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Guide

Wales This Winter, Before the Levy

Cardiff's £1.30-a-night visitor levy starts on 1 April 2027. Until then, a Welsh winter break of mountains, kites, castles and whisky is a clean staycation sell.

Alicia LovedayOctober 22, 20264 min read

Checked at the source7 sources, linked

Wales is about to start charging for a night’s stay. The Senedd passed its visitor levy law on 8 July 2025, and Cardiff Council is the first to use it: from 1 April 2027, stays in the capital carry £1.30 per person, per night on most accommodation and 75p in hostels, bunkhouses and on tent pitches, according to the Welsh Government. Other councils are following more slowly. Gwynedd, home to much of Eryri, has not yet decided, and says the earliest it could start is October 2027.

The sums are small. For a couple on a three-night Cardiff city break, the levy comes to £7.80. But it marks a turning point, and it is a useful nudge: this winter is the last full season to sell Wales levy-free. Here is what Visit Wales and its travel trade team point to for the darker months.

1. Eryri in winter

Snow on the Glyderau, the Snowdon Horseshoe at dusk, empty car parks in Betws-y-Coed: Visit Wales leads its winter pages with the mountains. Winter hill walking here is serious and the weather turns fast, so most visitors should book a qualified mountain guide or keep to lower valley routes. For the less hardy, Visit Wales highlights husky rides on North Wales forest trails with Mynydd Sleddog Adventures, and a two-day mountain biking and zip-lining break around Blaenau Ffestiniog.

2. Underground and over the quarries

Zip World operates at Penrhyn Quarry in Bethesda and Llechwedd in Blaenau Ffestiniog, and Go Below runs underground climbing, zip-lining and abseiling in old North Wales mines. Both appear on Visit Wales’ list of autumn and winter activities, which is useful because they are largely weather-proof.

3. Hay Festival Winter Weekend

The Hay Festival Winter Weekend runs 26 to 29 November 2026 in Hay-on-Wye, on the edge of Bannau Brycheiniog National Park. The festival promises a Christmas lights switch-on in the Market Square, mulled wine, choirs and candle-lit storytelling. Nation.Cymru reports that this year’s programme includes Kate Mosse, David Olusoga and Humza Yousaf, with events in the grounds of Hay Castle.

4. Red kites at three o’clock

At Gigrin Red Kite Feeding Centre near Rhayader in Mid Wales, feeding takes place at 15:00 on selected days throughout the year, according to Visit Wales, with weekend hours through December. Pair it with a drive into the Elan Valley.

5. Distillery tours

Welsh whisky is a winter natural. Penderyn runs three distilleries: at Penderyn near Aberdare, at the Copperworks in Swansea and on Lloyd Street in Llandudno. Visit Wales also lists Aber Falls Distillery near Llanfairfechan, Hensol Castle Distillery in the Vale of Glamorgan, In the Welsh Wind near Cardigan, and Halen Môn’s behind-the-scenes sea salt tour on Anglesey.

6. A destination dinner

Visit Wales’ winter pages single out Ynyshir Restaurant & Rooms at Eglwys Fach near Machynlleth and The Henry Robertson restaurant at Palé Hall in North Wales. Both are book-the-room, stay-for-dinner propositions.

7. Castles without the crowds

Cadw sites stay open through the winter, with seasonal hours. The travel trade fact sheet lists Harlech, Rhuddlan, Chepstow, Kidwelly, Caerphilly, Carreg Cennen, Tintern Abbey and the Bishop’s Palace at St Davids. In the capital, Cardiff Castle covers more than 2,000 years of history.

8. Free museums for the wet days

All seven sites of Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales are free to enter and open in every season, including National Museum Cardiff, the National Waterfront Museum in Swansea, the National Roman Legion Museum at Caerleon and the National Wool Museum near Llandysul. Some exhibitions and events carry a charge.

9. Christmas, Welsh-style

In Cardiff, the Christmas market runs through November and December, Winter Wonderland takes over the lawns outside City Hall with an ice rink and big wheel, and Christmas at Bute Park is a one-mile light trail. Elsewhere, Visit Wales points to Luminate Wales at Margam Park, Swansea Waterfront Winterland, and Christmas at Erddig and Powis Castle, both National Trust.

Gardens are worth a winter look too: Bodnant Garden in the Conwy Valley is open all year, and at Plas Newydd on Anglesey the house opens at weekends from November to February.

Getting there

Cardiff and Swansea are on the main line from London Paddington, and North Wales is reached via Chester and the coast line to Llandudno Junction and Bangor. For Eryri, Mid Wales and the distilleries, a car makes the trip far easier, particularly in winter when rural bus timetables thin out.

Plan it

Book before April: stays in Cardiff from 1 April 2027 attract the levy. Check other councils before booking later in 2027; registration for accommodation providers opened in autumn 2026.
Pick a region: North Wales (Eryri, Zip World, Bodnant, Llandudno) and Mid Wales (red kites, Elan Valley, Ynyshir) each fill a long weekend. Cardiff works as a two-night add-on.
Check winter hours: many attractions open on selected days only from November to March.
Pack for the hills: waterproofs, proper boots and a head torch. Daylight is short in December.

Sources

Where to stay near Eryri

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Alicia Loveday Managing Editor

Alicia Loveday is Managing Editor at Not An Atlas, writing from Calgary, Alberta, amid a little creative chaos: a laptop, an iced coffee and about a hundred ideas she hasn't had time to bring to life yet. She became a mom young and spent her twenties raising two kids, so she was 30 before she saw the ocean for the first time, in Aruba. Gliding through that clear Caribbean water on a Seabob felt like freedom, and she's been making up for lost time ever since. She always takes the window seat (she waited 30 years for the view), never travels without the feather pillow she's had since childhood (they're a package deal), and sizes up a new place with a local cocktail and some serious people-watching. She covers fashion, culture, creativity and the people who shape the places we visit. Friends say creative, fearless and unapologetic. Her mum says stubborn, and she'd be right. Next stop: Japan.

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