As part of our tour of all the Lifeboat Stations in the UK and Ireland, we recently paid a visit to the Llyn Peninsula and needed somewhere to stay. As we have had excellent experience using AirBnb properties, we opted to use them again and made our base in one of the self-catering holiday homes available in Porthmadog, North Wales.
Please let me know if you would like any more details about the apartment and host listed.
As keeps happening more and more regularly now, we were down to just one child being with us for this trip so just needed a 2 bed holiday cottage or apartment. The bustling harbour town of Porthmadog made an ideal base for our 3 night stay.
About our Self Catering Porthmadog Apartment
Access to the apartment
The apartment is a first floor apartment, accessed through the front door of a terraced house on a side street right in the centre of Porthmadog.
The stairs up to the apartment are very steep as are the stairs inside the property, so sadly this is not a suitable self catering property for anyone with mobility issues.
Parking
On street parking is available and free – We knew from reading reviews that at certain times of the day, parking might be difficult but only had to wait a few minutes twice before a space became available.
Bedrooms
There are 2 bedrooms in this apartment. One double and one twin so sleeps up to 4 people.
The spare bedroom has been converted into a games/tv room which Tara absolutely loved. There is an old Playstation and games like Fifa for some retro gaming and loads of CDs (as well as a CD player).
Kitchen and Living Area
The kitchen and living area are on the top floor in the attic. A really lovely, airy open plan space. When we first arrived there was the slight smell of Indian cooking from the takeaway next door when we opened the Velux windows, but we honestly didn’t notice this again during the course of our stay.
The kitchen is really well eqipped – there are even several cookbooks if you fancy getting creative while you stay. We couldn’t think of one item of kitchen equipment that wasn’t provided. The kitchen was also spotlessly clean.
The living area has 3 sofas and a corner seat which was plenty spacious enough for our needs. There is a small selection of books to choose from if you fancy a read.
Bathroom
We loved the bathroom. The shower is fantastic and better than ours at home!
Communication
Because you are sharing a property with the apartment downstairs (that we never heard a peep out of), you have access through a main front door which is accessed using a Smart Lock key box. The Smart Box is great for easy access no matter what time you arrive at the property.
We did find the door open at one point but thought nothing of it as our apartment was secure by a key lock. Very soon after we got a message from our host letting us know there was a problem with the Smart Lock box and that an engineer was on his way to fix it. This is fantastic service and even better that it was so quick on Easter weekend.
Outside Space
We did not have any outdoor seating but chose this property due to its excellent location for touring the spectacular scenery on offer in the local area.
Cost
We paid £394.10 for 3 nights over Easter weekend which felt good value. We only booked a couple of weeks in advance.
Things to do around Porthmadog
To be honest, we weren’t really looking to spend much time in the actual heart of Porthmadog, hoping to spend as much of our break taking in the sea views and visiting the beautiful beaches at this great location. Porthmadog was super busy with it being Easter weekend but there were still plenty of bars and cafes with space available for customers.
As we were self-catering and knew supermarkets would be closed on Easter Sunday, we made sure to stock up at the local supermarkets which were plentiful – The local Tesco Superstore is just on the outskirts of Porthmadog but Aldi and Lidl are also available. If it was not Easter weekend, we would probably have made do with the small local shop for provisions which was a minute walk down the same road as our apartment.
3 Day Itinerary around Porthmadog
Day One – Arrival
- Supermarket and unpack in the apartment
- Walk around Criccieth including a compulsory visit to Cadwaladers Ice Cream shop.
- Quick visit to Abersoch including our old campsite, Tyn-y-Mur. Parking is a nightmare in Abersoch, so we didn’t plan on staying in the town centre.
- Evening walk to watch the sunset at one of our favourite beaches, Hell’s Mouth.
Day Two
- Family walk to Nefyn (Porthdinllaen) including the Lifeboat Station and Ty Coch Inn
- Evening meal at The Sun inn, Abersoch
Day Three
- Barmouth
- Aberdovey
- Evening meal at The George, Penmaenpool
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Other great visitor attractions to visit within a short drive of Porthmadog
- Snowdonia National Park – You are just on the outskirts of the National park with great views of Snowdon if you fancy a spot of hiking.
- Train Journey – Choose between the Ffestiniog Railway and the Welsh Highland Railway – Described as the most spectacular way of seeing the beautiful scenery of Snowdonia, these steam trains start their journeys in Porthmadog and Caernarfon. With several journeys to choose between, you can take a short journey or one that lasts all day for the ultimate experience.
- Cardigan Bay – We adore Cardigan Bay with its beautiful views and perfect beaches.
- Portmeirion Village – It has been some time since we last had a day trip to Portmeirion Village (Made famous by The Prisoner TV Programme). This is a very quaint village with Grade II listed buildings, a stunning beach, woodland and even a hotel to stay in, if you want to soak up the whole experience.
- Harlech Castle – Harlech is just a 20 minute car journey from Porthmadog. One of the smaller Welsh castles, this will take around 1-2 hours to explore.
How do you pronounce Porthmadog?
Its not how you read it. Porthmadog is pronounce Port – Madoc.
About 2 Adults 3 Children
2 Adults 3 Children is a family with 3 daughters, aged 13+. They live near Liverpool and share the best events happening in the North West plus their travels further afield.
Awww love that picture of you too! 🙂 The apartment looks ace and that bathroom is amazing! A seriously good price considering the time of year and the location – always super busy there! You got around so much and got to see so much of the local area, it’s great to know what is round and about! x