Nottingham travel

With our central location, an international airport less than 14 miles away from Nottingham's city centre, and Purple Flag status for our night-time economy and student safety, NTU lets you live the full student experience – with the reassurance that friends and family are within easy reach.

Getting to Nottingham

Whether you want a great night out in a new city, or to visit friends and family at home, it's important that you can get where you need to be easily from your new home.

by rail

If you’re planning on travelling to Nottingham by train, timetable information is available from National Rail.

Nottingham Train Station is just a short walk from the city centre, or you can catch the tram – follow the signs from your platform, and head north on the Phoenix Park or Hucknall lines. The city centre tram stop is less than 10 minutes away.

Prices: Please see the NET site for more information on ticket prices.
Frequency: Trams leave from Nottingham Station every 7-10 minutes.

Here’s how quick it is to visit Nottingham from some of the UK's other major cities by rail:

Sheffield – 51 minutes
London – 100 minutes
Leeds – 103 minutes
Manchester – 110 minutes

by car

Travelling to Nottingham by car couldn’t be easier.

You can use the park and ride services to avoid parking in the city centre. We recommend that you use one of the following sites and board any tram serving Toton Lane or Clifton South:

The Forest (NG7 6AQ) – journey time: approximately 5 minutes.
Wilkinson Street (NG7 7NW) – journey time: approximately 10 minutes.
Phoenix Park (NG8 6AS) – journey time: approximately 20 minutes.

Make sure you buy a ticket before you board the tram and alight at the Nottingham Trent University stop.

Visit the NET site for more information.

If you’re intending to park in the city centre, here's a few car parks we recommend:

Trinity Square (NG1 4BH)*
Talbot Street (NG1 5GG)*
The Victoria Centre (NG1 3PR)*

* Has electric charging facilities.

More information on city centre parking can be found on the Nottingham City Council website.

by plane

Nottingham's closest airport is East Midlands Airport, which is a hub for lots of low-cost airlines. From here, you can fly to – Alicante, Amsterdam, Barbados, Barcelona, Berlin, Cancun, Corfu, Dublin, Edinburgh, Faro, Fuerteventura, Glasgow, Ibiza, Krakow, Malaga, Milan, New York.

And that’s just a taste of almost 90 destinations around the world.

I love how many different things there are to do and how easy they are to get to - you could have a woodland walk in the morning, then be shopping in the city in the afternoon, and then go to an ice hockey match at night!

Savannah Storm, MRes Endangered Species Recovery and Conservation

Easy travel

One of the things people love most about Nottingham is how easy it is to get here… and then how easy it is to get everywhere else.

Our efficient transport networks were one of the reasons Nottingham is a top 60 global student city, ranking ahead of Rome and Lisbon (QS Best Student Cities Index 2022). Choosing NTU as your place of study makes things easy.

Hidden gems of Nottingham

Explore Nottingham with final year student Rakshith using a 24-hour unlimited bus ticket.

Getting around Nottingham

This compact city has everything you need – all the shops, restaurants and bars you'd expect from a major city, packed into a city centre that's easy to navigate. Nottingham has an excellent bus and tram network with a range of travel deals and discounts for students.

Nottingham's award-winning public transport services are a great way to explore everything our city has to offer. Nottingham is also the third best city in the UK for sustainable travel (USwitch Sustainable Mobility Index), boasting the largest fleet of double decker biogas-powered buses in the world.

Most of our student accommodation is on-campus, a quick bus journey away, or within easy walking distance of the city centre, so a good time is never far away. Here's everything you need to know about getting around Nottingham.

Tram

Nottingham tram network serves the city centre and many of the outlying suburbs and villages. You'll find stops in key locations around the city, including right outside our City Campus and just a short walk from our Clifton Campus.

Tickets are usually £2.50 for a single trip, but you can use your Smartcard as a student travel card to get discounted travel. If you're travelling to our Clifton Campus by car, use the Clifton South (NG11 8BF) park and ride service and purchase a discounted £3.40 day ticket. Academic term passes are available from £89, or you can get an academic year pass for £275.

Travelling between campuses by bus

Nottingham has an extensive and sustainable bus network, with fast and regular services throughout the city and beyond.

Journeys cost £2 each way or £3.70 for an all-day ticket between the city centre and our Clifton Campus (25-minute journey). Travel between our Brackenhurst Campus and the city centre costs £4.15, or £6.00 for a return (55-minute journey).

Nottingham City Transport (NCT) offer discounted bus travel for students, with options for both the academic (£259) and calendar (£279) year.

You can travel to NTU in Mansfield by using the Stagecoach Pronto service (56-minute journey). All students will receive 30% off travel between Nottingham and Mansfield with a valid NTU ID card.

Bike

The cheapest (not to mention healthiest) way to get around is, of course, by bike. There's plenty of cycle routes and quiet roads across the city that make cycling to-and-from campus safe and simple.

No bike? No worries. Hire a bike from the Bike Factory hire scheme for £39 a year plus a £60 refundable deposit.

Electric scooter

One of the most enjoyable ways to get around Nottingham is by electric scooter. Pick up one of the 1,000 scooters available across Nottingham and go on an affordable and exciting adventure with your friends from just 15p per minute (+50p unlock fee).

Don't just take our word for it – explore Nottingham and our stunning campuses at one of our open days. One short walk around Nottingham and you'll fall in love.

Book an open day.

Campuses

We’ve got campuses across Nottinghamshire, each uniquely developed to the needs of our NTU community.

Parks and green spaces

Nottingham is known for its beautiful green spaces. From stunning nature reserves to rolling hills, here’s our pick of the best places to chill – in and immediately outside of the city.