wales offers a range of passes so that you can choose the best one for your clients on the mainline services. There are also the historic twelve Great Little Trains of Wales which offer private charter and driver experiences.
2. Visit one of our castles (there are over 600), four have UNESCO World Heritage Status and the tower at Caerphilly out-leans the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Join Cadw Tour Operator Scheme: You just need to register on their website for travel trade group discounts and their explorer passes are great for FITs.
3. Put on your walking boots - we’ve got 20,504 miles (32,998 km) of walking paths including three National Trails and the Wales Coast Path. Or enjoy our cycling routes, mountain biking trails and epic golf.
4. The National Museum Cardiff houses arguably the finest collection of impressionist paintings outside Paris. Amgueddfa Cymru. Museum Wales has six other sites. There are plenty of other museums and galleries around Wales to explore.
5. Visit Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. It’s a compact city and easy to get around with plenty to see and do including Cardiff Castle, National Museum Cardiff, the Principality Stadium (the home of Welsh rugby) and the waterside developments in Cardiff Bay, including Wales Millennium Centre. Watch the video below for a virtual tour.
6. The Wales Way is a family of three national touring routes; The Cambrian Way, The Coastal Way and The North Wales Way. Themed itineraries are available using Travel Trade-friendly products, featuring our three unique touring routes, each passing through spectacular scenery.
7. Our three national parks celebrate three different landscapes. The rocky mountains of Eryri (Snowdonia) that contrast with the greener mountains and waterfalls of the Bannau Brychieniog (Brecon Beacons). These national parks are also home to two of the 16 designated International Dark Sky Reserves in the world. There is also the Pembrokeshire Coast, the only coastal national park in the UK.
8. Where better to try coasteering than the country it was created in. Get in a wet suit, clamber over and up onto the rocks of the shoreline, only to jump off them into the sea. Professionally supervised that is.
9. Throughout Wales, there are many gardens, some owned by the National Trust & some privately owned. A garden like Bodnant has taken a century and a half to mature, it enjoys different colours throughout the year (even winter) so anytime is good. There are many other gardens to explore too.
10. Experience life underground and take a tour of caves and mines. Your clients can take their pick from any one of our mines from silver, gold, copper, lead, coal and slate.
11. Meet the food and drink producers. Learn to cook and taste a Welsh cake or enjoy our national dishes including Welsh rarebit, salt marsh lamb or Welsh black beef dishes. Taste our award winning whiskies, gins, wine, cider and beers.
12. There’s a wide range of annual events and festivals taking place around Wales. Including music, food and drink, arts, culture, and sport; all suitable to include in client itineraries.
13. Welsh is spoken by around 20% of the population and our Welsh culture experiences provide a unique sense of place. It’s the oldest living language in Europe and appears on road and shop signs. Visitors will hear it spoken too and they can have a go at the odd word or two! Find out about Wales' language, culture, location and climate on wales.com (external site).
14. Wrexham is Wales’ newest city. It has become well known because of Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney buying Wrexham AFC. Their story is documented on ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ that is streamed globally.
