Hi! I am Sujata Shekhawat from India and I am studying MA Media and Communication. I am sure that you are all super excited to come to Bournemouth and start your university adventure. You might have been booking your accommodation, flight tickets and shopping for stuff to bring with you. If you’re an international student, like me, most of you will take a flight from your respective countries and will land in the UK’s busiest airport, London Heathrow. In this blog, I am going to tell you how you to reach Bournemouth from Heathrow.

You can get to Bournemouth by:

Train: There are regular trains to Bournemouth from London every day run by South West Trains. The average time taken by the train to reach Bournemouth is 2 hours 10 minutes; the fastest route takes 1 hour 43 minutes and the slowest route takes 3 hours 15 minutes. In my opinion, if you want to travel by train, it’s always a good idea to book an advance ticket for your journey. Like with flights, it tends to get really expensive if you book it late.

Coach: Another comfortable and cheaper option is to get a coach. You can get a National Express coach from the airport directly to Bournemouth. It is usually a cheaper option than the train, and if you book the ticket in advance you can get it really cheap. On average, it takes about 2 hour 50 minutes to reach Bournemouth from Heathrow.

Meet & Greet and Airport Transfer services: If you are planning to arrive in Bournemouth between the 19^th and 22^nd September 2019, you can take advantage of the free Meet & Greet service provided by Bournemouth University. All you have to do is book online, and a staff member from BU and some BU students will meet you at Bournemouth station, give you a free SIM card and direct you to a free coach for BU students. The BU coach will drop you at your respective BU accommodation. On the 21^st and 22^nd September 2019, BU will be at Heathrow Airport to answer any questions you might have, and direct you to the National Express coach. If you let BU know your flight details when signing up for the Meet & Greet service, they’ll get in touch.

Taxi: You can also take a Taxi but it should always be the last option! It’s far more expensive than any of the other methods and I wouldn’t recommend it.

My personal favourite method to get around the UK is coach, and if you are planning to arrive in Bournemouth between the 19^th and 22^nd September, then the free Meet & Greet service by BU is undoubtedly the best way to get to your accommodation when you get to Bournemouth.

I hope that this has given you an idea of your travel options, and now you can plan things accordingly. I wish you all the best and look forward to welcoming you to Bournemouth University!