Newcastle upon Tyne

By car

Newcastle upon Tyne is well signposted from the north, south and west. The city lies at the joining of the A1 the main East Coast route from London to Edinburgh and the A69 a major east-west route to Carlisle and the M6. The A1 bypasses the city to the west.

There are a number of 'park-and-ride' National Park and Ride Directory (http://www.parkandride.ne...) points around the city to avoid the hassle of parking in the city centre. From these points, the Metro or bus will take you into the city for between £1 and £3. Otherwise, there are over 10,000 spaces in the city centre, though for stays of more than a few hours this may prove expensive. Generally, parking in the city centre costs between £1 and £2 per hour, while parking about 10 minutes walk from the centre will set you back about £0.50 per hour.

Alamo Rent A Car

National

National car rental is also available at the Newcastle airport

By plane

Newcastle International Airport IATA: NCL (http://www.newcastleairpo...), which offers scheduled flights throughout the UK and Europe and also Dubai, is located 9.7 km about 6 miles north-west of the city. Travel options into the city centre include:

Most travelers find that the Tyne and Wear Metro (http://www.nexus.org.uk/w...) is the best all-round option for getting to the city centre. The journey to Monument station takes about 20 minutes and costs £3.60.

Bus

services are operated by Stagecoach (http://www.stagecoachbus....) between the airport and the city centre, but the metro offers a much better service if running.

Taxis

are readily available outside the airport and it costs about £15 to get to the city centre.

By car

the distance to the city centre is 9.7 km about 6 miles and takes up to half an hour to get in. There are several car rental firms with offices in the airport terminal building, although you'll generally pay a premium over downtown rates. See "By car" for car rental listings.

By bus

Newcastle Coach Station is located at the southern end of St James' Boulevard, near the Centre for Life and is just a short walk from the centre of town. National Express is the main intercity operator, offering regular services to several UK towns and cities. Most National Express tickets include free travel on the Metro system (http://www.nationalexpres...), but check this before you board the Metro.

Megabus

(http://uk.megabus.com), +44 0900 1600900 premium rate.

National Express

(http://www.nationalexpres...), +44 08705 808080.

By ship

North Shields, 7 miles east of the city centre, has daily ferry to Amsterdam in Holland. Special buses run from the Central Station to the ferry terminal and are charged at £3,50 one way. Way cheaper are public buses leaving from the shopping mall next door or the metro 15 min walk to Meadow Well.

Taxis are available from outside the Ferry Terminal operated by BlueLine Taxis bluelinetaxis.com and EastCoast Taxis (http://www.eastcoasttaxis.com/). A taxi from the Terminal direct into Newcastle city centre is £11.50 for up to 4 passengers.

By train

Newcastle is served by three long-distance rail operators:

East Coast

(http://www.eastcoast.co.uk) trains frequently connect Newcastle with London, Edinburgh and principle destinations between including York, Doncaster and Peterborough. Some services extend on to Glasgow, Aberdeen or Inverness.

Cross Country Trains

(http://www.crosscountrytr...) run every 30 minutes from Newcastle to Birmingham via Leeds/Doncaster, Sheffield and the East Midlands. Some services extend on to Reading and the South Coast, or through Bristol to South Wales or South West England. Cross Country (http://www.crosscountrytr...) also run north of Newcastle to Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen.

Transpennine Express

(http://www.tpexpress.co.uk/) runs direct services from Newcastle to Leeds, Manchester and Manchester Airport.

The local rail network is operated by Northern Rail (http://www.northernrail.org/), with relatively frequent services to destinations such as Carlisle, Middlesbrough, Hexham and Morpeth.

Newcastle Central Station is also served by the Tyne and Wear Metro (http://www.nexus.org.uk/w...) system, for frequent services into the Newcastle suburbs, and other destinations in Tyne and Wear.

In the UK, tickets can be bought on the day at the station using cash or debit/credit card, but it is invariably cheaper to book in advance. Times and fares information is available from National Rail (http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/), +44 8457 484950, or the station booking office. Wikitravel has a guide to Rail travel in the United Kingdom