For those of you planning a New Zealand holiday for the first time, the country is actually similar to the Japan Islands, in that it comprises a few islands.

Top 10 Sights to See in New Zealand

In this case, New Zealand is actually comprised of three main islands – North Island, South Island and Stewart Island- and other smaller islands.

New Zealand is truly a haven for outdoor enthusiasts and it offers plenty of mountainous areas, national parks and volcanic plateaus where you can explore rare wildlife and breathtaking scenery.

Having said this, apart from beautiful scenery and diverse wildlife, New Zealand does offers many shopping opportunities, lively nightlife spots, and plenty of fun events and festivals.

Interesting Places to Visit in New Zealand

There are so many wonderful places to choose for a getaway in New Zealand but in my opinion two of the most interesting places to visit in New Zealand are Invercargill New Zealand and Dunedin New Zealand.

Both Invercargill and Dunedin do get overlooked by major cities such as Christchurch and Auckland, but these two places offer a myriad of city attractions, as well as plenty of outdoor pursuits such as winery tours, whale watching tours, hiking and fishing opportunities.

Invercargill New Zealand

If you are true outdoors person and are looking to explore New Zealand’s great outdoors, Invercargill NZ is a short ferry ride from Stewart Island where you can explore the popular Rakiura National Park.

Dunedin New Zealand

If you enjoy all kinds of tours during a holiday, Dunedin NZ is, perhaps, one of the most interesting places to visit in New Zealand, as it offers plenty of opportunities for whale watching tours, brewery tours, fishing trips and kayak tours.

Apart from fun activities such as the ones mentioned, Dunedin NZ is one of the most historic cities in New Zealand with a proud Scottish heritage. It boasts 19th century castles, railway stations and Victorian houses.

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Llanelli Wales is located fifty miles west of Cardiff and around a few hundred miles from the city of Bath and London in the county of England.

During the summer months, Llanelli Wales is a popular summer getaway in the United Kingdom due to it close proximity to the coast.


If you are traveling to Llanelli Wales for the first time and love sports, the town is home to a proud rugby tradition and has both a Rugby Union and Rugby League divisions.

Apart from catching a game of Rugby, one of the most popular things to do in Llanelli Wales is to visit one of the nearby parks such as Pembrey Country Park where you can enjoy camping and time at the beach.

Things to do in Llanelli Wales: Outdoor Activities

Millennium Coastal Park

A visit to Millennium Coastal Park is a must-add in your itinerary when visiting the town, especially if you are looking for things to do with kids in Llanelli Wales.

The Park is a lovely place where you can enjoy a nice picnic, feeding the ducks by the lake, water activities at the beach and miles of paved cycling trails.

Pembrey Country Park

Pembrey Country Park is another great place where you can enjoy South Wales’ outdoors, and it is only 10 minutes drive from Llanelli’s town center, along the A484.

If you are traveling with family and pets, the park has kids play areas, sections where dogs can roam freely and campsites with toilets.

Also, at the park you can enjoy a bit of bird spotting and walks along the beach.

Brecon Beacons National Park

If you want a true outdoors experience, Brecon Beacons National Park is just 30 miles northeast of Llanelli’s town center, and offers plenty of outdoor opportunities such as:

Hiking & Climbing

The park is home to five peaks that include the twin peaks of Pen-y-Fan and Corn Du (Pen y Flan is South Wales’ highest peak).

If you are an inexperienced hiker and are planning to hike to the summit of Pen y Fan, take the route from the Storey Arms Centre as it is the easiest hiking route to the summit of Pen y Flan.

If you are traveling to the park for the first time, it’s a good idea to make your way to one of the park’s visitor centers such as the National Park Visitor Centre (60 minutes drive by car).

From the National Park Visitor Centre, the Storey Arms Outdoor Education Centre is only a mile along the A470.

Caving & River Walks

The Brecon Beacons National Park is also home to the village of Ystradfellte, which is renowned for its nearby caving opportunities and hikes along the rivers. One such cave is Porth yr Ogof, located a mile south of the village.

Apart from caving, another popular thing to do near the village it’s taking a hike along the River Mellte and River Hepste whose footpaths pass along beautiful waterfalls.

The village of Ystradfellte is only a short 20 minute drive from the National Park Visitor Center (take the A4215 towards Heol Senni).

Things to do in Llanelli Wales: Places of Interest

Parc Howard Museum

If you are an art enthusiast, the Parc Howard Museum houses an excellent collection of paintings, artworks and 19th century artifacts such as beautiful pottery items.


Carreg Cennen Castle

The United Kingdom is home to exceptional beautiful castles and Carreg Cennen Castle is no exception. This 13th century castle sits on a beautiful hilltop which offers breathtaking views of the area around.

Sections of the castle are partly in ruins but you can still get a pretty good idea into how the medieval castle must’ve looked back then.

For around £3 ($5), you can take a guided-tour of the castle as well as the cave that runs beneath it. To get here, simply take the A476 route towards Llandeilo (it takes around 30 minutes by car).

Things to do in Llanelli Wales: Shopping

If you are looking to enjoy a bit of shopping, Llanelli is home to the St. Elli Shopping centre and the massive Parc Trostre Retail Park, which is home to many popular department stores as well as food places such as KFC and Pizza Hut.

Things to do in Llanelli Wales: Nightlife & Entertainment

Llanelli is a small town and its nightlife consists mainly of bars and pubs with nightly live entertainment such as karaoke and sport nights.

For a pleasant evening out, the Llanelli Entertainment Centre (Theatr Elli) is a great place to catch a movie as well as weekly theater plays


Things to do in Llanelli Wales: Events & Festivals

Welsh International Open

If you are a bowling enthusiast, the Welsh International Open is held here annually at the City & County of Swansea Indoor Bowls Club in late January.

Llanelli Christmas Carnival

The Llanelli Christmas Carnival is one of the most popular events in Llanelli and gives way to the Christmas season.

If you travel to Llanelli during November, the town switches the Christmas lights and you can enjoy beautiful parades as well as family orientated activities.

Llanelli Beer Festival

The Beer Festival in Llanelli is another family-friendly event held in August and it is one of the most popular summer events of the year.

At the festival, kids can enjoy plenty of fun activities, while adults can sample some fine brews.

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Dumfries Scotland is located just a 20 miles north of the border with the county of England.

Apart from walking tours of the town, a vacation to Dumfries Scotland offers plenty of outdoor opportunities such as hiking at the Galloway Forest Park and water activities along the Dumfries coast line.

If you are traveling to Dumfries Scotland for the first time, the town is famed by the nearby ruins of Sweetheart Abbey and ‘The Merrick’, which is the highest mountain in southern Scotland.

Things to do in Dumfries Scotland: Outdoor Activities

Hiking, Climbing & Biking

Galloway Forest Park

If you are looking to explore Scotland’s natural scenery during your Dumfries Scotland vacation, the Galloway Forest Park is only 40 miles west of the city center.

If you are visiting Galloway Park for the first time, it’s best to start at one of the park’s visitor centers such as Glentrool visitor center.

To get there, take the A712 road towards Newton Stewart and then take the A714 road towards Glentrool Village where you’ll find directions to the Glentrool visitor center.

Once there, the park has plenty of marked hiking and biking trails around Loch Trool, as well as designated picnic areas.

If you love climbing, the park is also home to ‘The Merrick’, which is one of the highest peaks in Scotland, standing at over 800 meters.

If you are a climbing or hiking enthusiast, the town of Newton Stewart is home to a few tour operators that offer organized day treks to the summit of ‘The Merrick’.

Drumlanrig Castle and Country Park

If you are traveling to Dumfries Scotland with kids, one of the best places to enjoy outdoor activities it’s at Drumlanrig Castle and Country Park.

This place offers many facilities and many easy hiking and biking trails, as well as a kid’s play areas where the little ones can climb and roam freely.

Camping & Water Activities

Another excellent place for finding fun outdoor activities it’s along the coastline of Dumfries Scotland.

In fact, Dumfries Scotland is just 20 miles from the coastline, which is home to beautiful sandy beaches and cliff tops where you can enjoy breathtaking views of the sea.

For instance, Sandyhills Bay is home to a camping and caravan site where you can enjoy camping overlooking the beach.

Sandyhills Bay is only a 30 minute drive south of Dumfries Scotland, along the A710.

Another popular area not far from Sandyhills it’s Rockcliffe, which is also home to a couple of sandy beaches.

Things to do in Dumfries Scotland: Places of Interest

Dumfries Museum and Camera Obscura

If you are a history buff, the Dumfries Museum and Camera Obscura is one of the best museums in the UK.

The museum, which is housed in an old windmill, is an exciting place where you can learn more about the region’s early history, weapons and tools used.

The Camera Obscura section is actually located on the windmill’s tower and it is great vantage point for amazing views of the city.

Sweetheart Abbey Ruins

The Sweetheart Abbey Ruins are located in the village of New Abbey, just 7 miles south of Dumfries Scotland.

The 13th century Sweetheart Abbey is one of the most popular abbeys, and the ruins of this abbey are one of the best preserved in Scotland.

You can take a stroll around the abbey and appreciate the standing parts of this monastery, the gardens and a very old cemetery.

Drumlanrig Castle

If you are visiting Dumfries Scotland for the fist time, a visit to a castle is a must-add on your itinerary.

For instance, you can tour the beautiful Drumlanrig Castle, which is a 17th century castle located on Drumlanrig Mains, just 15 miles north of Dumfries’ city center.

You can tour the castle, the gardens and the Country Estate, although the Castle itself is only open between March and August.

Wanlockhead Village

If you are adding Drumlanrig Castle to the itinerary, Wanlockhead Village is just a further 10 miles from Drumlanrig Castle, along the A76.

This village is famed for being Scotland’s highest village, located on a 500 meter elevation.

At the village, you can explore the Lead Mining Museum and an 18th century library, which is one of the oldest in Europe.

Kagyu Samyé Ling Monastery

Visiting the Kagyu Samyé Ling Monastery is, undoubtedly, one of the most popular things to do in Dumfries Scotland.

If you’ve never seen a Buddhist temple before, you can come here and get a real glimpse of a gilded temple, statues of Buddha and the famous thangkas art works.

To get to the temple, take the A709 route towards Lockerbie and from there the B723 road towards Eskdalemuir (around 35 minutes by car).

Things to do in Dumfries Scotland: Shopping

For a bit of shopping, head to the High Street where you can find small stores and boutique type shops.

Also, along Irish Street, you can find the popular Loreburne Shopping Centre and Marks & Spencer store where you can enjoy a bit of retail shopping.

Things to do in Dumfries Scotland: Nightlife & Entertainment

The nightlife in Dumfries consists mainly of pubs and bars offering live entertainment such as karaoke and sport nights.

The High Street and the area around is where you’ll find most of the pubs and bars such as the popular Globe Inn pub.

Entertainment-wise, the town is home to an Odeon Cinema (Queen Street) and the Robert Burns Center (Church Street) where you can catch the latest releases.

Things to do in Dumfries Scotland: Events & Festivals

Dumfries Film Festival

If you are movie buff and love indie movies, the Dumfries Film Festival is held in late April. The event aims to promote the indie films and is a great event to see up-and-coming talent.

Knockengorroch Festival

If you travel to Dumfries in late May, you can catch the Knockengorroch Festival, which aims to promote Celtic heritage.

This family-friendly event is home to live entertainment, workshops and play areas for the little ones.

Dumfries & Galloway Wildlife Festival

The Dumfries & Galloway Wildlife Festival is held in early April and if you are traveling with kids, this is one of the most popular events to attend.

During the two-week long festival, everyone can enjoy nature-based activities such as walks that include wildlife spotting.

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