Should we buy our train tickets in advance to Bristol (GWR)? We will be leaving Paddington Station on a Sunday, and will need to pick up our rental car before it closes at 3 pm in Bristol. What time should we book our train tickets and any suggestion on a car rental company close to Temple Meads Station in Bristol? Thank you for your suggestions.
Posted by
Uppsala, Sweden
6970 posts
If you really need to pick up a car, you should look at car rental companies around Bristol Parkway instead in my opinion.
Posted by
UK
730 posts
I would pre-book: so-called Advance tickets are cheaper on this route than Off-Peak. Looking at a random Sunday in August, the Advance ticket is showing as £21.50 versus £38.70 for a standard off-peak ticket (all travel on Sundays is off-peak).
However Advance tickets must be used on the specific booked train. If you miss that train, the ticket has no validity on any other trains (unless they’ve cancelled the train) and you will have to pay the full off-peak price for another train.
Posted by
OP
London trip
46 posts
We will buy advance tickets from Paddington, but now need to figure out what train station to arrive at. We looked at the Bristol Parkway Station, but now our price of a one day car rental has gone up to $450 for one day. Ouch! We are traveling to Llansawel, Wales to visit where my grandfather was born and can't rebook our stay there on Sunday. We are having a hard time finding a place to rent a car unless it is around an airport which means we have to find a way to pick the car up from a train station. We were hoping to find a car rental close to Bristol Parkway, but the cost has caused us to continue our search for a more reasonable car rental. Thanks again for your help. It's our first time traveling in Great Britain so we have a lot to learn.
Posted by
Uppsala, Sweden
6970 posts
If your final destination is Llansawel, why not take the train to Swansea and rent the car there?
Posted by
OP
London trip
46 posts
We'll check out car rentals there. Thank you! That's a great idea.
Posted by
Uppsala, Sweden
6970 posts
Just out of curiosity, why did you select Bristol as a place to rent a car?
Posted by
OP
London trip
46 posts
Trying to find a rental company open on Sunday. There were none in Bath, but there are a few companies at Bristol Airport. We are waiting to hear back from a company, Quality Vehicle Hire, in Swansea with their quote for one day round trip. Then we are traveling to Bath to begin our RS tour.
Posted by
Uppsala, Sweden
6970 posts
In that case, renting a car in Swansea is an even better option. Then you can take the train from Swansea to Bath.