Days out in the South Wales Area

thebaroness

Hello,

I live in cardiff and my boyfriend and I have somehow managed to get a whole week off work around valentines day. We're not looking for a proper holiday as such but still want to make the most of the time and do lots of little things and days out.

Neither of us drive so transport is an issue. We'd need places in cardiff or places that are easy to get to by train or bus.

So far we're planning:

1 night in the Hilton (thanks to the january sale they had)
Bristol Zoo
Going to see the Ed Byrne (Comedian) in St. David's Hall

I'm thinking as we're close to the Bay we'll probably go bowling and maybe go to the Doctor Who Exhibition.

I'm open to suggestions. Does anyone have any ideas?

ecsb

Why not go on the tourist board website?

thebaroness

I will, thanks ecsb. I'd still love to hear people's ideas and recommendations because that's the one thing the tourist board can't give me. They'll promote everything whether it's good or not.

devilgas

without knowing what floats your boat, immediate things i can think of are: cardiff museum, the castle, millenium stadium visit (just not on saturday 14th!), dry slope skiing / boarding, st fagans, duffryn gardens (not sure if it's open this early in the season). further afield (not sure on public transport), you've got big pit, dan-yr-ogof showcaves, mumbles, wookey hole, cheddar gorge, go karting at llandow, quad biking at taff valley buggy trails (unlikely to be any public transport along that lane, though i may be wrong), tenby.

hth

456789

Would recommend Museum and Castle

lisa76

Not sure how you get to St Fagans (free entry) on a bus, but that's well worth a day visit. The Museum is great - also free entry. The castle is nice.
If you can hire some bikes you could take a ride up the taff trail and ride to Castell Coch.
I wouldn't recommend the open top bus tour - apparantly it is very expensive and quite short.
There is a lot to do down the Bay, so if you go down for Dr Who, you can then go bowling, to the cinema, walk around the Bay.
You'll have a lovely time!

TJ27

St Fagans is indeed worth a visit. The Taff Trail is great, but I'm biased because I'm a cyclist and use it almost daily. You might be able to cycle up the Ely Trail to St Fagans now but I'm not sure.

Agree about the open top bus. I did it a few months ago because the kids persuaded me. I wondered why I had spent thirty quid or thereabouts to have a tour of the city where I've lived for forty years. I knew exactly what the guide was going to say too. Before we got to the coal exchange I just knew he was going to amaze everybody by saying, "This is where the first million pound cheque was written."

I think the Dr Who exhibition is good, but there's not really that much to it and it's quite expensive. Not very good value for money in my opinion.

My favourite day out at the moment is to get the train to the bay, walk across the barrage, have lunch or a few drinks in El Puerto, then return on the water bus.

I've been to the museum a few times recently too. It's far better than I remember it being when I was a kid. Well worth a visit.

Jonbvn

lisa76 wrote: »

Not sure how you get to St Fagans (free entry) on a bus, but that's well worth a day visit.

The 32 bus goes to St. Fagans from the city centre/bus station. For times check out www.cardiffbus.co.uk

If you go to St. Fagans I would recommend the Plymouth Arms for lunch/dinner. Excellent food, but a bit pricey.