Frequently asked questions

No fixed time slot — your ticket is date-specific rather than timed, so it's valid any time during opening hours on the day you choose. Just arrive within opening hours on your selected date.

Your admission is reserved and confirmed before you arrive, so you go straight in with your mobile ticket rather than queuing at the desk. There's no timed entry to coordinate — you choose the day, we handle the booking.

Full access to the great church, the cloister, the monastic ruins and the riverside abbey grounds. It's one ticket covering the whole site for the day.

We send your ticket to your email as a mobile ticket with a QR code once your booking is confirmed. There's nothing to print — show it on your phone at the entrance.

Yes — the abbey has been open to the sky since its roof was stripped after the 1536 Dissolution. The entire visit is outdoors within the ruined walls, so dress for the weather and bring a coat or umbrella if rain is forecast.

The abbey stays open in all but the most severe weather, since it's a roofless ruin with no indoor galleries to shelter in. Bring suitable clothing — a wet-weather visit still shows the tracery and stonework beautifully, and many visitors find the atmosphere even more striking in rain or mist.

Essential repairs to the weathered sandstone on the church's upper walls mean some scaffolding may be visible on parts of the structure. The abbey remains fully open to visitors throughout this conservation work.

Chepstow is the closest town, about 7km away on the A466, with bus route 69 stopping near the abbey. From Bristol it's roughly a 45-minute drive over the Severn Bridge; from Cardiff, around an hour via the M4 and A466 through the Wye Valley.

Most visitors spend one to two hours exploring the great church, cloister and monastic ruins — longer if you linger over the window tracery or walk the wider abbey grounds along the Wye. There's no fixed schedule, so you set the pace.

Yes. The scale of the ruined church, the open grassy ruins to explore and the riverside setting tend to appeal to children, and the site's flat terrain makes it easy to navigate as a family. It can be windy and exposed, so dress accordingly.

The junior rate covers ages 5 to 17; students with valid ID also qualify. Children under 5 enter free. Bring ID or proof of status to the gate.

Visitors aged 65 and over qualify for the senior rate — bring valid ID to the gate.

One family ticket covers 2 adults and up to 3 children aged 5–17, with full access to the whole abbey site — it's the most economical way for a family to visit together rather than buying separate tickets.

The abbey precinct is largely flat and rated as accessible, though grass and stone surfaces can be slippery when wet. Disabled visitors are admitted free with one companion also free — contact the site ahead of your visit if you have specific access needs.

Yes, personal photography is welcome throughout the ruins and grounds — the empty window tracery against the sky is one of the most photographed views in Wales.

The abbey is closed on 24–26 December and 1 January, and runs shorter hours in winter (10am–4pm, 1 November–28 February). We'll flag it if a closure affects the date you've chosen.

William Wordsworth's 1798 poem, written after a walking tour of the Wye valley near the abbey, and J.M.W. Turner's watercolour studies of its stonework from the 1790s helped establish Tintern as one of the founding sites of the Romantic and Picturesque movements, drawing organised boat tours up the Wye from the 1780s onward.

Because admission is date-specific, please choose your travel date with care when you book. All sales are final once confirmed; the only exception is a full refund if the operator cancels your visit. See our terms for the full policy.

No. We're an independent concierge service for international visitors. We obtain a genuine admission ticket on your behalf and handle the booking in your own language. Our service fee is included in the price shown, and you can always buy directly from Cadw if you prefer.

The price you see is the price you pay — we show it in your local currency where we can and charge exactly that amount, with no surprise fees at checkout. Payment is by card on a secure page.