Manchester???

[x2tpd]

Anyone heard that flying into Manchester is almost 50 % cheaper and that there is a 2 hr train that cost $25 from there to the Southampton pier? This was some information I got from someone who said that was what they did? I have ran the prices for air at a few sites and it did appear that there was a lower rate to Manchester on the hypothetical dates I used.

[bigwally]

There's no way that Manchester to Southampton is 2 hours by any form of transportation other than air. Manchester is something like 270 miles north of London. Southampton has to be 50 more south of.

 

There is apparently a Virgin train (called the Virgin Voyager) from Manchester Piccadilly (central Manchester) to Southampton Central (which I presume is also downtown) and the journey looks like it takes a little over 4 hours, plus transfer time between the airport and central Manchester.

[x2tpd]

Do you know of a website for the train? I am ok with a 4 hours trip also if it is really going to be that much cheaper for the airfare.

[bigwally]

http://www.virgintrains.co.uk

 

BTW, there is a typo in my first post that I can't correct. It should read that Manchester is something like 170 miles north of London, not 270.

[Mabbiesmum]

You can fly from Manchester to Southampton in an hour with FlyBe and the prices are very good if booked far enough in advance.

 

http://www.flybe.com/

 

However its reputation for reliability is not the best so you might consider flying in the day before.

[ollienbertsmum]

I had a desperate situation the other night just trying to book train tickets. I had to give up and ask my sister to buy them for me and to send them. That was after 1 1/2 hours.

 

They are priced like air tickets - the first ones sold are the cheapest and then the ones sold on the day are really expensive. They only release them 12 weeks before you travel. I was trying to get from Harwich to Nottingham and then from Nottingham to Luton. I wanted to buy a family rail card to make the journey considerably cheaper when I was travelling with my 2 daughters.

 

After a number of abortive efforts I found the answer to my problem in the FAQ ( a first for me). It seems that because my credit card does not have a UK post code (because I do not live in UK) I could not book. They stated that they realised this was a fault, and their staff were working on resolving it. It think that is BS. If it had been asked enough to be a FAQ, they could have taken that flaw out of the address page. They do not want tourists to be able to book ahead. I was booking through midland mainline, maybe other train regions are different.

 

I could not get an advance saver for the Harwich route, but I got a better deal on the Luton one. If I had booked 2 days earlier it would have been £10 cheaper. The £10 and £20 tickets had gone by the time I looked.

 

This story was just to warn you that train travel may not be as predictable or as cheap as it looks. Someone else may have a better solution

[Shogun]

Hi There,

 

If you search back you will see my post about flying into Edinburgh or Glasgow then flying to Southampton.

 

Southampton is only 1 hour away, there is a low cost carry which I have used a few times Ticket cost about $2 plus tax of about £60.

 

Airport is only a few minutes from port in Southampton.

 

 

yours shogun

[tom_uk]

One problem with flying into Manchester & then onto Southampton with a no-frills carrier is that the luggage limits will be much lower than on the scheduled carrier, esp. if you've just come across the Atlantic. We're probably talking just one bag, maximum weight 20 kgs, maybe even less.

[standby 06.30]

Ollie I had the same problem booking with rcl in jan and carnival for sept both sites would not accept my uk cc no big problem I just phoned

[ollienbertsmum]

Thanks for the feedback. My sister did it for me and I she is going to post the tickets. The cost of rail travel can be so cheap if you get the first seats on a train, but you have to really be there at the onset - a bit like getting the best staterooms on a ship I suppose.

[DougYWG]

Ollie, I agree with you (apologies for hijacking this thread). The credit card excuse is complete BS. I had the same thing a few years ago. We live in Canada. I tried to buy a ticket on the BA website from London to Edinburgh for my daughter. Nothing would work - credit card and address were not British. We called the Canadian BA res office and they could not explain it. So finally, we went on the British Midland website and booked their flight no bother. Well done, bmi.

[SelectSys]

Yes the train to Southampton exists, I looked on Virgin Trains website earlier today because I need travel to London from Manchester. It looks like the trip takes 5 hours and has a couple of transfers but the fare is about 25 BPS person using the advanced purchase fare - All you need is a UK address to book.

[Globaliser]

The credit card excuse is complete BS. I had the same thing a few years ago. We live in Canada. I tried to buy a ticket on the BA website from London to Edinburgh for my daughter. Nothing would work - credit card and address were not British.

Until about 18 months ago, BA's credit card processor was the one causing the problems, imposing a restriction that you could not buy a ticket online except with a credit card issued in the country where the trip originated. It drove many of us up the wall. Fortunately, that's now been resolved. But it demonstrates that it may not be anything that the merchant can do anything about in a hurry.

[Globaliser]

Yes the train to Southampton exists, I looked on Virgin Trains website earlier today because I need travel to London from Manchester. It looks like the trip takes 5 hours and has a couple of transfers but the fare is about 25 BPS person using the advanced purchase fare - All you need is a UK address to book.

There is a direct service from Manchester Piccadilly to Southampton Central, which is about 4¼ hours. Not very often, though: tomorrow at 0724, 0924, 1324, 1724 and 1924.

 

From Manchester Airport there is a regular train service to Manchester Piccadilly.

 

The website will also give journeys from the airport where you change once at Crewe.

[DougYWG]

Thank you, Great Globaliser. I am glad BA's credit card processor has recognised business reality. I have to book BA next week for a flight originating Chicago so I hope it works. I wonder how much business BA has lost? Bloody banks! Add that to the list of 'Top ten things I hate in travelling' along with Heathrow baggage carts.

[Globaliser]

I wonder how much business BA has lost? Bloody banks!

It must have been quite significant when other airlines got ahead on this particular score.

 

It's still not all entirely 100% seamless, although I don't think you'll have any problems. I regularly have to book BA domestics within South Africa. I usually try to use my BA-branded Amex, because I get 3 miles per £1 spent with BA. So guess what happens when you try to book tix originating in ZA? Yup - Amex is not accepted. (This is because of rampant credit card fraud in ZA.)