Bangor is not a seaside resort and never has been. It is a small cathedral and university city at the western end of this coast, on the Menai Strait with Anglesey opposite. It made its living from slate and learning, not from holidaymakers. That makes it a different base: cheaper, busier out of season, with a working high street rather than a promenade.
7 places to stay · showing 1–7
Bangor, North Wales & Coast
A refurbished Welsh inn at Tal-y-Bont near Bangor with 11 rooms and a self-catering cottage, its own restaurant and a tavern bar, just off the A55.
Bangor, North Wales & Coast
A comfortable, good-value Premier Inn hotel in Bangor, North Wales, with en-suite rooms, family rooms, parking and easy access to Snowdonia and Anglesey.
Bangor, North Wales & Coast
A collection of stylish self-catering apartments in the heart of Bangor, sleeping up to 14 in total — a smart city base.
Bangor, North Wales & Coast
A comfortable, affordable Travelodge at the A5/A55 junction near Bangor, with free parking and easy access to Snowdonia, Anglesey and the coast.
Bangor, North Wales & Coast
A detached three-bedroom stone cottage in Tregarth near Bangor, sleeping six, with two woodburners, a garden and parking, on the edge of Snowdonia.
Bangor, North Wales & Coast
Self-catering log cabins and shepherd's huts in a quiet rural spot three miles from Bangor, with sea views towards Anglesey and a shared garden.
Bangor, North Wales & Coast
A 57-room hotel and conference centre in an Edwardian building on Bangor University's site, with a restaurant and free parking.
More places to stay nearby in North Wales Coast
Llandudno, North Wales & Coast
A family-run Victorian guest house in the heart of Llandudno, with seven en-suite rooms and a home-cooked breakfast, near the promenade and Great Orme.
Conwy, North Wales & Coast
A luxury B&B within Conwy’s ancient town walls — a gem in this medieval walled town.
Llandudno, North Wales & Coast
An elegant Victorian B&B in a prime Llandudno position with free parking — a comfortable seaside base.
Llandudno, North Wales & Coast
A townhouse of 1832 on Llandudno's North Parade with seven suites, most looking over the promenade and the bay.
Caernarfon, North Wales & Coast
A collection of beautiful holiday cottages on a peaceful smallholding near Caernarfon, with spectacular views, sleeping up to 20 in total. Dog-friendly.
Conwy, North Wales & Coast
A beautiful Grade II listed country house B&B in the Conwy Valley near Rowen — a historic, peaceful base.
Conwy, North Wales & Coast
A Victorian guest house on the edge of Conwy, set in gardens with views of the town walls and castle, with five rooms, breakfast and free…
Llandudno, North Wales & Coast
A friendly family-run guest house on Church Walks in Llandudno, sheltered by the Great Orme, with nine en-suite rooms, breakfast, parking and garden views.
Walk out on the pier. It runs fifteen hundred feet into the Strait, far enough to put you well out over the sea with Anglesey close on the other side. It is open all year for a pound, with children under sixteen free alongside an adult.
Anglesey is straight over the bridge, and the mountains of Eryri (Snowdonia) climb up behind the city, the Carneddau range first, twenty minutes off. Bangor is on the main coast line to Chester and London, with the A55 running past towards Holyhead.
Garth Pier is the best thing in Bangor, and it nearly was not here at all. Lord Penrhyn opened it in 1896, reaching out into the Menai Strait on cast-iron legs. In December 1914 a drifting merchant steamer smashed a hundred-and-fifty-foot gap through it, and by 1971 the whole structure was condemned.
The council voted on whether to knock it down, and demolition lost by a single vote. In 1978 the community took it on for a token sum, and after three million pounds of repairs it reopened in 1988. It is now listed Grade II*, the grade kept for buildings of more than special interest.
The cathedral sits free and open in the middle of the city, on one of the oldest church sites in Britain. The university above the streets is why Bangor keeps its shops, pubs and buses going through the winter, when the resorts along the coast fall quiet.
Just outside the city, the National Trust’s Penrhyn Castle stands above the Strait, a vast mock-Norman house you can walk round. In town, Storiel shows the local story for free, and Pontio runs films and theatre through the year.
Bangor accommodation is practical and good value, mostly hotels rather than guest houses, from £39 a night. With the mountains twenty minutes away and Anglesey across the Strait, it earns its keep as a base. See what else is on the North Wales coast, and book direct with the owner where you can.
See all: North Wales Coast accommodation
Browse North Wales Coast by type: B&Bs & Guest Houses · Hotels & Inns · Cottages & Self-Catering · Lodges & Cabins · Caravan & Camping
Nearby towns: Llandudno · Colwyn Bay · Conwy · Penmaenmawr · Prestatyn · Rhyl
Nearby areas: Anglesey · Snowdonia · North East Wales
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