White-Water-Rafting-Snowdonia
Destination UK

10 reasons you should holiday in Snowdonia with Teens

Posted on
January 5, 2020

Travelling with teens is very different to travelling with young children.

When children are little, everything is new, exciting and magical however once they hit their teenage years, the only way to get their head out of their phone is to explore and let them test the bounds of their independence.

One of the best ways of engaging teens in travel, is to give them an adventure and one of the best places we have found to do this is Snowdonia, North Wales.

We used the Adventure Map app (available on Google Play and App Store) to plan and find exciting things to do during our holiday to North Wales

10 Things to do in Snowdonia with Teens

Mountain Biking

Oneplanet Adventure has something to enjoy for all ages, with a range of man made mountain bike trails for adrenalin seekers of all abilities, trail running and peaceful family walks for younger visitors.

Snowdonia

We booked onto an introduction to mountain biking course which took place on a bespoke training track.

Snowdonia

The course is a great introduction to mountain biking for beginners or a handy refresher for more experienced riders, with tips and techniques to help get the best performance from your bike.

Snowdonia

We then headed off to do the green route, a 5km course developed specifically with families in mind as it avoids major climbs and anything too tricky to navigate for beginners.

White Water Rafting

North Wales is home to the National White Water Centre, set on the natural rapids of the River Tryweryn.

Snowdonia

The river is dam controlled which means it has high flows ideal for exhilarating white water activities throughout the year.

Snowdonia

The one thing this activity guarantees, is that you will get wet, as there are challenging rapids, boulder gardens and surf waves to contend with, but it is so much fun. We took part in a rafting safari this time as Isaac was under 12, but we have promised the boys we will go again this year to do the full course.

Rock Climbing

The National Outdoor Centre at Plas y Brenin offers climbing, mountain biking, canoeing and hiking experiences for all abilities and is a great introduction to outdoor sports.

Snowdonia

Climbing is a great way of building confidence and communication skills and the first thing we had to learn was to belay.

Snowdonia

Belaying is a technique used by climbers to exert tension on a climbing rope so that a falling climber does not fall very far.

Snowdonia

We spent a morning climbing before heading back to the centre for lunch and then an afternoon on the lake.

Canoeing

The National Outdoor Centre is set next to Llynnau Mymbyr lakes, which is the perfect location to learn how to canoe.

Snowdonia

After learning how to paddle and turn, our instructor set up some fun games which helped us practice and hone our skills.

Snowdonia

Off course, the teen/tween combination of Kian and Isaac won!!

Rib Ride

For those that like the water but prefer something a bit quicker, Rib Ride on the Menai Straights is an activity that really gets the adrenalin pumping.

Snowdonia

There are lots of different adventures to choose from and we chose the Bridges and Swellies family adventure for our first experience which sees you hit around 50mph along the straights.

Swellies-Menai-Bridge-Rib-Ride

Our second adventure was strictly one for the teens – Rib Ride Velocity!

Snowdonia

This is no ordinary boat, you have to don overalls to protect you from the wind, where this fast moving RIB takes you from zero to around 70 knots (80 mph) on open water.

Snowdonia

It was actually a smoother ride than the smaller RIB as it literally skims the water as it is going so fast.

Bouldering

A holiday in the UK will almost always have some rain and the ideal indoor activity is bouldering – where you learn to climb indoors on artificial climbing walls.

Snowdonia

Beacon Climbing Centre is the largest indoor climbing centre in North Wales, featuring hundreds of different colour-coded climbs, with easy challenges for anyone new to climbing, through to mega hard climbs designed to test future climbing champions!

Learn to Ride a Segway

Dragon Raiders has a number of outdoor adventures to try and offer Paintball, Segway X2, Quad Bike Trails & Bear Grylls Survival courses, all set in 100 acres of ancient woodland.

Segway-X2

You have to take part in a full safety demonstration and try some fun challenges on the small training course before being taken off on a woodland safari.

Ride the world’s fastest Zip Line

Penrhyn Slate Quarry is home to Zip World Velocity 2, the fastest zip line in the world and the longest in Europe.

Zip World Suits

We have been to Zip World before, riding the Titan zip lines back in 2015, which are the perfect introduction to zip lining in Wales.

Velocity 2 is not only the fastest zip line in the world, with speeds up to 125mph, but it is also the longest in Europe at 1,555 metres long and 500 feet and unlike Zip World Titan, you are in a flying position, rather than seated.

Zip World Velocity Small Zip

It truly is an exhilarating experience!

Ride the Fforest Coaster

Also part of Zip World is Zip World Fforest, which is packed full of adventures to keep the whole family busy all day.

Snowdonia

The Fforest Coaster is the UK’s only alpine coaster of its kind, with a kilometre of gravity driven twists, turns and thrills through their Fforest wonderland.

There are six adventures at Zip World Fforest including bouncing fun on Treetop Nets, zip line and adventure courses high in the trees on Tree Hoppers or Zip Safari, plus you could try Europe’s highest giant swing, Skyride, if you dare!

Learn to Surf

Adventure Parc Snowdonia is a revolutionary world-first inland surf lagoon and the UK’s most compelling outdoor adventure destination for you, your friends and the whole family to enjoy.

Snowdonia

They launched six brand-new adventures last year, including Brave The Caves, the UK’s most extreme slides, zip lines, climbing walls and a challenging aerial assault course, plus a soft play area for younger visitors.

Snowdonia is a beautiful place to visit and has a plethora of activities to keep the whole family entertained, from pretty towns to visit, mountains to climb, trains to ride and beaches to walk.

Snowdonia

Have you visited North Wales?

Disclaimer: We were guests of Adventure Map for the purpose of a review. All thoughts and opinions are our own

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22 Comments
  1. Reply

    Tracey Kifford

    January 5, 2020

    With two teens of my own, I need to step out of my own comfort zone and try some of these activities (I’m such a wuss!)

  2. Reply

    Claire

    January 6, 2020

    These activities look like teen heaven! I’ll just be holding the bags I think! I’m such a wimp!

    Although I do love this part of the world x

  3. Reply

    Sarah | Boo Roo and Tigger Too

    January 6, 2020

    I saw a TV programme recently all about the Snowdonia area which had me itching to book a family breakaway. So many reasons to visit, explore and take part in activities available.

  4. Reply

    Talya

    January 6, 2020

    Wow what an amazing experience! We have never visited but I love that so many of the activities can help build teen resilience.

  5. Reply

    fashionandstylepolice

    January 6, 2020

    We haven’t visited North Wales. It is on our list to visit this year.

  6. Reply

    Anosa

    January 6, 2020

    We loved Snowdonia during our last visit, we would definitely love to try canoeing and water rafting.

  7. Reply

    Cristina Petrini

    January 6, 2020

    Making young kids loved and involved in approaching and respecting nature is not easy, but it comes naturally in such wonderful places as this.

  8. Reply

    Lucy Clarke

    January 6, 2020

    Oh my goodness it looks like you had so much fun! I ‘climbed’ Snowdonia in my teens (bl**dy ages ago now!) and it was amazing! I would like to visit Wales this year as I haven’t been in years, so that’s just been added to my list – thank you for the inspo!

  9. Reply

    MELANIE EDJOURIAN

    January 6, 2020

    Oh wow, I had no idea there was s much you could do in Snowdonia. My eldest will be teens soon so it’s good to have ideas of where we can holiday that they will also enjoy. They’d love the climbing wall!!!

  10. Reply

    Sarah Howe

    January 6, 2020

    ooh that coaster looks awesome! I would love to have a go on that. I think the zip line too! Some really fun, active things to do here!

  11. Reply

    Fiona Cambouropoulos

    January 6, 2020

    Such great action orientated activities. I’d be thrilled to do them all, never mind my teens!

  12. Reply

    Myrah Duque

    January 7, 2020

    We are so looking forward to visiting the United Kingdom soon! There is so much to see and do.

  13. Reply

    Beth

    January 7, 2020

    Ahhh Snowdonia is a great place to visit with teens… 🙂 I’m waiting a couple of years before taking my brood…

  14. Reply

    Ashley R

    January 7, 2020

    It looks absolutely gorgeous here. I love the Kain cam. What a great way to get footage.

  15. Reply

    Kelly-Anne

    January 7, 2020

    Wow how amazing does this place look. I would love to have an adventure or two here there looks like there are so many activities that we could get involved with.

  16. Reply

    Yeah Lifestyle

    January 8, 2020

    I have heard so much about Snowdonia but did not know that there was lots to do there especially for teens. My daughter is almost a teen and does not enjoy doing kiddie stuff anymore and she is quite active as well. So this would be a great place to head to for our next family holiday

  17. Reply

    Lyndsey O'Halloran

    January 8, 2020

    Sounds like a really great place for an active holiday. Looks like a lot of fun.

  18. Reply

    Jasmine Watts

    January 8, 2020

    I haven’t been to this place yet but would love to explore this place someday with my family.

  19. Reply

    kumamonjeng

    January 8, 2020

    White water rafting seems cool and fun to do with the teens. I am pretty sure they will love it. It is thrill too.

  20. Reply

    Rachael

    January 8, 2020

    Oh wow, never mind the teens – I want to do all of this stuff! We are planning a little trip either this year or next year and I’d love to get involved in these activities.

  21. Reply

    Catherine

    January 8, 2020

    Outdoor adventures are the best…looks like you and the family had a great time out there! I would have a ball there.

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KARA GUPPY
Bournemouth

Are we nearly there yet? is a new online blog run by me, Kara Guppy, and is named as such thanks to my daughter Eliza who always asks that very question when we are less than 5 minutes up the road heading off on our adventures. You may know me from my other family blog chelseamamma.co.uk