Travelling to South Wales

Here's some advice of how to get to South Wales. For other website info on travelling to and around South Wales try our Travel Information Websites page.

The main road route to South Wales is via the M4 from London and Bristol. From the north the A470 is the main route. Coming along the M4 into Wales can be tedious but the view into Wales as you cross over the Severn Estuary via either of the Severn Bridges is well worth it. However, the good views are soon tempered when you have to pay the toll for crossing the bridge into Wales! The current toll (2009) is £5.40 for a car, £10.90 for vans and mini-buses, and £16.30 for lorries. Bizarrely, there isn't a toll for travelling back into England!! Some see this as a tax for entering Wales. We see this as a small price to pay to visit Wales!

If you're coming from the north or north east then you can avoid the toll by travelling via Monmouth. You can plan your route using this site - http://www.viamichelin.com which allows you to plan your route to Wales from anywhere in Europe.

National Express runs coaches between all major towns and cities. You can get to Cardiff from most places in the UK via London or Birmingham. Prices are very reasonable. Check out their website for more information.

There are two main routes to South Wales by train, either from London and Bristol or from central England. The express trains to and from London are every hour with slightly slower trains between. The journey time from London is about 2 hours. To plan your journey try the National Rail website which also has information on engineering work and other delays. Try avoid travelling on Sundays as engineering work is more common and can often cause delays or diversions. The Trainline website allows you to check timetables as well as book tickets online.

Wales has it's own International airport - Cardiff, Wales (CWL) (http://www.cial.co.uk) with flights throughout Europe and the UK. Transatlantic flights to and from North America are rare though there has been a weekly service to and from Toronto in Canada in the past. A service to and from Florida is due to start in July for the holiday market. Cardiff Wales airport is within 2 hours drive of all of South Wales.

The best way to reach Wales directly by air is via Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS). There are several flights a day to and from Amsterdam with a journey time of 1 hour. KLM and Northwest Airlines do combined fares across the Atlantic to Cardiff via Amsterdam. KLM quite often do good offers via their website.

The alternative is to fly to London Heathrow (LHW). This airport is only 150 miles from Cardiff and has worldwide connections. From London Heathrow its about 2 - 3 hours to get to the eastern part of South Wales and perhaps another 1½ hours to get to Swansea and beyond.

The main ferry routes to South Wales are from Ireland.

You can travel on Stena (http://www.stenaline.ie) who operate frequent services from Rosslare to Fishguard. The slow ferry takes under 4 hours and the highspeed Cat under 2 hours.

Swansea-Cork ferries (http://www.swanseacorkferries.com) used to operate a 3 times a week service. However, they are currently out of service due to a lack of a ship and hope to start operating again in 2008.

Irish Ferries (http://www.irishferries.com) operate between Rosslare and Pembroke Dock. The crossing time is just under 4 hours.

All companies allow you to book online.

For a unique experience you can travel to Penarth from Bristol or various ports in the West Country on the paddle steamer Waverley or the Balmoral. Round trip excursions can also be made from Penarth. The view from the centre of the Bristol Channel definitely gives you another perspective of South Wales. See http://www.waverleyexcursions.co.uk for more information.

http://www.bmibaby.com - low cost airline operating from Cardiff airport.

http://www.ggcarriages.co.uk - Llantrisant based minibus and mini-coach service, with trailers if required.

http://www.severnbridge.co.uk/toll_prices.shtml - current Severn Bridge tolls.