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Voykit pocket guide · United Kingdom
Conwy
Give Conwy one full day and one night: castle and walls by 10:00, quay for lunch; stay longer only to day-trip Snowdonia, Llandudno or Anglesey.
Conwy is a walled town of about 15,000 people on the north Wales coast, with a UNESCO-listed castle and town walls, a working quay and a rail station on the Holyhead line. The town itself fits in a day; most travellers sleep here one or two nights and use it as a base for Snowdonia, Llandudno and Anglesey. A car helps for the wider area, but the town is walkable end to end in about 15 minutes.
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Best months
- May–Sep
- Avoid
- Nov–Feb (short days, many attractions on reduced hours)
- Stay
- 1–2 nights
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- GBP
- Money
- Currency is the pound sterling (GBP, £). Cards and contactless work almost everywhere; some places are card-only.
- Daily spend
- Budget £45–75 excl. bed · Mid £75–130 excl. bed · High £130+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- EE, Vodafone (merged with Three in 2025) and O2 run the networks; prepaid SIMs sell in supermarkets, phone shops and airport vending machines, no registration needed.
- Emergency
- Police, fire and ambulance 999 · EU-wide emergency 112 · NHS non-urgent 111 · Police non-urgent 101
- Plugs
- Types G · 230 V · 50 Hz · Three-pin Type G only; European, US and Australian plugs need an adapter. Bathrooms have two-pin shaver sockets only.
- Tipping
- Restaurant with table service: 10–12.5% if no service charge is on the bill; check before adding more.; Pub or bar: Not expected; 'and one for yourself' offers the bartender a drink.; Taxi: Round up or 10%.; Hotel porter: £1–2 per bag.; Tour guide: £5–10 per person for a day tour; free walking tours expect £10–15.
- Water
- Tap water is safe everywhere. Free refills are common; restaurants will bring tap water if you ask.
- Toilets
- Public toilets are scarce and some charge 50p–£1 or are card-only. Stations, museums, department stores and pubs (if you buy a drink) are the fallback.
What things cost
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Coffee or tea in a café | £3–4.50 |
| Fish and chips | £10–16 |
| Pint of beer in a pub | £4.50–6 |
| Welsh rarebit or a bap | £5–9 |
| Castle or town-house entry | £6–12 |
| eSIM or data SIM, about a week | £6–12 |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- LPL · Liverpool John Lennon
- Road transfer to Conwy about 1 h 30 min (check); rail via Chester and Llandudno Junction (check)
- MAN · Manchester
- Road transfer about 2 h (check); rail connections to Llandudno Junction (check)
Typical fares
- Conwy → Llandudno Junction, train
- about £2–3, 5 min (check)
- Conwy → Llandudno, train
- about £3–4, 15 min (check)
- Taxi Llandudno Junction → Conwy town
- £6–10 (check)
Get around
Walk. The walled town is small and the castle, quay, Plas Mawr and the station are all within about 15 minutes on foot. Conwy station sits on the Holyhead line; Llandudno Junction, 5 minutes away by taxi, has the mainline services. Arriva buses link Bangor, Llandudno and Betws-y-Coed. Day and rover tickets covering local buses and trains are sold at the tourist information centre near the station.
See and do
Known for
- Conwy Castle and the town walls
- The Smallest House in Great Britain
- Plas Mawr Elizabethan town house
- Conwy mussels and the quay
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Llandudno | Train from Conwy to Llandudno, about 15 min, or Arriva bus 5/X5 | About 30 min |
| Betws-y-Coed and Snowdonia | Conwy Valley line from Llandudno Junction, about 40 min to Betws-y-Coed | About 1 h |
| Colwyn Bay | Train from Conwy, about 15 min | About 30 min |
| Llanrwst | Conwy Valley line from Llandudno Junction, about 25 min | About 45 min |
| Abergele | Train from Conwy, about 20 min | About 40 min |
| Llanfairfechan | Train from Conwy, about 15 min | About 30 min |
Sleep
- Inside the walls (Castle Street, High Street, Rose Hill Street)
- Walk to the castle, quay and station in under 10 minutes; book early in summer, few rooms.
- Llanrwst Road and Sychnant Pass Road
- Guesthouses 10–15 min uphill walk from the centre; quieter, often cheaper.
- Llandudno Junction
- Mainline rail interchange 5 min away by taxi; more beds and parking than Conwy (check), less atmosphere.
- Conwy Valley and the marina
- Camping, holiday parks and self-catering 5–15 min drive out (check); needs a car.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Hello | HeloHEH-lo |
| Thank you | DiolchDEE-olch |
| Please | Os gwelwch yn ddaos GWEL-ookh un thah |
| Goodbye | Hwyl fawrhoo-il vowr |
| Where is the station? | Ble mae'r orsaf?bleh mire OR-sav |
| How much is it? | Faint yw e?fynt yoo eh |
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: Handshake at first meeting; 'hi' and first names quickly; avoid: Cheek kisses with strangers
- Conversation: Weather is a safe opener; understatement and self-deprecating humour; avoid: Asking about salary or class
- Queues: Join at the back; avoid: Pushing onto buses or trains before others get off
- Apologies: 'Sorry' is said constantly, even when not at fault; avoid: Taking it as an admission of blame
- Pubs: Buy rounds in a group; wait at the bar without waving money; avoid: Clicking fingers at staff
- Nations: Call Scots Scottish and Welsh Welsh; avoid: Calling the whole UK 'England'
Scams and watch-outs
- Castle and Plas Mawr run reduced hours outside spring–autumn; check Cadw before you travel.
- Parking south of the castle fills on summer weekends; arrive before 10:00 or use Llandudno Junction and the train.
- The town walls are free to walk but have steep steps, no handrails and drops; skip in wind or rain.
- Many small B&Bs and eateries close or cut hours from November to February.
Conwy is a small, low-crime tourist town and feels safe day and night. The real risks are the weather, steep unguarded steps on the town walls, and fast tides and slippery stones on the quay and mussel beds.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Conwy yet. Suggested stay: 1–2 nights. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- Conwy Castle and the town walls
- The Smallest House in Great Britain
- Plas Mawr Elizabethan town house
- Conwy mussels and the quay
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- Visit Conwy Town: www.visitconwytown.co.uk/
- Cadw — Conwy Castle: cadw.gov.wales/visit/places-to-visit/conwy-castle
- National Trust — Bodnant Garden: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/bodnant-garden
- Wikivoyage: Conwy, revision 5265628 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=5265628
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
Conwy
I'r cyfeiriad hwn, os gwelwch yn dda
To this address, please
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
No embassies in Conwy; the nearest US consulate-general is in Edinburgh and most other countries keep embassies in London. For urgent help, call 999.
Welsh is spoken alongside English; most people switch to English at once, and a 'diolch' goes a long way.
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/conwy). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.