Transport for Wales runs a direct train from Chester to Llandudno that takes about an hour and four minutes, with nine stops on the way. On a weekday it left Chester at around 34 minutes past each hour, from 07:35 to 19:34. Thirteen of these direct trains ran on the timetable we checked, with the 07:35, 15:33, 17:32 and 18:35 a minute or two off the usual pattern. The quickest and the typical run were both listed at 64 minutes, so it makes no difference to the journey time which of them you catch. The last, the 19:34, gets you into Llandudno at about 20:38.
To leave Chester before 07:35 or after 19:34, change at Llandudno Junction. The weekday timetable had journeys that way from as early as 06:23 until 20:53, taking about 76 minutes, so the change adds only about 12 minutes to the trip from Chester. Those connections also run through the day, mostly at 53 minutes past, which puts two Llandudno departures from Chester in most hours: 09:34 and 09:53, for example, or 13:34 and 13:53.
A few journeys finish by bus instead, from Llandudno Junction, Conwy or Colwyn Bay, including journeys leaving Chester as late as 21:54. They take anything from about 72 minutes to an hour and 40 minutes, so for most trips the direct train or the Llandudno Junction change is the better bet.
Driving the 50 miles along the A55 takes about 61 minutes, within a few minutes of the direct train, so from Chester there is little to choose between them on time. The train has the advantage at the far end, because it stops at Llandudno station, from where Mostyn Street is a nine-minute walk of 650 metres.
Journey times and changes below come from the rail and bus timetables for Tuesday 1 December 2026. Weekend and holiday timetables differ, so check the day you travel.
From Chester on the weekday we checked: about hourly between 07:35 and 19:34.
By road it is about 50 miles from Chester to Llandudno, mostly via the N Wales Expy/A55 — roughly 1h 1m with clear roads. Car parks in Llandudno are listed on the Getting Here page.