Explore North & Mid Wales Rover

[Indecisive]

Hi, I am looking at using an Explore North & Mid Wales Rover and have noted the 0930 earliest departure time applicable to weekday travel.

My question is does this apply to the included bus routes, as some intervals are every 2 hours and departures after that time can be quite late to start a day out.

Many thanks.

 

[Djgr]

Hi, I am looking at using an Explore North & Mid Wales Rover and have noted the 0930 earliest departure time applicable to weekday travel.

My question is does this apply to the included bus routes, as some intervals are every 2 hours and departures after that time can be quite late to start a day out.

Many thanks.

The TfW website says:

• However, no time restriction between Llandudno and Blaenau Ffestiniog or Aberystwyth - Pwllheli.
• No restriction on buses.

 

[Indecisive]

Great, many thanks.

 

[Statto]

That's a weird one, as the day version, North Wales Rover, has no time restrictions when using trains, the only difference to the day Rover, is the Explorer ticket can be used via Crewe.

Do be prepared to be queried by bus drivers when using the ticket on the bus, some bus drivers still think the ticket is not valid on buses, when it is valid.

 

[Djgr]

That's a weird one, as the day version, North Wales Rover, has no time restrictions when using trains, the only difference to the day Rover, is the Explorer ticket can be used via Crewe.

Do be prepared to be queried by bus drivers when using the ticket on the bus, some bus drivers still think the ticket is not valid on buses, when it is valid.

The Day Rover allows travel from Shotton to Bidston, whilst the Explore ticket doesn't even include travel to Hawarden Bridge, even though that is in Wales.

 

[ChrisC]

The price of the Explore North and Mid Wales Rover has certainly risen very steeply since I used one around 8 years ago. It must have at least doubled in price since then and yet the number of bus routes you can now use it on has been significantly cut. It was valid on all Arriva Buses in North Wales which was very useful, as I was staying in Caernarfon, with their frequent buses between Bangor and Caernarfon. I was also able to travel from Caernarfon to Blaenau Ffestiniog on the Welsh Highland and Ffestiniog Railways at a very low price. With the price more than doubled, greatly reduced bus validity and no large discounts on preserved railways, it is not such good value these days.

 

[MikeWM]

The price of the Explore North and Mid Wales Rover has certainly risen very steeply since I used one around 8 years ago. It must have at least doubled in price since then and yet the number of bus routes you can now use it on has been significantly cut. It was valid on all Arriva Buses in North Wales which was very useful, as I was staying in Caernarfon, with their frequent buses between Bangor and Caernarfon. I was also able to travel from Caernarfon to Blaenau Ffestiniog on the Welsh Highland and Ffestiniog Railways at a very low price. With the price more than doubled, greatly reduced bus validity and no large discounts on preserved railways, it is not such good value these days.

Very poor value compared to pretty much any other (non-Wales) Rover. In March 2023 it cost £73, which seemed about right; the current price of £119 is really rather ridiculous.

 

[Indecisive]

I looked at the TFW website and it states 'valid on all bus operators within the region' but other contributors suggest this isn't the case? The Arriva service from Caernarfon to Bangor was one I was also hoping to use.

 

[ChrisC]

I looked at the TFW website and it states 'valid on all bus operators within the region' but other contributors suggest this isn't the case? The Arriva service from Caernarfon to Bangor was one I was also hoping to use.

That’s interesting. I’ve just had a look at the TFW website and it does say valid on all bus operators. Is this a very recent change as I am planning a few days in North Wales and I’m sure that when I looked just a few weeks ago it said only valid on TrawsCymru routes. The National Rail website still says only valid TrawsCymru.

 

[Polarbear]

The information provided by TfW (and Arriva before them) regarding validity on buses has been generally poor. The Traws Cymru network, whilst improving, is still patchy in some places. The ticket certainly used to be valid on Arriva Cymru services, but ISTR that facility was withdrawn a few years back in favour of the Traws network being added to the validity?

 

[bspahh]

An August 2022 snapshot at archive.org says said it was £69 for an adult, "Valid on Transport for Wales, Great Western Railway, Northern and Avanti West Coast services" and for these bus companies:

• Arriva Cymru
• First Group South and West Wales
• Cardiff Bus
• Stagecoach South Wales

A January 2025 snapshot says it is £119, "Valid on Transport for Wales and Avanti West Coast services" and "Traws Cymru" buses.

Now it is £119, "Valid on Transport for Wales and Avanti West Coast services" and "all bus operators within the region".

 

[John Luxton]

There are some weird validity issues with the TfW passes both Explore Wales and Explore North and Mid Wales. The past three summers I have used a TfW 4 in 8 day Explore Wales Pass. My last one was June 2024 just before the rather sudden and significant increase in price during July. The price increase seemd to coincide with the bus availability changing to "All Operators" which is useful as it now includes all of the TrawsCymru services and not just the T1 as before.

I must say I find that 09:30 restriction rather irksome.

The Coasts and Peaks Rover which is also available North Wales Coast and down to Shrewsbury is valid from 09:00.

There is a train along the coastline which departs Chester where I usually start my trips 09:29 and then a gap, so you can't use it on that service. Whether a TTI would let one off that one minute I am not prepared to chance or even attempt to try and bluff.

Question is if most other Rovers go "off peak" at 09:00 why does TfW wait until 09:30 for Explore Wales and Explore North and Mid Wales?

Other quirk is that in the south Explore Wales is valid well into England at Cheltenham - yet it isn't valid on TfW services from between Manchester and Crewe and Liverpool and Chester (that would be useful for me as I prefer to use the TfW service back from Chester rather than Merseyrail) and neither is Explore North and Mid Wales. One might have thought with the price increase they might have covered all their services across the borders and not just Cheltenham.

 

[Llandudno]

Might be worth considering buying an advance ticket for the 0855 from Chester to Shotton, £1.90 with a railcard, £2.90 without?