Newcastle upon Tyne is a major transport hub for the whole of northern England and the border region between Scotland and England.

It has its own major international airport and a very busy rail network – serving both regional and long-distance routes.

By air

The international airport is situated approximately 10 km north-west of the city centre Newcastle NCL.

Although the airport is relatively small, it offers a large number of low-cost flights across Europe, complemented by many traditional network airlines serving major European hubs.

• The cheapest way to get from the airport to the city centre
• Services and shops at the airport

International flights – where to book?

If you’re travelling to Newcastle from abroad, flying is always the first choice.

Flight prices are very low, particularly to destinations in Western Europe and, during the off-season, also in Southern Europe, where competition is fiercest.

Return flights to Newcastle from destinations in Western Europe often cost less than 90 gbp. Prices from Central and Eastern Europe typically range between 160 gbp and 250 gbp.

International flights are mainly operated by the following airlines:

• Jet2 – has one of its largest hubs in Newcastle and flies mainly to coastal destinations in Europe and the Canary Islands, as well as to Central Europe (for example, Prague, Budapest, Vienna and Kraków)
• Ryanair – usually the cheapest airline, flying mainly to southern Europe, Ireland or Poland
• KLM – a frequent service to Amsterdam with connecting flights to destinations worldwide
• Emirates – the only long-haul route is to Dubai, with connecting flights to Asia, Australia and Africa
• Air France – a frequent service to Paris with connecting flights to destinations worldwide
• Lufthansa – Frankfurt and connecting flights to destinations worldwide
• Eurowings – Düsseldorf
• easyJet – several international routes, for example to Amsterdam, Paris, Málaga, Geneva, Alicante and Mallorca
• Aer Lingus – Dublin and connecting flights mainly to the USA

Compare flight prices to Newcastle

Domestic flights

For longer journeys within the UK, it is often worth travelling by air, not only to save time but also to save money.

There aren’t many long-distance coaches to Newcastle, and trains are often very expensive.

The following domestic routes, for example, fly to the local airport:

• British Airways – a very frequent service to London Heathrow Airport + connecting flights to destinations worldwide
• easyJet – direct flights to Belfast and Bristol
• Loganair – direct flights to Southampton or Exeter

Other airports in the area

Is it worth looking for flights to other nearby airports?

In the case of Newcastle, probably not. The local airport is quite large, with a decent range of cheap low-cost flights as well as connecting flights operated by major airlines.

What’s more, the nearest major airports are quite a long way away:

• Manchester MAN – 157 miles
• Edinburgh EDI – 129 miles
• Glasgow GLA – 174 miles

The nearby airport Teesside MME (38 miles) has only a very limited number of flights.

By train

You can reach Newcastle by train from all corners of the UK.

All regional and long-distance trains stop at Newcastle Central station, where you can change to the green and yellow metro lines.

Rail transport in the UK is operated by many different companies, but you can easily compare timetables and buy a ticket via our favourite comparison site, thetrainline.com.

To get the lowest price, it’s worth buying your tickets 1–4 weeks in advance.

Buy a train ticket via thetrainline.com

Ticket prices vary considerably depending on current train occupancy. Below are examples of average prices on the most popular routes from Newcastle:

• Durham
  • prices from 3,70 gbp
  • Journey time: 12 to 16 minutes
  • Frequency: 3–5 times per hour
  • Read ourguide to Durham
• London
  • Price: from 33 gbp
  • Journey time: 3.5 hours
  • Frequency: 1–3 times an hour
  • Read ourguide to London
• Edinburgh
  • Price: from 20 gbp
  • Journey time: 1.5 hours
  • Frequency: 2–3 times an hour 
• Manchester
  • Price: from 23 gbp
  • Journey time: 2.5 hours
  • Frequency: once an hour 
• Leeds
  • Price: from 20 gbp
  • Journey time: 1.5 hours
  • Frequency: 2–3 times perhour​​​​​​​
• Carlisle​​​​​​​
  • Price: from 7 gbp
  • Journey time: 1.5 hours
  • Frequency: 1–2 times per hour
• Liverpool​​​​​​​
  • Price: from 23 gbp
  • Journey time: 3 hours
  • Frequency: once an hour

By bus

Long-distance buses are often a cheaper alternative to trains, although services to Newcastle are not very frequent.

The city is served by three long-distance bus operators; for all of them, it’s best to buy tickets for the lowest fare around 3–6 weeks before your journey.

You can find cheap tickets on routes where individual operators compete most fiercely with one another – and with trains. For example, a one-way ticket to London costs from 15 gbp, and to Manchester or Edinburgh from 10 gbp.

• National Express
  • ​​​​​​​The stationis located near the railway station (location on the map)
• Flixbus
  • ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​The stationis on John Dobson Street (location on the map)
• Megabus
  • ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​The stationis on John Dobson Street (location on the map)

It’s always worth comparing prices across different operators, as they can vary significantly.

Below is a table showing the most popular bus destinations from Newcastle.

	Operators	Frequency
Aberdeen	Flixbus	Once a day
Birmingham	Flixbus National Express	3 times a day
Bristol	Flixbus	Twice a day
Cardiff	Flixbus	Once a day
Edinburgh	Flixbus National Express	8–10 times a day
Glasgow	Flixbus Megabus	4–6 times a day
Leeds	Flixbus National Express Megabus	11–15 times a day
London	Flixbus National Express Megabus	9–10 times a day
Manchester	Flixbus National Express	8–10 times a day
Middlesbrough	Flixbus National Express	4–6 times a day
Nottingham	Flixbus National Express	Twice a day
Sheffield	Flixbus National Express Megabus	11–15 times a day