Cheap Car Rental in Swansea

Car Hire in Swansea: Your Base for Driving Through the United Kingdom’s First “Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty”

A visit to Swansea is incomplete without a rental car. While the town itself offers visitors beautiful views and interesting activities, you will certainly want to drive through the surrounding area as well! Here is a brief guide to driving in Wales and to finding the cheapest car hire in Swansea.

Left-Hand Driving

• When you pick up your hired car in Swansea, remember that traffic drives on the left-hand side of the road.

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Rental cars in Swansea are available in three locations: downtown, Swansea North, and Swansea Northeast. Car hire in Swansea typically starts as low as €22 a day.

Tips for Cheap Car Hire in Swansea

The cheapest location in Swansea to rent a car is downtown, where Keddy by Europcar can offer economy car hire for just over €20 a day year-round. Especially if you are visiting Swansea outside of the popular summer season, you can typically find even cheaper deals on rental cars in Swansea by booking just days in advance of your arrival. However, these low prices are always dependent on availability.

Book you rental car in downtown Swansea within seven months of your arrival to ensure you receive these low prices. If it is more convenient for you to book your rental car in north Swansea, Dollar Car Rental can typically offer car hire starting at around €40 a day.

Driving in Swansea

Speed limits in Swansea:

• In most built-up areas throughout the United Kingdom, the speed limit is 30 miles per hour.
• While the typical speed limit for motorways throughout the United Kingdom is 60 to 70 miles per hour, the speed limits on the busier sections of the M4 and A470 in Wales have been recently reduced to 50 miles per hour in order to cut down on air pollution. Even if you are familiar with driving in the Swansea area, be sure to keep an eye out for changes to speed limits.

Parking in Swansea:

1. There are a number of free options for parking in Swansea, particularly if you only need to leave your car for 2 to 4 hours. For instance, there is a limited number of street parking spaces in central Swansea, where you are permitted to park for up to 2 hours, free of charge. The Parc Tawe car park also permits free parking for up to 4 hours.
2. There are also numerous car parks throughout the city center and along the beach. You can typically expect to pay between £1.20 and £1.50 an hour in each of these car parks. City center car parks are also currently free on Sundays.
3. If you want to avoid driving or parking in central Swansea, take advantage of the Park and Ride at Landore and Fabian Way, where you can park all day for £2.50.

Toll roads near Swansea:

• You will only come across toll roads if you drive along the Swansea coast east or west for around an hour.
• To the west, the tolled road is the Cleddau Bridge outside of Pembroke, located about 60 miles from Swansea. This toll is typically just around £1. Carry cash in order to pay this toll at the toll booths.
• To the east, you will pay a toll to cross the M4 Second Severn Crossing or M48 Severn Bridge. These tolls cost more than £6 each, so they are worth trying to avoid, if convenient. You can pay this toll with cash or major credit cards at the toll booths.

Car Rental in Swansea: Where to Drive Next

There is so much to see in the immediate Swansea region! Here is just a short list of places to visit via rental car during your stay in Swansea:

• Dan yr Ogof and the Brecon Beacons National Park: the 17-mile-long system of caves, called Dan yr Ogof, is located at the National Showcaves Centre for Wales in the Brecon Beacons National Park, just 20 miles northeast of Swansea. This is a great first stop on your travels to the natural highlights along the Brecon Beacons mountain range.
• Pembrokeshire Coast National Park: for beautiful coastal views and long walks along the cliffs of Wales, head about 50 miles west of Swansea to any of the villages along the coast. You can both walk and drive the coast. If you prefer walking once you arrive from Swansea, the Pembrokeshire Coast Path begins in the south in Amroth and ends in the north in St Dogmaels.
• Tenby is a great medieval town to stop in on your way to the Pembrokeshire Coast, located 58 miles west of Swansea.