dimramon

I need to make a trip out to Cardiff and perhaps Newport for a day. I am flying in from the US and was trying to figure out my options.
Fly into Cardiff, rent a car; or fly into LHR and rent a car/or take a train.
I plan on spending the night before, and the night after in the UK.

With regard to driving, I drive in the UK once or twice a year, so I have no problem with that.

Trying to figure out if I should spend the night in Cardiff, or in London, and what transportation options make the most sense.

UKtravelbear

Question is why do you need to visit Cardiff?

If absolutely necessary then price up flights to Cardiff and LHR and the train from London to Cardiff and see what works best,

stut

I'd also look at flights to Bristol and Birmingham and go for whatever is cheapest and most convenient.

lhrsfo

Or even look at going via DUB - on separate tickets you'll save the APD.

Swiss Tony

Essential viewing if you're heading to Newport -

mad_rich

Cardiff Airport (CWL) isn't particularly handy for the city. It's about half an hour West of the city, whereas half an hour in the other direction would take you pretty much to England.

If you want to fly there, the only real option for transatlantic would be via AMS on KLM/ Delta. If you see flights at a price/ time that suits, than go for it. Otherwise, Bristol or, for much more choice, Heathrow. Don't fly to any other London airport.

Where do you need to be in Cardiff & Newport, and do you need a car to get there?

From Heathrow, your options are:

a) Rent a car and you'll be in Cardiff in not much more than two hours. All motorway. Easy drive. Risk of traffic, so leave time for the return.

b) Heathrow Express into London Paddington and change onto a train back out again to Cardiff Central. (More like three hours) www.gwr.com

c) Coach to Reading, and pick up the train from there. (Possibly a bit quicker, but I dislike coaches!)

I would say the train is more relaxing, if longer, but if you need a car for your appointments and hotel in Cardiff, then it probably makes sense to rent from LHR. This also gives you flexibility of where to spend the nights.

dimramon

It looks like my location is actually near Newport, and it's going to be an all-day event (office hours), in a location that's best accessed by car.

I guess I could stay near Heathrow, and just rent a car for the day trip?