Why I Choose To Travel By Coach: Travelling with National Express Part 1*
*This post was kindly sponsored by National Express*
Let's be real: travel (particularly around the UK) is expensive. A BBC news article published last month suggested that UK train tickets are some of the most expensive across all of Europe (source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-49346642). I often travel up from Cardiff to Sheffield to see Tim, and a return train ticket can easily be £70+ (even more if you don't have a railcard) - not ideal if you're making the journey multiple times a year! This is where my appreciation for coach travel comes in. Sometimes it takes a bit longer, but for the amount you're saving (often more than 50% cheaper than the trains), it's worth it.
So when National Express asked to work with me, how could I say no?! I use their services regularly anyway and I am more than happy to recommend them to others. So here are my top five reasons for choosing coach travel with National Express over train travel, and hopefully I can convince some of you too!:
1. I've already eluded to the price differences - and when you're a student on a seriously tight budget, every penny matters! National Express even offer students discount (20% off with an NUS Extra/Totum card: https://www.totum.com/se/student-discount/national-express/offer or 15% off with a UniDays account: https://www.myunidays.com/GB/en-GB/partners/nationalexpress/view/online). By booking in advance, you can get a coach from Cardiff University to Bristol bus and coach station from just £3 - even less with your student discount code!
2. The leather seats on the National Express coaches are actually super comfy and give you much more space and leg room than you might have previously thought. You might get lucky and have two seats to yourself (like I did on my trip recently) if you're on a less busy coach for extra privacy and snooze time.
3. Your seats and luggage storage is guaranteed - unlike on a train (unless you've reserved seats but then you have the awkward job of telling someone to move out of your place). Ever been on a train and been cramped against the door for an hour, desperately grasping your suitcase because there's nowhere else for it to go? I have on multiple occasions and it ain't fun. Travelling on a National Express coach means you're guaranteed a seat and your luggage is tucked neatly under the bus until you arrive at your destination.
4. Something new that I learnt recently is National Express' entertainment app, VUER. You can watch films and TV shows, play games or read their online magazines on your phone or tablet - for free! You just need to connect to their Wi-Fi (yes, you also get free Wi-Fi!) on the coach and you're good to go.
5. National Express has so many convenient stops around the UK - one of which is Cardiff University, which is perfect if I'm travelling up to Sheffield after a day at Uni! And you don't have to worry about changing trains and missing connections because National Express has direct routes to all the main destinations around the UK - I can easily get from Cardiff University to Sheffield coach station direct without any hassle.
Let me know in the comments: do you prefer coach or train travel (and why)? Have I changed your mind yet?!
Stay tuned for my next blog post (I was going to combine them as one until I realised I had too much to say) which will be more about what I got up to in Bristol on my recent trip with National Express.
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