Travel to Southampton

Flying to Southampton

Eastern Airways and Flybe operate flights to Southampton from cities in Scotland, northern England and Northern Ireland. There are no direct flights from the USA.

Flight times

From Edinburgh - 1 hour 35 minutes; New York - 10 hours (including stopover); Los Angeles - 16 hours (including stopover); Toronto - 11 hours (including stopover); Sydney - 26 hours (including stopovers).

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

Southampton is situated 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.

Coaches

National Express (tel: +44 871 781 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 centre of the city on Harbour Parade, within easy walking distance of the Central Railway Station.

Time to city

From London - 1 hour 50 minutes; Birmingham - 2 hours 20 minutes; Cardiff - 2 hours 20 minutes; Edinburgh - 7 hours 30 minutes.

Travel by Rail

Services

Southampton is connected by a good rail network, with a station in the city, Southampton Central, offering connections with the airport (Southampton Airport Parkway).

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.

Operators

Rail operators include South West Trains (tel: +44 345 600 0650; www.southwesttrains.co.uk), Virgin Trains (tel: +44 344 556 5650; www.virgintrains.co.uk) and Great Western Railway (tel: +44 345 700 0125; www.gwr.com).

For rail enquiries contact National Rail (tel: +44 345 748 4950; www.nationalrail.co.uk).

Travel by boat

Southampton is a departure point for ferries to the Isle of Wight, as well as a popular stop for cruise ships. For more information on the port, contact the Port of Southampton (tel: +44 23 8048 8800; www.southamptonvts.co.uk).

Ferry operators

Red Funnel (tel: +44 23 8001 9192; www.redfunnel.co.uk) operates crossings to the Isle of Wight. Car ferries run to East Cowes, while high-speed foot-passenger ferries connect Southampton with West Cowes.