Swanage is easily accessible by bus, coach, road, rail, air and sea. Car ferries and catamaran passenger services have good connections from France and the Channel Islands.
If you're travelling in an electric vehicle, there are a number of chargepoints where you can recharge the battery during your day trip or holiday.
Travelling to Swanage by coach or bus
Local Purbeck Breezer buses provide a regular, year round bus service to Swanage from Bournemouth, Poole, Lulworth, Wareham, Corfe Castle and many other locations in Dorset. There is also a seasonal summer bus service from Weymouth. Ideal for day trips from other resorts or to use during a multi-stop holiday to Dorset.
If you are arriving by National Express coach, the daily 035 service from London Victoria arrives at Swanage Bus Station.
Arriving in Swanage by rail
The nearest mainline railway station to Swanage is at Wareham which is ten miles away. The train service is operated by South Western Railway with a direct service between London Waterloo and Wareham calling at Woking, Basingstoke, Southampton, Brockenhurst, Bournemouth and other stations.
Visitors travelling from Birmingham and the Midlands can get a direct Cross Country train to Bournemouth and then switch trains to Wareham.
Day visitors arriving from Weymouth, Dorchester and other towns and village within Dorset are also able to get the train to Wareham.
Visit the National Rail website to plan your journey and buy tickets in advance.
When you arrive at Wareham, you can either catch a taxi (we recommend booking in advance) or bus number 40 to Swanage town centre.
Getting to Swanage by road
Planning on travelling to Swanage by car, motorbike, campervan or motorhome? We've provided the main routes from all corners of the country, driving along a mixture of motorways and A roads.
Routes from the north of England: M5, A46, A36, A350, A354, A35 and A351.
Routes from the east of England: A30, A27, M27, A31, A350 and A351.
Routes from the west of England: A30, A35, B3390, A352 and A351.
Routes from London: M25, M3, M27, A31, A350, A35 and A351.
If you are driving an electric vehicle, there are EV chargepoints at Swanage's Main Beach car park, Mermond Place car park and Durlston Country Park, as well as a small number of holiday accommodation. You can check the ZapMap website or App which shows the location of each charging station.
Car parks are available in Swanage for cars, motorcycles, coaches, motorhomes and campervans.
Travelling to Swanage by sea
Ferries arrive from France and the Channel Islands to Poole in Dorset provided by Condor Ferries and Brittany Ferries.
From Poole Port it is a 45 minute drive to Swanage. Alternatively, you could catch bus number 60 and then bus number 50 to Swanage.
Getting to Swanage by air
There are regional airports at Bournemouth, Southampton and Exeter.
The closest airport is Bournemouth at 30 miles away which will take approx. 1 hour and 15 minutes by car. Southampton is the second closest at 53 miles and taking around 1 hour and 45 minutes by car.
Travel planning information
For comprehensive Dorset-wide travel information, go to Travel Dorset.
