Best ways to travel between Nottingham and London

If you have recently started university in Nottingham, then the chances are that you have already done a fair few journeys to and from home. In today’s inflated economic market, the cost of travelling to and from university, particularly if you live in and around London could well be substantial and over the year, culminate in a considerable sum of money.

At Almero Student Mansions, we are utterly committed to not only providing the finest luxury student accommodation in Bristol and Nottingham but also offering expert guidance on a range of student topics via our ever-popular blog. In today’s instalment, we are looking at the best ways for students to travel between Nottingham and London.

Although the various methods may seem obvious, you could well be surprised at how the costs differ and taking a good look at your options could well free up some much needed cash this term.

Driving

It makes sense to start with the most obvious mode of transport when travelling between Nottingham and London, driving. If you have been on the road for a considerable amount of time before university or even a brand new driver, you may well opt for your car due to the flexibility it provides. But what are the other considerations?

Insurance obviously varies a great deal depending on your age, the car you drive and any claims you may have made in the past, as well as the location you will be parking your car in when at university in Nottingham. This is something you will need to assess in terms of viability but should definitely be part of your decision making process.

Because we want to provide you with all the information you need regarding the London to Nottingham commute, we have even done the journey for you, to see just how much this is going to cost you in terms of petrol. We can therefore tell you that the 128-mile journey, at 112 pence per litre in a standard car with one passenger, will cost £21. So London to Nottingham and back again will cost you well under £50.

A major consideration for driving to Nottingham from London or vice versa however, is the time it takes. A car journey between these cities can take in excess of three hours even without traffic, so ensuring you have plenty of time available would be a good idea.

You obviously have other motoring costs such as your road tax over the year and any parking charges, so you may want to add a few pounds to your calculations in order to accommodate for these extras.

National Rail

If flexibility isn’t top of your agenda and you would like to be able to relax on your way from Nottingham to London or vice versa, then the train could well be your best option. As with the majority if not all train journeys, buying your tickets well in advance is the prudent plan as you can get singles from around £12 each way, which is nearly half the price of your petrol should you opt to drive.

However, if you leave this to the last minute or decide you want to travel to London from Nottingham on a whim, then you could be looking at paying around £60 for your return ticket which obviously propels the cost significantly. The journey from London to Nottingham usually takes around 1 hour and 50 minutes but will vary dependent on the route being taken.

With a car journey taking over three hours, the train does have the added benefit of being a lot swifter but if all you have is time, this may not be a contributing factor to your final decision.

Coach

Our final option for travelling between London and Nottingham is often a popular one for students and could well be the winner when thinking of cost of travel. Probably the least favoured in terms of comfort and speed, the quality of coaches have improved significantly over the years and the route between London and Nottingham is fairly straightforward.

A return bus ticket to Nottingham from London will cost just £22 but one will need to prepare themselves for between a four-and-a-half and a five-and-a-half-hour journey. Many students do not mind this length of time as it offers a great opportunity to do some much needed reading or tweeting, but this may not be the best option for anyone who gets restless on long journeys.

The remarkable low price tag does make this quite an attractive option when considering the cost of the other travel methods.

Ultimately, the choice is yours when it comes to your London to Nottingham journey to university but we hope this guide gives you all the information you need to make an informed decision. If you like this article, then be sure to check out our blog for more just like this and remember you can contact us any time by clicking here.