The Ultimate South Wales Road Trip

Last Updated on 14th January 2024

This post about the ultimate one-week South Wales road trip contains mentions of previously gifted press experiences with Visit Cardiff and Visit Swansea Bay and affiliate links. All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own, please see my disclaimer for more.

The Ultimate Guide Of The Best Things To Do On A South Wales Road Trip

After our brief North Wales adventure a few weeks prior, I couldn’t wait to head back to the country and explore the south in our beloved self-converted campervan.

While I’m still very much of the belief that road trips are better in places such as New Zealand and Australia, since we converted our campervan back in May and began exploring the UK in our homemade four-wheel van, I can’t deny that we’re blessed with some truly remarkable road trip destinations in the UK and our time in Wales only cemented that fact even further.

You could easily spend weeks at a time exploring South Wales, but we spent just over a week traversing around places such as Cardiff, Swansea, Pembrokeshire and more.

In today’s post, I’ll be giving you a detailed rundown of our ultimate one-week South Wales road trip itinerary, including a full map route, the best things to see and do in South Wales and more!

The best things to do on a one-week South Wales road trip

The best things to do on a South Wales road trip

We began our trip down to South Wales in Bath, Castle Combe and Bristol as they’re not too far from the Welsh border and we wanted to visit Bath and Castle Combe in particular.

Once we’d crossed the border, however, and officially began our 1-week South Wales road trip, our adventure started in the capital city of Cardiff…

Day 1 of our South Wales road trip – Cardiff

The capital city of Wales is a place that I’ve wanted to visit for a while now and even though my expectations weren’t super high before visiting as I’d heard mixed things about Cardiff, after spending just a couple of hours there, I was pleasantly surprised to discover just how much I liked it.

While in Cardiff, we worked with the Visit Cardiff tourism board who very kindly provided us with entrance tickets to Cardiff Castle and a Hop on Hop off bus tour around the city. I’ve already written about Cardiff Castle in great detail and it’s safe to say that I loved it; the best castle in the UK in my opinion!

The Tootbus Cardiff Discovery Hop-on Hop-off tour of the city that we embarked on was also amazing and it was a great way to see the city in a relatively short space of time; I’d highly recommend taking a bus tour around Cardiff if you want to learn more about the history of the city and see all of Cardiff’s top sights and attractions!

Cardiff Castle

As I mentioned above, I loved Cardiff Castle I think it’s one of the best to see/do on a South Wales trip.

You can wander around the castle grounds for free, but there is ticketed entrance to go inside any of the castle buildings, including the wartime tunnels, the Norman Keep and the Castle Apartments.

Find it: Castle St, Cardiff CF10 3RB.

Wales Millennium Centre

The Wales Millennium Centre is known as the “home for the arts in Wales” and while we didn’t go inside during our trip to Cardiff, we did drive directly past it on our bus tour of the city.

There are dozens of things to watch inside the Wales Millennium Centre, including several musical and theatre performances, as well as various comedy shows and other art shows and events.

The outside of the building itself is also a wonder to marvel at and the huge lettering that wraps around the building looks mightily impressive when you’re up close and personal.

Find it: Bute Pl, Cardiff CF10 5AL.

University buildings

While seeing Cardiff’s university buildings seems like an odd thing to recommend doing on a 1 week South Wales road trip when our tour bus was driving through the university area of the city, it instantly reminded me of the uni buildings in Washington D.C. and I loved it.

Eg is so unique and truly beautiful and they all make for a great photo opportunity as they’re so impressive and grand.

Cardiff Bay

We didn’t spend too much time in Cardiff Bay as we were on a relatively strict schedule, but we did cruise past it on our bus tour and from what we could see, it seems like a beautiful part of the city that’s well worth a little visit.

Caerphilly Castle

We only spent a brief time in Caerphilly as I didn’t feel like there were a lot of things to do, but we did make sure to have a little wander around the castle grounds from the outside.

Unfortunately, as we arrived in Caerphilly late in the evening, the castle was closed by the time we got there, but even though we didn’t manage to see inside the castle walls, we did enjoy admiring the impressive fortress from the outside and it’s certainly worth seeing while in South Wales.

It feels like a very odd place to have a castle as it’s literally in the middle of the town centre, but I think that just makes it even cooler to know that it was there long before the likes of Tesco Express and Wetherspoons popped up.

Find it: Castle St, Caerphilly CF83 1JD.

Day 2 of our South Wales road trip – Barry

Barry was one of the places in South Wales that I was most eager to visit and that’s mainly due to my obsession with the TV show Gavin and Stacey. I’ve been a huge fan of the show ever since it first aired back in 2007 (I can’t believe it’s been that long!) and when we started planning our trip to South Wales, I knew that I had to add a stop in Barry to our road trip itinerary.

Barry Island

Barry Island itself isn’t all that you don’t need to spend ages there; a couple of hours will probably be more than enough time to wander around the town.

We were incredibly lucky to be blessed with blue skies and sunshine on our visit to Barry as most of our Wales trip was very grey and overcast and it rained in most places that we went, so I was really glad that we got to see the island in all its glory on a lovely day.

Stacey’s House

If you’re not a fan of Gavin and Stacey, you probably won’t want to spend much time in Barry at all as there aren’t tonnes to do there, but if you are a fan like me, you’ll enjoy visiting all the top filming locations from the iconic British series.

Stacey’s House is something that I wanted to see while we were there and while you obviously can’t go inside as it’s someone’s actual house, I did enjoy getting a sneak peek of it from the outside!

Find it: 47 Trinity St, Barry CF62 7EW.

Marco’s Cafe – South Wales road trip

Marco’s Cafe is another iconic location from Gavin and Stacey but it’s also actually worth a visit even if you’re not a fan of the show.

Marco’s operates as an actual cafe and inside you’ll find a plethora of food options such as paninis, sandwiches, chips, ice cream, slushies, hot beverages and more. Even though we visited in mid-October, as it was such a nice day, there were many many people were enjoying a warm drink and a spot of lunch.

Find it: Promenade, Barry CF62 5TQ.

Amusements

Going to the amusements is an integral part of any trip to the seaside and Barry Island has its very own offering of cheesy slot machines and tricky arcade games.

There’s also a huge section inside filled with Gavin and Stacey memorabilia if you fancy taking home a souvenir from your trip.

Barry beach

Barry Beach is an absolutely beautiful beach in South Wales and while it was remarkably quiet when we were there due to the time of year, I imagine that it gets positively teeming with visitors and holidaymakers in the summer months.

Days 3-5 of our South Wales road trip – Swansea/Swansea Bay

Swansea/Swansea Bay - South Wales road trip

I’ve already written about all the best things to do in Swansea Bay in a huge guide, plus a post dedicated to all the best places to eat in Swansea, but I wanted to include a few of my top recommendations of things to do in the area in this post as no South Wales road trip would be complete without spending a couple of days in Swansea Bay, Gower and Mumbles.

Rhossili Bay

Rhossili Bay is somewhere you need to have on your South Wales road trip itinerary as it’s such a beautiful part of Swansea Bay and Gower.

The dramatic landscape at Rhossili rivals some of the most epic coastlines in Britain and even though we visited on a very cold and blustery day, it made the already-exciting views even more extraordinary.

Three Cliffs Bay

Three Cliffs Bay was undoubtedly one of my favourite things we saw in Swansea Bay and I think it’s one of the best beaches I’ve been to in the UK.

The sand here seemed to sprawl on for miles and the rugged cliffs paired with the stormy sea made for a truly remarkable sight. I’d highly recommend taking the scenic coastal walk to Three Cliffs Bay Beach if you’re in this part of Wales.

Mumbles

The Mumbles sits pretty much right on Swansea Bay itself and it cannot be missed if you’re driving along the coast to or from Swansea.

You’ll find some great places to eat here as there are so many adorable cafes and archaic pubs serving up some proper pub grub. Be sure to grab a delicious ice cream from Joe’s Ice Cream Parlour and pay a visit to Oystermouth Castle in the summer months for the chance to step back in time.

Langland Bay

We enjoyed Langland Bay so much when we were in Swansea Bay that we ended up visiting it twice! We also ate at Langland Brasserie on one of our nights in the area in collaboration with Visit Swansea Bay and it was one of the best meals we had on our entire South Wales road trip!

The coastline here is as dramatic as ever and the coastal walk from Langland Bay to Caswell Bay Beach is well worth doing, even in the windy weather as it makes everything look even more fantastic and mysterious.

Find it: 54 Langland Bay Rd, Newton, Swansea SA3 4QP.

Arthur’s Stone

I was a bit sceptical about visiting what is essentially a very large rock, but once we’d parked up and made our way across the striking Gower AONB and saw the stone for the first time, I was pretty surprised to discover that it was much cooler than upon first inspection.

Find it: Swansea SA3 1AE.

Bonus things to do in Swansea Bay – check out my full guide here.

Caswell Bay
Oxwich Bay
Bracelet Bay
Oystermouth Castle
Worm’s head

Laugharne Castle

After we’d finished up our trip with Visit Swansea Bay, we got back on the road in our campervan and made our way towards Pembrokeshire.

However, just before we arrived at the national park, we made a quick stop at Laugharne Castle which wasn’t quite as grand or impressive as Cardiff Castle or Caerphilly Castle in my opinion, I’m still glad that we made a slight detour so we could have a quick look around it.

Find it: King St, Laugharne, Carmarthen SA33 4SF.

Days 5-7 of our South Wales road trip – Pembrokeshire

Pembrokeshire Coast National Park is probably one of the most iconic places to visit in Wales and so I knew that I wanted to spend some time there exploring some of its many awesome sights.

Tenby

The first place that we stopped in Pembrokeshire was a seaside place that I’d heard so much about and I was incredibly eager to visit; Tenby.

This adorable seaside town is one of the most beloved places in the whole of Wales and after just a few short hours there, it was clear to see why.

As we were driving into Pembrokeshire, it was raining so much, but by the time we reached Tenby, the sun decided to make an appearance for a little while and it made everything look even more beautiful.

I was surprised to see that the beach in Tenby was pretty busy considering it was mid-October and even though the sun was shining for a brief time, it was still very cold.

Matt’s family who live in Swansea recommended a fish and chip shop called D Fecci & Sons and as our arrival in Tenby was very conveniently timed over lunchtime, we headed there almost immediately to try out these supposedly famous fish and chips. They weren’t necessarily the best fish and chips I’ve ever eaten but they were more than good enough and the substantial portion more than filled us up for an afternoon of exploring!

Carew Castle – 1 week South Wales road trip

We seemed to have pretty bad timing when it came to visiting the many castles in Wales and our untimely visit to Carew Castle was no exception as it had already closed by the time we got there.

We did spend a little while walking around the external grounds of the castle and I was pretty impressed with the fortress as it looked like something out of a period drama or an epic Game of Thrones location.

Find it: Castle Ln, Carew, Tenby SA70 8SL.

Pembroke Castle

Next up on our one-week South Wales road trip itinerary was Pembroke Castle but by the time we arrived there, we felt a bit castled out so we decided to just park up for a couple of minutes to admire it from the outside before heading back on the road again to our next destination.

Find it: Pembroke SA71 4LA.

Broad Haven

Broad Haven is a pretty tiny seaside village nestled in the coastal heart of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park and we managed to time our visit with sunset so the beach looked magical when we arrived.

While we didn’t fancy a dip in the cold water, a few brave souls were attempting to surf and bodyboard and while they looked like they were having great fun, I was more than happy to watch them from the cosy confines of the beach!

Little Haven – one-week South Wales road trip

Just down the road from Broad Haven is Little Haven; another adorable seaside village with not much to do apart from enjoying a bite to eat in the quaint tearooms or grabbing a pint at The Swan Inn or The Castle.

We spent the night in a little layby on top of a small cliff in Little Haven in our campervan and it was probably the most gorgeous freedom camping spot we’ve spent the night in during our trips to Wales!

Find the camping spot.

St Davids

St Davids is another place that I was excited to visit on our trip to Wales and even though it’s a remarkably tiny cathedral city (it’s the smallest city in Britain with a population of just 1,600 people!), it still packs a punch when it comes to beautiful architecture and adorable cafes and chocolate shops.

Speaking of chocolate shops, as soon as we walked past Chapel Chocolates, I knew we had to pop in and pick up a selection of their many chocolate truffles. The candied orange peel was my favourite, but the rest were all utterly delicious too.

It’s a tiny little shop in St Davids and the staff aren’t the friendliest, but the yummy chocolates more than made up for it and I’d go back again just to sate my sweet tooth!

Address: The Pebbles, St Davids, Haverfordwest SA62 6RD.

St Davids The Ultimate Guide Of The Best Things To Do On A South Wales Road Trip

Of course, the most iconic part of St Davids is the huge cathedral that sits proudly in the middle of the “city”. With the original church dating back to the 6th century, this beautiful piece of architecture cannot be missed when visiting St Davids and if you have time, it’s certainly worth taking a little tour around the inside; it’s much bigger than you’d think!

Address: The Pebbles, St Davids, Haverfordwest SA62 6RD.

Porthgain

Porthgain was the penultimate place that we stopped on our way back up north and I’m so glad we made the slight detour to go there as even though it’s a very tiny place, its rugged coastal landscape makes it more than worth a little look.

There are huge stone walls that resemble something like a prison, but these ruins are part of the harbour and they’re old brick hoppers that were used as storage before the goods were shipped off.

There’s also a small coastal path that you can take to reach a little clifftop that offers breathtaking views out to sea and back to the small harbour below.

Newport Pembrokeshire

We only made a very brief stop in Newport Pembrokeshire as it was starting to get late and we still had over five hours to drive to get back home to York.

The weather was also incredibly overcast by this point so we didn’t fancy spending too long here anyway, but we did park up next to the Newport Boat Club for a little while to have a look over the River Nevern before heading on our way again.

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Are you looking forward to a South Wales road trip? Do you have any more awesome things to do in South Wales to add to this post? Let me know in the comments or on Instagram at @imjustagirl_16.

The Ultimate South Wales Road Trip – One Week Itinerary