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Cardiff, the Welsh capital, has been named a must-see destination for 2008 by Frommers.  Cardiff is the only destination in Western Europe to be featured in the 13 top tips. Cardiff is praised for retaining its ancient Welsh heart as it has been regenerated. It’s also a good base for exploring South Wales.

Cardiff Bay Panorama by Paul Dyer

I haven’t been to Cardiff for years but it’s on my “to visit” list.

Cardiff Castle by Oliphant

Find the best hotel deals in Cardiff with HotelsCombined price comparison search.

If you plan to visit castles, gardens and monuments during your trip to the UK, the Great British Heritage Pass saves you money and time. Overseas visitors to the UK can buy the pass online. The pass gives you free entry to a wast array of heritage properties owned by the National Trust, Historic Scotland and English Heritage.

The price starts at £28 per adult or £63 per family (2 adults and up to 3 kids under 15 year) for a four day ticket. This is good value if you’ll visit a few properties as it costs £11 per adult to enter Edinburgh Castle. You’ll also avoid having to stand in queues to purchase admission tickets at each attraction.

It’s not just well known attractions such as St Paul’s Cathedral, Warwick Castle and Stonehenge that are included. There are so many interesting places to visit all over England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Crathes Castle Gardens, Aberdeenshire, Scotland

Etal Castle, North Northumberland, England

Rough Guides have published a list of 25 top travel experiences in the UK and Ireland. As a Scot, I was happy to see that a Scottish attraction, the Edinburgh Festival, was number one. While the Edinburgh Festival is a great event, the city is really busy and accommodation prices high.

What would be your top tips for travel experiences in the UK and Ireland?

I am always a bit dubious of lists. I felt that a lot of the things mentioned would have too many other tourists around, meaning that they wouldn’t be particularly authentic experiences. Even doing things in rural areas like “breathing the sea air in Tobermory” on the Scottish island of Mull, or “wandering Borrowdale” in the Lake District. you are likely to be among the tourist hordes. I say get a bit more off the beaten track with my ideas for Edinburgh spend some time in Perthshire or the Scottish Borders.

River Tay, Perth

At least here’s one thing about which I am in complete agreement with Rough Guides founder, Mark Ellingham, “When we think of holidays, a lot of people immediately associate this to going abroad. But, believe it or not, you don’t actually need to jump on a plane to have an amazing time.”

[tags]travel. travel tips, United Kingdom, Ireland, Scotland,[/tags]

I thought I’d have a look for late offers in the Lake District but I can’t say there were many good deals at the weekend, the prices looked much lower during the week, so go then if you can. I like Grange over Sands a village at the south eastern corner of the Lake District, a few miles south east of Lake Windermere. I’ve noticed Cumbria Grand Hotel, a Victorian building, up a slope in the village and thought I’d like to stay there. I do admire the character of this type of hotel but I know that sometimes the interior can be a bit disappointing as it’s very expensive to maintain old buildings. If you’ve stayed at this hotel please let me know what you thought of it. A double/twin room costs £84 per night a single is good value at £48.

I haven’t been to South Wales for ages but I’ve heard that Cardiff is a good choice for a city break. The 4 star Royal Hotel claims to be Cardiff’s hippest contemporary hotel with double and twin rooms costing £95 for the Friday night and £80 for Saturday night.

The New House Country Hotel is a few miles outside Cardiff but has great views over the city, it’s good value at £50 for the Friday night and £55 for the Saturday night for a double or twin room.

I thought this piece from the Travel Daily newsletter was quite amusing. At a lunch in Sydney, Australia, yesterday hosted by Visit Wales, marketing director Roger Pride described a number of confusions about the destination. He said that on a recent trip to New York to promote Wales he told a taxi driver what he did for a job, and received the response “Great animals - do all you can to save them”. And at another event he was on a stand promoting Welsh cuisine labelled “Cheese from Wales’ and was asked several times how it’s possible to milk a whale.

The Owgen Falls, Snowdonia

Photo courtesy of Visit Wales