by Tim Higgins

Created on: March 16, 2009   Last Updated: March 17, 2009

Travelling from one British city to another can be expensive - amongst the most expensive in Europe, in fact. However, with a bit of ahead planning, or a quick scan round the Internet, cheap and affordable travel can be sourced. First, let's start with the most obvious choice, travelling by train.

Top Tip Number 1) BOOK IN ADVANCE.

Yes, the trains are expensive, but unless something's come up relatively last-minute, you'll probably know about any big journeys (ie. Newcastle to London, Edinburgh to Southampton, etc) a couple of weeks before you're due to travel. In this case, the Internet is your friend. The rail companies themselves offer big discounts for booking 10-12 weeks in advance, and with the extra money you're saving, you could even afford to go first class!

Top Tip Number 2) THIRD PARTY BOOKING WEBSITES

I know what you're thinking: Third party booking? Eek! Scams! Agency fees! Not so, I'm very glad to say, where rail travel is concerned.

Type 'cheap rail tickets' into Google (or your preferred search engine) and as well as the companies themselves, you should get a few fairly big booking companies, such as thetrainline.com or raileasy.co.uk. Both offer discounts if you book in advance - but it doesn't have to be as early as 12 weeks. Sometimes, the discount can be as high as 80%, and that's before any other discounts and concessions, which brings me onto my next point...

Top Tip Number 3) GET A RAILCARD (for regular travellers)

Rail cards don't cost much (between 25-50 depending on the kind you buy) and are available for regular commuters, people over a pensionable age, and young people aged 16-25. They last a year, and provided you make more than four journeys during that time, you're guaranteed to make back the cost of the railcard and still make a saving. Some of these railcards can give discounts as high as 40% - combined with the sites above (which provide options to include railcards when working out the final amount) you can travel on train cross country for cheaper than you might have though possible.

Top Tip Number 4) USE THE COACH

Often a lot cheaper than rail, if you have more time free, I suggest you check out the two main inter-city coach companies: National Express (who are cheap when booked in advance and do offers to travel for as cheap as 1) or Megabus (average journey from 11-15, often much cheaper).

I admit, there are pitfalls to coach travel, largest of all being the time taken (for example, Plymouth to Newcastle takes two coaches and an entire day's travel: 8am-10pm) but the seats generally have enough room for even the tallest of traveller and they're nowhere near as uncomfortable as they once were. Also, Megabus stay cheap however late you book (even the day before travel) so if you can spare a day, I'd definitely recommend them as the cheapest way (if not the quickest) to get around the country.

ANYTHING ELSE?

Usually, within-city travel is fairly cheap, bar possibly London - it's one of the most expensive cities in the world, why should the prices for the underground be any different? But when purchasing rail or coach tickets, there is a new 'plus bus' option, which for a little extra on your fee, gets you onto all transport around your destination city on your day of arrival. Not bad, eh?

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