How to get to Snowdonia by public transport

Snowdonia, known as Eryri, is one of the most beautiful and popular national parks in the UK. However, getting there by car can feel like a bit of a struggle. With car parks getting full quick in the summer months and plenty of fines for parking on the roads around the trails, getting to Snowdonia by public transport is becoming a better and more sustainable way to explore this amazing area.

As someone who used to live around Snowdonia and visits the area fairly regularly, here’s how to get to Snowdonia by public transport.

Trains

One of the most popular ways to explore the UK is by train. The closest major train station to Snowdonia is Bangor train station. This tiny city is home to the local university, so there are plenty of places to stay around here, and a ton of cheap restaurants and bars.

Trains from Holyhead, Chester, Manchester, Birmingham, and London all come into Bangor. Sometimes, you need to change at Chester, Llandudno, or Crewe, but there are plenty of options for getting to this station.

There are also regional trains that go into Betws-y-coed train station in the east of the national park across into Blaenau Ffestiniog in the south of the park. Betws-y-coed is a beautiful, quintessential hiking town with loads of outdoor shops and hotels, but it’s a little pricey. The trains into this station aren’t as regular, and getting to Betws-y-coed from other parts of the country is pretty difficult using public transport.

The reverse of the Betws-y-coed regional train also runs up to Llandudno and Deganwy on the North Welsh coast. This is a major tourist town with great beaches, heritage hotels, and delicious restaurants, so it’s another good base. You can get direct trains to Llandudno from Manchester and Chester.

For south Snowdonia adventures, you can stay in Aberystwyth and get regional trains to Machynlleth which is the southern tip of the national park. Direct trains come from Birmingham International via Shrewsbury and Welshpool.

Buses

Once you hit Bangor train station, you’ll need to jump on a bus to Snowdonia (Eryri). Most people head to Llanberis as a starting point for the national park, as this is where the main path up Mount Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) lies. From Bangor bus station, you can get the S2 bus to Llanberis, which departs every two hours and takes about an hour in total. This goes direct, otherwise, you may have to change buses in Caernarfon.

If you want to head to the picturesque Ogwen Valley, which is where Tryfan is located, and the National Outdoor Centre in Capel Curig, you can board the T10 bus, which takes around 30-40 minutes, depending on where you stop in the valley. Again, this bus only runs every two hours, so make a note of the return bus times and make sure you’re at the stop with plenty of time to spare.

If you’re looking to explore south Snowdonia, like Ffestiniog and the Coed y Brenin Forest Park, and the beaches of the West Coast like Porthmadog and Criccieth, you can board the T2 TrawsCymru bus route that runs from Bangor to Aberystwyth on the coast of Mid-Wales. The journey time from Bangor to Dolgellau in south Snowdonia takes around two and a half hours, and departs every two hours.

Staying in Aberystwyth is another option if you’re visiting south Snowdonia, as the reverse of this bus runs every two hours, and you can be in Machynlleth, right in the south of the park, within 45 minutes on the bus or 35 minutes by local train.

Ferries

If you’re coming across the water from Ireland, you can use Omio to book your ferry into Holyhead. From the port, make your way to Holyhead station, and you can get the train to either Bangor or Llandudno Junction, where you can switch to a bus into the national park or a regional train.

Nearest Airports

The nearest commercial airports to Snowdonia are Liverpool John Lennon and Manchester International Airport. If you’re coming from Manchester Airport, there is a direct train to Llandudno and Llandudno Junction, where you can base yourself, or switch onto the regional train to Betws-y-coed.

If you’re flying into Liverpool John Lennon, you need to get the short bus to Liverpool South Parkway train station and then jump on the train to Chester. Here, you can swap onto the North Wales line, which stops at Llandudno Junction and Bangor.