Holyhead, Wales - Does Princess tender or dock there and…..

[mrmac]

Can you catch a taxi to the nearby train station? Thank you.

[skynight]

Tender. It should state this in your itinerary similar to this:

Thu, Sep 5Thursday, September 5th 2024

Holyhead, WalesView excursions in Holyhead, Wales on Thursday, September 5th 2024 ( Water Shuttle Required, Wheelchair Access Limited )

[Yehootu]

We were there late Sept and tendering had to be stopped around noon.Missed a good Castle tour.

[Canuker]

As a destination, Holyhead has little to its credit. It is merely the town at the end of the road and railway, for the ferry to Dublin. This is one location where I would certainly be looking at the ship's own excursions to get out of town - possibly to Caernarvon (about as Welsh as it gets here) or to one of the delightful narrow gauge railways that criss-cross the hills of North Wales (in season).

Or jump on the train (station is near the dock) and take the scenic north-shore line to Chester, about 2 hours away. Chester is a delightful city, steeped in many centuries of history.

[Justpackingmybags]

The town of Holyhead isn’t the most interesting place, but the Island of Anglesey itself has so many beautiful places to see. About 2 miles from Holyhead, Treaddur Bay is beautiful & I recommend the Sea Shanty Cafe for lunch! Further afield Beaumaris is the biggest town near to the bridge over to mainland Wales. There are plenty of things to see there, lots of places to eat and a castle. Don’t write the island off because of Holyhead!

[JimmyVWine]

19 hours ago, mrmac said:

Can you catch a taxi to the nearby train station? Thank you.

Not unless you arrange for a driver in advance.  At least that was our experience. All of the transportation that we saw as we got off the ship were tour and excursion vehicles and cars that had been pre-arranged.  We slipped up on our research and assumed that we would be tendered in to where the ferry station is, which is connected to the train station.  Instead we were taken far from there.  We ended up walking to the train station but it was a long walk and we missed the train that we assumed we would be on and had to wait over an hour for the next one to go to Conwy.  Lots of people got off the ship like us, expecting to spend the day touring on their own. All of them were surprised to find that there was no transportation offered to the train station and there is no cab or Uber service to speak of.  Many headed back onto the ship and others walked around Holyhead itself, which, as noted above, isn't all that interesting.  

 

That said, Conwy is a delightful place and the train ride out and back is easy...once you get to the train station and I recommend that as a place to go and explore on your own.  The castle there is spectacular.  My advice would be to see if you can pre-hire a car to take you either to the train station or all the way to Conwy itself.  If you are able, the walk back from the train station to the ship isn't bad as long as you give yourself time to do it. The walk TO the train station was stressful because we were trying to catch a train.  The walk BACK from the station was not bad at all since we could do that at our leisure with no time crunch.  Lots of people were on our train and did the walk back.

 

Here is our detailed report from this Port if you are interested.

https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/topic/2936679-review-and-travel-journal-of-our-regal-cruise-to-englandguernseyirelandscotland-and-wales-a-crowning-achievement/?do=findComment&comment=65410122

  

[Tourism Officer HH]

 

Hi everyone,

My name is Nick Murphy, and I am the Tourism Officer for Holyhead. If you have any requests or need assistance, please feel free to email me at tourismofficer@holyheadcouncil.co.uk. I will do my best to help you out!

 

Holyhead has a lot to offer visitors, including:

• South Stack Lighthouse: Stunning views and beautiful walks.
• Holyhead Maritime Museum: Fascinating maritime history.
• St. Cybi's Church: Historical site with beautiful architecture (Although restorations are currently under way) 
• Holyhead Breakwater Country Park: 
• Ellin's Tower: 
• Penrhos Coastal Park: 
• Trearddur Bay: 
• Porth Dafarch Beach:
• Along with the local shops 

We have a brilliant volunteer welcome group ready to meet you off the ship with all the information you need at hand. If you are on Facebook, please check out their page "Welcome to Holyhead - Croeso I Caergybi," where you will find much more information and get a good insight into Holyhead on cruise days.

Thank you!

Nick Murphy
Tourism Officer, Holyhead
tourismofficer@holyheadcouncil.co.uk

[Canuker]

On 7/24/2024 at 9:32 AM, JimmyVWine said:

"...Lots of people got off the ship like us, expecting to spend the day touring on their own. All of them were surprised to find that there was no transportation offered to the train station and there is no cab or Uber service to speak of...."

 

Welcome to Britain, JVW.

With Holyhead being a small town, relatively few cruise ships calling there and the (main reason for the town) the ferry dock being next to the railway station, there is little call for a small army of taxis etc.

In the circumstances, the cruise line should have laid on shuttle buses into the town.

Any time a cruise ship docks at a small, infrequently used port, booking needed onward transport in advance is essential. Especially if you want to catch that hourly train out of Holyhead!