Airport transfers

Book your seat

You’ll be asked to provide the following information when booking:

• Student name
• UWE Student ID (this is your welcome identification number)
• Mobile phone number
• Your email
• Nationality
• Airline
• Flight number
• Arrival date
• Flight arrival time
• Flight arrival airport
• Number of bags/luggage
• Number of passengers to transfer
• Accommodation address

Please book your flight tickets first as you’ll need your flight details to make your coach booking.

Please ensure you provide your mobile phone number as we will use this to let you know if there is a change to your transfer time or if we need to contact you in an emergency.

Incomplete bookings cannot be processed, so make sure that you complete the booking form fully.

Please note, airport transfer bookings are non-refundable.

Payment is not taken when you make your initial booking. Our team will email you to take payment at least 24 hours after you book.

You’ll receive an email within 48 hours (2 working days)* of your coach transfer date which will let you know:

• details of where to meet the team at London Heathrow
• a contact phone number for our meet and greet team leader who you can call or WhatsApp if you need help on the day of your transfer
• the exact departure time of our coaches.

Departure times may change if we can reduce waiting time. If this affects your transfer, we’ll let you know.

*The working week is Monday to Friday in the UK. The 48 hours includes your airport transfer date.

If you need to make a change to your booking, email Andrew at our airport transfer company at andrew@hosts-international.com. You don’t need to fill out the booking form again.

We cannot guarantee that we'll be able to accommodate your changes if your request is later than three working days before your travel date.

If anything changes with your travel plans after you’ve booked a transfer, such as your flight or visa details, contact Andrew at our airport transfer company at andrew@hosts-international.com and the Global Student Support team at globalstudents@uwe.ac.uk as soon as possible.

Include URGENT and your arrival date in the subject line.

Our team will check your flight details and can track any delays.

If you become aware of any delays upon arrival in the UK (such as long queues in customs), send a message to the WhatsApp number. Free wifi is available at Heathrow Airport.

Our airport transfer team will contact you with alternative travel options if needed.

All coach departures will leave from London Heathrow Airport Terminal 2.

• When you arrive at the airport, make your way to the International Arrivals hall in Terminal 2 using the London Underground System or walkways.
• In the International Arrivals hall, the transfer meeting point is outside a shop called 'Boots' – check Heathrow's interactive map for directions.
• A member of staff will be waiting at the transfer meeting point in a hi-vis jacket holding a UWE Bristol sign.
• If there is time to wait until the coach departure time, you will be told when to report back to the meeting point.

Please make sure you arrive at the transfer meeting point on time. If you miss your transfer and there is no later coach, you will have to make your own way to Bristol.

Each passenger is allowed three pieces of luggage of any size on our transfer service. The size of luggage has to comply with your airline requirements which is usually a large or medium weight suitcase, plus one or two smaller bags you can take onto the plane with you.

We won’t be able to help you carry your luggage, so make sure that you can lift and carry your luggage while you travel and when you move from the coach to your accommodation.

Extra luggage

You’ll be asked how much luggage you plan to bring on the booking form. If you want to bring more luggage than the allowance, you’ll have to pay an extra charge of £20 because there is limited space on each coach.

If you don’t let us know on the booking form that you’ll have additional luggage, you may have to wait to travel on the last coach of the day (if there is space) or travel to Bristol independently.

If you're worried about bringing too much luggage, everything you may need, including bedding, can be bought in the UK when you arrive.

If you are travelling with prescribed medication you will need to prove it has been prescribed to you. Check the government guidelines on travelling with medication for further information.

It might be useful to pack painkillers in your suitcase, ideally one that will help to reduce a temperature.

It’s very important that you find accommodation before arriving in the UK, as the University cannot offer you a room while you search. Please arrange temporary accommodation if needed.

It’s your responsibility to:

• let your accommodation provider know when you’re arriving
• make arrangements with them to collect your keys and access your room
• inform them if you’re delayed in collecting your keys

If you need advice about UWE Bristol managed accommodation, contact accommodation@uwe.ac.uk and check your email regularly for up-to-date information.

For private accommodation information, contact advice@uwe.ac.uk and read the guidance available on the SU Advice website.

You can use our transfer coaches to travel to Bristol before making your way to your accommodation. You will need to make your own travel arrangements to private accommodation, and any costs will be at your own expense.

If you get off the transfer coach at the Frenchay Campus drop-off point, one of our team will meet you and take you to comfortable area where you can arrange your onward journey to your accommodation. 

We recommend you download the First Bus app, Bristol’s bus transport app. There is a very regular bus service from our campuses to the city centre, and a student single fare is around £2.

Alternatively if you wish to book a taxi, the popular UK taxi apps are Uber and Euro Taxi.

Before you leave your home country, check with your existing provider that you’ll be able to use your phone in the UK and that it won’t be ‘locked’ to your home network. Check the costs of using your phone in the UK on your existing network (known as ‘roaming’) – if it’s expensive, make sure you switch off roaming on arrival to avoid a big bill.

It may be more cost-effective for you to buy a UK Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) SIM card than to use roaming on your existing network. Popular UK phone networks* include EE, Three, O2, Vodaphone, LycaMobile, and Giffgaff. If you plan to make international calls (rather than call home using an internet-based app such as Whatsapp), LycaMobile and Giffgaff offer cheap international calling. For a comparison of the various UK PAYG SIM deals, visit a UK comparison website.

The cheapest way to buy a PAYG SIM card is online or at a local convenience store or supermarket. If you want to get connected quickly, you can also buy SIM cards at the airport on arrival. If you want to use the SIM card immediately, make sure the card includes some pre-paid credit (known as a pre-paid PAYG SIM).

If you are arriving at Heathrow, you might be able to buy a SIM card from:

• WH Smiths (Terminals 2, 4, and 5)
• Sim Local (Terminal 2, 3 and 5; and underground in Terminal 2)
• WeKnow tourist information (Terminals 2, 3, 4 and 5)
• a Prepaid Tourist SIM vending machine.

If you want to contact your family to let them know of your safe arrival, it might be possible to use the airport wifi to do so.

*UWE Bristol does not endorse any particular service.

You can order groceries and other necessities from online shops and supermarkets. You'll need a suitable pre-paid card or bank account to make online purchases.

You also might find it useful to pre-order a kitchen, bedding, cleaning, bathroom starter packs. This option is available for all students both living in university-managed and private accommodation. Take a look at these available starter packs.

We also encourage you to ask your flatmates, friends and family for support. More information about support and services on the campus will be provided closer to your arrival date.

There are many ways people can get food or essentials delivered. Supermarkets that offer contactless deliveries are as follows: 

• Tesco
• Sainsbury's
• Ocado 
• Iceland
• Asda

Most restaurants offer contactless deliveries, which can be ordered through the following apps: 

• Just Eat 
• Uber Eats
• Deliveroo