Getting to Exeter - travel information

Exeter has an airport but is also easy to get to via road and rail connections. In fact a Megabus goes from both London Gatwick and London Heathrow http://www.megabus.com/uk/

You will also find other useful details such as the weather forecast, details for accommodation, and other tourist attractions.  A good website for details of cheap flights is http://www.skyscanner.net/.

By Rail

Some tips on getting the best rail fares recently listed in the Times Online Money Bulletin:-

Buy as far in advance as possible. Virgin Trains, for example, releases some cheap tickets 12 weeks in advance, while other companies wait until nine weeks before the day of travel.

When searching for the best deal, use websites such as http://www.thetrainline.com/ to get information on times and fares, but check individual train company sites too because they will often offer the cheapest fares.

If you are a frequent traveller, ask the train company about any loyalty benefits. Virgin Traveller offers free first-class weekend travel if you regularly buy midweek first-class tickets.

If you are unable to buy in advance, try not to travel at peak times.

Further information on travel to Exeter can be found on the following links.

Air Travel

• www.exeterinternational.com/

Coach Travel

• http://www.nationalexpress.com/
• www.discoverexeter.net/travelling_to_Exeter.asp

General UK public transport advice offered by Adrian Underhill, Past President of IATEFL.

There are a bewildering selection of train tickets on offer in Britain! There is the "Standard return". But almost no one ever uses a standard return, unless their business is paying for them. I never do. It just means you can leave anytime and return anytime. But mostly you don't need this kind of total flexibility.

If you can accept a few restrictions, you can save a lot of money. There is, for example the "Supersaver return". No need to book. You can buy it anytime and walk straight onto the train. The only thing is you cannot travel on a Friday, or into or out of London during rush hour on weekdays.

Or you can get the "Saver return". Again, no need to book, buy and walk on the train. You can travel on Fridays and there are a few trains around rush hour when you can't use it.

I always use Saver or Supersaver returns. Sometimes single fares can be cheaper.

I also personally never go by coach anywhere, though coaches are cheaper. But they take longer.  More details - go to Google and find/ search "national express coach".

Adrian Underhill