For general information on travel and transport in the area, please visit the Travel to Swansea Bay webpages.

Taxis

Buses

Train

By train you will usually arrive at Swansea High Street Station.

  • There are some bus services from Swansea Station, but it is often more convenient to take a taxi to your hotel or the Bay Campus.
  • There is a taxi stand at the right exit of the station (when coming from the trains).
  • Alternatively, you can walk to Fabian Way and take a bus from there.
  • National Rail Journey Planner
  • Great Western Railway (mainline trains from London)
  • Transport for Wales (regional and local trains in Wales)
  • Tip: Full tickets from London or Heathrow are very expensive. Try to use Saver, Super Saver (only available off-peak) or advance tickets (book online).

Coach

  • Main coach companies: National Express, Megabus, or Flixbus.
  • Some coaches stop at the Bay Campus directly. This is only recommended if you want to go directly to the Bay Campus.
  • The main coach stop is Swansea Bus Station:
    • There are good bus connections from Swansea Bus Station to the Bay Campus.
    • There is no taxi stand at Swansea Bus Station; you will need to order a taxi.

International Travel

  • Please note that EU, EEA or Swiss citizens need to obtain an Electronic Travel Authorisation prior to entering the UK. See also Guidance for Visiting the UK as an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen and Rules for entering the UK.
  • Despite the availability of cheap air travel, rail remains a viable choice for reaching the UK from many destinations in northern Europe. For originating travel destinations beyond northern Europe, air travel remains the most viable option. If flying is unavoidable, air travellers are encouraged to limit their carbon footprint through their choice of fare class, route and airline and to consider whether more value can be obtained from the visit (e.g., spending a little longer in the UK to meet others/carry out collaborative research). We offer a variety of guidances below to help in minimising the amount of air travel.

International Train

Taking the Eurostar to London is very easy from many places in northern or western Europe. From there, you take the London Underground to Paddington station, and it is a single train to Swansea.

Airports

Heathrow Airport

Heathrow Airport is probably the most commonly used airport for Swansea.

  • The easiest way to get to Swansea/Bay Campus is to use National Express (direct connection), Megabus, or Flixbus to Swansea.
  • If you prefer to travel by train you can take:
    • Elizabeth line to Hayes & Harlington, then change for the Elizabeth line to Reading, and then take the mainline trains to Swansea. To see this option, you need to choose the option “avoiding London” on the National Rail Journey Planner (go for advanced search and look for “Route via/avoid” and then avoid London).
    • Heathrow Express to London Paddington and then a (usually direct) train to Swansea. This is more expensive and sometimes a little bit faster, although in many cases you save only a few minutes.

Bristol Airport

  • The easiest way to get to Swansea/Bay Campus is to take Flixbus (direct connection from Bristol Airport to Swansea/Bay campus) or National Express (change at Cardiff).
  • You can also take the bus to Bristol Temple Meads (see Bus Timetable) and then the train to Swansea (National Rail Journey Planner), usually changing at Cardiff Central.

Cardiff Airport (closest to Swansea)

Gatwick Airport (longer journey but well connected)

  • You can take a train either via London or (usually cheaper and less stressful) a train which goes to Reading and from there change to Swansea (National Rail Journey Planner). To find connections avoiding London, use the advanced search and choose “Route via/avoid” and then avoid London.
  • You can also take National Express, Megabus, or Flixbus to Swansea. (A direct coach from Gatwick Airport to Swansea is a long journey, but usually much cheaper).

Other London Airports (Stansted, Luton, London City, London Southend)

  • You will usually need to travel from the airport to London.
  • This is typically quite a long journey (but you might get cheaper flights).
  • From Stansted, there are direct coaches to Heathrow where you can change for coaches to Swansea.

Swansea Airport

  • Swansea Airport is only usable for private planes at the moment.

Ferry

  • There are several routes from the Continent to the UK.
  • Ferry to Portsmouth from the north of France (e.g. Caen, St Malo, Cherbourg, Le Havre) has a reasonably good train connection from Portsmouth via Cardiff to Swansea.

Coaches to London (from Continent)

Need support or have a question?

If you need any support or have questions about travel to Swansea, please contact us by email at local2026@mobilehci.acm.org.