Llandudno is a strong base for day trips because it sits between coast, castles, mountains and Anglesey with the smug convenience of a person born into land.

One may stay in a civilised seaside town, breakfast properly, and still reach very different scenery within an hour or so. This is useful if one likes adventure but not sleeping somewhere damp and earnest.

The easiest trips are Conwy (twenty minutes), Deganwy (ten minutes), Rhos-on-Sea (fifteen minutes), Colwyn Bay (twenty minutes) and Bodnant Garden (thirty minutes). These can be done without turning the day into a military operation with snacks.

Bigger days include Eryri (still widely searched as Snowdonia), Caernarfon, Beaumaris, Betws-y-Coed and parts of Anglesey. They reward planning and punish the sort of optimism that packs nothing but a phone charger.

Conwy Castle, built by Edward I between 1283 and 1289 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the most historically substantial trip within easy reach. The castle, town walls, harbour and the Carneddau rising behind it give a day with serious weight.

Bodnant Garden in the Conwy Valley offers eighty acres of National Trust gardens with formal terraces, woodland, the famous laburnum tunnel (best in May and early June) and views towards Snowdonia. It is thirty minutes from Llandudno and as far from the seafront in atmosphere as it is easy in distance.

Do not attempt to conquer all of North Wales in one day. Roads can be slow, parking can become a blood sport and weather has no respect for your itinerary.

The A55 coastal expressway makes Caernarfon, Bangor and the southern edge of Anglesey more accessible than the mountain road distances suggest, though road engineering does not address the visitor volumes around Caernarfon Castle on a summer Saturday.

Choose one main destination, add one smaller pleasure, and leave room for the journey. The best day trips are not crammed. Cramming is for luggage, not memories.

For car-free day trips, the train to Conwy and the Conwy Valley line to Betws-y-Coed are the most reliable options, with the additional advantage of not requiring anyone to park at the other end.