The Snowdon Challenge
A 17km cycle, 14km trek, 5km paddle and 8-hour sweat to the finish line in beautiful North Wales
The Snowdon Challenge
A 17km cycle, 14km trek, 5km paddle and 8-hour sweat to the finish line in beautiful North Wales
DURATION
LOCATION
ANNUAL LEAVE
SEASON
GROUP SIZE
MEETING POINT
ACCOMMODATION
Hotel
DIFFICULTY
You should have a good level of hiking and cycling fitness. If in doubt your host can provide a training program to help you prepare.
Take on one of the UK’s most rewarding mountain challenges and summit the highest peak in Wales (1085m)
Bike 17km of country lanes, nail the 14km trek up Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) and kayak 4km on the stunning Llyn Padarn
A day of unrivalled action in Eryri (Snowdonia) National Park, one of the UK’s wildest adventure playgrounds
Day 1
Arrive and get briefed for the big day
Arrive at your hotel in Llanberis in the evening. At 19:00 you'll have a detailed pre-challenge meeting, after which you are free to explore the town or chill in your hotel in preparation for the challenge ahead.
Day 2
It's on – the Snowdon Challenge
Cycling
Hiking
Kayaking
Wake up early for breakfast and then hit the road. You’ll bike through the Welsh countryside, follow the shores of Llyn Padarn and skirt along the edge of Eryri (Snowdonia) National Park with the peak of Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) looming in the distance. You'll stomp it up the Snowdon Ranger Trail on the west side of the mountain and zigzag through lush green turf and flat boggy bits before ascending to the ridgeline.
Follow the ridgeline all the way to the summit for a victory photo and a quick breather before descending to the northwest via the more gradual Llanberis Path, finishing in Llanberis itself. You'll then go for a brisk paddle around Llyn Padarn, completing a large circuit of the lake, smash through the finish line and celebrate with a glass of champers.
Challenge completed.
Included
Guides
Local, qualified and experienced kayaking instructors alongside cycling and mountain leaders.
Accommodation
1 night's stay in a local 3-star hotel
Meals
Breakfast at the hotel and a packed-lunch up the mountain
Transfers
Transfers from Bangor train station and back
Equipment
Everything you need for cycling and kayaking will be sorted
Not Included
Some meals as described
Personal expenses
Travel insurance
Visas where required
Day 1
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Day 2
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
What is the food like?
A full English or continental breakfast is included at the hotel and a packed lunch is provided for the hiking portion of the challenge, including a sandwich, cereal bar, drink, chocolate bar and piece of fruit. Llanberis also has plenty of restaurants and pubs to choose from and any dietary needs can be accommodated (incuding vegetarian and vegan), just let your host know when booking.
What is the accommodation like?
Llanberis
You’ll stay at the Royal Victoria Hotel in Llanberis, which features comfortable and modern ensuite rooms. Exactly the kind of comfort you need before the challenge starts.
Upgrades
For solo travellers looking for their own space, an optional private room can be booked for an extra charge, see Optional Extras for the price. Please request this at the time of booking (this is subject to availability).
The Area
Logistics
Starts
Bangor Train Station or Llanberis Hotel
18:00 / 18:30 on Day 1
Ends
Llanberis Hotel or Bangor Train Station
17:30 / 18:00 on Day 2
Transfers
For those travelling by train – you'll be picked up at Bangor Train Station at 18:00 on Day 1. If you're driving, aim to arrive at the hotel in Llanberis by no later than 18:30.
At the end of your adventure, you will be dropped back at the hotel at 17:30 or Bangor Train Station at 18:00, the choice is up to you.
Travel options
Trains run frequently to Bangor from destinations all across the UK. There is car parking at the hotel for those driving.
Enjoy 12.5% Off Outdoor Gear
In need of a few more items? All bookings receive a 12.5% discount to use at Cotswold Outdoor, Snow + Rock and Runner's Need.
What's included
- Cycling equipment (bike and helmet)
- Kayaking equipment (kayak, paddle and buoyancy aid)
- Safety equipment (first aid kit and radio)
What do I need to bring?
- Rucksack (15-25 litre)
- Warm jacket
- Waterproof jacket with hood
- Waterproof trousers
- Worn in hiking boots or shoes
- Warm hat
- Thin gloves
- Padded cycling shorts (optional)
- Cycling shoes or trainers
- Sun protection (hat, sunglasses, sunscreen)
- Water bottles or water bladder (2 litres)
- Snacks and energy food and drink for the day
Pre/post trip accommodation - double/twin room
Payable Before Departure
Pre/post trip accommodation - double/twin room
… Per Night
Pre/post trip accommodation - single room
Payable Before Departure
Pre/post trip accommodation - single room
… Per Night
Optional Private Room Upgrade
Payable Before Departure
Optional Private Room Upgrade
… Per Person
I thoroughly enjoyed this experience. The challenge was well organised, the accommodation was good and the leaders were excellent. I will definitely be doing more in the future.
From Start to finish the ease of booking and communication were spot on. The instructors on the day were just the right mix of friendly, informative and professional. The weather was on our side, we were a mixed group of 16, lots of strangers to start with ! But at no time did anyone feel pushed to go too fast, you picked your pace and the instructors supported all the way. There was plenty of opportunity to push your limits of you wanted too as well. Each activity rolled into the next seamlessly. Do your research on where to eat dinner the night before and book it in before you go, the chewy chicken in the hotel is not recommended.
Have just completed the challenge, what a great day! It was a challenge, the hike was hard going in parts but everyone supported each other. The scenery was amazing, unfortunately due to some cloud and rain visibility was poor at the top. The weather was changeable so the kit list was needed and we were thankful for the hat and gloves at the top! Thank you so much to Jim and Chris for helping and supporting us on our adventure. Highly recommend.
Great day, very well organised. Cycling and kayaking kits were all provided and the hike was great with beautiful views.
Really enjoyed the trip. Breakfast at the hotel was lovely. Lunch was lovely. Jim provided great support at each spot and Kat helped motivate and guide us all up the mountain.
Fantastic trip! Everything from booking to finishing the challenge was well organised and straightforward. Our local guides were brilliant - friendly, knowledgeable and great fun! Would highly recommend taking on the Snowdon challenge!
Really friendly, well organised trip. I had an amazing day!
Great experience
Great trip, would recommend
Well worth it, the guides were great. Well organised and very enjoyable. Would especially recommend it for solo travellers. If you're the kind of person that hates shopping around, reading reviews and booking stuff it's defo worth the extra money to take away that hassle.
We've crunched the numbers to work out the total carbon footprint of this trip, and plant enough trees to suck 2x as much back out the atmosphere.
What's the number?
It works out on average at 29kg of CO2 emissions per person, including all local transport, accommodation, food, activities, guides, staff and office operations.
The only thing it doesn’t include right now is flights and travel to the destination. We do make an overall estimate across all our customers separately, but as we don’t book flights, have customers from all corners of the world, and no way of reliably knowing their travel plans, we simply can’t include an individual number in the figure on display here. We’ve got a goal for 2023 to fix that, so that when you book, there is a way to measure and mitigate the carbon emitted by your flight too.
But what does the number mean?
Yep, hard to picture eh? To give you an idea:
- Driving 1000miles/1609km would be approx. 281kg of CO2 in an average car (or 140.5kg per person if there was 2 of you in it).
- A return economy class flight London - New York would be approx. 1,619kg (1.66 tonnes) per person.
- 10 trees in a temperate forest are estimated to remove approx. 250kg of CO2 from the air in a period of 5-10 years.
What are we doing about it?
Our trips are relatively low-carbon by design, and we're working with all our hosts to develop long term carbon reduction plans. For every person booked with us since 2016 we’re planting enough trees to suck at least 2x more carbon out the atmosphere than is emitted by their trips. All native trees, as part of amazing projects that are re-foresting degraded land, tackling the biodiversity crisis and supporting local communities at the same time. We go further than that too, also funding re-wilding projects worldwide to help protect important keystone species from extinction. See the reforestation and re-wilding schemes we support. See our carbon action plan.
Want to know more?
Amazingly, no international travel company has ever publicly published their carbon measurements before, as far as we know. We believe that must change, quickly. So we’re openly sharing the method we used in the hope that other companies will be able to more easily follow suit and build on what we've done so far. You'll find it all here.
This trip is suitable whether you’ve done challenges before or it’s your first one. No particular level of skill is needed, but you do need a good level of walking and cycling fitness.
Sure can! Over 70% of our travellers travel solo, it’s a great way to meet like-minded people.
Summers in Llanberis are perfect for athletics because they’re not excessively hot or sunny. Daytime temperatures average a pleasant 19 °C, and nighttime temperatures cool off to 12 °C.
Because of its elevation, weather on Snowdon is considerably cooler and more fickle. Temperatures range from 10 – 12 °C during the day, but the skies are clear roughly half the days each month.
Sure. You can leave anything you don't need on the Challenge at the hotel.
Our recommended travel insurance provider is Campbell Irvine.
Travel insurance is compulsory for all of our adventures and you are required to provide your policy information before departing.
Your insurance should include adequate protection for overseas medical treatment, evacuation/repatriation, your baggage and equipment and the specific activities involved on your adventure. We also strongly recommend it includes cancellation and curtailment insurance, should you be unable to join your trip for specific reasons such as illness.
We fully endorse Campbell Irvine as their insurance offers all of the above, so get in touch with them or call on 020 7938 1734 to get your insurance sorted. We suggest that you book travel insurance as soon as you book your adventure, just to cover you for any last-minute life changes. We know you’re an active lot and injuries do happen!
We automatically convert prices from the local currency that a host receives to your chosen currency. We update our exchange rates on a daily basis so this does mean that prices displayed on the site are subject to currency fluctuations, which is why you may see them change over time.
If you wish to change the currency you pay in, head to the bottom of the page.
All of our group adventures are specially designed for adults to enjoy (18+) as we want these adventures to bring together outdoorsy people who are truly like-minded. Children can be accommodated on some private departures.
You're in good company. Our adventures are typically made up of a mix of solo travellers and small groups of two or three friends who simply love adventure, pushing themselves and meeting awesome like-minded people. See here for more info about our lovely bunch of Much Better Adventurers.
Want to book a private trip? Just tap ‘Private Group’ in the dates and prices tab.
Your trip is led by carefully curated local hosts and expert guides. See here for more info about the guides we work with.
Pay In Installments
You can choose to pay for this trip in as many installments as you like, with no interest or fees.
Full Financial Protection
Your money is safe. Every booking is fully financially protected.
