Snowdonia Experiences To Make you Happy This Christmas

I recently read how our Gen-Y’s and Gen-Z’s will have a significant impact on the world retail economy by favouring experiences and travel over the material possessions in life – hard to believe when over the years, I have spent huge sums of money on vastly overpriced gadgets and trainers! However I was delighted this weekend when one of one of my Gen-Z’s turned round and said for her birthday and Christmas she wants money to put towards travelling. She wants to see the world and she wants to have experiences. Needless to say this was music to my ears and had I not read those articles, I would have been smugly thinking what a good job I had done in my parenting over the years! So a focus on looking at experiences to make you happy this Christmas was in order.

There are so many reports written on what we can do for to improve our happiness and one aspect that consistently comes up is how much more happiness we get from experiences then we do material things. Dr. Thomas Gilovich, a psychology professor at Cornell University, in my opinion sums it up perfectly as to why:

“Our experiences are a bigger part of ourselves than our material goods. You can really like your material stuff. You can even think that part of your identity is connected to those things, but nonetheless they remain separate from you. In contrast, your experiences really are part of you. We are the sum total of our experiences.”

Snowdonia, as one of the world’s top adventure playgrounds is a haven for adventure and experiences. So for this Christmas, why not treat your friends and family with a Snowdonia Experience instead of another material item that will be stuffed in a draw or forgotten after a few weeks. To give you a few tips, here our favourite list of experiences that will make  you happy this Christmas.

Zip World

Owners of the longest Zipline in Europe and the fastest in the world – what isn’t there to love about this experience. Zip World have seven great experiences set over three different locations around Snowdonia including the zipline, trampolines set in a cave, and a roller coaster in the forest.

Surf Snowdonia

The first ever public wave pool. People come from all over the word to experience Surf Snowdonia – as the surf culture shows no sign of fading, its the perfect place to learn to surf and something our Gen-Z’s can take on their ‘spiritual finding’ trips around the world.

Climb Snowdon

Book a cottage for the weekend and take your tribe up the highest peak in Wales. There are lots of different routes to choose from and from personal experience, I have not come across anyone who wishes they had not done this. DIONI HOLIDAY COTTAGES NEAR SNOWDON

Adventure Activities

If you have never been canyoning, you have not lived. It is working your way down natural river gorges, involving lots of jumps, ziplines, and climbing – it’s an adrenaline rush and certainly something you will not forget.

Castles

If you have some history buffs in your fold, then a Cadw pass (the Welsh  English Heritage) would certainly be of interest. We have over 600 castles in wales and some of the most impressive are right here in Snowdonia – Caernarfon, Conwy and Harlech to name a just a few.

Whitewater Rafting

The National White Water Centre is based in Bala and is the best place in the UK to try the sport. The rapids are damn controlled so you can be rest assured of great rapids throughout the year.

Portmeirion Village

The magical village set by the sea in North Wales. Receiving a ticket to visit here would certainly be on my bucket list. If high adrenaline is not your thing, you’ll certainly get your serotonin high from spending time here.

GoMushroom

GoMushroom is a new website where you can hire a new luxury VW campervan to help you explore Snowdonia and all it have to offer. The suggested ‘Adventure Route’ winds its way through some of Snowdonia’s most scenic landscapes, taking in showstopper adventure destinations like Zip World’s awesome zip lines and Surf Snowdonia’s inland waves.

Dinner For Two

We have some incredible, award winning restaurants in the area and so if you have friends and family that holiday here, then why not treat them to a meal out – Pale Hall, Dylans, Sospan and the Old Butchers, Port Tocyn and, Catch 22 are all great places to look at.

If you’re tempted by any of these activities our Top 5 Holiday Cottages with a Log Fire might also be of interest 😉