The Wonders of Wales

This tour provided me with background information on the history, society and culture of Wales through the ages; from Neolithic dolmen and Roman occupation to English ********** and modern self-determination including promotion of the Welsh language, Wonders of Wales ticks all the boxes.

Excellent driver guide input but felt bit long due to it being round trip, bus travel periods would need more stops of interest so not as long between stops. Comfort stops good timing tho.
Personally being older, I would prefer less stairs at hotels, have had sore knees ever since tour fin, had hoped just would settle down but no.

Food excellent.

The Wonders of Wales tour greatly exceeded our expectations. Terry, our guide was very knowledgeable and brought great insights into every destination on the tour. Dmitri, our driver made the trip through the countryside safely and smoothly. We couldn’t have been more pleased and would highly recommend this tour and this company.

My first time using Blue Roads. The Wonders Of Wales was excellent..
Love the small group, you get to know everyone, made friends with all. We had a great bunch!!
Our tour guide Terry was excellent. Very knowledgeable and made the bus rides very fun.
Our bus driver Ken was a superb driver. Got us in some tight places.
Just have to say that how well organized the tour was. Thank you Terry and Ken for making it even more enjoyable..
Very highly recommend this tour.
Catherine

Wales was even more beautiful than we thought. So green and our tour director and coach driver were ever helpful and interesting.

Amazing scenery and a great look back at the history of Wales. Our guide had good local knowledge and spoke Welsh. He was not great at communication and we often were just left to see places on our own. I would have liked local maps with interesting places to visit or links to internet to look up. The driver navigated some difficult traffic on minor roads. I did not enjoy most of the bus travel, the driver went too fast on back roads in heavy rain, overall too fast and scary. The bus kept fishtailing and it felt unsafe.. most hotels were good, the Falcondale had a terrible bed and we could not sleep. Some sites were rushed whilst others were allocated too much time.

Beautiful scenery, competent guide, bus too small for 18 people and driver drove too fast

It mostly depends on the guide. Neil was excellent.

The only tour that covers most of Wales. A beautiful country and language with a lot of history. Blue-Roads transport can get into places the large buses can't. A maximum of 18 people with plenty of luggage space, comfortable seats, excellent driver (Ken) and tour guide (Terry). Terry Gibson provided a wealth of knowledge about Wales and he speaks the language! The tour, designed by Terry, highlighted the culture and beauty of Wales. Transport each day provided several stops in lovely villages and sites. Accommodations and meals were high quality. Don't settle for just seeing Cardiff or Conwy, Wales is so much more!

We had a great time and recommend anyone to experience this tour.

Good pacing, wonderful tour leader and driver. Liked the small group size and the selected accommodations.

Great trip. Truly on the back roads a small villages.

Right amount of days and activities. Good tour, knowledgeable, polite, problem solving leader, would be better with local guides versus being on our own. Nice having drinks in opening meeting but disappointed no regional snacks/treats on rest of trip compared to our Enchanting Eastern England trip where we were given numerous 6,8+ treats/samples by that tour leader.

Chose Back Roads because of previous experience in 2018, but very disappointed with company post Covid. Driver personable, guide personable and helpful but both lacking local knowledge/history. Nothing gained by using back roads - couldn’t see through hedgerows/trees. Enjoyed the Big Pit and Slate Museum but not fussed about woollen mill. Also unhappy with change of itinerary and no notification.
Other passengers made the trip worthwhile - met some great people but far too much time spent on bus.

Terry and Ashley were great. They helped me with my disability. The places we stayed were great. Where we went was interesting. I had family from there.

Very disappointed with the tour as previous experience with Back-Roads has been excellent. The tour leader & driver were lovely people, however the lack of local knowledge & history was very obvious. We passed so many castles, abbeys, burial mounds & other historic sites with no reference to them at all. Accommodation now seems to be about staying in 4+ star places that lack the charm & personality of the smaller local/boutique hotels used in the past. We’d chosen Back-Roads because of previous experience & to avoid a follow-the-flag tour but were left feeling they have lost that sense of fun & adventure. It’s now about ticking off major attractions & staying in overpriced accommodation offering bland, uninspiring meals. We’d raved about our experiences with Back-Roads but will not be doing so after this experience.

Great tour much enjoyed

I enjoyed the Wonders of Wales tour very much. Excellent tour guide Terry and driver Vince. I worked it out that the price is about the same as if we had done it all ourselves. Back Roads had done all the work for us and there were frequent stops of places of interest to see. Accommodation was lovely with breakfast and dinner included as well as the interesting places we saw.
If I had known, we would have also booked a tour of Scotland and England or Ireland. The group consisted of 18 people as well as the guide and driver which made it more intimate for getting to know the others. The bus was medium size with big clear windows to see the scenery.

Amazing experience made even more special by the tour leader, the bus driver and the other 15 people who accompanied us. So many interesting things to see and experience. Accommodation was excellent with a hint of tradition of yesteryear. Food was excellent. Delicious and several choices. We learnt so much about the Welsh people and their history.

Fantastic experience visiting places and backroads we would never have otherwise gone. Friendly people and nothing was too much trouble. Totally recommend for anyone wanting to experience genuine cultural experiences.

Excellent tour. Well-paced and provided the opportunity to see much of the countryside and historical sights of Wales. Very good itinerary and would recommend to anyone interested undertaking a tour of Wales.

Brilliant tour, exploring many amazing sites in Wales, as our tour guide said, it was just “a small taste of Wales, there is much more to explore. The tour stops along the way gave the opportunity to explore the many different aspects of wales, from the past to the present

Amazing scenery. Great variety of places to visit and things to do. Tour guide, Terry, was exceptional.

Tour leader Terry was very welcoming at the meet and greet, an excellent guide with lots of historical; political and general knowledge: Shared his life experiences that were relevant to the tour. The itinerary was very comprehensive and covered highlights and historical lowlights of Wales.
Tan was an excellent driver and we felt very safe at all times on the road.

Beautiful landscapes, interesting sights including castles, churches, Roman ruins and beachside towns and an interesting railroad excursion. Included dinners were excellent as were the picturesque small hotels. I was especially impressed by my tour guide Terry Gibson who was extremely knowledgable and provided a relaxed and friendly atmosphere for touring. Dmitri our driver was excellent in his driving ability and his friendliness. I would recommend the tour to someone who wishes to see Wales in depth.

The tour was well organized and our tour guide Terry Gibson was the best. He was very personable, knowledgeable and concerned that everyone on the tour was having a good experience. The pace was comfortable, lodgings good and the sites we visited were excellent. I felt I was able to see a great deal of Wales in the eight-day timeframe. I would recommend this tour to anyone wanting to experience more of Wales in a short time than just the city of Cardiff.

The itinerary, tour director, hotels and food were all great!!!!

Efficiently organised and run.
Guide Terry was excellent and was at all times caring, calm and courteous, as well as imparting his considerable knowledge.
Accommodation was generally excellent.
Meals provided were also excellent.

An absolutely wonderful tour- covered so much in a very enjoyable, well organised manner with a fabulous tour guide.

We had a terrific 8 day tour with BackRoads. Small group of likeminded people keen to learn about Wales.
Our tour guide Terry was outstanding- knowledgeable, amusing, encouraging our questions and always considerate of everyone’s comfort.
The itinerary was excellent - great range of experiences exploring the long and fascinating history and the social and economic life of the people.
Accommodation and meals were all of a really high standard.
Can heartily recommend this tour. Having free time at various points was great too

Excellent trip with interesting visits and a great guide.

We stayed at excellent hotels where the food was wonderful and staff extremely helpful and friendly. The pace was vey good, not rushed at most times. We had some authentic experiences. We really enjoyed not travelling in a large group and travelling on the more scenic back roads. We were fortunate enough to have had two guides on our tour. They complimented each other with different expertise and knowledge. This was our fourth Back Roads tour and I would book with them again if we do more overseas travel.

Fantastic hotels, and meals great value for money. Everything was done for us we just had to enjoy ourselves

“Pass by the mesmerizing” - If it’s mesmerizing, why pass by? The Welsh Language Center did not offer a lesson, merely an excuse to visit a dramatic spot. I thought Portmeirion was a weird anomaly. Tenby felt like a classic tourist trap, just a shopping stop. Time allocated to St Fagans was far too short. Almost no one of our group departed Cardiff until Sat, so why not stay 2 hours longer at St Fagans?

Wales is a beautiful country & I thoroughly enjoyed its beauty. Snowdonia NP was my favourite scenic destination & Llandudno was a wonderful place to spend time & to explore Conway from, loved it! Tumby was very pretty also. All in all a great tour

Beautiful country steeped in history every place I toured was exceptional and equal on all levels

Wales is a hidden gem, the history is interesting, the locations picturesque

The tour was affordable for what was included. really got my money's worth on this tour.

Jeremy was excellent guide - showed good understanding of how to tailor commentary etc to group. Tan, the bus driver was a great driver and went the extra mile for members of group. Pace of tour was good and catered for different levels of mobility of group members.

Outstanding value for the scope of the tour.. Blue Roads provided all the information required for an enjoyable tour.

good value for money as so much was included

Well worth the money. Accomodations were perfect and the provided meals were more than I expected.

The blend of history and beautiful landscapes along with lovely villages and friendly Welsh people made for a week of delightful discoveries.

Excellant tour. Something for everyone with a very knowledgable and kind guide who went out of his way to meet everyone's needs. The driver was excellent and his personal knowledge of the area added to the experience.

Loved the scenery and variety of experiences plus the pace of the tour was great

the cost increase was a bit more than I expected but realise that with Covid 19 most things have increased and it is still value for money.

We feel we got excellent value for our costs.

see previous statement...

No complaints all good recommended it.

Just what I said above covers it

Wonderful hotels, delicious food and caring hosts greeted us wherever we went. Our driver was amazing. His qualifications left us fully comfortable in his care. The itinerary enabled us to experience Wales from border to border. Finally, our guide was the most caring & knowledgeable of any we’ve ever had.

Good commentary- driver and guide worked well together- very supportive in helping passengers get to their destination during rail strike.

comprehensive tour with experienced guide

A great tour lovely place to visit Excellent tour guide and driver

Said it all earlier - amazing, wonderful, Emilie our tour guide was so knowledgeable and fun, the tour covered so much but without feeling rushed. Would do it again in a heartbeat

My travel agent arranged the purchase.

as above. The trip was great.