Holiday Cottages In Gwynedd

Gwynedd has around 2,400 self-catering cottages on selfcatering.co.uk, from beach houses on the Llyn Peninsula to stone cottages tucked under the peaks of Eryri. This is the mountain-and-coast county of north-west Wales, pairing Blue Flag sands with Snowdonia's summits. More than 1,700 of those cottages take dogs and over 340 have a hot tub.

Best areas and towns in Gwynedd

Gwynedd splits into a few clear holiday areas: the Llyn Peninsula reaching out to the south-west, the old county of Meirionnydd around the Mawddach and Dyfi estuaries to the south, and the towns ringing Eryri (Snowdonia) in the north. The biggest clusters of cottages sit at the foot of the mountains and along the sheltered bays of Cardigan Bay.

• Porthmadog: a harbour town where the Ffestiniog steam railway meets the coast, a natural gateway between Eryri and the Llyn
• Abersoch: the sailing and beach village on the Llyn, busy with boats through the summer
• Criccieth: a small Victorian resort below its castle, on the boundary of the Llyn and Eifionydd
• Aberdyfi, also signed Aberdovey, sits on the Dyfi estuary with a long sandy beach and a golf links
• Pwllheli and Nefyn: the market town and the old herring port that anchor the Llyn, with Morfa Nefyn and the cliff cove of Aberdaron further west
• Barmouth: a seaside town on the Mawddach estuary, with a famous railway bridge and the mountains rising straight behind
• Harlech and Llanbedr: castle town and quiet village above the dunes of the Meirionnydd coast
• Caernarfon: the walled royal town on the Menai Strait, with Y Felinheli along the water towards Bangor
• Dolgellau and Beddgelert: two of the best inland bases for walkers, one below Cadair Idris, one in the Snowdonia hills
• Blaenau Ffestiniog: the slate town in the mountains, now known for its zip lines and underground tours

For most visitors the choice comes down to wanting sand and sailing on the Llyn, estuary and beach in Meirionnydd, or a walking base in the mountains.

The Gwynedd coast and its beaches

Gwynedd has one of the finest stretches of coast in Wales, most of the Llyn Peninsula being a designated National Landscape and much of the southern shore facing Cardigan Bay. Eight beaches held a Blue Flag in 2025: Abersoch, Aberdaron, Pwllheli (Traeth Marian-y-De), Criccieth, Black Rock Sands near Porthmadog, Dinas Dinlle, Barmouth and Tywyn. The Llyn alone strings together dozens of coves, from the surf at Porth Neigwl, long known as Hells Mouth, to the sheltered sands at Porth Dinllaen below Morfa Nefyn. To the south, the dune systems at Morfa Dyffryn and Harlech back miles of open beach, with the cliffs and pilgrim trails of Aberdaron marking the far tip of the peninsula. Behind the sands the ground rises fast into Eryri, so a sea view and a mountain view often share the same window.

Things to do in Gwynedd

The county is built around Eryri National Park (Snowdonia), home to the highest ground in Wales and a tangle of walking, climbing and scrambling routes. Caernarfon Castle is the grandest of Edward I's Welsh fortresses, with Castell Harlech and Castell Cricieth guarding the coast nearby. The Italianate village of Portmeirion sits on its own wooded estuary, and Penrhyn Castle, a vast Victorian house near Bangor, is kept by the National Trust. Steam lovers are spoilt: the Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railways run from Porthmadog into the hills, with the Llanberis Lake Railway and the Talyllyn Railway at Tywyn close behind. For something faster, Zip World Llechwedd sends you flying over the old slate quarries at Blaenau Ffestiniog, while GreenWood Family Park near Y Felinheli and the waterfall walk to Aber Falls suit a family day.

When to visit Gwynedd

July and August bring the warmest sea and the busiest beaches, and Abersoch and the Llyn fill up through the school holidays, so book early for the coast. Late spring and early autumn are the pick for the mountains, with long days, firmer paths and quieter summits. Winter belongs to the high tops and the slate towns, with short walks, cosy cottages and the chance of snow on the peaks. The estuaries at Mawddach and Dyfi are good for birds through the colder months, and many owners drop their prices well below the summer rate out of season.

Dog-friendly and hot-tub cottages in Gwynedd

More than 1,700 of the cottages in Gwynedd take dogs, and more than 300 have a hot tub. Browse the dog-friendly cottages or those with a hot tub to narrow your search.

Getting to Gwynedd

Gwynedd sits in the far north-west of Wales. By road the A55 runs along the north coast to Bangor and Caernarfon, while the A470 and A487 carry you down through Eryri to Porthmadog, Dolgellau and the south. Trains reach Bangor on the North Wales main line, and the scenic Cambrian Coast line threads the shore from Machynlleth through Aberdyfi, Barmouth, Harlech and on to Pwllheli. The nearest large airports are Liverpool and Manchester, both a little over two hours away by car.

Useful links

• Visit Snowdonia
• Eryri National Park Authority
• Cyngor Gwynedd Council
• Eryri National Park (Snowdonia)

Gwynedd is a large county in the north-west of Wales, stretching from the Menai Strait and the edge of the Conwy valley in the north to the Dyfi estuary in the south. It is mountainous, sparsely populated and overwhelmingly rural, taking in most of Eryri, the upland national park known in English as Snowdonia, where the highest peaks in Wales rise above deep glacial valleys, lakes and old slate workings.

The county has a long and varied coastline. The Llyn Peninsula points south-west into the Irish Sea, a quieter finger of farmland, cliffs and sandy coves that holds the status of a National Landscape, while the southern shore curves around Cardigan Bay through the estuaries of the Mawddach and the Dyfi. Caernarfon, with its great castle on the Menai Strait, is the administrative centre, and Bangor, just outside the modern county boundary, is the nearest city. Inland sit the market towns of Dolgellau and Porthmadog and the slate town of Blaenau Ffestiniog, ringed by mountains on almost every side.

Gwynedd is one of the strongholds of the Welsh language, spoken by a large share of its people in daily life. Its name recalls an early medieval kingdom that resisted English rule for centuries, and the ring of castles built by Edward I to hold the region still stands at Caernarfon, Harlech and Criccieth. Today the economy leans on farming, the Welsh language and culture, and the tourism drawn by the mountains, the coast and the heritage railways that climb into the hills.