Car-free travel in and around Weymouth

[Dreambee]

We will be in Weymouth at the end of August for a holiday. How easy/practical is it to rely on buses to get around the town and for visiting nearby attractions? Also, what are taxis like in the area - are they expensive?

You can take the x53 from Weymouth to Poole then a bus to Bournemouth. It takes 3 hours in total though and they don't run late in the evening. You can take the x54 to durdle door too.

In Weymouth there's obviously a beach (sandy and stony in places) you can walk or cycle to chesil beach (stony) and the island of Portland. You can take the bus there too which doesn't take long. They have a sealife centre in Oldham, Nothe fort and plenty of cafes, chippies and a quay.

You can also take the train to Bournemouth or Poole (from Poole you can take the ferry to swanage or Brownsea island where they have red squirrels!) The train takes an hour to get to Bournemouth or around 45 minutes to Poole. Dorchester is a few stops away and is a small county town with nice walks. Kingston maurward is a lovely uni/college with a lake and beautiful grounds, you get deer in the small garden next to the lake! I'd maybe take a taxi there from the centre of Dorchester but you can walk in 30-45 minutes.

Taxis are cheaper than London but slightly expensive than in the north! The x53/x54 used to cost £7 return (when i lived there 4 years ago) but you may get a family ticket cheaper. Compare it with train prices to see which is better (bearing in mind you would save 2 hours traveltime by train if you went to Bournemouth or 1 hour to poole!)

Oh and the yellow buses from poole to Bournemouth are a few quid cheaper than the jurassic coast x53/x54. Think because the coastal buses are more scenic.

In weymouth, there's also a train taking you to the sealife centre across the esplanade! Great for kids but am not sure of the price (may be included in a sealife ticket?) They have pirate adventure golf right near the sealife centre. Will post more if i think of anything else!

Sealife centre is in Weymouth!!! No idea why i wrote Oldham haha

Amazing info. Thank you for taking the time to post.

No worries. Lived in Dorset for 3 years. Missing it now! Especially the beach . Have fun x