Public transport in Newcastle is provided by the underground, many bus routes and one ferry service.

The city centre is easily navigable on foot. Taxis or the mobile app Uber are widely available.

The 10 best hotels in Newcastle

Fares and tickets

Transport in Newcastle and surrounding cities is brought together by Nexus, which issues day or multi-mode tickets.

In addition, each transport company - metro and buses - issue their own day or single tickets.

Below we describe the tickets that tourists use the most.

Day tickets

All day tickets are valid only on a given calendar day and not for 24 hours.

• Tyne and Wear Day Rover - Tyne and Wear ticket (see county boundary map )
  • 6,80 gbp for adults (no discount for children)
  • 18,80 gbp Family ticket for up to 2 adults + 3 children under 15
  • Valid on the Underground, all city and regional buses within the county, Shields Ferry and trains on the Sunderland - Newcastle - Blydon section
  • Can be purchased from vending machines in tube stations, from the bus driver or on the Go North East / Arriva / Stagecoach mobile apps
  • Details: nexus.org.uk/tyne-and-wear-day-rover-adult
• TNE Day Saver - Tickets for Tyne and Wear (see map), Durham (see map) and Northumberland (see map), can be combined for journeys between counties
  • 7,50 gbp for adults (no discount for children)
  • Valid on the Underground, all city and regional buses within the county, Shields Ferry and trains on the Sunderland - Newcastle - Blydon section
  • Can be purchased from vending machines in tube stations, from the bus driver or on the Go North East / Arriva / Stagecoach mobile apps
  • Details: nexus.org.uk/tne-day-saver
• Explorer North East - Valid for the wider Tyne and Wear area (see map), Durham (see map) and Northumberland (see map), city buses in Carlisle, the Teesside area and parts of North Yorkshire
  • 13,20 gbp for adults
  • 6,90 gbp for children under 15
  • Valid on the Underground, all city and regional buses within the county, the Shields ferry and trains on the Sunderland - Newcastle - Blydon section
  • Can be purchased from vending machines in tube stations, from the bus driver or on the Go North East / Arriva / Stagecoach mobile apps
  • Details: networkonetickets.co.uk/explorer
• Metro Day Ticket - Fares for the Newcastle Metro network only
  • 4,40 gbp for 1 zone
  • 5,60 gbp for 2 zones
  • 5,90 gbp for 3 zones (e.g. for journeys to the airport or beaches or Tynemouth Castle)
  • Children under 11 travel free on the Tube
  • Valid on the Underground only
  • Can be purchased from machines in underground stations
  • Details: nexus.org.uk/metro-day-ticket

Single tickets

If you will only be travelling once a day for a short distance, it is not worth buying a day ticket.

However, if you will be taking the tube more than 1x, for example, a full day ticket for the tube or even extended tickets for the areas around Newcastle are already worthwhile.

• Metro
  • 2,80 gbp for 1 zone / 1,80 gbp with card or POP app*
  • 3,80 gbp for 2 zones / 2,70 gbp with card or POP* app
  • 4,50 gbp 3 zones / 3,40 gbp with card or POP* app
  • You must buy a paper ticket from a ticket machine, see details in the Metro chapter
  • *The POP app is only available for UK mobile phones and the POP card can only be ordered to a UK address
• Buses
  • 2,50 gbp for one journey of any length / you must always buy a new fare when changing buses
  • Pay your ticket at the driver with your own contactless card or cash
• Trains
  • Price varies according to distance
  • You can buy your ticket from the ticket machine at the station or via thetrainline.com

Metro

Newcastle has 2 underground lines - the yellow and the green.

As the Metro is the backbone of public transport in the city and the most useful mode of transport for tourists, we have prepared a separate detailed chapter on Metro Newcastle.

Buses

The bus system is a little confusing at first glance, as each route is operated by over 10 different operators.

For example, there are no comprehensive maps of all bus routes in Newcastle on any website.

Lines and timetables

You can find connections combining all carriers and the Underground via livemap.nexus.org.uk.

Timetables are available at the bus stops and you will need to go to the specific carrier's website if you are looking for timetables for individual lines.

The following companies operate the largest number of lines in Newcastle:

• Go North East
• Arriva
• Stagecoach (mostly suburban and regional services only)

For tourists, the most useful routes are:

• AD122 - runs from Hexham or Haltwhistle railway stations to Hadrian's Wall.
• 684 - runs from Newcastle city centre to Hexham (slower than the train but TNE Day Saver ticket applies)
• 21, X21 - running from Newcastle city centre to Durham (significantly slower than the train, but TNE Day Saver ticket applies)
• 306 - connects Tynemouth and Whitley Bay tube stations with Tynemouth Castle, Whitley Bay and Long Sands beaches
• 308, 309 - takes you from Whitley Bay tube station to St. Mary's Lighthouse
• 50 - goes from South Shields tube station to Ocean Beach Pleasure Park

How to pay the fare

Always buy your ticket from the driver using your own contactless card or cash.

If you have bought one of the day passes, you must always show it to the driver when you board.

Boarding is by the front door only.

Stops

All bus stops are signposted.

If you want to get off the bus, you must press the red "stop" button well before the stop.

When boarding the bus, you must wave to the arriving bus.

The central station for most urban and suburban lines is called Eldon Square and is located by Haymarket tube station.

Ferry

In the suburbs near the mouth of the River Tyne into the North Sea, there is one ferry service between North Shields and South Shields.

The ferry carries foot passengers only. Boats run once every 30 minutes from approximately 6:45am to 7:45pm.

On Sundays the ferries only run between 10:15 and 17:45.

The timetable can be found at nexus.org.uk/ferry/timetable.

Ticket prices

Single tickets can be purchased for 2,50 gbp on board the boat and can only be paid for by card.

There is also a day ticket on the ferry for the Metro as well as Tyne and Wear Day Rover and TNE Day Saver tickets.

Trains

Rail services are mainly used to travel from Newcastle to surrounding towns. Trains are not available for transport within Newcastle.

For example, use the train on the following routes:

• Hexham and Haltwhistle, where you change to the AD122 bus to Hadrian's Wall.
• towards Durham
• towards Sunderland

You must always buy a single ticket for the train, for the lowest price, at least 1 day in advance via thetrainline.com.

TNE Day Saver, Tyne and Wear Day Rover or Explorer North East day tickets can only be used on the Sunderland - Newcastle - Blaydon section of the train.

For example, these tickets are not valid on routes to Durham or Hadrian's Wall.

Taxi / Uber

There are plenty of taxis on the street within Newcastle city centre, which have several stops. The biggest one is outside the train station, where you will always find a large number of cars.

You can always pay by card or cash and the rides are always strictly metered.

A cheaper and more accessible option is the Uber mobile app, which has very good coverage in Newcastle and you usually won't wait more than 10 minutes for a car.

Shared scooters

Currently the largest shared mobility operator , Neuron primarily operates scooters, which you'll find dotted around the city.

However, Newcastle is honestly not a very good city for scooter riding. The cycle paths are virtually only along the River Tyne and are more for leisure riding.

The streets in the centre are very cramped and, more importantly, very hilly.

In order to use the scooters you need to download the Neuron mobile app and register with it.

• 1 gbp - to unlock the scooter
• 0,18 gbp - 1 minute ride