# Considering Wales



## pfc (Jul 28, 2009)

I am thinking about going to Wales next summer and have been looking over the resort reviews on tripadvisor.com as well as the RCI website.  

Trying to find a resort to exchange into has been surreal.  First, RCI's outstanding mapping abilities place some of of the resorts in the Indian Ocean.  In other instances RCI merely lists the resorts with absolutely no additional information.  (Consider that for inspiring trust!)  Finally, the reviews that are supplied are either old, dating back three or four years, or are in many instances quite negative.

Is there anyone who has been to Wales recently and who can provide current information about the resorts there?  Also what airports have you flown into? To get to Cardiff from the US, will require several plane changes; there are no direct flights that I have found.  And from the paucity of information about the area, I am surmising that Wales is not exactly a top travel destination.  Can someone offer an explanation for this?

Looking forward to your replies.


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## Keitht (Jul 28, 2009)

You'd be wrong to assume that Wales isn't a top travel destination, at least as far as Brits are concerned.  Whether any of the resorts in Wales fit the bill for you really depends on what you are looking for in a holiday.  Most, if not all, the resorts are in very rural areas so nightlife isn't a big selling point.  Walking and history are the biggies for Wales.
Assuming you would be flying in to one of the London airports you really do need to have your own transport both to get to the resorts and to get the most out of the resorts.  Remember that distances are generally much smaller in the UK so internal flights are more the exception than the norm.  They certainly aren't worth considering for the trip to Wales.
London Heathrow to Cardiff, for example, is only 140 miles i.e 2 hours by car as it's motorway door to door.


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## Laurie (Jul 28, 2009)

2 summers ago (June) we spent a week at St. Davids Vacation Club on the Pembrokeshire coast - and absolutely loved it! (Sorry, haven't gotten around to writing it up yet - one of these days...)  The resort itself is somewhat basic, but the location was outstanding and I highly recommend it. In fact I would have enjoyed a second consecutive week there. 

The highlights of the area are the dramatic scenery of the coastal path for walking (we saw wild horses), other parts of the coast you can drive to, and a little island nearby where we saw hundreds or thousands of nesting puffins (Skomer) - plus the in-town location itself (walk to restaurants and pubs, and a medieval cathedral which hosts an annual choral festival), and the Welsh countryside generally.

We drove there from near Glascow Scotland (with an overnight en route - tho we could have made it in 1 day), and then flew out of Bristol because flights were plentiful to our next destination, though Cardiff would have been maybe an hour closer. Your drive time from St. Davids to/from Bristol would be maybe 4 hours? (I can't recall exactly.) Roads within Pembrokeshire are on the slow side, but as Keith says once on the major roads you can make good time. You might also check flights to Manchester (in addition to London) as well.


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## regatta333 (Jul 28, 2009)

Two years ago, we did an exchange through DAE into Pantglas Hall Owners Club, which is in a rural, but pretty central, location.  We flew into Bristol airport from Dublin and drove from there.  You should definitely give DAE a try for Wales.


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## Simoncc (Jul 29, 2009)

pfc said:


> In other instances RCI merely lists the resorts with absolutely no additional information.  (Consider that for inspiring trust!)
> Looking forward to your replies.



To improve availability in the UK (and other parts of Europe) RCI has added a series of holiday properties from its sister companies such as English/Welsh/Scottish Country Cottages. These are typically privately owned single properties and therefore there isn't any resort info as such.

As with Regatta333, I used DAE to exchange into a Welsh resort - Seasons Laugharne Park (an average resort in a wonderful location). If you want a rural based holiday then South Wales certainly fits the bill - personally I'd give most of North Wales a miss but I'm sure lots of Snowdonia fans will disagree.


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## grest (Jul 29, 2009)

We loved our visit to Wales, and hope to plan another trip there in a couple of years.  Having said that, like others I would advise that this is more of a historic and pastoral vacation, very interesting and peaceful.  If this is your cup of tea, you're in the right place.
Connie


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## Keitht (Jul 29, 2009)

Simoncc said:


> If you want a rural based holiday then South Wales certainly fits the bill - personally I'd give most of North Wales a miss but I'm sure lots of Snowdonia fans will disagree.



Resorts in South Wales have the benefit of being within comparatively easy driving distance of a decent size city such as Cardiff or Swansea so there are alternatives in the event of poor weather.  West Wales also has a spectacularly scenic coastline.
The North Wales coast towns tend to be aimed more at the lower end of the tourist market (I'm being polite), but Snowdonia, Anglesey and mid-Wales all have much to commend them.


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## Laurie (Jul 29, 2009)

regatta333 said:


> We flew into Bristol airport from Dublin and drove from there.


We also flew from Bristol to Dublin (on RyanAir) and used AerLingus for our over-the-pond flights. 

To the OP, that might be your best bet, Boston seems to be one of their US hub cities and at the time they were the lowest cost transAtlantic flights we could find. Then RyanAir has low-cost flights between Bristol and Dublin, if AerLingus doesn't fly to Bristol.


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## Keitht (Jul 29, 2009)

If you plan to use Ryanair read their terms & conditions very, very carefully.  They are becoming (in)famous for finding new ways to part the traveller from their money.  What seem to be very low prices may not actually be so when the 'extras' are added in.  Also, Ryanair are doing away with check-in desks and expect everybody to check in on-line.  That may not be practical if you are making a connecting flight.


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