If you are not an active traveller and you would rather spend your vacation time in a “resting” state, there are many things you can do in Wales while you take advantage of the huge savings home exchange has to offer. For example, Wales has 641 castles and three World Heritage Sites you can visit. The three World Heritage Sites are:

Image by Tom Curtis /FreeDigitalPhotos.net

1. Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd: Beaumaris Castle, Caernarfon Castle, Conwy Castle and Harlech Castle.
2. Blaenavon Industrial Landscape: evidencing the importance of the region’s industries to the 19th century’s Industrial Revolution.
3. Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal - Truly a monumental piece of civil engineering, both creative and majestic.

Other “slow” activities you can enjoy in Wales, and specially recommended for wildlife lovers, are birdwatching or admiring the rare bottle nosed dolphins, basking sharks, leatherback turtles and Atlantic grey seals that can be spotted in the Welsh marine environment. Pembrokeshire Coast National Park,  is the perfect place to do this.

You can also find a list of attractions that can be visited for free if you are looking for a low budget holiday. The list includes museums, art galleries, parks, exhibitions, festivals, castles and trails. Navigate through http://www.visitwales.com/ to find more details.

As you can imagine, Wales is a great destination for family vacations. Three family friendly features of Wales:

- Perfect place for outdoors activities.
- Several free-entry attractions.
- 1,200 Km of coastline: sand and sea are a perfect combination to entertain the little ones.

Find more information in the links below and more ideas in HomeForHome’s next post.

Pembrokeshire Coast National Park - http://www.pcnpa.org.uk/
http://www.visitwales.com/
Cadw (the historic environment service of the Welsh Assembly Government) - http://www.cadw.wales.gov.uk/
Southern Wales - http://www.southernwales.com/
Mid Wales and the Brecon Beacons - http://tourism.powys.gov.uk/
Visit North Wales - http://www.visitnorthwales.co.uk/

A few weeks ago we invited you to take a “tour” through Scotland, and this week we are going to do the same through the best that Wales has to offer. Read on and then explore the home exchange opportunities we have waiting for you in Wales.

Wales is located in the island of Great Britain. It has only one land neighbour: England, and the rest of its borders are 1,200 Km of coastline. So beaches and mountains abound, but there are also smooth hills and valleys, specially in South Wales.

Easy accessible from within the UK, if you are travelling form overseas you may arrive directly to Wales for your home exchange or use the transport connections from the rest of the UK’s main airports.

There are only five cities in Wales that have UK City Status. They are Bangor, Cardiff, Newport, St David’s and Swansea. If you add that there are three National Parks (including the only coastal National Park in the UK in Pembrokeshire) and five Areas of Outstanding Natural beauty in Wales, you will probably understand why it is mostly considered a destination to get in touch with nature and enjoy stunning landscapes.

What can be done in Wales? Golfing, hiking, cycling, camping, mountain climbing, mountain biking, surfing and any other activity that implies contact with nature. If you want to try a local “invention” you may go for Pembrokeshire’s Coasteering. According to “Visit Wales” (http://www.visitwales.com/) coasteering is “a wild combination of scrambling, climbing, traversing, cliff jumping and swimming“

If you are into golf, you may want to attend the first Ryder Cup to be held in Wales while you enjoy your home exchange. When? Well, you better hurry because 2010 is the year! Yes, the Ryder Cup will tee off the first day of October 2010 in The Celtic Manor Resort in Newport.

If you are a less active traveller, there are other things you can do and we will let you know all about them!

Pembrokeshire Coast National Park - http://www.pcnpa.org.uk/
http://www.visitwales.com/
http://www.rydercup.com/2010/
http://www.welcome2wales.co.uk/the-2010-ryder-cup/