Edinburgh to Brighton

[lewisdicks]

Generally speaking what is the cheapest way to do this route? Been thinking about going this summer for a couple of days but I want to get the price right. Not taking the megastar.My two options are

- Train all the way (willing to split/change as many times as necessary and length doesn't bother me). I have a 16-25 railcard which helps.
-Get a plane to one of the London Airports and take the train from there, I know Gatwick would be the closest.

Just wanted to gague some ideas on what would work best. Ideally it would be a mid week trip Tuesday to Thursday for example.

 

[ForTheLoveOf]

Generally speaking what is the cheapest way to do this route? Been thinking about going this summer for a couple of days but I want to get the price right. Not taking the megastar.My two options are

- Train all the way (willing to split/change as many times as necessary and length doesn't bother me). I have a 16-25 railcard which helps.
-Get a plane to one of the London Airports and take the train from there, I know Gatwick would be the closest.

Just wanted to gague some ideas on what would work best. Ideally it would be a mid week trip Tuesday to Thursday for example.

I've just had a look at some flight and train tickets for some random dates in June. It seems that, for Brighton, the price is pretty similar either way, though it's slightly faster (and more expensive) if you fly to Gatwick.

If you were going to London you would probably have been better off flying. But with the prices I can see, there's no considerable difference either way - the flight would be cheapest with Ryanair to Stansted, but the train from there to Brighton is about the same cost as the flights themselves, even when splitting. With EasyJet to Luton is next cheapest, and here you can get a through train to Brighton and potentially use two Thameslink daysaves or a combination of split tickets, but again this is no cheaper. And with BA to Gatwick is the most expensive flight (though, if you have any Avios then it's probably the best option), and obviously the fare from there to Brighton is much cheaper than either of Luton or Stansted as it's much nearer.

 

[yorkie]

In terms of train travel, booking far in advance as possible (within Advance booking horizons). You will need to "split" in London. Do be careful to ensure you meet the minimum interchange time to avoid invalidating your tickets in the event of a delay.

There are accredited ticket splitting websites available that will try to find the best combination of fares and ensure your itinerary is valid. Have you tried any of them?

 

[lewisdicks]

I've used Trainsplit before but I think it's more down to reducing the cost to Brighton from London i.e. the availability of the £5 advances. The journey to London itself would be fine if booked in advance

 

[Hadders]

A Super Off Peak Return from Edinburgh to Brighton with a 16-25 Railcard is £107.70. This can be purchased on the day of travel and is 'semi flexible' in that is has restrictions on when it can be used between Edinburgh and London on weekdays. You will probably be able to beat this price by booking Advance tickets ahead of travel and/or investigating splitting your tickets.

You might be able to obtain flights that are cheaper then the train but remember to factor in the cost of getting to Edinburgh Airport and from Gatwick to Brighton. Many people congratulate themselves for obtaining a cheap flight but forget to factor in the cost of getting to and from the airport!

 

[gazthomas]

Flight to Gatwick then onward by train I would say. It will take 4 hours rather than 7

 

[lewisdicks]

A Super Off Peak Return from Edinburgh to Brighton with a 16-25 Railcard is £107.70. This can be purchased on the day of travel and is 'semi flexible' in that is has restrictions on when it can be used between Edinburgh and London on weekdays. You will probably be able to beat this price by booking Advance tickets ahead of travel and/or investigating splitting your tickets.

You might be able to obtain flights that are cheaper then the train but remember to factor in the cost of getting to Edinburgh Airport and from Gatwick to Brighton. Many people congratulate themselves for obtaining a cheap flight but forget to factor in the cost of getting to and from the airport!

I know that all too well, but it's £7.50 or £8.50 on the bus/tram just to get there.

Realistically it's whether the cost of flights plus travel to/from airports outweighs the cost of trains with multiple splits.

I've just had a look at some flight and train tickets for some random dates in June. It seems that, for Brighton, the price is pretty similar either way, though it's slightly faster (and more expensive) if you fly to Gatwick.

If you were going to London you would probably have been better off flying. But with the prices I can see, there's no considerable difference either way - the flight would be cheapest with Ryanair to Stansted, but the train from there to Brighton is about the same cost as the flights themselves, even when splitting. With EasyJet to Luton is next cheapest, and here you can get a through train to Brighton and potentially use two Thameslink daysaves or a combination of split tickets, but again this is no cheaper. And with BA to Gatwick is the most expensive flight (though, if you have any Avios then it's probably the best option), and obviously the fare from there to Brighton is much cheaper than either of Luton or Stansted as it's much nearer.

EasyJet flies to Gatwick so this could work, again needs to be balanced out by onward journeys.

A Super Off Peak Return from Edinburgh to Brighton with a 16-25 Railcard is £107.70. This can be purchased on the day of travel and is 'semi flexible' in that is has restrictions on when it can be used between Edinburgh and London on weekdays. You will probably be able to beat this price by booking Advance tickets ahead of travel and/or investigating splitting your tickets.

You might be able to obtain flights that are cheaper then the train but remember to factor in the cost of getting to Edinburgh Airport and from Gatwick to Brighton. Many people congratulate themselves for obtaining a cheap flight but forget to factor in the cost of getting to and from the airport!

I only live a couple miles from the airport but it's £7.50/£8.50 by bus or tram to the Airport, that's Edinburgh for you

 

[Hadders]

I only live a couple miles from the airport but it's £7.50/£8.50 by bus or tram to the Airport, that's Edinburgh for you

Public transport to and from airports is always expensive. Gatwick to Brighton return is £11.60 Thameslink only with a 16-25 Railcard or £13.85 Any Permitted.

The £107 fare I quoted sounds expensive (and in many respects is although I'm sure you can get cheaper) if you could get a flight for £40 each way it would appear to be and 'feel' cheaper. But add in £27 to get to/from the airport at either end and it's no cheaper...

 

[Starmill]

There is a Crewe to Brighton Off Peak Return for £34.45 using West Midlands Trains and Southern only. Try trainsplit.com (check 'allow extra serch time and set the results to 'value') to combine Advance tickets between Edinburgh and Crewe. This is just one option of many - and it will take a very long time.

 

[ForTheLoveOf]

There is a Crewe to Brighton Off Peak Return for £34.45 using West Midlands Trains and Southern only. Try trainsplit.com (check 'allow extra serch time and set the results to 'value') to combine Advance tickets between Edinburgh and Crewe. This is just one option of many - and it will take a very long time.

WMT advances to London (or to Birmingham and then to London) are very cheap - the lowest tier starts at £5.95 and is regularly available on a number of trains through the day, especially if booking several months in advance. VTWC Advances to Crewe are also regularly available at the £6.60 tier.

Then it's just a question of getting to Brighton. Thameslink-only period return tickets from St Pancras cost £21.85 - sadly, Advances are not readily available, though if they were, they would start at £3.30 single.

Assuming you got all the cheapest tiers of Advances, you could theoretically do it for £31.70 return from end-to-end. But an itinerary with this would probably stretch over most of a day and involve lots of waiting and slow trains. It's questionable whether you might indeed simply be better off taking the coach if you intend to do this.

 

[Starmill]

Assuming you got all the cheapest tiers of Advances, you could theoretically do it for £31.70 return from end-to-end.

Well yes, this is why I suggested the Off Peak Return instead, which also includes a Cross London transfer as necessary. It will take all day though, as you say.

 

[takno]

EasyJet flies to Gatwick so this could work, again needs to be balanced out by onward journeys.

It's quite often the same price or cheaper to Gatwick on BA, particularly close to the date. The BA flights also go into South terminal so you get to skip a rather dull transit ride.

In both cases it seems like most if not all of the flights end up in a bus from the plane to the terminal at Gatwick, so the journey down tends to take 15 minutes longer than it should

 

[sdrennan]

you can actually get a single advance ticket for £41 one way. This is via Crewe and valid on virgin trans and connections. You can either change an Milton Keynes and East Croydon or go via London.

 

[paul1609]

Generally speaking what is the cheapest way to do this route? Been thinking about going this summer for a couple of days but I want to get the price right. Not taking the megastar.My two options are

- Train all the way (willing to split/change as many times as necessary and length doesn't bother me). I have a 16-25 railcard which helps.
-Get a plane to one of the London Airports and take the train from there, I know Gatwick would be the closest.

Just wanted to gague some ideas on what would work best. Ideally it would be a mid week trip Tuesday to Thursday for example.

Almost certainly the best will be Easyjet to Gatwick at about £30 to £40 each way if you book a couple of weeks in advance and then either National Express Coach or crew flyer bus to Brighton about £3 to £5 if booked online. The coach isn't as frequent as the train ( around hourly) but only takes 45 mins and drops you practically on the Pier.

 

[route:oxford]

Generally speaking what is the cheapest way to do this route? Been thinking about going this summer for a couple of days but I want to get the price right. Not taking the megastar.My two options are

- Train all the way (willing to split/change as many times as necessary and length doesn't bother me). I have a 16-25 railcard which helps.
-Get a plane to one of the London Airports and take the train from there, I know Gatwick would be the closest.

Just wanted to gague some ideas on what would work best. Ideally it would be a mid week trip Tuesday to Thursday for example.

Fly it, or mix and match.

As long as you book plenty of time in advance, you can usually get the last flight of the day in either direction from £40.

So I would suggest the 19:25 flight to Gatwick on a Monday evening, train to Brighton and check into a hotel for 3 nights*.

On the Thursday, book the a service from Brighton at around 16:00, probably about £60-£70 and enjoy the scenery and daylight all the way until arriving into Edinburgh.


*This isn't rail related. Don't forget to cross check all the offers available on your credit cards and bank cards. For example, Halifax and Bank of Scotland usually have 12% off Hilton when booked direct. Amex currently has £50 off £250 on Hilton when booked direct. Mastercard usually has 30% off IHG when booked direct. First Direct had a good Marriott offer recently, everywhere does cashback on Expedia.

 

[ForTheLoveOf]

*This isn't rail related. Don't forget to cross check all the offers available on your credit cards and bank cards. For example, Halifax and Bank of Scotland usually have 12% off Hilton when booked direct. Amex currently has £50 off £250 on Hilton when booked direct. Mastercard usually has 30% off IHG when booked direct. First Direct had a good Marriott offer recently, everywhere does cashback on Expedia.

And if none of those work for you, though I'm not an ideological fan of them I would recommend Ryanair Rooms - they offer the best prices from a few different booking websites, and give you 10% cashback in the form of Ryanair account credit. Useful if you fly with Ryanair with any frequency at all.

 

[BigCj34]

Fly it, or mix and match.

As long as you book plenty of time in advance, you can usually get the last flight of the day in either direction from £40.

So I would suggest the 19:25 flight to Gatwick on a Monday evening, train to Brighton and check into a hotel for 3 nights*.

On the Thursday, book the a service from Brighton at around 16:00, probably about £60-£70 and enjoy the scenery and daylight all the way until arriving into Edinburgh.


*This isn't rail related. Don't forget to cross check all the offers available on your credit cards and bank cards. For example, Halifax and Bank of Scotland usually have 12% off Hilton when booked direct. Amex currently has £50 off £250 on Hilton when booked direct. Mastercard usually has 30% off IHG when booked direct. First Direct had a good Marriott offer recently, everywhere does cashback on Expedia.

Wish I knew knew about that 30% off
sooner, recently booked a room with Holiday Inn...

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Flybe go Edinburgh-Southampton for about £66.
Direct train to Brighton from Southampton Airport.
Avoids all the London bedlam.

 

[MotorcycleAlan]

Flybe go Edinburgh-Southampton for about £66.
Direct train to Brighton from Southampton Airport.
Avoids all the London bedlam.

Not for much longer I believe. From the new timetable I understand all southern services will call at Swanwick instead of Eastleigh and Southampton Airport. Still a relatively easy journey with a quick change at Southampton Central but over 1hr 45mins for just over 60 miles it is very slow.