Travel to Newcastle

Flying to Newcastle

Airlines offering domestic flights to Newcastle from other UK airports include British Airways, Eastern Airways, easyJet and Flybe.

United operates direct flights from the USA to Newcastle in summer only.

Flight times

From London - 1 hour 15 minutes; New York - 8 hours; Los Angeles - 13 hours (including stopover); Toronto - 9 hours (including stopover);  Sydney - 24 hours (including stopover).

Travel by road

Main roads are designated by a letter, followed by up to four numbers: ‘M' (motorway), ‘A' (major road) and ‘B' (minor road).

Traffic drives on the left and drivers must be at least 17 years old. The speed limits are 113kph (70mph) on motorways, 97kph (60mph) on single-lane main roads and 48kph (30mph) in built-up areas.

Overseas driving licences and International Driving Permits are valid for up to one year. Insurance is mandatory. Overseas visitors bringing their own cars should bring registration documents and check with their insurance company as to whether a Green Card is needed.

Breakdown service, traffic updates and general motoring information are available from the AA (tel: +44 121 275 3746; www.theaa.com) and the RAC (tel: +44 844 891 3111; www.rac.co.uk).

Emergency breakdown services

AA (tel: 0800 887 766, in the UK); RAC (tel: 0800 828 282, in the UK).

Routes

The A1 runs north to south past Newcastle, linking to the city centre via the A184 (from the south) then the A167 (just the A167 from the north). The latter then becomes the A167M motorway running right through the city centre. The A69 runs west to Carlisle.

Coaches

National Express (tel: +44 871 781 8181; www.nationalexpress.com) operates regular coach services connecting Newcastle with various destinations in the UK including London.

The main coach station in Newcastle is on St James' Boulevard in the west of the city, though budget coach operator Megabus (tel: +44 141 352 4444; www.megabus.com) stops beside the railway station on Neville Street.

Time to city

From Edinburgh - 2 hours 30 minutes; Birmingham  - 3 hours 30 minutes; from London - 5 hours.

Travel by Rail

Services

Trains to Newcastle arrive at Newcastle Central Station located in the heart of the city centre on Neville Street, with all the main sites and shops within easy walking distance.

Newcastle is well connected to the rest of the UK by regular, and reasonably efficient, rail services.

Operators

Virgin Trains (www.virgintrains.co.uk) offers London-Edinburgh rail services via Newcastle, completing the journey from the south in about three hours.

Northern Rail (www.northernrail.org) operates an east-west service linking Newcastle to Carlisle, before continuing northwest.

First TransPennine Express (www.tpexpress.co.uk) offers direct services to Leeds  and Manchester.

For timetable information contact National Rail Enquiries (www.nationalrail.co.uk).

Journey times

From Carlisle - 1 hour 30 minutes; Leeds - 1 hour 30 minutes; Manchester - 2 hours 25 minutes; London - 2 hours 50 minutes; Edinburgh - 1 hour 30 minutes.

Travel by boat

Ferries to the Netherlands leave from the international passenger terminal at North Shields, east of the city centre.

Ferry operators

DFDS Seaways (tel: 0871 522 9955, in the UK only or +44 330 333 0245; www.dfdsseaways.co.uk) runs regular overnight ferries between Newcastle and Amsterdam (journey time - around 15 hours).

Transfer

DFDS runs shuttle buses between the port and Newcastle Central station.