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Roam the world, record the moments, relive the memories!
2021 has been all about staycations. This summer, I have visited Brighton, Portsmouth, Windsor, Edinburgh, Bristol and Cambridge.
However, we all know that travelling, even within our home country, can become very expensive. To save on costs for my recent two-day trip to Bristol, I decided to travel with National Express for the first time! Continue reading to see how much I saved and the reasons why I loved travelling by coach…
Train costs from London to Bristol were about £70 per person return, which I thought was a lot, considering I had already spent £170 for a one-night hotel stay. I then thought to check the cost of travelling with National Express, something I had never considered before, but thought it was worth a shot! And to my pleasant surprise, the price of a return journey came to just £5! Although this would mean three hours in a coach each way, I thought I’d give it a go. In hindsight, I definitely felt that I made the right decision – the journey was very smooth and comfortable, and I saved £65 by choosing to travel with National Express rather than taking the train!
I found the luggage allowance to be really generous, with each passenger being allowed to take one piece of hand luggage and two medium sized bags for free! You can take the hand luggage onboard with you, but the driver advises to put the medium sized bags/suitcases in the storage compartment space.
The scheduled departure of my outbound coach from London Victoria was 9am. Boarding the coach began at 08.45, at which point the driver checked everyone’s tickets, did temperature checks and stored our luggage in the storage compartment. The coach left promptly at 9am. The driver told us we were going on a diversion due to traffic on the motorway, but we still arrived into Bristol at the scheduled time of 11.45am! Similarly, the return journey the next day was very prompt, leaving Bristol at 4.30pm and arriving into Victoria at 7.30pm.
The drivers on both journeys were really friendly. They answered any questions, had a smile and a joke as we boarded and helped with loading/offloading luggage. They were also fantastic at doing their main job – providing a very smooth and comfortable drive to Bristol. The three hours flew by!
National Express took all the necessary COVID-secure protocols including temperature checks of all passengers before boarding, and ensuring coaches were cleaned after each journey. Masks were also required to be worn for the duration of the journey. The coach on our return journey only had about 10 passengers so it was very easy to social distance!
Travelling by coach definitely does not mean that you compromise on comfort – free wifi, charging points, air conditioning, leather seats and small foldback tables are all included in your ticket cost. If you want a large table, extra leg room, or if you want to pre-book your seats, these are available for a small premium. You are also allowed to bring your own food and drink, and there are toilets onboard.
Overall, I really enjoyed my trip to Bristol with National Express. I’d highly recommend you to consider travelling with them within the UK, as more than anything else, it will definitely save you a lot in costs!
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