Weekend Trips by Coach and When They Beat the Train

Two train tickets to a city three hours away can cost more than the room you are planning to sleep in, and that is before anyone has bought a coffee. That is the problem we kept hitting until we started taking weekend trips by coach. The ride is longer and the seats are narrower, but the savings are big enough that we now check coach fares first for almost every short trip.

We have done around a dozen weekends this way over the past two years, from Bristol to York and Manchester to Edinburgh. Here is what we have learned about when weekend trips by coach make sense, what they really save, and when the train still wins.

What weekend trips by coach actually cost

The headline fares are the reason to bother. Booked two to four weeks ahead, coach tickets between major UK cities often start at 5 to 15 pounds each way. The same journey by train, even with advance tickets, tends to land between 25 and 60 pounds per person.

Here are a few real fares from our own bookings, per person, each way:

For two of us on a return trip from London to Bristol, that is 32 pounds by coach against 128 by train. The 96 pound difference paid for our hotel's second night. Even with a Two Together Railcard, which takes a third off, the train came to about 85 pounds.

How we book coach tickets for a weekend away

Coach fares work like budget airline fares: the cheapest seats go first and prices climb as the coach fills. Our routine is simple.

1. Book 3 to 5 weeks ahead for Friday evening and Sunday afternoon departures, which sell out fastest.
2. Compare at least two operators. National Express, Megabus and FlixBus cover many of the same routes, and one is often half the price of the others on a given day.
3. Check the departure point. Some services leave from a main coach station, others from a stop on a ring road. A 20 minute bus to reach the stop eats into the saving.
4. Buy two singles, not a return, if the times you want are with different operators. Coach returns rarely save anything.
5. Pay the extra 1 to 3 pounds to pick seats together on longer trips. On a two hour run we skip it and take our chances.

If you are under 27 or over 60, a coachcard costs around 15 pounds a year and takes roughly a third off most National Express fares. It paid for itself on our second trip.

Where coaches beat the train, and where they do not

The sweet spot for us is a journey of two to four hours by coach. Under that, the time difference with the train is small and the saving is still large. Over five hours, the trip starts to eat the weekend.

Coaches win when:

• The route runs motorway most of the way, such as London to Bristol or Leeds to Newcastle.
• You are travelling on a Friday evening, when peak train fares are at their worst.
• Your destination is a city centre where the coach station sits close to the middle.

The train wins when the route crosses a city with bad traffic at rush hour, when a coach has to make four or five stops on the way, or when one of you gets travel sick reading on a moving road. Our split ticketing guide shows how to bring some train fares close to coach prices on routes where the coach is slow.

The overnight coach is not the bargain it looks like

A lot of budget travel advice says to take the night coach and save a night's accommodation. On paper it is clever: a 20 pound ticket replaces a 90 pound room. We tried it once, London to Edinburgh, and would not do it again for a two night trip.

The seats recline a little. The lights come on at every stop. We arrived at 7 in the morning, too early to check in, too tired to enjoy the city, and spent the whole Saturday in a slow fog. We ended up napping in the afternoon, which meant we lost half of one of only two days.

For a longer trip of four or five nights, one rough night can be worth the saving. For a weekend, your time is the scarce thing, and an overnight coach spends it badly. Take a cheap daytime coach on Friday and book the cheapest room you can find instead.

Making the ride comfortable

A few small things make a three hour coach trip feel like an hour less.

• Pack light. Most operators include one hold bag and one small bag each, but a single backpack means no waiting at the luggage hatch. We wrote up exactly what we pack for a two night weekend.
• Bring food and water. Service station stops are short and expensive. We bring sandwiches and a flask, which saves another 10 to 15 pounds.
• Download things before you leave. Coach wifi exists on paper and works maybe half the time.
• Sit near the front if either of you feels motion sickness. The back wheels make the rear seats bounce more.
• Arrive 15 minutes early. Drivers do leave on time, and the next coach can be hours away.

One weekend, start to finish

Our York trip last spring is a fair example. Two coach returns from Manchester cost 24 pounds in total. A two night stay in a small guest house near the walls came to 140. We had one good dinner at a pub that cost 52, and we spent another 40 on breakfasts and coffees. The whole weekend for two came to 256 pounds. By train it would have been closer to 310, and the extra hour each way was spent reading.

Frequently asked questions

Is coach travel cheaper than the train in the UK?

Almost always, often by half or more. Booked a few weeks ahead, coach fares between big cities frequently start under 15 pounds. Train fares can come close only with advance tickets, railcards or split ticketing.

How early should you book a coach for a weekend trip?

Three to five weeks ahead gets the cheapest fares on Friday and Sunday. Midweek and Saturday morning departures stay cheap for longer. Last minute fares can still beat the train but are usually two or three times the lowest price.

Can you take luggage on a coach for free?

Most UK operators include one medium hold bag and one small hand bag per person in the fare. Extra or oversized bags may cost a few pounds or need booking ahead. Check the operator's rules when you book.