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Hi, I'm planning on taking a national express coach from London to Cardiff soon but my girlfriend is convinced that this is a bad idea. She thinks that it will take ages and be very uncomfortable. I think that it will only be a few hours and surprisingly comfortable. Also, it's far cheaper than going by rail. Can anybody tell me if taking the bus is a good idea or is it a nightmare like my girlfriend thinks it is? Appreciate any help on this! Thanks.
Hi there Used to travel by National Express years ago as a student as I lived up north and studied down south. It was certainly a lot cheaper than the train, which I guarantee is still the case. Your journey takes 3 hrs 15 mins approx. according to the NE site so is not really a long journey and it is direct - the site also said something about fun fares from £1 (didn't read details) so personally, if money is a concern, I would take the bus! The coaches are quite comfortable with reclining seats and they used to serve sandwiches and stuff when I went down to London, although not all services do this. I think NE is only a nightmare when you are waiting for hours to make connections like I used to have to do at Victoria Station!
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The disadvantages of the coach service are that the route is quite dull, mainly motorway, apart from (normally) a brief stop at the very pretty town of Chepstow. The coach service stopped serving food and refreshments several yeasr ago. But you have an on-board WC, which is useful as long as you are not sitting next to it! And reclining seats can have disadvantages if the person in front decides to recline on your lap. There is a Megabus service too, which takes you to the front of Cardiff Castle for a ridiculously cheap fare, but I hear that the legroom is attrocious. As I am 6' 2" I will personally avoid that one like the plague. The train service is very good but, like you say, services out of London Paddington can be expensive. And the section between London and Reading can be extremely full during the evening 'rush hour'. It whisks you through the pretty countryside to cardiff in 2 hours and you have a buffet service on board. It may be possible to buy an 'advance fare' ticket and pick it up at a fast ticket machine at Paddington.
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