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National Express coach tickets - Search & book deals

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4.8 Rating

5k Reviews

4.5 Rating

4.8k Reviews

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About National Express

National Express is the largest inter-city bus operator in the United Kingdom with bus routes throughout the UK. National Express operates over 600 buses, daily serving 140 routes with scheduled service to 900 destinations. On board a National Express bus you will find reclining leather seats, air conditioning and on board bathrooms. National Express has also invested in your comfort, you will find most buses equipped with WiFi and an on board entertainment system they call VUER, which streams content directly to your phone, tablet or laptop to keep you entertained along your trip.

National Express Amenities

Air conditioningAir conditioning
ToiletToilet
Power pointPower point
WiFiWiFi

Quickview

National Express coach coverage

Daily Trips5,368
stations357
cities252
countries2

What travelers are saying about National Express

Here’s what Wanderu users who have booked trips with National Express had to say about their travel experience.

Traveling During COVID-19

“They took COVID safety precautions seriously.”
based on 75 reviews

Onboard Experience

“The WiFi actually worked for the entire trip”
based on 63 reviews
“I’ll travel with them again just for the staff!”
based on 99 reviews
“Really cheap tickets and really good service.”
based on 102 reviews
“The coach got there on time.”
based on 110 reviews
“Seats were really comfy and spacious”
based on 106 reviews
“The coach was almost suspiciously clean”
based on 109 reviews

National Express reviews from Wanderu customers

Overall review score for National Express

(Based on 117 reviews)

4.4
Ratings (Out of 5)
Comfort

4.3

Timeliness

4.7

Staff

4.5

Value

3.9

Condition

4.6

National Express passenger reviews

5.0

FATAI

22 April 2025- Visiting family

London to Glasgow

Pros: Smooth and stress less. Tips: I strongly recommend national express.

4.0

Oluwafunmilayo

5 March 2025- Business

London to Plymouth

Comfortable sitting, timelines of the service.

4.0

Oluwatoyin

20 February 2025- Visiting family

London to Nottingham

Cons: Not applicable. Tips: Not applicable.

5.0

Jordan

31 December 2024- Visiting friends

London to Glasgow

Pros: Bus Drivers were super friendly. Tips: Book ahead.

5.0

Sandra

24 December 2024- Visiting family

London to Nottingham

Pros: Arrival and departure times on point. Would of been nice to be able to charge my mobile phone. Cons: Have ports to charge mobile phone. Tips: N/A.

National Express Routes & Network

National Express’s coach network features 14754 coach routes that connect 252 cities serving 357 stations. On average, National Express performs about 5368 coach trips every day. The top cities to which National Express offers the highest number of daily coach service include London and Liverpool.

Top Cities Served by National Express

CityRouteEarliest coachLatest coach
London311:01 pm10:55 pm
Manchester311:25 pm8:10 pm
Birmingham311:05 pm10:55 pm
Liverpool311:05 pm10:55 pm
Luton311:01 pm10:45 pm
Leeds311:05 pm10:55 pm
Edinburgh311:17 pm10:52 pm
Glasgow311:22 pm10:55 pm
Bristol311:05 pm10:55 pm

Most popular National Express routes

The coach from London to Liverpool is National Express’s most popular route. Trips from London to Manchester and London to Edinburgh are also highly popular.

Top National Express routes

RouteDaily TripsDurationPrice
London to Liverpool557h 22m£7
London to Manchester58h 7m£12
London to Edinburgh1912h 37m£17
London to Southampton644h 11m£8
London to Birmingham684h 45m£6
London to Nottingham504h 53m£6
London to Bath624h 31m£7
London to Leeds185h 42m£8
Glasgow to Edinburgh41h 11m£3

National Express Coach Guide & FAQs

Yes, National Express offers WiFi on their coaches. Although most trips with National Express will have WiFi as advertised, some coaches might not come equipped with WiFi and onboard WiFi can lose its connection in rural areas. We recommend you bring a book or download a movie just to play it safe. National Express WiFi is generally best used for surfing the web, checking emails and chatting with friends; you shouldn’t count on the WiFi to binge-watch your favorite show.

Yes, there are power outlets onboard National Express coaches. You can generally find one or two sockets per row of seats, so be a good traveller and check if your seat neighbor might want to charge up their devices as well. With the onboard power outlets, you can charge both a computer and USB devices with a USB power adapter that typically comes with most phones and tablets.

Since National Express might sometimes use replacement coach vehicles, not all trips are guaranteed to have power points. We recommend to bring a power bank to charge your phone for all trips over 2 hours, just in case.

On a typical day, National Express has 5368 scheduled coach trips in total. However, the exact departure and arrival times vary depending on the day and route. The best way to find the exact schedule for your trip is to use the search tool on this page.

No, National Express does not offer will call tickets. You should purchase your tickets online and make sure you have everything you need to board before you arrive at the station.

Yes, National Express requires you to present an ID to an agent to be allowed to board the coach. Make sure you have identification issued by a government agency that meets the carrier’s requirements. Alternative IDs, such as a college ID, won’t work.

Yes, there are bathrooms on National Express coaches. The bathrooms are pretty basic and include a toilet, toilet paper and hand sanitizer. Most bathrooms don’t have running water. As you will be using a bathroom on a moving vehicle, please use caution and hold on to a rail at all times.

National Express does not offer meals or beverages onboard. We recommend you bring a drink and some snacks for your trip. We also suggest packing a reusable water bottle with you to reduce your impact on the environment. However, note that most coaches do not allow you to bring your own alcoholic drinks.

Yes, National Express requires that all passengers have printed tickets to board the coach. When you book with Wanderu and activate your account, you will be able to easily find and download your tickets for most coaches.

National Express focuses on delivering a great travel experience at a low price and currently does not offer premium features like extra legroom or onboard entertainment. But these days, between your laptop, tablet, smartphone and e-reader, you’re the master of your own entertainment even on longer journeys.

Cheap National Express tickets recently found on Wanderu

With 5,368 National Express trips per day, there are a lot of great deals to uncover for the bargain hunter and National Express tickets start at just £0.98. Check out some of the latest and greatest deals snatched up by Wanderu users.

How do I get the best deal on National Express tickets?

Wanderu is the best place to score cheap National Express tickets. Wanderu offers the lowest available fares every day and charges no extra booking fees. Plus, you can compare National Express prices with trips offered by other coach companies to be sure you’re getting the best deal on your tickets!

Pro travelers know that booking your ticket well in advance is key to finding the lowest price. Ticket prices normally go up the closer you get to the travel date, so don’t miss out on a good deal when you see one. If you can be flexible with your travel date, you can also get cheap tickets by traveling on weekdays instead of weekends.

When you’re ready to book, type your departure city and destination city in the search bar above, select your travel date, and let Wanderu work its magic to show you all of the best bus and train ticket prices available for your trip. Pick the ticket that’s best for your budget, schedule, and preferences, and complete the booking right on Wanderu to secure your great deal.

Wanderu is the simplest way to book coach and train travel.

With just a quick search on Wanderu, you can compare bus and train schedules and prices from hundreds of travel companies in one convenient place to find the trip that works best for you. Wanderu’s simple checkout process makes it easy to book cheap bus and train tickets hassle-free. Most importantly, as Wanderu is an official partner of all leading bus and train companies, we always have the best deals out there.