Cardiff, Wales - Guide

Arriving

Cardiff International Airport (the only international airport in Wales) is located 12 miles (16 km) southwest of the city in the village of Rhoose, which sits in the Vale of Glamorgan. The airport is the hub for bmibaby. Direct flights operate to and from European destinations such as Amsterdam, Paris, Malta, Geneva, Naples, Barcelona, Palermo, Dublin, Faro, Palma de Mallorca and Alicante.

Getting from the airport to the city centre is fairly easy. Cardiff bus service X91 operates between Cardiff Central station and Cardiff International Airport hourly on Mondays to Saturdays daytime, and every two hours on Sundays. An adult single fare is £3.40, a child single fare is £2.20.

Located very close to the main city centre attractions and in close proximity to Cardiff Bay, Cardiff Central Station is two hours from London Paddington by train (albeit with the minimum number of stops, sometimes it takes a bit longer.) London trains depart every half-hour and a run by First Great Western.

Arriva Trains Wales operate the vast majority of inter-Wales services, with regular departures from Cardiff Central to the South Wales Valleys, Swansea, and a frequent service to North Wales. They also operate regularly to Manchester and Birmingham making Cardiff ideal to visit via rail.

It takes about three hours to drive to Cardiff from London. The only slight inconvenience is the £5.30 cash charge on the Severn Bridge. Travelling from the Midlands, Northern England and Scotland, the M50 links the M5 motorway with Wales and continues down to south Wales eventually linking with the M4.

Getting Around

Central Cardiff is compact and easily walkable, but there is also a good bus system, operated by Cardiff Bus. There are bus stops at Westgate Street, St. Mary Street, Castle Street, Kingsway, Greyfriars Road, Dumfries Place and Queen Street Station, as well as the Central Bus Station and Wood Street. Most services operate at least every 10 minutes. Tickets are based on a zone system, but a 'Day to Go' ticket costs just £3 and offers unlimited travel across their network all day. Cardiff Bus also operate a frequent 'Baycar' service between the city centre and Cardiff Bay, which makes it easy to get between the main attractions, and is good value if you don't want to walk.