Wales has a real spring in its step in March, with daffodils in the hedgerows and warmer, lighter days on the horizon. While you can still expect the odd downpour, this is a fine, quiet month to combine a city stay with a tour of the coast and countryside. Read on to learn more about traveling to Wales in March.

Weather

Spring is certainly in the air, but remember this is Wales: always come prepared for mud and rain with layers, waterproofs, and boots or wellies.  There’s still an average of 11 days of rain in March. Temperatures are slowly warming up, hitting lows of 41°F (5°C) and highs of 52°F (11°C) in Cardiff. In the mountains of the Brecon Beacons and Snowdonia, it’s even chillier: temperatures occasionally dip subzero and there can still be snow dusting the summits. The west coast is mild when the sun shines, but go on a stormy, blustery day and it can feel bitterly cold.

Crowds & Costs

March is still pre-season and while visitors are slowly trickling in, crowds are still few and far between. Room rates peak on Mother’s Day and during the Easter holidays if they fall in March, but otherwise, this is a great time for snapping up deals at hotels, B&Bs, and self-catering accommodation. Flights also tend to be reasonable at this time of year, school holidays aside. Easter marks the start of the season for many coastal towns and villages, with sights, hotels, and restaurants that were closed over winter now reopening their doors.

Where to Go 

The weather can still be hit or miss, but days are getting longer and warmer now, making this a great month to tie in a city break in cool, cultured Cardiff, Dylan Thomas’ favorite Swansea, or chilled, coastal Aberystwyth, with more time spent in the great outdoors. Cardiff in particular pulls out all the stops for St David’s Day on the first of the month, with parades, exhibitions, and parties.

The landscape is now bursting into flower, with daffodils lighting up the hedgerows of narrow country lanes. See the spring blooms at their best in the National Botanic Garden of Wales in Carmarthenshire. Even if it rains, you can duck into Norman Foster’s Great Glasshouse to admire botanical wonders under shelter. 

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What to Do 

With milder days now on the horizon, this can be a good time for planning road trips into the remote valleys and day hikes into the wild moors and mountains of Snowdonia National Park in the north and the Brecon Beacons in the south. Time your visit to the latter to catch the walking festival in the quaint Georgian village of Crickhowell on the River Usk, where the highlight of a week’s worth of hikes is a trek up Table Mountain. 

When the March sun shines, the Welsh coast beckons. Head south to Gower near Swansea for bracing walks along sweeping bays, or hike over a gorse-clad cliff and through a kissing gate on the Pembrokeshire Coast Path to your own secluded cove.

Sheep outnumber people almost 4:1 in Wales (the country now has around 11 million) and in March you’ll hear the bleat of lambs in fields wherever you go. If you want to get in on the lambing action, visit the open-air heritage museum of St Fagans near Cardiff to see newborn lambs up close.

Events in March

St David’s Day, Nationwide. Daffodils, leeks, and traditional Welsh costumes are hauled out for this all-out celebration of Wales’ patron saint on March 1. The hub of the action is Cardiff, with its parade and concerts at St David’s Hall, or make the pilgrimage to St David's in Pembrokeshire, where the saint was born in 500 AD.

North Wales Choir Festival, Llandudno. Wales is a land of song and its biggest choral event brings concerts and community performances to the Victorian seaside resort of Llandudno on the first weekend in March.

Crickhowell Walking Festival, Crickhowell. On the second week in March, the pretty Brecon Beacons town of Crickhowell launches a terrific nine-day walking festival, with guided hikes, workshops, and evening events.

Laugharne Weekend. In the Carmarthenshire coastal town where poet Dylan Thomas lived, loved, and wrote poetry, this weekend brings literary and musical talent to the fore on the fourth weekend in March.  

Cardiff Half Marathon. Runners pound the capital’s streets in this half marathon, held on the last Sunday of the month. 

Traveling to Wales in March? Check out these great itineraries

Outdoor Adventures & Gourmet Experiences in Wales - 9 Days. Beginning in the picturesque Welsh Borders, you'll sample beer at a historic brewery, visit medieval castles and Snowdonia National Park, and dine on foraged and freshly caught foods before visiting the Pembrokeshire coast and driving through Brecon Beacons National Park.

Self-Drive Wales: Culture, Castles & Coastlines - 12 Days. Get behind the wheel to drive up the wild Welsh coast, stopping to embark on a series of tours and excursions. Spot seals and dolphins on a boat trip along the Gower Peninsula, walk across the famous Devil's Bridge, ascend Mount Snowdon by train, and discover local lore and legends in the walled town of Conwy. 

More Helpful Information

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