Wild Wales Tours, LLC
Please join us on this memorable ten-day, nine-night bus tour.
September 11-20, 2023
Wild Wales Tours, LLC has been created for people who hate tours. With us you will not have name tags, large groups or hurried stops, and you will enjoy rich and meaningful experiences. With no more than two hours daily on the bus, most afternoons we will be stopping for a cup of tea, coffee and some locally baked goods. The focus of the trip will be to visit Wales at a slower pace, from a Welsh perspective. Guides and experts who will educate us on cultural and historical matters will join us along the way.
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Elen Huws will be your Tour Guide on the bus in September of 2023. She is a fully qualified Blue Badge Wales guide. After graduating in Zoology, she taught Biology and a became a Teacher Trainer in science. She has worked as a tour guide in the British Isles and all over Europe. A keen mountain walker, she holds a Mountain Leader qualification, and is a volunteer warden on Mount Snowdon during the summer months. She is completely fluent in English and Welsh, and is also a French speaker. Elen is married with three children and lives in the north west of Wales, a stronghold for Welsh culture.
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Our tours are set up to educate North Americans, and any others interested, in the heritage, history and culture of Wales. We will be supporting the local economy and promoting the Welsh language by working with businesses that promote all things Welsh. Hywel “Taff” Roberts, the director of the tour, was born and bred in Wales and speaks fluent Welsh will also be on the bus. Our bus company is a Welsh business and our driver will also be a Welsh speaker! If you are not careful you might learn some Welsh along the way!
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Tour Cost: $3495/per person, based on double occupancy. A single supplement (limited availability) is $500. We will email invoices, which can be paid online with a credit card. There is an upfront deposit of $1231.67 per person ($2263.33 per couple) and 2 additional payments of $1131.67 per person ($2263.33 per couple) at 6 months out, April 11, 2023, and 3 months out, June 11, 2023. You will be invoiced for the final two payments. Payments for single supplements will be split between the two final payments.
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During the day, we will take in incredible sights, such as Snowdonia National Park, castles, abbey ruins, Roman structures, Pryseli Hills, rugged coastlines with crashing waves and calm, sandy beaches.
Llandudno
By night, we will dine in pubs and taverns, taking in the sounds of local choirs, traditional folk music and storytelling. With us you will not be another face in the crowd; you will have the opportunity to mingle with the locals. The tours will be relaxed and intimate. Our small group of around 20 will make it possible to be open to the unexpected, such as an unplanned concert, a local festival, market day or a fair. We will keep our options open since not everything will be set in stone.
The $3395 fee per person, based on double occupancy, (with a limited number of “single room supplements” available for an extra $500) covers 9 nights lodging during the tour, all breakfasts, three group banquet dinners, all entry fees for castles and ruins, the cost of guides, musicians, and entertainers who perform for us and a seat on our luxury bus. Tips for the tour guides and bus driver are also included.
You will be responsible to pay for your flights, lunches, six dinners, drinks, tips, any extra excursions, and, in advance before our trip starts in Llandudno, the rooms in which you will be staying before the tour begins.
A basic degree of fitness is required for our tours. For instance you will need to be able to easily walk a mile.
Arriving a day early, if at all possible, is highly encouraged. As most of you know these days, it is very common to have a very late or cancelled flight, or luggage that shows up late. Coming a day early reduces that stress. Most flights leaving the U.S. for England leave in the evening and arrive early the following morning, so most folks get very little sleep on the overnight flight. Wales and England are 6 hours ahead of Central Standard Time. The flight across the Atlantic takes 7-8 hours from the Midwest. If you can afford the time and an extra night’s lodging at a small hotel or B&B, you will not likely regret it. We can help you with some of these details later on.
THE SEPTEMBER 2023 TOUR
Monday, September 11, 2 p.m.
We will all meet at the Imperial Hotel, on The Promenade on Vaughan Street in Llandudno, North Wales at 2 p.m. Our first night together we will enjoy a banquet at our hotel which overlooks the bay! A get together as a group, with introductions to get acquainted and talk about what we would like to gain from the trip. Most of the hotels where we will be staying are rated 3-4 stars, and will include a private bathroom. Wild Wales Tours will be buying your supper this evening.
Tuesday, September 12
9 a.m. After breakfast our friendly bus driver will pick us up and we will be off to visit Conway Castle and the walled city. Lunch at Ty Hwnt y Bont, www.tuhwntirbont.co.uk, in the market town of Llanrwst. Afterwards a drive up the Llanberis Pass and onward to visit the National Slate museum in Llanberis.
Wednesday, September 13
After breakfast we can visit the castle at Caernarfon and then take the Welsh Highland Railway through Snowdonia National Park to Porthmadog a 19th century seaport town, which exported slate all over the world. Our stay here will be a hotel in Cricceth, overlooking Cardgian Bay for two nights. Tonight you are free to join others for supper at one of the fine local restaurants.
Dinner time at Royal Sportsman Hotel, Porthmadog
Thursday, September 14
A day trip along the Lleyn Peninsula to Aberdaron. A very scenic journey following the coastline for most of the day. Our trip will be relaxed and we can make group decisions where we would like to visit. Our lunch will be at a tavern overlooking the bay. Tonight after supper we will listen and meet the eighty members of Cor y Brythoniaid, one of the the top male voice choirs in the whole of Wales practice in Blaenau Ffestionig, a rare treat.
Friday, September 15
After a relaxing breakfast, we will visit the Ysgwrn in the hamlet of Trawsfynydd, the farmhouse home of the Welsh poet Hedd Wyn to visit the chair he posthumously won at the National Eisteddfod of Wales in 1917 a hundred years ago. After lunch we will visit the Cistercian Abbey at Stratta Florida, erected in the 12th century, but mostly forgotten. The burial ground of Dafydd ap Gwilym, a 14th century poet and one of the leading European poets of the middle ages. Today we will be treating you to lunch at Dylanwad Da. This evening our hotel will be overlooking Cardigan Bay in Aberystwyth. You can choose from many of the fine restaurants this evening for dinner.
Saturday, September 16
After breakfast, we will head off to the National Library of Wales. After lunch in Tregaron, we will drive across the Pryseli Hills to the walled sea side town of Tenby where will stay at our hotel for two nights overlooking the Palisades.
Sunday, September 17
After breakfast we can walk along the seashore before a short journey to visit St. David's Cathedral in the small coastal town of St. David where the patron saint of Wales built a monastery in the sixth century. Some might be interested in attending the Sunday worship at the cathedral. In the afternoon a visit to the ancient chapel of St Patrick on a remote beach nearby. An archeological dig at this site in the past two years has uncovered much information about that period when Patrick sailed from this very spot to become a missionary in Ireland. Patrick was born and schooled nearby which today is in Wales. This afternoon you will be free to walk around Tenby and relax and enjoy the fresh sea breezes.
Monday, September 18
After breakfast, maybe a stroll along the beach and then head east towards Laugharne to visit Dylan Thomas’ home and studio. After lunch we will travel to Cardiff the capital, where we will stay for two nights at the Marriott Hotel in the center of the city and visit the Welsh Senate.
Tuesday, September 19
After breakfast we will visit Caerleon, one of the most formidable Roman fortresses in the whole of Europe, and after lunch a visit to the great Cistercian Abbey of Tintern in the magnificent vale of Wye. Built in 1136, the monks performed their work here for four hundred years until it tragically came to an end with the dissolution of the monasteries in 1536 in Wales, Ireland, and England by the order of Henry VIII.
This evening Wild Wales Tours will be buying dinner at the Marriot and we will be entertained by a quartet of ladies playing Harp, accordion, keyboard and voice.
Wednesday, September 20
After breakfast, there will be a group get-together with pictures and goodbyes. Our bus driver will take you to the bus or railway station for your onward connection. The railway station is two city blocks from our downtown Marriott Hotel.
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Roman Amphitheater, Caerleon
The $3495 fee per person, based on double occupancy, (with a limited number of “single room supplements” available for an extra $500) covers 9 nights lodging during the tour, all breakfasts, three group banquet dinners, all entry fees to castles and ruins, the cost of guides, musicians, entertainers who perform for us and a seat on our smaller luxury bus.
You will be responsible to pay for your flights, lunches, six dinners, your drinks, tips, any extra excursions, and, in advance before our trip starts in Llandudno the rooms in which you will be staying. A basic degree of fitness is required for our tours. For instance you will need to be able to walk a mile.
Payments:
We will email invoices, which can be paid online with a credit card. There is an upfront deposit of $1231.67 per person ($2263.33 per couple) and 2 additional payments of $1131.67 per person ($2463.33 per couple) at 6 months out, April 11, 2023, and 3 months out, June 11, 2023. You will be invoiced for the final two payments. Payments for single supplements will be split between the two final payments.
Refunds:
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You may cancel your Wild Wales Tour for a full refund, minus a $100 processing fee, if you do so more than 4 months prior to your scheduled tour, June 12.
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If you cancel less than 4 months before your scheduled tour, you will receive full refund, minus a $100 processing fee, ONLY if your slot can be filled!
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If you cancel between 3 and 4 months prior to your scheduled tour, and your slot cannot be filled, you will receive a 50% refund.
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If you cancel less than 3 months July 12, prior to your schedule tour, and your slot cannot be filled, no refund will be given.
GETTING TO WALES!
We recommend you fly to Manchester, in England, where you will be able to catch a train to Llandudno (three hours). You could also fly to London and catch a fast train from London to Llandudno (three hours). Another suggestion we have is to fly to Dublin, spend the night and catch the fast ferry (two hours) to Wales the next morning. Jump on a train in Holyhead and you will be in Llandudno in around 1.25 hours. We will all meet at the Imperial Hotel in Llandudno Monday afternoon, September 11, 2023 at 2p.m.
Arriving a day early, is highly encouraged, if at all possible. As most of you know these days, it is very common to have a very late or cancelled flight, or luggage that shows up late. Coming a day early reduces that stress. Most flights leaving the U.S. to England leave the States in the evening and arrive early the following morning (6am-8am) so most folks get very little sleep on the overnight overseas flight. Wales and England are 6 hours ahead of us here in the Midwest. The flight across the Atlantic takes 7-8 hours from the Midwest. If you can afford the time and an extra nights lodging at a small hotel or B&B, you will not regret it. There are many trains a day leaving Manchester airport for Llandudno. We can help you with some of these details later on.
Flights and Arrivals dates:
A few things to know, the tour begins on Monday afternoon September 11th, 2023 when we meet at the hotel at 2p.m. The tour will be complete when we deliver you to the railway or airport in Cardiff on the morning of Friday September 20, 2023. You will need to be at the airport 90 minutes before your flight.
If you are flying out of Heathrow, you can catch a train from Cardiff to the Hayes and Darlington station, only a short taxi ride from Heathrow airport, rather than going to Paddington in central London. This train takes 3 hours, with one change at Reading station on the shortest route, with a single fare of GBP45 ($65). Approx.
There are also buses “National Express” that leave hourly from Cardiff to Heathrow, very affordable.
Book Clubs, Families & Groups
We do cater to book clubs and family groups who would like to customize their trip to Wales. Please contact us at wildwalestours@gmail.com to discuss your needs and travel plans.
If you would like to join us for the September 2023 tour please let us know if you are interested, there will only be twenty people on the tour. It will be on a first come basis for reserving your seat on the bus. Please email me at: wildwalestours@gmail.com or call me on my cell at 507 458 8637 if you would like to join us or have any questions or concerns.
Hywel “Taff” Roberts, Director.
Hywel “Taff” Roberts
