Wales Tours & Holidays

UNITED KINGDOM

Australia: No - Not required

Belgium: No - Not required

Canada: No - Not required

Germany: No - Not required

Ireland: No - Not required

Netherlands: No - Not required

New Zealand: No - Not required

South Africa: Yes - in advance

Switzerland: No - Not required

UK: No - Not required

USA: No - Not required

The best time to travel to Wales is between late spring and early autumn (May to September). You'll see more of the sun and get a little less rain which is ideal for enjoying the Pembrokeshire Coast or hitting the trails in Snowdonia National Park.

Wales is well connected to the UK, Ireland and the rest of Europe via a number of handy options, including flights, ferries and public transport.

Tipping isn’t customary in Wales, but you’re welcome to round up the bill or leave some spare change if you’re happy with a service.

This is common in cafes, restaurants, bars and taxis. It's never usually more than 10% of the bill.

Some restaurants add a service charge of 10% or 12.5% to the bill, so there’s no need to tip in this case.

For taxis, it’s quite normal to round up the fare to the nearest pound.

• “Alright?” = Hello, how are you?

• “Cwtch” = a hug/cuddle 
• “Where you to?” = Where are you?
• “Lush” =  (from luscious) meaning very nice, amazing, gorgeous 
• “Tamping” = a term used to describe your anger or frustration at something 
• “Drive” = bus or taxi driver, e.g. when you get off the bus it’s common to say “Cheers, drive”
• “Chopsing” = arguing or getting mouthy 
• “What’s occurin’?” a term meaning “Hello, what’s happening?” that was popularised in BBC sitcom Gavin and Stacey 
• “I’m not being funny” = a term used before someone says something serious and perhaps offensive

You’ll have reliable Wi-Fi and mobile data in Wales’ cities, towns and villages.

Internet access can be patchy in rural and remote areas such as Snowdonia National Park.

You’ll have mobile coverage across most of Wales, except for some rural and remote areas.

Remember to activate global roaming with your provider if you’re travelling from overseas and wish to use your mobile while travelling.

Major credit cards are widely accepted in shops and hotels in the UK.

Smaller shops may not accept credit cards and it’s never a bad idea to carry some cash for smaller purchases like a coffee or if you’re splitting bills with your group.

ATMs are called cash machines or cashpoints in the UK.

You’ll see plenty of them around on main streets and shopping centres.

You can use Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, Plus, Amex and Cirrus at most Welsh cash machines, as well as international bank cash machines in big cities like Cardiff and Swansea.

Wales is an LGBTQI+ friendly destination and there are many social meeting places for the LGBTQI+ in major cities like Cardiff.

For more detailed and up-to-date advice, we recommend visiting Equaldex or Smartraveller before you travel.

Absolutely. All passengers travelling with Intrepid are required to purchase travel insurance before the start of their trip. Your travel insurance details will be recorded by your leader on the first day of the trip. Due to the varying nature, availability and cost of health care around the world, travel insurance is very much an essential and necessary part of every journey.

For more information on insurance, please go to: Travel Insurance

We are committed to making travel widely accessible, regardless of ability or disability. We do our best to help you see the world, regardless of physical or mental limitations. 

We are always happy to talk to travellers with disabilities and see if we can help guide them toward the most suitable itinerary for their needs and, where possible, make reasonable adjustments to our itineraries.