Anglesey
Luxury Holiday Homes in Snowdonia
3 properties found
Our Snowdonia holiday cottages
Snowdonia holiday cottages from Birch Stays: 3 homes inside Eryri National Park, sleeping from 8 to 12 guests. The Old Tearoom is in Trefriw, a village in the Conwy Valley ten minutes from Betws-y-Coed. Capel Salem is a converted chapel in Blaenau Ffestiniog, the slate town in the middle of the mountains. Snowdonia Retreat is a bungalow with a hot tub in Beddgelert, seven minutes from the Rhyd Ddu path up Snowdon. All three are pet friendly, all have walks from the door, and you book directly with us. These are holiday cottages in Snowdonia National Park itself, not on its edge.
Why choose Snowdonia holiday cottages over the coast
Snowdonia (Eryri) is 823 square miles of national park, with Snowdon in the middle and quieter ranges all round it. Of all the cottages in North Wales, Snowdonia's suit walkers best, along with families who want waterfalls and slate caverns rather than beaches, and groups who'd rather finish the day by a log burner than a promenade.
They don't suit anyone who wants the sea on foot. For that, Anglesey and the Llyn Peninsula are the coasts, and both are on the North Wales page.
The Conwy Valley and Betws-y-Coed
The Conwy Valley runs south from Conwy into the national park, with Betws-y-Coed at its head. Betws-y-Coed is the busiest village in Snowdonia. There are cafés round the old station, a river to paddle in, outdoor shops, and the railway on the Conwy Valley line. It has the convenience, and it gets the coaches.
Trefriw, ten minutes north up the valley, is the quieter version. The Old Tearoom sits in the village with an enclosed garden, a log burner, a fire pit and a ground-floor bedroom and shower. It sleeps 12 guests across six bedrooms, takes dogs, and has walks starting from the front door. If you want holiday cottages near Betws-y-Coed without the crowds, this is the one. Of our Betws-y-Coed cottages, it's the one with the garden and the log burner.
Blaenau Ffestiniog and the slate country
Blaenau Ffestiniog is the slate town in the middle of the park, surrounded by the quarries that once roofed half the world. It's not pretty in the postcard sense, and people who stay here like it for that. Zip World's caverns and Go Below's underground trips are on the edge of town, and the Ffestiniog Railway runs down from here to the sea at Porthmadog.
Capel Salem is a converted chapel in the town, sleeping 12 guests across five bedrooms, with a full-size pool table, a snug and private parking for two cars. All its bedrooms are upstairs. It's an easy drive to Beddgelert, Portmeirion and Harlech, and to the quieter southern mountains that most visitors skip.
Beddgelert and the quiet side of Snowdon
Beddgelert is the prettiest village in the park. Stone cottages where two rivers meet, Gelert's grave by the water, and the Aberglaslyn Pass on the doorstep. The Welsh Highland Railway stops in the village, and Sygun copper mine is just up the road.
Snowdonia Retreat is on the edge of the village. It sleeps 8 guests across four bedrooms, two of them king bedrooms with en-suite walk-in showers, and it's a bungalow with almost step-free access. There's a private hot tub in the garden, parking for two large cars or three small ones, and dogs are welcome. The Rhyd Ddu path, the quietest way up Snowdon, starts seven minutes up the road.
Trefriw, ten minutes north up the valley, is the quieter version. The Old Tearoom sits in the village with an enclosed garden, a log burner, a fire pit and a ground-floor bedroom and shower. It sleeps 12 guests across six bedrooms, takes dogs, and has walks starting from the front door. If you want holiday cottages near Betws-y-Coed without the crowds, this is the one. Of our Betws-y-Coed cottages, it's the one with the garden and the log burner.
Walks
Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) has six main paths. The Llanberis path is the easiest and the busiest; the Pyg Track and Miners' Track are the classic pair; the Rhyd Ddu path is the quiet one. Crib Goch is a scramble with real exposure and not one to try because someone saw a photo. Pen-y-Pass car park has to be booked in advance, and the Sherpa'r Wyddfa bus links the trailheads.
If you'd rather not queue for a mountain, Cwm Idwal in the Ogwen Valley is an easy loop round a glacial lake under the cliffs. Moel Siabod, near Capel Curig, is the gentler summit with a little optional scrambling at the top. Cnicht, the "Welsh Matterhorn", is a short, steep climb with a big view, and quieter than all of them.
From The Old Tearoom, a 3.8-mile walk passes the Fairy Falls on the way up to Llyn Geirionydd and the Taliesin monument, then drops back down to the village pub. From Snowdonia Retreat, the riverside path through the Aberglaslyn Pass is the low-level walk everyone remembers, and Llyn Dinas is a short walk further up the valley. The best short walks in North Wales has more.
Cafés, pubs and restaurants
Betws-y-Coed and Llanberis have the most cafés and pubs, and both get busy at weekends. Trefriw has a pub at the bottom of the walk, and Blaenau has cafés and a supermarket in town. For a dinner worth the drive, Conwy is about 20 minutes from Trefriw, and Portmeirion's hotel restaurant is 25 minutes from Blaenau. See the best places to eat in North Wales.
Do the big shop at Llandudno Junction on the way to Trefriw, or at Porthmadog for Blaenau.
Things to do in Snowdonia
- Snowdon by train up and walk down, on a clear day; the train is expensive and gives you about half an hour at the top
- Cwm Idwal for the best scenery for the least effort
- Falls and the Fairy Glen near Betws-y-Coed
- Zip World, from the fastest zip line to the underground trampolines in the Llechwedd caverns
- Go Below, the guided trips through old slate mines, for the braver half of the group
- The Ffestiniog Railway from Blaenau down to Porthmadog
- Beddgelert, the prettiest village in the park, and Gelert's grave by the river
- Bodnant Garden in the Conwy Valley, about 20 minutes from Trefriw
- Portmeirion, the Italianate village on the estuary that looks like a corner of the Mediterranean
- When it rains: The slate caverns at Llechwedd, the National Slate Museum at Llanberis, Sygun copper mine near Beddgelert and Penrhyn Castle near Bangor are all indoors. Waterfalls are better in the rain, and Swallow Falls and Aber Falls are both short walks.
Getting to Snowdonia
From Chester, Trefriw is about an hour and a quarter on the A55, then down the Conwy Valley. From Manchester, allow just over two hours to Trefriw and two and a half to Blaenau Ffestiniog or Beddgelert. From Chester, Beddgelert is about an hour and three-quarters. Blaenau is about half an hour south of Trefriw, over the Crimea Pass, and Portmeirion is 25 minutes from both Blaenau and Beddgelert.
By train, Betws-y-Coed and Blaenau Ffestiniog are both on the Conwy Valley line from Llandudno Junction. Once you're here, a car makes life much easier: buses are thin, the roads are narrow and hilly, and the trailhead car parks fill by eight in summer.
Why book direct with Birch Stays
Book direct and you'll deal with us, not a call centre. Our team will answer the phone and can tell you, honestly, which home has the better hot tub. When you're ready to book, pay 30% to hold your dates. The balance is usually due 60 days before you arrive, but it varies by home, so check the listing for your dates. If anything about the home changes before then, you'll hear it from us first.
