Travel to Cardiff University

karlcarrick

Hi,

My daughter is looking at Cardiff University for Nursing, can anyone tell me what the commute options are from Dublin for visits to and home etc.

Karl

wildefalcon

I'd not commute from Dublin, she'd be better staying in Cardiff.

Maybe go back at weekends.

She could drive - Rosslare to Fishguard/Pembroke.

Or the train - Again, Rosslare to Fishguard. I think the train on the Irish side now meets up with the Ferry. There are Deals to be had.

Or fly - Dublin to Cardiff.

gstones

40 mins flight on aer lingus three times a day, bus to city from airport every 20 mins, was on it last week for the football, its a good service

n97 mini

karlcarrick wrote: »

Hi,

My daughter is looking at Cardiff University for Nursing, can anyone tell me what the commute options are from Dublin for visits to and home etc.

Karl

Foot passenger on the ferry can be done for around €40 each way, which includes the train from Cardiff to whatever ferry port you like, but Holyhead is the obvious one.

Ryanair don't fly to Cardiff, so prices are on the expensive side. But they do to Bristol.

BRS to DUB on Fri 17th Nov return on Sun 19th is clocking up at €76 (Ryanair)
CWL to DUB same dates is €122 with Aer Lingus

man98

For Dublin- Cardiff €55.00 by rail one-way via Rosslare and Fishguard. http://www.stenaline.ie/ferry/rail-and-sail/fishguard/

dowlingm

5hr+ via train from Holyhead to Cardiff via Shrewsbury :eek:
3hr+ from Fishguard to Cardiff plus the half hearted IE effort at connecting to Rosslare.
Add a ferry crossing either way.

40min flight looks pretty attractive from where I'm sitting.

Hilly Bill

The best option would be the sail and rail from Dublin to Holyhead. You can get a train straight to Cardiff no changes .

8.05 from Dublin Port and then a 12:32 train straight to Cardiff arriving at 17:16. Its €46 one way to London but i think its a bit cheaper to Cardiff.

KenGriffin

Hilly Bill wrote: »

The best option would be the sail and rail from Dublin to Holyhead. You can get a train straight to Cardiff no changes.

I take it that you've never made said journey. I've done it several times when studying in Cardiff and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

I would opt for flying - it's the best option in terms of preserving one's sanity.

Hilly Bill

KenGriffin wrote: »

I take it that you've never made said journey. I've done it several times when studying in Cardiff and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

I would opt for flying - it's the best option in terms of preserving one's sanity.

Whats wrong with it?

L1011

Hilly Bill wrote: »

Whats wrong with it?

Its nine hours for starters. It also involves spending far longer than safe in the dump of a port on the other side.

Geog1234

Have travelled Dublin/Dún Laoghaire to Cardiff several times by train and ship without any difficulties.

Overnight it's better to travel via Rosslare to avoid waiting around Holyhead for four hours for a train.

It comes down to personal preferences at the end of the day. Some will use the longer journey by train and ship to catch up on work/ study and enjoy the experience to relax and enjoy the scenery. The ships offer a good onboard experience with free wifi and restaurants etc...Others prefer the speed that air offers and that's fine too.

The combined train & ship ticket can be bought here in Connolly station (or by phone from Irish Rail a week ahead). Irish Ferries sell it online. Stena Line sell it too. In Wales the ticket can be bought at the ticket office in any staffed rail station. For journeys starting in Wales Arriva Trains sell it online.

The bus from Cardiff Airport to Central Station takes around 35 minutes. Bus info here. There's also a shuttle bus from Cardiff Airport to the nearest railway station at Rhoose.

The rail station is right in the centre of Cardiff - there's a local rail network too and local/city buses outside reach pretty much anywhere people want to go.

A great city for shopping too.

JohnMearsheimer

I was a student at Cardiff University and made the trip over to Cork (it had direct flights at the time - Dublin still does) many times.

I would recommend the direct flight from Dublin to Cardiff with Aer Lingus. If your daughter is studying at Cardiff University she will probably be living in the Cathays area. It's walking distance to the city centre but there's a good bus service into the city as well if she has luggage. A taxi into the city centre wouldn't be all that expensive either. There is a bus (the X91) that goes from the train/bus station in the city centre out to the airport.

You can also fly Ryanair to Bristol. From the airport you can get a bus to Temple Meads railway station in Bristol and just jump on the train to Cardiff. The fare is about a tenner one way for the rail ticket and takes an hour or so.

I think the monetary savings of the sail and rail are not worth it when you factor in how long it takes to get to Cardiff by doing it that way. Flying is the fastest way there and having flights booked well in advance (especially for coming home at Christmas) means you probably won't be paying mad money for them.

questionmark?

JohnMearsheimer wrote: »

I was a student at Cardiff University and made the trip over to Cork (it had direct flights at the time - Dublin still does) many times.

I would recommend the direct flight from Dublin to Cardiff with Aer Lingus. If your daughter is studying at Cardiff University she will probably be living in the Cathays area. It's walking distance to the city centre but there's a good bus service into the city as well if she has luggage. A taxi into the city centre wouldn't be all that expensive either. There is a bus (the X91) that goes from the train/bus station in the city centre out to the airport.

You can also fly Ryanair to Bristol. From the airport you can get a bus to Temple Meads railway station in Bristol and just jump on the train to Cardiff. The fare is about a tenner one way for the rail ticket and takes an hour or so.

I think the monetary savings of the sail and rail are not worth it when you factor in how long it takes to get to Cardiff by doing it that way. Flying is the fastest way there and having flights booked well in advance (especially for coming home at Christmas) means you probably won't be paying mad money for them.

Train ticket from Cardiff to Bristol is approx £11 single or about £18 anytime return. Add £11 return fare for Airport flyer(bus service) from Bristol Temple Meads Station to Bristol Airport.

OP plenty of links from Cardiff to Dublin. If money is an issue(aer lingus regional are not the cheapest at times) then pre-booking a flight with Ryanair to Dublin can be got for £15.99 one way(just checked random prices in November)
You can get a direct coach from Cardiff Bus station(outside train station) with Greyhound coaches(http://www.greyhounduk.com/) for £12 return, drops you right outside the terminal door.

Lapin

Another little known option is getting the boat to Holyhead and flying on to Cardiff from nearby Anglesy Airport with Citywing.

It saves a nightmare train and with advance booking its possible to get flights from less than £20 one way.

No flights on Saturday or Sunday might be an issue though.