What’s Victoria Coach station like? Can a reasonably savvy 14 year old manage a coach change there without getting overwhelmed/lost/abducted by aliens?

[TheBramley]

I’ve never been there so I don’t know what it’s like, but how difficult can it be to get off one coach and onto another? She’s a bright kid but nervous about ‘getting something wrong’ and hasn’t really had to navigate anything other than local buses thus far. I could do the first half if she insists, but it seems a bit daft.

There aren’t any more drunks at Victoria than any other big station.

She will be fine OP.

I’m a Londoner with very travel savvy teens so it’s hard for me to judge but I wouldn’t have an issue as long as the connection time is long enough and it was in daylight hours. Say at least half an hour. There will be plenty of people around for them to ask if they are a bit stuck.

My kids have regularly gotten a bit stuck over the years, had trains or buses cancelled or diverted. It’s never been an issue as they have phones to call me and have always just asked for assistance from those around them. It’s character building!

I haven't particularly noticed it being rough. Although I go shopping in Croydon, so maybe I have low standards. 😀

The other thing to watch for is more than one coach operator going to the same destination from different gates.

I've been using coaches for decades and even I have waited at the wrong gate because I'd seen my destination on the main board and not checked the operator. (Fortunately I realised just in time and scuttled to the correct gate.)

Oh make sure she has a credit / debit card with her.

Sometimes busses are cancelled and they put you on a train but you need a card to get the tickets out of the train station machine.

It's unusual that no one on a bus has a card but it can happen.

Where do you live OP there might be a coach station closer and they are very similar.

www.nationalexpress.com/en/help/coach-stations

Yes that's true. There's national express plus megabus

If I remember correctly you need coins for the toilets.

Please go with her, Victoria is an absolute dumphole!

I don't think you do as I went week before last

We Londoners have a bad reputation for being unfriendly but most of us would intervene if we saw a 14 yo girl being harassed by a drunk.

The fact that it is so busy is good protection. There may be drunk people or beggars but they don’t generally pose any kind of threat.

All she needs to do is look confident and purposeful and walk directly , and not gaze or stare at anyone. Just follow the directions as discussed by pp.

How does she feel about it? If she is confident, I’d be fine with her doing it.

Easy to understand but lots of pickpockets. Don't have your phone out.

abduction by aliens, umm, same risk as anywhere, can't see why they'd target there as there's no convenient landing spot that I know of 😁

Oh they might have changed it.
Always best to take a pile of change just in case.
Better to have a pocket full of 20p pieces than be busting for a wee 😂

National Express coaches have toilets. Go on the bus.

God no ! Have you tried to squeeze into one of those (especially while the coach is moving) ?

If she has never been there, I think it could be quite confusing.
The main issue is arriving in one building and then have to find a separate departure building, as well as then identifying the correct departure bay. Or it could be out on the street somewhere. Whilst managing luggage.
And yes, it is a fairly grotty area.

I would definitely go along with my 14 year old (or indeed 17 year old) if I could.

It can be very busy and obstructed with lots of luggage, and generally seem a bit rough.

It can sometimes be confusing finding where you are meant to go. The first coach might drop off on the road outside, or the second coach might leave from there.

OP where is she coming from and going to? as perhaps there is a coach stop she could wait avoiding Victoria Coach Station? eg our lad will exit the Leeds Coach at Marble Arch cross Park Lane (at the crossing) then pick up the Oxford coach right opposite, no need at all to make the extra journey into Victoria, coaches every 15 mins.

i definitely would. i was intimidated at 18.

It's not that bad! Or even that busy. I'm assuming this will be in daylight hours, not at night? My biggest worry would be nothing to do with drunks. It would be whether she is confident enough to ask questions.

It would be very easy to get confused - about which way to go to find her gate, about whether it's the National Express 3.10 to Newcastle or the Flixbus 3.20 to Edinburgh via Newcastle that she needs, etc.

Drill it into her to make no assumptions! If she can't find the front desk, she should immediately ask any member of staff (or safe-looking fellow traveller i.e. a woman) where to find it. There she will see which gate she needs. Once she's got to her gate, she should look for a driver or station worker (they will be standing around in the forecourt) and ask him if she's definitely in the right place for the ticket she's booked. Ask other passengers at the gate if they're waiting for the same coach. When she gets on the coach, the driver will check her ticket to confirm. Check, check, check all the way.

I would have the same worries if she was changing at any bus station or stop in the land. In fact, perhaps more so, because most places will be more isolated with fewer staff. If she's shy, then maybe you should take her this time, so that you can teach her in person how to ask people and check.

This is one of the great uses of youtube, being able to look at places like this that you haven't been before. I've used it for airports and stations.

I'm an old hand at Victoria coach station. Yes, it's quite busy and is definitely a melting pot of humanity. In my experience, any "undesirables" get moved on very quickly. I can't actually remember the last time I saw anyone who wasn't meant to be there. Security and the police are good at managing it, and there's always loads of staff around. I would say that most of them are men though, and typical slightly gruff Londoners. So she'll get help if she asks, but won't be coddled. There's a Pret A Manger in there that she can sit in if she's overwhelmed, and a Starbucks across the yard.
The bus station is very easy to navigate and find what you want. She's best getting off her first coach, and heading to the main entrance to see all the screens. That'll tell her what bay she needs.

Does she HAVE to change at Victoria? In my experience Heathrow bus station does a lot of the same routes and is a nicer environment for a solo female.

And Flixbus to some places.

I've even had it that I went to the gate listed on the main screen, which I could have sworn was for the right coach and the right operator, and then found out when I got to the gate that it was the wrong gate. I think they possibly changed it and the screen was wrong - either that, or I made a mistake despite being careful and experienced. So it never ever hurts to check once you're at the gate, instead of passively waiting there assuming all is well.

Yep. Same in all counts. To me that coach station is awful. I’m a Londoner too, hate it.

Ditto to the PPs - am a Londoner, live in Croydon, still think the coach station is absolutely grim - and much much worse than the rail station.

If you can go as far as Victoria with her and do the transfer then I absolutely would.