Sherpa Bus service

A Sherpa bus at Pen y Pass

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Contents
What the Sherpas are
Park & Ride buses
Download Park & Ride timetables
Sherpa buses S1 & S2 (serving Llanberis & Pen y Pass)
Sherpa buses S3 & S4 (for Rhyd Ddu, Snowdon Ranger & Watkin)
Download the complete Sherpa timetable (S1 – S5)
Buying a ticket
Fares
Further help
Journey planner
What the Sherpas are

The Snowdon Sherpa is a bus service which travels around the foot of Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa), linking the main six paths and their car parks, as well as other villages and attractions in the area.

In summary, there is a service between Llanberis (for the Llanberis Path) and Pen y Pass (for the Pyg Track and Miners’ Track); this service also calls at the Park & Ride car park at Nant Peris. The service on the other side of the mountain is not as frequent, serving the Rhyd Ddu Path and Snowdon Ranger Path, and also the Watkin Path.

The Sherpa service also links Snowdon with Caernarfon, Porthmadog, Bangor and Betws-y-coed for those who wish to travel in from further afield by bus rather than by car.

The 2023 Sherpa service around Snowdon

The Sherpa service makes it feasible to go up one path and down another – see here for some suggestions for combining paths.

Hint: If you are planning to use the bus as part of your walk where the service is infrequent, we would recommend that you try and do so at the start of your walk, rather than at the end, so that you won’t need to clock-watch through the day.

Dogs are allowed on all buses, and all the Sherpa buses have a wheelchair space, plus a ramp to ensure that embarking and disembarking can be easily done.

Waiting for the bus at Pen y Pass

Park & Ride buses

This details the high-season service which is now running.

(For detail about the Park & Ride car park at Nant Peris, see here.)

The Park & Ride car park at Nant Peris lies between Llanberis (for the Llanberis Path) and Pen y Pass (for the Pyg Track and Miners’ Track). The Park & Ride is served by three Sherpa services:  the S5 is the dedicated Park & Ride service to Pen y Pass (weekends and school holidays only) and the S1 and S2 additionally call there.

  • Together, the S1, S2 and S5 buses link the Park & Ride car park with Pen y Pass at 15-minute intervals (weekends and school holidays, otherwise it’s every 30 minutes).  Llanberis is linked with the Park & Ride and with Pen y Pass by a 30-minute service.

(The bus interchange at Llanberis is across the road from the train station, and about 80m towards the village. There are bus shelters there; you can’t miss it.)

  • The first bus leaves the Park & Ride for Pen y Pass at 07:15 (S1); the last return bus from Pen y Pass to the Park & Ride leaves  at 19:30 (S1).
  • The first bus leaves the Park & Ride for Llanberis at 07:40 Mon-Fri (S1) and at 08:10 at weekends (S2); the last return bus from Llanberis to the Park & Ride leaves at 18:40 (S2).
Download Park & Ride timetables

Sherpa buses S1 & S2  (serving Llanberis & Pen y Pass)

The S1 and S2 buses connect Llanberis and Pen y Pass (and also call at the Park & Ride, which is in between these two places).

  • The first bus from Llanberis through to Pen y Pass (S1) leaves Llanberis at 07:10
  • The first bus from Pen y Pass through to Llanberis (S1) leaves Pen y Pass at 08:00
  • The last bus from Llanberis through to Pen y Pass (S2) leaves Llanberis at 18:40
  • The last bus from Pen y Pass through to Llanberis (S1) leaves Pen y Pass at 19:30

The S1 service, in addition to linking the Park & Ride to Llanberis and Pen y Pass, also runs on to connect with Caernarfon and Betws y coed.

The S2 service, in addition to linking the Park & Ride to Llanberis and Pen y Pass, additionally runs on to connect with Bangor.

Sherpa buses S3 & S4  (for Rhyd Ddu, Snowdon Ranger & Watkin)

The S3 service runs between Caernarfon and Beddgelert, serving the Snowdon Ranger Path and Rhyd Ddu Path (an hourly service).

Change at Beddgelert for the connecting S4 to Pen y Pass.

The S4 service runs between Porthmadog, Beddgelert and Pen y Pass, linking the Watkin Path, Pig Track and Miners’ Track (Sat & Sun hourly; Mon-Fri hourly during school holidays, 2-hourly during term time).

Change at Beddgelert for the connecting S3 to Rhyd Ddu and Snowdon Ranger.

Download the complete Sherpa timetable (S1 – S5)

The following download has all the Sherpa services (S1 – S5) compiled into a single .pdf :

Buying a ticket

Tickets can be bought on the bus, either for a single journey or a day pass (with freedom to use any Sherpa service throughout the day).

It is not possible to pre-book any bus journeys.

Fares

All buses accept both cash and contactless card payments.

From the Park & Ride to either Pen y Pass or Llanberis:

    • Adult single: £2,  adult return: £3
    • Child single: £1.30,  child return: £2

From Llanberis to Pen y Pass or vice-versa:

    • Adult single: £3,  adult return: £4.50

From Betws y coed or Caernarfon to Pen y Pass

    • Adult single: £4

If you are making a longer return journey, it will be cheaper to buy a Snowdon Sherpa day ticket (called a ‘1bws’ ticket) allowing you unlimited travel on the Sherpas (or indeed anywhere in North Wales). More details here.

    • Adults: £6,  children: £4
    • 2 adults with up to 3 children: £13
    • English & Scottish concessionary passes: £4.

Welsh concessionary travel passes can be used on Sherpas, as on ordinary buses. (English concessionary passes are not valid for free travel.)

Further help

The Sherpa service is provided by Gwynedd Council. You can find out more about the service on their Sherpa page here.

If you have any further queries, you can contact them at info@sherparwyddfa.wales.

Journey planner

You can get additional help to plan your journey by using this Travel Planner.

The wider Sherpa service connects Snowdon with other towns and villages

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