By Ferne Arfin
United Kingdom Travel Expert, about.com
Thousands of travelers make the 202 mile Manchester to London journey every day. The city is rapidly becoming the capital of the North of England. It has a lively music scene, more than a hundred thousand university students at four different unis and it's and the headquarters of the BBC sports establishment. If you need to get there, you need to get there fast. Here's how.
More about Manchester
How to Get to Manchester
By Train[post_ads_2]
Trains leave for Manchester Piccadilly Station from London Euston Station every 15 to 20 minues throughout the day.
The journey takes about 2 hours and 20 minutes with round trip, off-peak advance fares starting at £15/$24 each way in 2015.
- Read More About Train Travel in the UK
- Plan a Trip with The National Rail Enquiries Journey Planner
- Book Train Tickets for the UK
UK Travel Tips The cheapest train fares are those designated "Advance" - how far in advance depends upon the journey as most rail companies offer advance fares on a first come first served basis. Advance tickets are usually sold as one-way or "single" tickets. Whether or not you buy advance tickets, always compare the "single" ticket price to the round trip or "return" price as it is often cheaper to buy two single tickets rather than one round trip ticket.
Make sure you check the schedules carefully. Because so many business travelers go to Manchester for the day, the earliest trains attract the highest peak fares. It can mean the difference between paying £15/$24 and £105/$167 each way. Later trains are cheaper.
By Bus[post_ads_2]
There are frequent coach trips between London Victoria Coach Station
and Manchester Central Coach Station throughout the day. The journey
takes from 4 1/2 to 6 1/2 hours and costs about £12 and £20. Bus
services can be booked online. There is usually a 50pence booking fee.
- Read about bus travel in the UK
- Book Bus Tickets in the UK
UK Travel Tip National Express offers a limited number of "funfare" promotional tickets that are very cheap (£6.50 for a £39.00 fare, for example). These can only be purchased on line and they are usually posted on the website a month to a few weeks before the trip.To find them, look for a link from the National Express home page that says "Find our Lowest Fares" or "Online Exclusives". Those links will take you to an online calendar that shows different fares for different days of the week. If you can be flexible with your travel plans you can save a lot of money.
By Car[post_ads_2]
Manchester is 202 miles
northwest of London via the M1, M6, and M56 motorways. It takes about 4
hours to drive. Approaches to Manchester can become very congested
during the rush hour as well as during random, unpredictable times of
day, adding hours to a trip. And once you arrive in the city, parking
can be expensive.
Keep in mind too that gasoline, called petrol
in the UK, is sold by the liter (a little more than a quart) and the
price can be between $1.50 and $2 a quart.
- Use the Automobile Association Route Planner to map a route with suggested stopovers and gasoline stations.
- Check Daily Petrol (Gasoline) Prices
