Travelling around the UK

It's generally easy to get around the UK thanks to good road and rail networks. There are also other public transport options such as local buses, coaches, flights and ferries.

Car hire
Flights
Trains
Coaches & buses
Ferries
Taxis & transfers

Driving from home is a popular option as it means you've got transport available while you're away - great if you're planning on travelling around the local area.

However, you'll need to make sure you have parking available with your accommodation and also plan out parking for day trips and tourist attractions. You can save on parking across the UK by pre-booking with the likes of JustPark and Q-Park.

Car hire

Hiring a car for your UK holiday is a great way to give extra flexibility and freedom to your trip. Many car hire companies offer cheap rates on UK rentals and have new safety measures in place.

Check out the latest deals from hire car companies including weekend offers and long-term rental deals. Alternatively, compare prices with car hire booking engines such as Holiday Autos, Rentalcars.com and Zest Car Rental.

Avis
Easirent
Easycar
Enterprise
Europcar
Green Motion
Hertz
National
Sixt
Thrifty

An alternative to traditional car hire is to get membership of a car club. Options include Zipcar and Enterprise Car Club^*.

Check car hire deals >>

Flights

Domestic flights between regional airports in the UK and flights to/from the Channel Islands, Isle of Man and the Republic of Ireland are operated by the following airlines.

Aer Lingus
Aurigny
Blue Islands
British Airways
Eastern Airways
easyJet
Loganair
Ryanair

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Trains

Much of the UK is well connected via the rail network making it easy to get away for a holiday by train.

Book early with saver tickets with the likes of Trainline, Omio and Rail Europe to save on train tickets to destinations across the UK. Usually, the earlier you book the cheaper you'll find tickets.

Popular destinations accessible by train include:

London
Manchester
Birmingham
Edinburgh
Glasgow
Bath
Brighton
Oxford
Leeds
Cardiff
Newcastle
Liverpool

Check train deals >>

Coaches & buses

Coach travel is a cheap alternative for travelling around the UK with a good network of routes between popular cities, towns and holiday hotspots. Affordable intercity services are operated by the likes of Megabus and Flixbus.

Flixbus
Megabus
National Express
Scottish Citylink
Terravision
TrawsCymru
Ulsterbus

Frequent coach services link major hubs such as London, Manchester, Birmingham and Glasgow. Meanwhile, coach routes to holiday parks operated by Butlins and Pontins are also available. Compare coach fares with booking platforms such as Omio and Kiwi.com.

Popular UK destinations by coach

Bath
Belfast
Birmingham
Blackpool
Bournemouth
Brighton
Bristol
Cambridge
Canterbury
Cardiff
Cheltenham
Chester
Edinburgh
Exeter
Glasgow
Leeds
Leicester
Liverpool
London
Manchester
Newcastle
Newquay
Norwich
Nottingham
Oxford
Plymouth
Poole
Taunton
Winchester
York

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Ferries

There is a network of ferry routes linking the islands of the UK and Ireland including the Channel Islands, Isle of Man and the many islands dotted around the British Isles. Popular ferries link Northern Ireland and the many Scottish islands to the UK mainland.

Brittany Ferries
Caledonian MacBrayne
Condor Ferries
DFDS
Irish Ferries
Isle of Man Steam Packet
Isles of Scilly Travel
Manche Iles Express
Northlink Ferries
P&O Ferries
Pentland Ferries
Red Funnel
Stena Line
Wightlink

Ferry operators also offer routes to the Republic of Ireland and mainland Europe including the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Spain. Below are popular ferry ports in the UK and the Channel Islands.

Belfast
Cairnryan
Dover
Fishguard
Folkestone
Guernsey
Harwich
Holyhead
Hull
Inner Hebrides
Isle of Man
Isle of Wight
Isles of Scilly
Jersey
Larne
Liverpool
Lymington
Newhaven
Orkney Islands
Outer Hebrides
Pembroke
Plymouth
Poole
Portsmouth
Shetland Islands
Southampton

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Taxis & transfers

Another alternative method for travelling to and from your UK holiday destination is with private taxis and airport transfers. Providers such as Uber and Minicabit offer a modern twist on booking rides on the go.