Swansea Bay is in south-west Wales, in the west of the United Kingdom, and is easy to reach by car, train, coach, sea, or air. Just a 3½ hour drive from London, and 2¾ hours from Birmingham, it’s the ideal place to escape to for a relaxing short break, or longer holiday, in peaceful surroundings. In addition, fast and frequent train and coach services link major UK cities to Swansea Bay. If you’re travelling from further afield, it’s straightforward to reach us by sea or air – choose an option below for further information on each method of transport.
The M4 Motorway from the east gives direct access to all parts of Swansea Bay.
For more information on where to park, parking charges, Park & Ride, etc. go to the Council’s Car Parks pages.
To avoid parking problems in Swansea, you may wish to use one of two Park and Ride sites on the periphery of the city:
Fast and frequent train services link all regions of the UK to Swansea Bay either direct or with one easy interchange. Direct trains run from London Paddington, Bristol Parkway, Cardiff, Newport, Hereford, Shrewsbury, Crewe and Manchester to the Swansea Bay area, and there are good connections from the Midlands, north-east, south, and south west England at Bristol Parkway. For travellers arriving by air, there are fast rail/air links to Swansea Bay from London (Gatwick and Heathrow), Bristol and Cardiff International Airports. The scenic Heart of Wales line also gets you direct from Shrewsbury to Swansea.
National Rail Enquiries on 08457 48 49 50
Great Western Railway
Transport for Wales Rail
Frequent Eurostar trains link Paris, Lille and Brussels directly with London St Pancras International then via Underground or taxi link to London Paddington for onward train travel to Swansea Bay. Eurostar runs frequently between 0600 and 2100 daily and is for foot passengers only.
Trains to Swansea connect with the Stena Line day and night sailings from Rosslare at Fishguard.
Through trains to Cardiff (with onward service to Swansea) connect with Stena Line and Irish Ferries at Holyhead
You can buy your bus ticket for onward travel from your destination station when you buy your train ticket at principal National Rail stations. Plus Bus tickets give unlimited travel for one day by bus in Swansea city and Mumbles*, Neath, Port Talbot and valleys at a modest add-on fare. At Swansea, the frequent Metro buses link the train and bus stations for connections to all other points.
*not valid in most of Gower
Gower Explorer
Frequent bus services from Swansea to south and north Gower including Rhossili run from Mondays to Saturdays.
There are frequent coach services to Swansea Bay from all regions of the UK, either direct or with one easy interchange
National Express runs direct to Swansea from Central London, Gatwick and Heathrow Airports, Birmingham, Bristol and Cardiff; and with intermediate transfers from most other parts of the UK.
Megabus runs direct to Swansea from Aberystwyth, Bristol, Cardiff & London; and with one intermediate transfer from Birmingham, Leeds & Manchester. There is also a daily direct service from Rosslare to Swansea via Pembroke Dock.
First Cymru X10 runs direct to Swansea from Cardiff every hour, daytime weekdays; less frequent on Sundays.
Local bus services leave from stops adjacent to the coach station at Swansea for all parts of the city and region including Gower and Mumbles.
For comprehensive information on travel to local attractions, beaches walks and other points of visitor interest, visit www.swanseabaywithoutacar.com.
There are excellent train and coach links to Swansea from London Gatwick and Heathrow Airports and good train links from Bristol International and Cardiff International. The nearest international airport to Swansea is at Cardiff – a little over an hour away from Swansea Bay by road or rail – and offers scheduled flights from many European cities and now also from Doha in Qatar.
Internal flights to Cardiff are available from UK airports at Aberdeen, Anglesey, Belfast, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Newcastle. Alternatively, Swansea has its own airport, which is suitable for small aircraft. The airport is located in Fairwood on the Gower Peninsula.
Swansea, Wales’ Waterfront City, has a Blue Flag Marina and docks at the heart of a new, multi-million pound development. Ferry services arrive at the West Wales ports of Fishguard and Pembroke Dock and at the North Wales port of Holyhead.
Ferries travel between Rosslare (south-east Ireland) and ports in Pembrokeshire (south-west Wales). These ports are approximately 1½ hours’ drive from Swansea Bay. Fishguard has a train link to Swansea connecting out of daytime and overnight ferries and Pembroke Dock has a direct Megabus service to Swansea (from Rosslare)
Operator: Irish Ferries Journey time: from 3¾ hours tel: 0871 7300400 web: www.irishferries.com.
Operator: Stena Line Journey time: from 3½ hours tel: 0844 7707070 web: www.stenaline.co.uk.
Cardiff International Airport
Swansea Airport
