Visitors to Bournemouth use the town as a base to stay, eat and be entertained whilst exploring the beautiful area of Dorset with its rich history, heritage and picture perfect scenery. There’s also the New Forest National Park on the doorstep for those blissful picnic days or a spot of cycling.
Bournemouth is easily accessible by car. Why not, however, consider leaving the car at home and making the most of Bournemouth’s fantastic transport links? If you do decide to travel by car to the South Coast’s premiere resort, make sure you plan your journey ahead of time and look into visiting the surrounding areas like the New Forest, Stonehenge and Salisbury. All of these places can also be visited by local tours, bus and coach services.
To find out about car parking locations and charges please visit the BCP Council Parking page.
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Why not jump on a bike to do your sightseeing? …. you can even hire bikes if you haven’t brought your own. Visit our cycling page for more details.
Bournemouth is well served by the rail network with three local railway stations – the main Bournemouth station, Pokesdown to the east and Branksome to the west. There is an excellent train service to and from various locations around Britain, as well as a fast service from London Waterloo in as little as 97 minutes. Book your tickets at South Western Railway to get Nectar points and pay no booking fees.
Many lines also serve Southampton, Winchester and Basingstoke to the East and Poole, Wareham, Dorchester and Weymouth to the West. Other train lines 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.
There are plenty of coach providers offering great prices on travel to and from Bournemouth. All coaches arrive in the heart of Bournemouth, right next to the train station, where taxis and local buses are waiting to take you to your hotel, the town centre or seafront!
Bournemouth has a great bus service Morebus' regular routes to Poole, Bournemouth Railway Station and Christchurch. There are also buses which go further out to Salisbury, Swanage and the Purbecks – visiting Bournemouth and the surrounding areas couldn’t be easier, just hop on and hop off!
As part of Help for Households the Government is subsidising most single bus fares to just £3 (Announced in January 2025). Tourists and visitors to the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole area can take advantage of this – with a £3 fare representing a significant saving for bus journeys to explore the destinations that surround us. If using a direct bus a day out (two capped single fares) is just £6. However, if you want to hop on and off all day, a morebus dayrider may offer better value, especially if you are travelling in a group of up to 5 people.
We have some fantastic local companies offering sightseeing tours along our coastline and further afield. You can also take to the water on a sightseeing cruise or hire a private charter to view our magnificent coastline. Head to our Tours and Sightseeing pages for more details.
Continental ferry ports are easily accessible from Bournemouth’s neighbouring port of Poole (6 miles), or nearby ports of Southampton and Portsmouth. There is a fast ferry service linking Poole and Portsmouth with the Channel Islands of Guernsey and Jersey and the Western Channel ports of St Malo and Cherbourg.
A choice of scheduled and charter services are available from Bournemouth airport, and others in the region, to a wide range of short and long haul destinations. Access to London’s Heathrow and Gatwick Airports is easy and convenient from Bournemouth by train or by coach.
