Southampton, England — Travel Tips
Getting There By Air
Southampton International Airport
Tel: 0844 481 7777.
Website: www.southamptonairport.com
The airport lies 7km (4 miles) northeast of Southampton on the outskirts of the city. An information desk is located inside the passenger terminal and can help with any specific queries.
Airport facilities
They include a bureau de change, ATMs, Wi-Fi access, restaurants, lost property office, bars and shops. After passport control there is a range of tax- and duty-free shops. The airport is on a single level allowing disabled access, and there are induction loops for the hard of hearing. Flybe has a business lounge at Southampton Airport that can be used by Flybe economy plus passengers, and has Wi-Fi.
Transport to the city
The airport is convenient for the M27 and M3 motorways, and a rail service connects the city center with the airport (Southampton Airport Parkway), which is just 50m (55 yards) from the airport terminal building. Bus services also operate between the airport, the university campus and the city center. Checkercars (tel: (023) 8062 7100; www.checkercars.com) operates a 24-hour taxi service.
Getting There By Road
Southampton is situated just 122km (76 miles) southwest of London and is connected with the capital by the M3 motorway. The M27 runs east towards Portsmouth and west towards Bournemouth.
Emergency breakdown services
AA (tel: 0800 887 766 or 0844 873 0087 from mobile phones; www.theaa.com); RAC (tel: 0800 828 282; www.rac.co.uk).
Coach services
National Express (tel: 0871 781 8181; www.nationalexpress.com) operates regular coach services connecting Southampton with various destinations in the UK, including Victoria coach station in London. The National Express terminal is located in the center of the city on Harbour Parade, within easy walking distance of the Central Railway Station.
Getting There By Rail
Southampton is connected by a good rail network, with a station in the city, Southampton Central, offering connections with the airport (Southampton Airport Parkway).
Rail Services
Local rail services connect Southampton with Portsmouth and Brighton to the east, Basingstoke to the north, and Bournemouth to the west, and there are regular connections with London. Southampton also has rail connections with the West Country, South Wales and Scotland.
Rail Operators
Rail operators include South West Trains (tel: 0845 600 0650; www.southwesttrains.co.uk), Virgin Trains (tel: 08719 774 222; www.virgintrains.co.uk) and First Great Western (tel: 0845 700 0125; www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk). For rail enquiries contact National Rail (tel: 0845 748 4950; www.nationalrail.co.uk).
Getting Around in Southampton, England
Public Transport
First Southampton (tel: (023) 8022 4854; www.firstgroup.com) operates a comprehensive network of buses linking all parts of the city. Bus 14 operates between the city center and the International Airport, as does the Unilink U1 service. Blue Star (tel: 0871 200 22 33; www.bluestarbus.co.uk) and UniLink (tel: (023) 8059 5974; www.unilinkbus.co.uk) also offer comprehensive services throughout the city.
Discounted fares, day travelcards and passes enabling travel of seven, 28 or 90 days are available for some services. For full details about fares, routes and discounts, contact the relevant bus company directly.
Taxis
Taxis can be hailed on the street or at ranks at the railway and bus stations. To pre-book a taxi try Abbeytax (tel: (023) 8032 2480), Radio Taxis (tel: (023) 8066 6666) or Streamline Taxis (tel: (023) 9252 2222; www.streamlinegosport.co.uk).
Car Hire
There are numerous car rental firms operating in Southampton. Alamo (tel: 0871 384 1086; www.alamo.co.uk), Avis (tel: 0844 544 6019; www.avis.co.uk), Enterprise (tel: 0870 350 3000; www.enterprise.co.uk), Hertz (tel: 0870 850 4881; www.hertz.co.uk), Europcar (tel: (0151) 551 8205; www.europcar.co.uk) and National (tel: (023) 8065 2059; www.nationalcar.co.uk) all have offices either at the airport, in the city or both.
Bicycle Hire
Southampton is relatively small and, for the most part, flat, so a bike is a great way to get around. There's bike hire from Coastal Leisure (tel: (023) 8033 2323; www.cyclehiresouthampton.co.uk) on the Town Quay. The're also one 13km (8 miles) away, in Fareham called Meon Valley Cycle Hire (tel: 07778 410532; www.meonvalley-cyclehire.co.uk).
GA Cycles, 65 Shirley Road (tel: (023) 8063 6648; www.gacycles.co.uk), in Southampton sells a good selection and is just a short walk from Southampton Central railway station.
