Cardiff Central Railway Station car rental
Your car keys are waiting at this city centre Avis car hire office, located on Tudor Street, just five minutes' walk from Cardiff's Central Railway Station. From here, your exploration of Cardiff, South Wales and beyond can begin in earnest. There really is no better way to see Wales than by car.
Popular car hire locations in South Wales
Plan your journey from Cardiff Central Railway Station
The extensively redeveloped Cardiff Bay Waterfront is an eclectic mix of the classic and the contemporary. After being tempted by an enticing assortment of restaurants and cafes, visitors can take the Cardiff Bay Trail, which travels down the barrage with superb views of the Bay to the left and the Severn estuary to the right.Fans of the BBC drama series might want to check out the Doctor Who Exhibition here. The museum takes visitors on an “interactive journey through time and space”, while providing a behind-the-scenes exploration of just how the television series is created.
Sheltering a medieval keep, hilltop Cardiff Castle is actually a motley collection of buildings dating from Norman times (1081 AD) all the way to the 19th Century. Before the Normans came along, a 1st Century Roman fort guarded the area. A guided tour tells all.
Cardiff boasts exceedingly green environs: a 15-minute drive out of town to the north will take you to the vast, Victorian, tree-lined Roath Park. Daytrippers can explore wild and botanic gardens and a 30-acre lake (boat hire is available). Three miles to the west of the city, the National Trust-owned Dyffryn Gardens lies in a quiet valley in the Vale of Glamorgan. Gardens abound, of rose, rock and heather, along with an extensive arboretum.
Road trips from Cardiff
Rhossili BayFrom Cardiff, it's a pleasant 90-minute drive to the gorgeous Gower Peninsula and its sandy star Rhossili Bay. This three-mile beach is consistently voted one of the best in the world by TripAdvisor users. There's a five-mile circular walk on the giant sea-serpent-shaped protected-coastline promontory Worm's Head. And it really is breath-taking. Here you can see the remains of Neolithic burial chambers along with an Iron Age fort.
Hay-on-Wye
An hour-and-a-half north of Cardiff lies the second-hand bookshop capital of the British Isles, Hay-on-Wye, the site of the now world-famous summer literary festival. If possible, tear yourself away from the town's 23 miles of dusty shelves for a bout of kayaking on the River Wye ... the 5.5-mile stretch to Whitney takes about two hours at a mediocre pace.
The Brecon Beacons
Some will say that a Welsh holiday just isn't complete without a foray into the mountain moorlands and verdant valleys of Brecon Beacons National Park. Opt to hike across the heather-clad hills (visit the National Park Authority's website for self-guided walks all over the Park), or discover the region's proud industrial heritage. At Big Pit Mining Museum, an hour's drive from Cardiff, it's possible take an exhilarating plunge down a 90m mine shaft to discover what conditions were like for the thousands of men who worked at the coalface between the 1860s and the 1970s.
Driving rules in the United Kingdom
Which side of the road?In the United Kingdom, please drive on the left side of the road.
Country driving laws
- Mobile phones may only be used with a headset or hands-free device
- Use the outside lane to overtake on motorways and dual carriageways
- There is a congestion charge payable when driving in London
- Zebra crossings (black and white stripes on the road) give pedestrians right of way to cross the road
Speed Limits
All speed signs will be in mph.
For a standard Avis rental vehicle with no trailers:
- Urban areas: 30 mph (48 km/h)
- Rural areas: 60 mph (96 km/h)
- Motorways: 70 mph (112 km/h)
Child safety / Seatbelt laws
- It is compulsory for the driver and all passengers to wear a seatbelt
- Children aged under 12 or less than 135cm tall must be seated in an appropriate child restraint for their size
This road rules information is for provided for general guidance only. We endeavour to keep the information up to date and accurate, but any reliance you place on this information is at your own risk.