Getting Around Cambridge
Cambridge is a compact university city in East Anglia, about 50 miles north of London. As a flat, congested town with a strong cycling culture, visitors have several practical options for moving around, from buses and trains to bicycles and on foot.
Walking and Cycling
Cambridge is famous for its cycling culture. The city lies on fairly flat ground and has the highest level of cycle use in the UK, making it an excellent destination for visitors who want to cycle. The city benefits from parks with shared-use paths, and separate cycle traffic lights on some roads. You can hire bikes from City Cycle Hire on Newnham Road or Primo Cycles at Grand Arcade, as well as Voi e-bikes through an app.
National Cycle Network routes connect Cambridge to surrounding towns and villages. Route 11 links Saffron Walden, Duxford and Waterbeach to Cambridge, while Route 51 connects Huntingdon, St Ives and Newmarket. The route between St Ives and Cambridge is traffic-free and runs alongside The Busway. Be aware that bike theft is a problem in the city; use a solid lock and register your bike if it goes missing.
Much of Cambridge's city centre is compact and walkable, though the main railway station is about a mile south of the centre.
Buses and The Busway
Cambridge has an extensive bus network operated primarily by Stagecoach. Most buses run to and from the main bus station on Drummer Street in the city centre, with significant interchanges also at the railway station and Addenbrooke's Hospital.
The Cambridgeshire Guided Busway is a unique rapid transit system that serves the city. It uses a dedicated guided section on the former Cambridge-St Ives railway route to provide fast, direct bus service into the centre of Cambridge. The busway connects to the main railway station and Addenbrooke's Hospital, and a spur to Cambridge North railway station opened in 2017. Bus services on the busway are frequent and reliable.
Park and Ride
Five Park and Ride sites operate on the outskirts of Cambridge seven days a week, encouraging visitors to park for free and take buses into the city. The sites are located at Babraham Road, Madingley Road, Milton, Newmarket Road and Trumpington. Buses run from these sites into the city centre frequently—up to every 7 minutes—and return bus journeys start from £3. Each site offers parking, and some have electric car charging facilities.
Rail Services
Cambridge has two railway stations. The main Cambridge railway station is located about a mile south of the city centre and connects to numerous bus routes, e-scooters and e-bikes for onward travel. Cambridge North railway station opened in 2017 in the Chesterton suburb, near Cambridge Science Park, and is served by The Busway routes.
Both stations are run by Greater Anglia and connect to London via two main routes: the West Anglia Main Line to Liverpool Street and the Hitchin-Cambridge Line via King's Cross. Direct services run from multiple London stations including King's Cross, Liverpool Street, Farringdon, King's Cross St Pancras, Finsbury Park and London Bridge. The "Cambridge Cruiser" non-stop service from King's Cross takes 40 to 45 minutes.
Beyond London, Cambridge has direct rail links to King's Lynn, Ely, Norwich, Leicester, Birmingham New Street, Ipswich, Peterborough and Stansted Airport. You can purchase combined rail and bus tickets (PlusBus) from any National Rail ticket retailer or station office for convenience.
Getting from Airports
London Stansted Airport is the nearest major airport to Cambridge, about 30 miles away. Trains from Stansted to Cambridge take roughly 35 minutes and are operated by CrossCountry and Greater Anglia. You can also travel by National Express coach on routes 727, 728, 767 and 777. Car rental is available at Stansted's Car Rental Village.
London Luton Airport is also relatively close and offers direct National Express coach service (route 788) to Cambridge. London Heathrow Airport, about 70 miles away, offers direct National Express coaches to Cambridge (routes 727, 728 and 788), as well as rail options via London stations. London Gatwick Airport has direct Thameslink trains to Cambridge running at least twice per hour. London City Airport is accessible via London Underground and overground connections to National Rail services heading to Cambridge. Norwich International Airport, about 66 miles away, connects to Cambridge via Norwich's rail service.
Taxis and Ride-Hailing
While the provided source material does not detail specific taxi or ride-hailing services in Cambridge, these are typically available in university towns and should be discoverable through local search or visitor information.
Driving
Cambridge is connected to London and beyond by the M11 motorway, which terminates to the north-west of the city where it joins the A14. The A14 is a major east-west route connecting the port of Felixstowe with the Midlands and Wales. However, Cambridge has a congested road network and traffic restrictions in the city centre, so driving is less convenient than public transport for most visitors. Metered parking bays are available across the city centre offering 1 to 8 hours of parking, and five council car parks serve the city centre. Using Park and Ride sites is a practical alternative to driving into the congested centre.