www.visitcardiff.net
- bringing you closer to this beautiful country of Wales
TRAVEL
Great Western Trains operate a half-hourly 125mph
rapid train service from
Central London (Paddington), to Cardiff (Central) Station, the journey
taking
around 2hours.10minutes. This is by far the quickest method of
travelling from
London to Cardiff, and
can cost as little as £25
with a 7 days Advance Booking. Visit http://www.greatwesterntrains.co.uk/
or call +44 870 000 125 (0870 000 125).
CARDIFF
INTERNATIONAL
AIRPORT
New services
to Cardiff
International
Airport
commenced 12th
June, 2005,
from Cardiff
Central and
Penarth
(Cogan), with a
journey time
from Cardiff of
30 minutes, and
from Penarth
(Cogan) of just
21 minutes.
Trains run
hourly on
Weekdays
throughout the
day from early
morning until
late evening,
and two hourly
on Sundays.
There is FREE
Parking at
Penarth (Cogan)
Station. These services
also continue
to Bridgend,
with direct
connections to
trains for
Swansea and
West
Wales.
For full
timetable
details, go to www.arrivatrainswales.co.uk
PENARTH
For local services from Cardiff
to Penarth,
departing every 20 minutes weekdays, and other long distance
services to
Cardiff, visit http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/
or call +44 8457 48 49 50 (08457 484950) for times.
Bargain Tickets are
usually called "Cheap Day Returns, Apex, Super-Saver or Saver
Tickets". Each has differing restrictions
as to travel times. (Note -
Visitors to Britain can buy discounted railcards giving access to the
entire
U.K. rail network. These MUST be purchased in your home country before
travelling to the U.K.)
ALL
WALES
Visit www.walesflexipass.co.uk
(0870 9000 777)
for the “Freedom of Wales” Flexipass. This
gives unlimited travel for 8
or 15 days on all mainline rail services in Wales + many
scheduled bus
services, and free or discounted travel on some of the "Great Little
Trains
of Wales". This is a superb way, at a very reasonable cost, to see much
of
rural Wales, and is highly recommended. Telephone +44 (870) 9000
777.
A North & Mid Wales Flexi Rover ticket
offers similar unlimited travel
benefits by train/bus, but on a more restricted regional basis. Tickets
may be
purchased for either 3 or 7 days travel. Contact (08457) 48 49 50 or
(01766)
512340 or website as above. For the eight "Great Little
Trains" of
Wales, call (01983) 810441, or visit www.whr.co.uk/gltw
Write to GLTW, The Station, Llanfair Caereinion, Mid Wales, UK. SY21
0BR.
National Express ("Flightlink") coaches operate a
regular
service from London Gatwick & London Heathrow terminals direct
to Cardiff's
Central Bus Station. This is the cheapest way of
travelling. Transit times range from around 3 hours from
Heathrow, to 4 hours
15 minutes
from Gatwick. Non-airport services operate from London's Victoria Coach
Station, about 500m. from
the Tube Station.
Coaches depart Cardiff (Central Bus Station) to London
Heathrow, on an hourly basis, during the daytime.
Visit http://www.nationalexpress.co.uk/
or call (08705) 80 80 80. Ticket Office at
Cardiff Bus Station.
Visit http://www.cardiffbus.com/
for
details of Local Services throughout the city and beyond.Services from Cardiff City Centre to Penarth run every 8 minutes in the daytime, and
are numbered
92,93 and 94, departing Wood
Street, (Stop W1) daytime.Evening
Services are numbered
92 & 94, departing
from Stop W1 half-hourly from 1900-2320.
Service 89 via Cardiff
Bay,
Penarth Marina and Esplanade, departs from "The Hayes" shopping area
every ninety minutes at 1800, 1930, 2100 and 2230.
The cheapest fare is an Off Peak Return, obtainable
after 0930 daily, costing about £2 ($3.75) round trip.
"Best
Deal" if
riding
throughout the
City and
Suburbs, is the
CITY RIDER,
which gives
unlimited
travel in
Cardiff &
Penarth.
Costing only
£3.30 ($5) per
Adult, buy on
the first bus
you board, and
transit the
whole of this
beautiful city
and its many
attractions.
Call Cardiff Bus "Traveline"on (08706) 082 608 for
other local service
details. Buses serve the entire city and suburbs, and the
route network
also extends
to Barry, Caerphilly, and Newport.
A "Network Rider" ticket
permits a day's unlimited
travel in the South East Wales region on five different operators
service
routes. At around £4.50 ($6.75), this is incredible value for
sightseers. Visit places such as Caerphilly Castle, Museum of
Welsh Life,
Rhondda Heritage Park, Chepstow Castle & Museum, Newport
Transporter Bridge,
Tredegar House and the delightful Dyffryn Gardens. Buy your
ticket on board the
first bus.
Brecon
Beacons Bus
This
Special Service
direct to the
Beacons
mountains and
Brecon City
from Cardiff
Bus Station,
runs on Sundays
in High Summer.This
is an excellent
way to see the
magnificent
mountains that
form this
dominating
range lying
about 1 hour
north of
Cardiff. For
full details of
times and
fares, click
here:
http://www.cardiffbus.com/services/timetables/TIMES/SU/BB1SU.HTML
Cardiff
International Airport is located at Rhoose, Nr. Barry, about 12 miles
west of Cardiff City Centre.The airport, which is extensively
equipped for large passenger and cargo aircraft, is accessed
via A4232 from the City Centre, A4050
from Culverhouse Cross, then A4266
and B4265 to the west of Barry. All
routes to the airport are well signposted. Flight destinations include
Amsterdam,
Paris, Cork, Dublin, Manchester and Toronto by Scheduled airlines, and
numerous
destinations through Charter operators.
Low Cost operator bmibaby operates to
Spain, Italy, Switzerland and UK airports, with flights throughout the
week to
some destinations.
Fast
Trains (see
above) and Bus Services # X91 and 95 connect the airport with Cardiff
Central Bus and Train
stations,and Car Rental Hire is available at the airport.
"Airport Taxis" are based at the main
Arrivals Terminal.
Visit
Cardiff International Airport
(CWL) on www.cwlfly.com
Phone (01446) 711 111 for fuller details. Flight
Arrivals at
Cardiff International can be accessed on UK TV Teletext and the CWL
website.
OTHER
GATEWAYS TO WALES
CARDIFF is very
accessible from several major airports, european ferries, the Eurostar
Express,
and the main M4 Motorway from London. Visit Eurostar on website (TBA)
or call
+44 8000 96 99 92 (08000 969992) Cardiff International Airport is
located 30
minutes west of the city, and has excellent links through Amsterdam
Airport
to European and U.S. airports. Contact details above.
London (Heathrow) is reached in under 2
½ hours along the M4 Motorway.
London (Gatwick) is approximately 4 hours away. Visit http://www.baa.co.uk/
Manchester Airport is about 3 ½ hours by rail. Visit
www.manchesterairport.co.uk
Birmingham Airport is about 3 ¼ hours by rail. Visit http://www.bhx.co.uk/
Millenium Year
2000 saw the start of daily water taxi
services in Cardiff Bay, together with longer trips outside
the barrage towards
Penarth and Lavernock Point.
The M/V "Cygnet"
operates a regular service
between Penarth Marina and Mermaid Quay on Cardiff's
Waterfront, which is a
handy way of visiting the Cardiff Bay area with its many
attractions, cinemas,
pubs, clubs, ethnic and Welsh restaurants, and the Welsh
Assembly.
As parking in "the Bay" is often difficult,
this is a super way of
travelling for a Day Out in Cardiff's former docklands
districts, now
transformed with millions of pounds of investment into an
upmarket visitor
venue.
In the Summer months, one of Cardiff's most
popular outings is a Day Cruise
on the paddle steamer "Waverley" or the former ferry
"Balmoral", to West Country resorts such as Ilfracombe, Lundy
Island
and Minehead. The "Waverley", the world's last sea going paddle
steamer, carries
around 850 passengers, and has a rapid turn of speed. She was refitted
extensively during the 2000 season with the aid of National
Lottery funding.
Both ships sail from Penarth Pier, and tickets may be purchased on
board, or from Penarth Tourist Information Centre. (Tel 029 2070
8849)(1000-1800
Summer Months).
Warm clothing is recommended for all sailings, as the Bristol Channel
can be
very windy at times
!!
There are, as in all countries, many car rental
firms, some well known, some
not. Many will be familiar to you. You should check
conditions carefully prior
to hiring. In particular, watch for fuel top-up and excess
mileage charges, on
returning the car. Check Yellow Pages for details of Cardiff based
companies.
TAXIS
There are two types of taxis operating in and
around CARDIFF.
Hackney Cabs, which are highly visible in their Black & White
colour
scheme, with a "Taxi" sign, and license plate # under the boot lid.
These can be hailed on the streets at Taxi Ranks, Central
Station etc.
Private Hire cabs. These can only be booked by calling the company's
phone
number in the Yellow Pages or Blue BT phone books. They cannot be
hailed like
Hackney Cabs. All fares are fixed by the City Council.
