Top Holiday Cottage Destinations In Conwy
The most popular cottage locations in Conwy include, Llandudno with 129 properties, Conwy with 125, Foryd 49 and Betws-y-Coed with 43 self catering holiday lets.
Featured Properties
A truly dreamy coastal escape for large families, this spectacular Welsh property combines sheer luxury with endless entertainment. This exquisite property is 500 metres from the golden sands of Rhos-on-Sea – lovely for paddling, sandcastle building and sunset strolls.
Make memories to last a lifetime in this exceptional holiday home on the edge of Eryri National Park (Snowdonia). The vast property is perfect for large family gatherings and special holidays with friends, with ample space to spread out and relax and on-site entertainment including a games room, cinema room, and working bar. You'll have plenty of choice when it comes to walking in the area, with forest and mountain routes directly from the property. The bustling village of Betws-y-Coed is 5.5 miles away. The former inn has been transformed into a luxurious holiday retreat that's full of period features, antique-style furniture, and elegant fixtures and fittings. High ceilings add a sense of grandeur and the large windows frame stunning woodland and mountain views. On the ground floor, you'll find a collection of beautiful reception rooms to relax in, including a vast entertaining space with leather sofas, a working bar with hand pumps for your use (beer kegs are also available by prior arrangement), tables for informal dining, and a roaring open fire. A few steps from here leads to the games area with table football, and onto the cinema room for cosy nights in watching your favourite films. Budding chefs will be in their element in the commercial-style kitchen, which is equipped with everything needed to cater for a large group. At dinner time, gather in the formal dining room for memorable feasts around the banquet-style dining table. The 12 stylish bedrooms are located on the first floor, and all have en-suite facilities and delightful views. Outside, you'll find an enclosed garden and patio area with furniture and a BBQ for al fresco dining. Across the road and through the car park is a paddock that's ideal for four-legged guests and from here you'll have access to the river where you can launch canoes or enjoy a spot of fishing or wild swimming. There are some beautiful walks directly from the property. Stride out to the summit of Moel Siabod (2.5 miles) to experience the breathtaking views across Eryri or head deep into Gwydir Forest Park to explore the woodland trails and waterside walks at Llyn Crafnant and Llyn Geirionydd. The nearby village of Betws-y-Coed has a great range of independent pubs and restaurants, as well as shops and galleries to peruse. For a fun family day out, Zip World Conwy is just 12.5 miles away.
Stay close to the cascading waters of the River Conwy at this spectacular, Victorian retreat in Betws-y-Coed. Large group holidays have never been easier than at this spectacular and spacious home, boasting room for 22 guests, a swimming pool, a games room and extensive outside space. Step inside this remarkable home, lovingly renovated to blend original Victorian features with contemporary furnishings and decor. Ignite your culinary creativity in the spacious and practical kitchen where you can cook meals for the extended family. The dining room has space for all guests to eat and celebrate together. Later, curl up in front of the roaring wood burner in the lounge. A handy utility room completes the ground floor. The first and second floors contain the property’s ten bedrooms, all of which boast stunning views and en-suite facilities with a mixture of either baths or showers. Choose from seven king-size bedrooms, two twin bedrooms, or a family bedroom with a king-size bed and two singles. Outside, relax on the terrace with a morning coffee or evening tipple and admire the surrounding mountain views. Dine alfresco on the patio and afterwards, take a walk around the extensive lawn. You will also find a pool house which has a heated swimming pool, sauna and jacuzzi, as well as a games room. Private parking for five cars is available. Situated amongst the rolling Eryri National Park, you can head out and explore the mountains, rivers, gorges and forests. The village itself has a good selection of shops, cafes, and pubs, where you can find plenty of choice for all guests within 0.5 miles. The exhilarating Zip World is 2 miles away, and the imposing Mount Snowdon can be reached in 14 miles.
Over three floors. Nine bedrooms: 1 x double with en-suite walk-in shower, basin, and WC, 1 x double with TV and en-suite walk-in shower, basin, and WC, 1 x double with TV, 6 x double. Bathroom with bath, basin, and WC. Bathroom with bath, shower over, basin and WC. Cloakroom with basin, bidet, and WC. Kitchen. Dining room. Sitting room. Snug
Self Catering Destinations in Conwy
- Abergele (38)
- Betws-y-Coed (43)
- Betws-yn-Rhôs (15)
- Caerhûn (3)
- Capel Garmon (27)
- Capel-Curig (14)
- Cerrigydrudion (15)
- Colwyn Bay (36)
- Conwy (125)
- Deganwy (37)
- Dinorben (5)
- Dolgarrog (11)
- Dolwyddelan (15)
- Eglwys-Fâch (15)
- Foryd (49)
- Gwytherin (7)
- Kinmel (5)
- Kinmel Bay (4)
- Llanbedr-y-cennin (7)
- Llanddoget (8)
- Llanddulas (21)
- Llandrillo-yn-Rhôs (5)
- Llandudno (129)
- Llandudno Junction (19)
- Llanelian-yn-Rhôs (3)
- Llanfair Talhaiarn (12)
- Llanfairfechan (13)
- Llanfihangel-Glyn-Myfyr (2)
- Llangelynin (32)
- Llangernyw (5)
- Llangwm (15)
- Llannefydd (7)
- Llanrwst (31)
- Llansannan (11)
- Llansantffraid Glan Conwy (5)
- Llysfaen (13)
- Mochdre (5)
- Old Colwyn (8)
- Penmachno (30)
- Penmaenmawr (30)
- Penrhyn Bay (32)
- Pentre Du (4)
- Pentre-Foelas (6)
- Rhiwddolion (1)
- Rhôs-on-Sea (17)
- Tal-y-Cafn (6)
- Trefriw (19)
- Ty Mawr (5)
- Ysbyty Ifan (7)
Conwy has around 1,000 self-catering cottages on selfcatering.co.uk, from seafront flats below the Great Orme to stone cottages tucked into the woods of the Conwy valley. The county runs from the resorts of the north coast up into the mountains of Eryri, and more than 500 of those cottages take dogs while over 180 have a hot tub.
Best areas and towns in Conwy
Conwy splits in two. Most of the cottages line the north coast, where the seaside towns run almost shoulder to shoulder along the bay, and a second group sits inland up the Conwy valley, on the edge of Eryri (Snowdonia). The headland resort of Llandudno and the walled town of Conwy are the two big bases, with Colwyn Bay and the mountain village of Betws-y-Coed close behind.
- Llandudno: the grand Victorian resort on its own peninsula, with a long promenade, a pier and the Great Orme rising behind it
- Conwy: a walled market town wrapped around a medieval castle and a working quay on the estuary
- Deganwy: a quieter waterside suburb across the estuary from Conwy, looking back at the castle and the marina
- Colwyn Bay and neighbouring Rhôs-on-Sea and Penrhyn Bay: a run of seaside communities along the eastern sweep of the bay
- Penmaenmawr: a small coastal town under the mountains, west of Conwy on the road to Bangor
- Abergele and Llanddulas: market and shore villages towards the eastern county boundary
- Foryd: a low-lying stretch by the mouth of the Clwyd at the county's edge
Up the valley and into the hills, the bases turn greener:
- Betws-y-Coed: the best-known mountain village, set where three rivers meet among the trees of Gwydir Forest
- Trefriw and Llanrwst: a spa village and an old market town further down the Conwy valley
- Penmachno and Capel Garmon: upland hamlets in the quiet country south of Betws-y-Coed
- Llangelynin: a scattered old parish on the hillside above the valley
The coast suits anyone after a promenade and a beach within walking distance, while the valley villages put walkers and cyclists straight into the woods and mountains.
The Conwy coast and Eryri
Conwy faces the Irish Sea along a broad, sandy bay, with the limestone hump of the Great Orme at Llandudno marking the most dramatic point on the shore. From the headland a tramway and a cabin lift climb to the summit, and the town spreads along the flat neck of the peninsula with a beach on either side. East of there the sands run on past Rhôs-on-Sea and Colwyn Bay; west, the coast road squeezes between the mountains and the sea at Penmaenmawr before reaching the Conwy estuary, where the river opens out below the castle walls.
Inland, the county climbs fast. The Conwy valley carries the river down from the heart of Eryri (Snowdonia National Park), and the wooded slopes around Betws-y-Coed sit inside Gwydir Forest Park, threaded with waterfalls and forest trails. It is an unusual mix for one county: a string of seaside resorts at sea level and proper mountain country within half an hour's drive.
Things to do in Conwy
The county's landmark is Conwy Castle, Edward I's great fortress above the quay, with the town walls still running almost unbroken around the old streets and the curious Smallest House in Great Britain wedged on the waterfront. Nearby, Bodnant Garden is one of the finest gardens in Wales, famous for its laburnum arch and its terraces over the valley, and the Welsh Mountain Zoo looks down on Colwyn Bay from the hillside above. Gwrych Castle, a romantic nineteenth-century pile near Abergele, has been brought back to life as a visitor attraction in its wooded grounds. For wildlife and the outdoors there is RSPB Conwy on the estuary, the forest trails of Gwydir Forest Park around Betws-y-Coed, and the reservoir and moorland walks at the Llyn Brenig Visitor Centre. Families can also potter around Conwy Water Gardens south of the town.
When to visit Conwy
Summer is the busy season on the coast, when the beaches at Llandudno fill up and the Great Orme tramway runs at its fullest. Late spring is the moment for Bodnant, when the laburnum arch and the rhododendrons are in flower, and it is a fine time for the valley before the school holidays. Autumn turns the woods around Betws-y-Coed gold and keeps the walking trails quiet, while winter is low and bracing on the seafront, with many cottage owners dropping their rates. The mountains can hold weather of their own at any time of year, so it is worth packing for both the beach and the hills.
Dog-friendly and hot-tub cottages in Conwy
More than 500 of the cottages in Conwy take dogs, and more than 100 have a hot tub. Browse the places that take dogs or places with a hot tub to narrow your search.
Getting to Conwy
Conwy sits on the north coast of Wales, reached along the A55 North Wales Expressway, which runs the length of the coast and crosses the Conwy estuary by tunnel. From the Midlands and the north-west of England it is a straightforward drive of a couple of hours. The North Wales Coast railway line follows the shore with stations at Llandudno Junction, Colwyn Bay and Abergele, and a branch runs up the valley through Betws-y-Coed on the scenic Conwy Valley Line. The nearest large airports are Liverpool and Manchester, both around an hour and a half away by road.
Useful links
About Conwy
Conwy is a county borough on the north coast of Wales, taking its name from the walled town and castle that stand where the River Conwy meets the sea. It reaches from the resort coast of the Irish Sea, around Llandudno and Colwyn Bay, southward into the mountains, and a large part of its interior lies within Eryri, the national park better known in English as Snowdonia. The result is a county of two halves, seaside and upland, packed into a fairly small area.
The coast is the populous part. Llandudno, the largest town, sits on a flat neck of land between two beaches with the limestone headland of the Great Orme above it, and a chain of seaside communities runs east along the bay through Rhôs-on-Sea and Colwyn Bay towards the county boundary. Behind the shore the land rises quickly to moorland and forest. The Conwy valley carries the river down from the high ground, past the market town of Llanrwst and the wooded village of Betws-y-Coed, with the conifers and waterfalls of Gwydir Forest Park spread across the slopes.
The area has a long and contested history. Conwy Castle and its town walls were raised on the orders of Edward I between 1283 and 1289, during his conquest of Wales, and parts of an earlier hall of the Welsh princes were built into the defences. Today the economy leans heavily on tourism, drawing visitors to the beaches, the castles and the mountains that meet so closely here.
Frequently asked questions
How many holiday cottages are there in Conwy?
There are around 1,000 self-catering cottages in Conwy on selfcatering.co.uk, most of them along the north coast around Llandudno, Conwy and Colwyn Bay, with a second cluster up the Conwy valley towards Betws-y-Coed. More than 500 accept dogs and over 180 have a hot tub.
Where are the best places to stay in Conwy?
Llandudno is the classic seaside base, with its promenade and the Great Orme, while the walled town of Conwy puts you beside the castle and the estuary. Colwyn Bay and Deganwy are popular along the coast, and Betws-y-Coed is the favourite for the mountains and forests of Eryri.
Does Conwy have good beaches?
Yes. The county faces a long sandy bay, with beaches on either side of the Great Orme at Llandudno and a near-continuous run of sand east through Rhôs-on-Sea and Colwyn Bay. The shore mixes promenade resorts with quieter stretches towards the county boundaries.
Is Conwy good for a dog-friendly holiday?
Very. More than 500 of the cottages in Conwy take dogs, and between the open sands and the forest trails of Gwydir there is plenty of room to walk them, though some resort beaches have seasonal restrictions in high summer.
What is there to do in Conwy?
Explore Conwy Castle and its town walls, visit Bodnant Garden and the Welsh Mountain Zoo, see Gwrych Castle near Abergele, walk the trails of Gwydir Forest Park around Betws-y-Coed, or watch wildlife at RSPB Conwy on the estuary.
When is the best time to visit Conwy?
Summer is warmest and liveliest on the coast, late spring is best for Bodnant Garden in bloom, and autumn brings golden woods and quiet trails in the valley. Winter is bracing on the seafront and often cheaper for cottages.
How do you get to Conwy?
By road along the A55 North Wales Expressway, about two hours from the Midlands, or by train on the North Wales Coast line to Llandudno Junction and Colwyn Bay, with a scenic branch up the valley to Betws-y-Coed.