London Travel Forum

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.

Its not too bad, I did the London to Paris leg and it is long but cheap.

So depends on what your tolerance level is.

Agree, National Express Coaches have a toilet & really are pretty comfortable. Take the coach & enjoy the scenery.

http://www.nationalexpress.com/

All coaches are comfortable, no-smoking, reasonable leg room. All have toilets; some have entertainment with headphones. Journey time is less than 4 hours, and you can get tickets for less than £10 return.

Perfectly bearable, I'd say, especially for such a short hop (and especially when one considers the cost of rail tickets). Does your girlfriend think it's a bus rather than a coach, perhaps? It's not.......

www.megabus.com do the London-Cardiff route too, and they will probably be even cheaper than National Express (though I'm not sure whether they are as comfortable).

I took the National Express coach from Heathrow to Cardiff in October 2006. It was a comfortable journey and not too long. Just try to be early, so that you and your girlfriend can get seats next to each other. When I took the coach, it was fully booked and people getting in later had problems getting seats together.

That's fantastic. Thank you all for your help. I will make sure we arrive at the bus station in plenty of time. Cheers!

You can book online and get reserved seats
www.nationalexpress.com

I meant to add that your seats will be guaranteed by your ticket but not numbered so it is a good idea to be there in good time.

if ur going on your own to see ur girlfriend then the benefits of the cheaper fares may seem appealing.
if your traveliing together then it will b hell, women cant stand small spaces even for a few hours, and u'll never hear the end of it,
hope it helps

Welcome to VT, gorikate: I see you joined us yesterday. You'll find it a really excellent site.

However, you have made a remarkably sweeping and sexist statement......and one which is not in any way factually correct, in my experience.

A coach is considerably less of a confined space than a car. Are you suggesting that women do not like travelling in cars?

Or are you, perhaps, the girlfriend referred to by the OP? ;-)

The Megabuses generally use the buses that no-one else wants. ie - old and slow and uncomfortable.. but cheap.
National Express run modern, comfortable and fast coaches and you get to see the countryside while someonelse does the driving.
PS.
Leics, yet another time I must agree with you. A rash and prejudged opinion by gorikate. Women hate small spaces? Become an estate agent gorikate, then you could call it compact and bijou. :))

This is becoming a habit, innit? :-)

For me, I would take train over coach any day despite the price. I find a coach very restricting.

Plus a coach can get stuck in traffic, a train will not. A coach may not have a buffet/food car/trolley. A train will. A coach won't really allow you to get up and walk around. A train will. A coach IS cheaper but.. really does depend on what type of people you are.

Well thanks again for all your feedback. The thing is, I've already booked the coach journey. It's just that when I informed my girlfriend that that is how we are travelling, she was unhappy that we weren't going by train. I am asking your valued opinions in order to convince her that a 4 hour coach journey from London to Cardiff is nowhere near as bad as she thinks. I've taken a 24 hour bus journey from Hanoi to Vientianne - Now that IS hell! If you guys had come back to me and said that London to Cardiff was hell, I would have scrapped the coach idea. But by the sounds of it, it's fine. So we'll stick with the coach. Thanks again for all your help!

Oh and for the record, gorikate is not the girlfriend in question!!!

I am very pleased to hear it! :-)

It'll be fine. Just pay lots of attention to her/her comfort (don't stick your head in a book/listen to your ipod all journey) and no doubt she'll be happy to use the coach with you for a longer journey in future.

:-))