Half term is here and as Halloween takes place during the October school break there are plenty of activities to enjoy in Wales! From spooky places to visit to nonseasonal fun as well, this half-term is sure to fly by.
The autumn school holiday takes place from Saturday, October 28 until Sunday, November 5 meaning you can also enjoy some bonfire night fun. As always you can choose fun for big and little monsters with pumpkin festivals, firework displays and even some rugby!
So prepare to wrap up warm and enjoy these great half-term events, across Wales. You can keep up to date with the latest What's On news by signing up to the newsletter here.
READ MORE: Halloween 2023 and half term events in and around Cardiff this autumn
READ NEXT: Six Christmas markets you can visit within a two-hour drive of Cardiff
Cardiff Castle Underground Cinema
With its dark and spooky setting, Cardiff Castle's underground cinema will get you in the Halloween spirit whilst watching your favourite family-friendly Halloween classics. Set in one of the oldest parts of the Castle, the Undercroft will be transformed to screen four Halloween films.
Monster House, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Hocus Pocus, and Beetlejuice will be shown throughout the day on Tuesday, October 31. Excluding Beetlejuice, which is a 12A, anyone from the age of two can visit Cardiff Castle and enjoy the underground cinema. Ticket prices start at £5.25 per child and £8.25 per adult, you can buy your tickets here.
Welsh Museums Festival - across Wales
The Welsh Museums Festival is back, with Halloween very much at the centre of its celebrations this half-term, alongside other activities. Taking place in museums across Wales, the festival’s brand-new activity pack is full of fun facts about the history of Halloween in Wales and across the world.
The free booklet is also packed with ghostly games and activities to keep the kids entertained, so parents and carers are also free to enjoy what your local museum has to offer. The museums taking part include Amgueddfa Ceredigion Museum, Big Pit National Coal Museum, and Chepstow Museum. The festival is running from Saturday, October 28 until Sunday, November 5 and you can find out more here.
Cardiff Pumpkin Festival
The Cardiff Pumpkin Festival at Coedarhydyglyn Park, St Nicholas, runs until Tuesday, October 31, where three different sessions of Halloween fun will take place. There are three festivals to choose from, the Daytime Festival, Twilight Festival, and the Scare Fest after dark, which is for over 14s only.
All festivals feature spooky or scary activities, a maize trail, and fun fairground rides. You can book tickets for the Cardiff Pumpkin Festival, here. Tickets (per car) start at £7.50 and there will be some fees for extra activities.
Zip World's Monsters of the Mine and Ffear Fforest - Betws-y-Coed & Rhigos
Try and escape the underground monsters while getting a thrill-seeking zip line at Zip World Tower, or dodge the terrifying clowns up at the Betws-y-Coed site while trying out their attractions like the cursed rollercoaster. The Welsh tourist attraction totally embraces the horror at Halloween and you can take a look at the terror on offer and book tickets, here. You can read how our reporters felt facing their fears at the event, here, and they run until Wednesday, November 1.
Autumn Apple Trail - Wrexham
Taking place at the National Trust property Erddig, in Wrexham, is the Autumn Apple Trail. You can enjoy the family-friendly apple trail around the Grade-I listed garden.
Follow the clues and discover where the evil witch has hidden the poisoned apple. The Autumn Apple Trail runs until Sunday, November 5. The trail is free and normal admission charges apply to enter Erddig, you can find out more here.
Sophiaworks - Cardiff
Sophiaworks is back with a bang in 2023 with a great firework display taking place in Sophia Gardens in Cardiff. This will be the fifth time the stadium has held its Sophiaworks extravaganza with all previous years selling out.
There will be live music and family entertainment, including funfair rides, street food, and a spectacular fireworks display. Sophiaworks takes place from 5.30pm on Saturday, November 4 and you can read more here.
Spooks in the City - Swansea
Swansea Council has confirmed its popular family-friendly Spooks in the City event is returning this year. The fun day will begin with a "movie-inspired performance" at 11am.
After that, there will be a whole host of Halloween-themed live entertainment, free fun rides, games, and spooky stories, as well as characters to meet, face painting, and performances from local dance companies. At 2.30pm, there will be the chance to learn a "very popular and well-known dance", with a mass performance to follow at 3pm.
Spooks in the City is taking place on Saturday, October 28 from 11am to 4pm at St David's Place, Swansea city centre (near Copr Bay bridge and the old Iceland supermarket) and is free to enjoy.
Escape Alive - Abergele
Head to Gwrych Castle in Abergele for the ultimate fear event. Escape Alive is a fully immersive Halloween castle tour, packed with scary surprises and terror lurking around every shadowy corner.
Customers will be able to choose from family-friendly sessions earlier in the evening, perfect for a half-term day out, or if you’re brave enough, you can pick adult-only (14+) after-dark sessions when things get really scary. The event doesn’t end there - if you make it out alive, you can make the most of the ‘Gory Grounds’ which will feature live entertainment, street food, drinks, a Halloween light trail, fairground rides, an outdoor cinema, and more.
Escape Alive is running until Tuesday, October 31 and you can book your tickets here.
Firework display at St Helen's - Swansea
This year's display will be 'Night at the Movies'-themed and will see "glow entertainers, movie-themed attractions and walkabout acts". Little ones will also be able to meet their favourite film characters including Barbie, Spider-Man, Batman and his Batmobile, Wonder Woman, and Star Wars heroes like Boba Fett and Darth Vader.
The event is ticketed, taking place at St Helen's ground on Bryn Road, Brynmill on Sunday, November 5 and you can read more here.
Fun HQ - Cardiff
New to Cardiff is the brilliant family entertainment destination Fun HQ which has clip and climb and soft play. Although this may seem like it is just for kids, it is not and you can read our reporter's experience of trying out Fun HQ, here.
In the climbing area, there are over 30 climbing challenges to enjoy and this section is for children aged over four and adults. There is also a soft play zone for children under 12.
Tickets for climbing start at £11.95 per climber and prices for the Play Zone start at just £2 for toddlers and £5 for children 4-12 years old. Leap of Faith and the slide are included in a more expensive ticket, starting at £14.95. Click here to find out more.
Pumpkin picking, carving, and more at Gower Fresh - Gower
Get ready for a spine-chilling adventure like never before at Gower Fresh Christmas Trees Farm as it hosts a Halloween extravaganza that will leave your heart racing. From Saturday, October 28 until Tuesday, October 31 things may take a terrifying twist. Grab your Site Access Pass and unlock the gateway to the RolyPoly Scary Fun Party, where even the ghouls can't help but chuckle and ghoulish games await.
Prepare for a Ghostbusters show that's so silly you'll be shrieking with laughter as well as fright. It's where the spirits of the barn come alive with spectral surprises. Additional tickets are also available for Pumpkin Carving, where you'll be able to shape your pumpkin into a ghastly masterpiece, and the Mad Scientist Farm Lab Interactive Show, hosted by the enigmatic but clumsy Dr. Floss. Read more here.
Beaumaris Fireworks - Anglesey
A great firework display in Anglesey is Beaumaris Fireworks. Taking place at Beaumaris Pier on Saturday, November 4 the bonfire will be lit at 7pm and the firework display from 7.30pm. Entry is £5 per person and accompanied children go free. Check out their Facebook page here.
Cymru VS Barbarians - Cardiff
Alun Wyn Jones is poised to grace Principality Stadium’s famous turf one more time, when the Barbarians play Wales in Cardiff on Saturday, November 4. This fixture is paying tribute to the world’s most-capped player and former Wales captain, Alun Wyn Jones, as well as providing a homecoming for the Wales Senior Men’s team after the Rugby World Cup in France. Read more here.
Llandudno Fireworks
Llandudno Town Council confirmed the hugely popular event would be taking place, weather permitting, at 5:30pm on Llandudno’s North Shore [LL30 2LN] on Sunday, October 29. There is no charge but donations are welcomed and help fund the annual display. Read more here.
Halloween at Fonmon Castle - Vale of Glamorgan
Fonmon Castle, near Barry, is putting on daytime Halloween fun for the youngsters. The kids activities, including meeting costume characters, the Spooky Disco and skeleton garden will run from Saturday, October 28 to Tuesday, October 31. Visit fonmoncastle.com for more.
We'll add more to this list as we find them - if you've a Halloween or half term big event on, email stephanie.colderick@reachplc.com
Some more events we've found:
Halloween Spooktacular Afternoon Tea and Film at St Donat’s Castle
St Donat's medieval castle is hosting a Halloween-themed afternoon tea on October 28 and October 29. The event starts at 2pm where you'll be seated in the grand Dining Hall as pianist Sharon Richards plays various Halloween songs. You will then enjoy a Halloween movie under the glowing lights of the Bradenstoke Hall. Halloween costumes are also encouraged For tickets and more information, click here. Takes place on October 28, and October 29, at 2pm.
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