Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Essentials
GETTING THERE
Trains (First Great Western) from London arrive at Central
Station on Wood Street every half-hour during the day, costing around £64 for a
round-trip; the trip takes 2 hours. There are also regular services from cities such as
Bristol, Birmingham, Edinburgh, and Glasgow.
National Express
(
&
0871/781-8181;
www.nationalexpress.com) has frequent
buses from London (a 3
1
⁄
2
-hr. journey) and from other cities.
Cardiff International Airport
(
&
01446/711111;
www.tbicardiffairport.com)
is 12 miles west of the city.
Flybe
(
&
0871/700-2000;
www.flybe.com) has five
flights a week, and
Eastern Airways
(
&
08703
/
669-100;
www.easternairways.
com) 11 flights a week from Newcastle. Flybe has up to eight flights a day from
Glasgow and between them Flybe and
Bmibaby
(
&
0905/8282828;
www.
bmibaby.com) have almost 30 flights a week from Edinburgh. Flybe also has up to
four daily flights connecting Cardiff with Paris.
KLM
(
&
0871/231-0000;
www.
klm.com) flies between Cardiff and Amsterdam;
Aer Lingus
(
&
0871/718-5000
from U.K.; www.aerlingus.com) has a number of daily flights connecting Cardiff with
Dublin (the latter has flights to and from New York, Chicago, Boston, and Orlando).
Cardiff Bus
(
&
0871/2002233;
www.cardiffbus.com) operates bus no. X91,
between the airport and bus station (in front of the rail station) hourly from 8:45am
to 6:40pm Monday to Friday; Saturdays 6:25am to 6:40pm; and on Sundays, no. X5
and X91 operate from 10am to 7:30pm. A one-way trip is £3.70.
VISITOR INFORMATION
Cardiff Tourist Information Centre,
at the Old
Library, the Hayes (
&
029/2087-3573;
www.visitcardiff.com), is in the heart of the
city. Hours are Monday to Saturday 9:30am to 5:30pm, Sunday 10am to 4pm (July-
Aug daily 9:30am-7pm). The Cardiff Bay office, the Tube, on Harbour Drive
(
&
029/2046-3833
), is open daily 10am to 6pm.
GETTING AROUND
As in most British cities, don't expect to use a car while
you're here. Many of the places you'll want to visit are within walking distance of one
another, and there's a good bus service, even to sights on the outskirts. One of your
main journeys will be between city and Bay, which are connected by bus every few
minutes. The
Valley Lines Day Explorer
rail ticket (www.arrivatrains.co.uk), avail-
able from any station, gives unlimited travel on lines around Cardiff, and up to Mer-
thyr Tydfil for £9.10 adults, £4.55 children.
Buses cost £1.50 (children £1). The
Cardiff Bus
office
(
Bws Caerdydd
in
Welsh), across from the bus station in Wood Street (
&
029/2066-6444;
www.
cardiffbus.com), has full route details. It's open Monday to Friday 8:30am to 5:30pm,
Saturday 9am to 4:30pm. The service on Sunday morning is infrequent, and the last
bus each day is at around 11pm.
Taxis are perhaps best reserved for getting home in the evening. Fares range from
around £7 to £15. There are taxi stands at the rail and bus station and at St. David's
Hall. Hotels and restaurants will call taxis for you, or contact
Capital Cabs
(
&
029/2077-7777;
www.taxinumber.com).
A good way to get an overall view of the city and its sights is a hop-on, hop-off
open-top bus tour by
City Sightseeing
(
&
029/2047-3432;
www.city-sightseeing.
com). Tours start outside Cardiff Castle. Adults pay £8.99, students and children ages
5 to 15 £3.99. Tour times change from month to month.
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