- Easy access from the East, less so from the West and North.
- Less than 2 hours by train from London Waterloo with direct trains to Bristol, Birmingham and beyond.
- A busy town with commerce and tourism traffic.
- Car parks across the town centre.
The easiest way to reach Bournemouth by car is travelling from the East where the M3 from London 2 hours) becomes the A31 dual carriageway into the town. From the North, the Newbury bypass provides now provides a faster link from the M4 and the Midlands (2 ½ hours) via Oxford (2 hours). Access from the West, Devon, Bristol and South Wales is trickier crossing Dorset or Wiltshire via A roads which are a mix of single lane and dual-carriageway.
Being a larger town, Bournemouth is well-connected to the rail network with direct trains to most areas with travel times of 2 hours to London Paddington, 2 ½ hours to Bristol and around 3 hours to Birmingham. Trains are run by South West Trains and Cross Country.
With a population of over 150,000, Bournemouth is one of the largest seaside towns in the UK and therefore has more traffic and, unusually for a resort, a rush hour. The town centre has a number of pay and display car parks, so it literally is a case of just choosing one close to the shops or beach. Parking permits are not available for short stays.
To the East and West of the town centre, there is on-street parking within walking distance of the beach, though is limited, especially in the summer.
Needless to say, bus services criss-cross Bournemouth and the surrounding areas.(more at www.bybus.co.uk www.wdbus.co.uk), while there is a small airport in Bournemouth.
For a more leisurely form of transport, try the Land Train which travels along the seafront from the centre along to Boscombe where the new surf reef is located and westwards to Durley Chine in the Summer.
