Tenby in Two Days, Memoirs and Tips

As I looked out the window at the grey sky and sporadic rainshower on our 3-hour train ride  from Caerphilly to Tenby, I worried if our whole trip was going to be washed out. Tenby where we were headed, is a coastal town in South West Wales well known for its beautiful beaches and pastel buildings.

January isn’t the best month to go, but we had already made arrangements and proceeded as planned. We were welcomed by heavy rain at Tenby station so although our air bnb host told us that it was just a 10 minute walk from the station to her apartment, we had to call for a cab.

Fortunately, the next day, although the sky was overcast, it was dry enough to explore the town. We spent much time walking along the beach taking endless selfies and proceeded to town scouring Tesco for what little vegetables we could find for our Nilaga dinner.

A few samples of our one dozen selfies & twosies.

Picturesque and colorful, almost every corner of Tenby offers great photo ops.

 Here are some of those panoramas taken with my late Samsung phone

The Mystery of Purchasing Train Tickets

On the day of our trip, we were able to book roundtrip tickets from Caerphilly to Tenby for 34.00 gbp with open return dates, thanks to the excellent customer service of a ticketing clerk at Caerphilly Station. This was a much better deal than what I almost booked online two days before which would’ve cost 40.00 gbp – And far better than the 58.00 gbp roundtrip fare quoted by a teenage ticketing clerk at Cardiff station.

From that experience I couldn’t really tell whether it’s better to buy your tickets online or at the train station. Availability of seats shouldn’t be much of a concern since trains are often wide open but the pricing scheme is a mystery. I guess it depends greatly on whether a ticketing clerk would go the extra mile for you and lucky for us we spoke to a very nice one.

You Can Explore the Town in Half A Day

As charming as it is, Tenby really is a small town and it’s quite easy to plan a 2-day trip here especially if you’re looking for a budget-friendly destination.

On the train to Tenby

Pros and Cons of Going During Winter.

The “cons,” first off, you’ll literally pray for sunshine and even if you get it, it would still be too cold to swim. That’s a bummer since the beach is gorgeous. In addition, some attractions like the Tudor Merchant House and St. Catherine’s may be closed. A local suggested that it may be open on weekends. So if you travel here on a weekday, keep in mind that some points of interest may be closed.

Nonetheless, it wasn’t a big deal for us, we still had a great time walking through the maze of narrow streets with their assortment of colorful cafes, novelty shops and apartelles.

For the “pros,” you will definitely avoid noisy crowds and enjoy lower hotel rates which is fantastic. We stayed at an airbnb property called the Norton Bell Tree House. This was just my second time to use airbnb and my first in a foreign country. Although, we booked a private double room, our host generously offered us a free upgrade to their detached apartment which turned out to be superb.

Check out these travel guides for more info on the coolest attractions and things to do in Wales

Getting settled at the Norton Bell Tree House

Our home away from home

We spent 2 nights at Tenby which was more than enough time for sightseeing. From there we decided to take a train and check out Lannelli which is another quaint small town with a fantastic coastline.

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