The Snowdon massif as seen from the Capel Curig approach
Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) is located in north-west Wales, in the county of Gwynedd. By car it’s about 1¾ hours from Liverpool, 2¼ hours from Manchester, 2½ hours from Birmingham, 2¾ hours from Leeds, 4 hours from Cardiff, 4½ hours from Newcastle, 5 hours from London and 5¼ hours from Glasgow.
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By car
Most people travel to Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) by car.
There are no motorways in North Wales, but the A55 (called the ‘North Wales Expressway’) is a dual carriageway running along the North Wales coast. Running from Anglesey to Chester, it links to the M56 and then the M6 in England.
Once you have decided which path you want to walk, putting the relevant car park into your sat-nav will get you there. The postcodes for the main path car parks are as shown below.
- See our general Parking for Snowdon page.
- See our Parking at Pen y Pass page (this is different during the season as it’s pre-booking only, rather than Pay & Display).
Nant Peris Park & Ride (for the Pyg & Miners’ Tracks, and also for the Llanberis Path) ♦ LL55 4UG
Llanberis (for the Llanberis Path) ♦ LL55 4TD
Pen y Pass (for the Pyg Track & Miners’ Track) ♦ LL55 4NU
Pont Bethania (for the Watkin Path) ♦ LL55 4NR
Rhyd Ddu (for the Rhyd Ddu Path) ♦ LL54 6TN
Snowdon Ranger (for the Snowdon Ranger Path) ♦ LL54 7YT
However, it is not necessary to drive right up to Snowdon, as buses (below) are available.
By the way, if you’d like to calculate how much it will cost you in fuel to get to Snowdon (at today’s average prices), you can use GoCompare’s fuel price calculator.
By train
The national railway network will get you to Bangor (12 miles from Snowdon) or Betws y coed (11 miles from Snowdon). Of the two, Bangor can be most easily reached, being on the main North Wales Coast line; reaching Betws y coed will involve changing at Llandudno Junction.
You can plan a rail journey to/from Bangor or Betws y coed using Trainline.
From both of these places the Sherpa bus service then connects directly with Snowdon.
The Welsh Highland Railway, running between Porthmadog and Caernarfon, has stops at Rhyd Ddu (for the Rhyd Ddu path up Snowdon) and Snowdon Ranger (for the Snowdon Ranger path up Snowdon). Please visit their website or contact them (01766 516000) to see if they currently stop at these halts on request.
By bus
The Sherpa bus service links Snowdon with Caernarfon, Porthmadog, Bangor and Betws y coed for those who wish to travel in from further afield by bus.
The service also runs around the base of the mountain, connecting the 6 main paths.
By taxi
Snowdon is served by a number of local taxi companies, who will happily take you to any start points around the mountain.