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National Express bus 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 probably the UK's best-known coach company offering intercity services. Nationwide in scope, it has over 600 coaches covering 4865 routes daily. National Express connects to 199 different cities, from small roadside stops to the country's biggest towns and cities. These include London, Manchester, Southampton, and Edinburgh, as well as airports such as Heathrow and Stansted, both serving London.

Founded in 1972, National Express is headquartered in Birmingham, the UK's second city. Its sleek, modern vehicles mainly consist of single-decker vehicles of approximately 50 seats, although the bus company uses double-decker buses on the busiest routes.

Both single and double-decker vehicles offer passengers a good amount of legroom – roomier than airlines have in coach class – alongside onboard WiFi, restrooms, and air conditioning. Although there is no food for purchase, passengers can bring their own snacks and drinks.

Wanderu makes it exceptionally easy to check the routes, prices, and schedules for National Express. Compare prices, book your trip, and save money on Wanderu!

National Express Amenities

Air conditioningAir conditioning
RestroomRestroom
Power outletPower outlet
WiFiWiFi

Quickview

National Express bus coverage

Daily Trips2,566
stations334
cities199
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 65 reviews
“I’ll travel with them again just for the staff!”
based on 102 reviews
“Really cheap tickets and really good service.”
based on 105 reviews
“The bus got there on time.”
based on 114 reviews
“Seats were really comfy and spacious”
based on 109 reviews
“The bus was almost suspiciously clean”
based on 112 reviews

National Express reviews from Wanderu customers

Overall review score for National Express

(Based on 121 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

Mr

May 1, 2025- Visiting family

Chesterfield to London

Pros: The driver was polite and the staff was respectful. Cons: Keeping doing your good works. Tips: Always book on time for cheap price and enjoy value for money.

5.0

FATAI

April 22, 2025- Visiting family

London to Glasgow

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

5.0

Mr

March 21, 2025- Visiting family

Chesterfield to London

Pros: How clean the bus was, perfect relation and communication of the driver to us the passengers and the drivers attitude on the road was just professional. Cons: Great service so far but could work on the set off time even though some reasons for delays could be technical. Tips: To just be I full support of the driver and be each other’s keeper.

4.0

Oluwafunmilayo

March 5, 2025- Business

London to Plymouth

Comfortable sitting, timelines of the service.

4.0

Oluwatoyin

February 20, 2025- Visiting family

London to Nottingham

Cons: Not applicable. Tips: Not applicable.

National Express Routes & Network

National Express’s bus network features 4865 bus routes that connect 199 cities serving 334 stations. On average, National Express performs about 2566 bus trips every day. The top cities to which National Express offers the highest number of daily bus service include Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Top Cities Served by National Express

CityRouteEarliest busLatest bus
London211:00 pm10:59 pm
Manchester111:05 pm10:59 pm
Birmingham111:05 pm10:59 pm
Liverpool111:17 pm10:59 pm
Luton211:01 pm10:59 pm
Edinburgh111:10 pm10:59 pm
Leeds111:10 pm10:59 pm
Glasgow711:10 pm10:59 pm
Bristol111:10 pm10:56 pm

Most popular National Express routes

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

Top National Express routes

RouteDaily TripsDurationPrice
Glasgow to Edinburgh41h 10mCZK 85
London to Liverpool377h 15mCZK 190
London to Manchester1147h 0mCZK 317
London to Edinburgh2812h 41mCZK 529
London to Southampton774h 13mCZK 169
London to Birmingham2084h 37mCZK 190
London to Leeds525h 57mCZK 254
Coventry to London594h 3mCZK 169
London to Luton4072h 10mCZK 190

National Express Bus Guide & FAQs

Yes, National Express offers WiFi on their buses. Although most trips with National Express will have WiFi as advertised, some buses 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.

National Express provides both regular power outlets and USB outlets on board their bus trips. This helps ensure to ensure your electronics never run out of power. Your laptop can be juicing up while your phone stays charged as well. Of course, even with all these options, it’s possible that a National Express vehicle might have an issue with its power supply, so to cover that situation bring a charged power bank.

On a typical day, National Express has 2566 scheduled bus 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 bus. 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 buses. 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 buses do not allow you to bring your own alcoholic drinks.

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

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 2,566 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 CZK 65.56. 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 with the lowest available fares every day. Plus, you can compare National Express prices with trips offered by other bus 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 bus 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.