Snowdonia is a great UK destination for adventure. It’s easy to forget about your own backyard and dream of faraway adventures but I think there are plenty of things to do in Snowdonia.
Snowdonia is known in Welsh as Eryri which translates to English as “places of the eagles”.
Whilst I can’t guarantee you’ll spot an eagle when you visit Snowdonia, I can guarantee you won’t be short of ideas on things to do in Snowdonia.
About Snowdonia
OS Maps are awesome for hiking in the UK. I’ve never found anything quite like them when in other countries. They have all features like churches, rivers, peaks, viewpoints and more. You can get paper maps (which are great for finding new places), and their app is super useful too.
Snowdonia in Wales, or to give the area its full name: Snowdonia National Park, is a beautiful Welsh National Park and one of the prettiest National Parks in the UK. The park covers 823 square miles of mountains, lakes, rivers and beaches.
The towns in Snowdonia are some of the most idyllic places you’ll stay in the UK and it’s the ideal destination for a UK getaway.
Snowdonia is just one of three national parks in Wales, the others being the Pembrokeshire Coast and the Brecon Beacons.
Every year about 6 million people visit Snowdonia National Park (so you could say Snowdonia tourism is pretty high!). They come for hiking, camping, sightseeing, climbing and more.
As you’ll soon see, there are so many places to visit in Snowdonia.
Where is Snowdonia Wales?
The below Snowdonia, Wales map outlines the boundaries of Snowdonia National Park. If you’re wondering where is Snowdonia in Wales, you’ll see that it’s in north west Wales and is full of lakes, beaches and woodland to explore.
How to get to Snowdonia National Park
Snowdonia National Park is very accessible by driving or by getting the train. Getting to Snowdonia depends on which part of Snowdonia you want to stay in.
The Snowdonia National Park postcode varies too. You can use the above map to find out exactly where each of the things to see in Snowdonia are.
Driving to Snowdonia
If you’re travelling to Snowdonia from London then you’ll take the M40 to Birmingham and then switch to the M54.
I use comparison sites like DiscoverCars and RentalCars to book my car rentals as it’s easy to check prices and compare the best deals!
Trains to Snowdonia
The North Wales Coast Line from Crewe to Holyhead connects you to Bangor at the north-western edge of Snowdonia National park and Llandudno. From here you can get the Conwy Valley Line down to Blaenau Ffestiniog.
The Cambrian Line from Shrewsbury sweeps along the southern edge of the park and up the coast to Porthmadog.
Omio is a great platform for booking European and UK travel on. You can check train and bus prices and schedules and book super easily!
Flying to Snowdonia, Wales
If you’re travelling to the UK and want to visit Snowdonia, the closest big airports to Snowdonia are Liverpool & Manchester.
Skyscanner is what I use to find cheap flights.
Or, if you’ve yet to choose your dates then take a look at Dollar Flight Club, once signed up you can set your home airport(s) and then they’ll let you know when they find amazing deals on flights. The savings they find every day AMAZE me.
Best places to stay in Snowdonia
There are plenty of places to stay in and around Snowdonia. We stayed in a beautiful Airbnb but, if you’re more of a hotel person, check out these hotels in Snowdonia for every budget.
- Budget: Yr Hen Fecws, Porthmadog | Bwch yn Uchaf, Llanuwchllyn | Llety, Betws-y-coed
- Mid-range: Plas Maenan Country, Conwy | The Tilman, Barmouth | Ty Capel Isa, Blaenau-Festiniog
- Luxury: Plas Tan Yr Allt Historic Country House, Porthmadog | Craig y Dderwen Riverside, Betws-y-coed | Borthwnog Hall, Dolgellau
Check out this post for the best cottages with hot tubs in Wales!
Best things to do in Snowdonia National Park
Here are some of the top Snowdonia attractions and Snowdonia activities
Snowdonia attractions map
Find all the below activities in Snowdonia National Park, Wales with this handy map. You can download this map to your Google account and the points will show up on your app the next time you use it.
Mount Snowdon
Mount Snowdon, now referred to in Welsh (Yr Wyddfa), is the highest peak in Wales at 1,085m high. This impressive mountain is in Snowdonia National Park and is the most popular mountain hike in the UK.
Mount Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) offers some of the best views in Britain. From the top of Snowdon, (Yr Wyddfa) you’ll have views of an unspoilt Welsh landscape that stretches for miles. Legend even has it that Mt. Snowdon is the burial site of a giant ogre that was killed by King Arthur!
How to hike Mt. Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa)
AllTrails is my go-to hiking app for finding, planning, and navigating while I’m out on the trails. With offline maps on AllTrails+ you can be confident you’re still on the right track, even without mobile signal.
The Pyg and Miners’ tracks both start from the Pen-y-Pass car park and are the most popular trails to the summit of Mt. Snowdon.
Of the two, the Miners’ trail is a little easier. It starts off less steeply and winds past some lakes before a steep finish. The Pyg trail has a big climb to begin with and then continues to climb as you join the Miner’s trail for the final push.
You can also hike the longer Watkins trail which starts from the Nantgwynant car park. On this trail, you’ll pass some waterfalls on the way to the top.
The easiest (but perhaps most boring in terms of challenge and scenery) is the 10-mile Llanberies Trail. This follows the railway line so it’s hard to get lost!
And, if you want to get away from it all on the UK’s most popular mountain, then check out the Rhyd Ddu trail. This trail won’t be empty exactly, but it is the least used route and is roughly 8 miles long.
If you’re hiking Mt. Snowdon in winter then check out the Snowdon Ranger which is a 7-mile trail.
Hiking to the top of Snowdon takes between 4-5 hours for the Pyg, Snowdon Ranger and Miners’ trails and the Watkins, Rhyd Ddu and Llanberis trail takes between 5-6 hours.
Taking the train to the top of Mount Snowdon
If you’re not feeling energetic, or like taking your holidays at a slower pace, then you can take the Snowdon Mountain Railway. The railway climbs 4.7 miles from Llanberis to the summit of Snowdon.
You can get a ticket for a 2.5 hour round trip to the summit and back. Book your tickets in advance if you’re planning to visit in July or August as the railway can get a little busy!
Go trampolining underground
Blaenau Ffestiniog’s slate mine has been turned into a theme park, and not just any old theme park. A trampoline theme park!
This is one of the most fun things to do near Snowdonia.
Far removed from your average cave tour, Bounce Below has taken over the old mines and turned them into a vibrant mass of trampolines.
Bounce your way through the caves in this unusual experience. There are three giant bouncy nets, slides, and more to explore in this underground adventure park!
Go Below
If it’s raining and you’re wondering what to do when it rains in Snowdonia then check out this other underground adventure.
Go Below is more extreme than Bounce Below and tests your nerves as you travel underground taking on a series of adventurous challenges.
At this adventure park you can try zip-lining, boating across a lake, traversing an abyss and abseiling a waterfall until you reach the lowest point in the UK!
When I visited Snowdonia for my birthday, Go Below was fully booked so make sure to book in advance.
Tree top adventure
Home to the Tree Top Tower, the highest Powerfan Plummet in the world, Tree Top Adventure is the perfect place to overcome your fear of heights.
Take on the Sky Ride or Europe’s highest and first 5 seater Giant Swing if you dare!
Not your standard swing, this swing hoists adventurers 80ft into the air before one of you pulls the release cord and your catapulted 120ft above the Conwy Valley!
Canolfan Tryweryn, White Water Rafting
White water rafting has to be one of the top 10 things to do in Snowdonia.
The National White Water Centre near Bala is the place to head to for some water based adrenaline-fuelled adventures.
The Tryweryn is a dam controlled river so water often flows even though other nearby rivers may be dry.
There’s taster sessions, full rafting sessions and the intriguingly named Tryweryn Safari!
Visit Betws-y-coed
This little town is a must when it comes to Snowdonia places to visit.
It’s extremely picturesque and is made up of tea rooms, more outdoors shops that you can imagine and it’s surrounded by the gorgeous Gwydyr forest.
It’s a great place to base yourself when you’re exploring Snowdonia.
Summit Cadair Idris
If you’re wondering what to see in Snowdonia then add this mountain vista to your list. This peak is one of the best places to visit in Snowdonia since it’s less well known that Mt. Snowdon but offers incredible views.
The peak is at 893m high and there are two main routes up the mountain. There’s Pony trail from the Ty-nant car park and the harder, circular route from the Minffordd hotel car park. Both are 10km long but the second involves more of a climb!
Visit Portmeirion
Portmeirion isn’t your standard village. It was actually designed and built! It’s a colourful little place with a hotel, spa, tea room, restaurants and a beach too. It costs £9 for adults to enter and 4-16 year olds are £6.
Just two miles south of Porthmadog (which is also worth a visit) and is one of the top Snowdonia tourist attractions.
Portmeirion has over 250,000 visitors every year and you’ve likely seen it on some TV shows too. It’s easily one of the best places in Snowdonia to visit!
And, if you’re travelling to Snowdonia with kids they’re sure to love the beach here while you’ll likely enjoy the colourful architecture more.
Last Updated on May 22, 2023 by Hannah
Hannah started That Adventurer after graduating back in 2013 and has documented all of her adventures since then. From backpacking South America to city breaks in Europe, a 3 month road trip across the USA in a self-converted van and 6 years living in Canada, you’ll find posts on all of this.
Hannah specialises in active travel and on That Adventurer you’ll find hiking, walking, biking, skiing and all sorts of active travel guides to allow you to see a destination in an adventurous way.
Now back in Europe, you’ll find new guides as Hannah and her husband spend the next year ‘digital nomading’ from Norway to Portugal, Switzerland to Scotland and places in between.
Hi Hannah – awesome post! I am planning a little trip over to Wales in the next month, after I read about the underground Trampoline, which looks amazing, My sister lives in Wales and has always wanted to hike up Snowdon, so it is going on the list for an epic weekend trip. I hadn’t heard of Go Below, it looks great, so I will look into that too.
Love your adventures,
Safe travels,
Abbi
They’re such cool underground activities! A fab way to give old mines a new use! Hope you have fun when you go to Wales, let me know how it goes
[…] 5 Things To Do In Snowdonia UK […]
The Snow lilly train is another great thing to do in Snowdonia. Kayaking and mountain trekking are some other great activities. Thanks for sharing
Lovely post! I stayed in Betws-y-Coed last time I was in the region and loved it. The landscape of Snowdonia is among the most beuatiful in Britain, in my view.