Local Area Info

Bournemouth remains a traveler favorite, drawing over two million visitors per year. The city's appeal has also attracted businesses, and many large banking, insurance, and finance companies have relocated to the city. The mild climate provides ample opportunity to enjoy scenic beaches and over 1,800 acres of parklands, including the popular Compton Acres and the famous chines, which were once smuggler hideouts. Other attractions include the Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum, the Rothsay Museum, and the Pavilion Theatre.

Situated as it is at the centre of the south coast of Britain, Bournemouth is well linked by Rail, Road, Sea and Air.

By Public Transport

For all public transport information or journey planning:
Either visit our Local Travel webpage, the

Traveline website (Tel: 0870 6082608), or

the Transport Direct Journey Planner website.
By Road

MapQuest website gives free directions for driving, route planning and maps to assist in making your journey to or from Bournemouth.

There is continuous motorway or dual carriageway from Bournemouth Town Centre to London and along the South Coast, via the M3 and M27. Fast access may also be gained via the A34 to the M4 north of Newbury. These high standard road links keep Bournemouth's businesses within easy reach of their customers and suppliers.

By Coach
National Express Coaches - serve Bournemouth Travel Interchange, Boscombe and Westbourne. There are frequent departures to London Victoria Coach Station and also direct services to the West Country, Sussex coast (Brighton and Eastbourne), Bristol, Birmingham and the Midlands, the North West, Edinburgh and Glasgow in Scotland.

National Express Airport Coaches serve Heathrow Airport with connections to Gatwick, Stansted and other airports.

Megabus, a 'No Frills' coach service connects Bournemouth University and the Triangle in the Town Centre with London Victoria Greenline Coach Station.
By Rail

Bournemouth is well served by the rail network with two railway stations in the Borough - the main Bournemouth station and Pokesdown to the East.

Follow this link to view the Bournemouth Railway Station's Arrivals & Departures Board.
South West Trains - operates a comprehensive service to London Waterloo with a journey time of as little as 97 minutes. This line also serves Southampton, Winchester and Basingstoke to the East, with Poole, Wareham, Dorchester and Weymouth to the West.

Virgin Trains - serve destinations to the North with direct trains to Reading, Oxford, Birmingham & the Midlands, Manchester and the Northwest, Yorkshire (Sheffield, Leeds, York), Newcastle, Edinburgh and Glasgow in Scotland.

Southern Railway services are available by changing at Southampton Central. The Sussex Coastal towns of Chichester, Worthing, Hove and Brighton are served and trains continue to Gatwick Airport and London Victoria.

There are connections to link Bournemouth with the full national network.
Visit National Rail Enquiries or call on Tel: 08457 484950

PLUSBUS

Bournemouth is now part of the national PLUSBUS integrated Rail & Bus ticketing scheme.

Travellers to Bournemouth by train, can now enhance their rail ticket to give unlimited bus travel for the day (on both Yellow Buses and Wilts & Dorset buses) throughout the Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch area.

If you are travelling to Bournemouth you will need to ask for the PLUSBUS addition when you purchase your ticket at the rail station of origin. The current daily price is £3.00 in addition to the cost to your rail ticket. In addition there are also add-on
prices for weekly, monthly and annual season tickets.

If you are going from Bournemouth to another rail station please check before you travel to see if PLUSBUS is available at your destination. The PLUSBUS ticket is only available from Rail Station ticket offices as it is linked to rail journeys. The ticket is not available from the bus driver or any bus ticket outlets.
By Sea

The Port of Poole, conveniently situated within five miles of Bournemouth, offers scheduled "Ro-Ro" services and regular passenger sailings to the Continent and Channel Isles. The port also offer freight services.
Brittany Ferries - offer regular sailings to the Continent.

Condor Ferries - offer fast catamaran sailings to France and the Channel Islands.
Southampton, Weymouth and Portsmouth with their many port and transport links are also close to Bournemouth and are easily accessible by road and rail.

By Air

Bournemouth International Airport - is only a ten minute drive from Bournemouth Town Centre or from Wednesday 7th November 2007 there is a new bus operator running 15 minute journeys (Bournemouth Airport Shuttle) from the Town Centre or Travel Interchange - enabling passengers and freight to be flown directly to destinations in the UK and abroad.

Up to date flight information is available on the Bournemouth Airport's Arrivals Board and Departures Board and here are all the airlines and tour operators that operate from Bournemouth International Airport.

Both Heathrow and Gatwick Airports are of course easily accessible by car, coach or rail.

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