The city's proximity to London means Brighton is well served by airports. Brighton can be reached from Gatwick by train in as little as 25 minutes.

National Express provides coach services to London (coach tends to be slow and takes around 2 hours) and various other cities from Pool Valley coach station, between Old Steine and the seafront. Megabus also run a budget coach service to London starting at £1.50 each way, but again this takes around 2 hours.

Stagecoach bus services run to Brighton from Portsmouth, via Worthing, on service 700. It costs £6.30 for one day's unlimited travel on this route. See Stagecoach for times.

Brighton and Hove Buses bus services run to Brighton from Eastbourne in the east and Tunbridge wells in the north. Unlimited travel on Brighton Buses costs £3.50 for nightbus and travel in and between Eastbourne, Worthing, Brighton and Tunbridge wells (this is called a SuperSaver) or £2.80 a day for Travel within Brighton (Southwick, Newhaven, Lewes) (this is called a CitySaver). See Brighton and Hove Bus Company for details.

Trains to Brighton run from Victoria and London Bridge stations in London, taking about an hour (faster for the Brighton Express services from Victoria, although expect to add another 20 minutes if travelling during peak commuting times). Trains also run along the coast from Hastings and Lewes in the east, and Portsmouth and Chichester in the west. Brighton is on a direct line (Thameslink) from Gatwick and Luton airports (Gatwick is much closer).

Brighton is a congested city, and not easy to drive or park in. The principal route from London and Gatwick Airport is the A23. The A27 runs along the coast, and is dual carriageway from the M27 at Portsmouth in the west to Lewes in the east. There are several car parks in central Brighton - expect to pay about £1.50 per hour, even on Sundays. Alternatively, parking is available at Worthing or Lewes stations, about 20 minutes by train from the city centre.

There are three particular days in the year when it is very inadvisable to drive into Brighton:

The children's parade day at the start of Brighton Festival. In 2006 this will be on Saturday 6 May, and many roads in the center of Brighton will be closed.
The day of the annual London to Brighton Bike Ride. This is on a Sunday in June - tens of thousands of cyclists plus their support vehicles are in the city, so many roads will be blocked or difficult to get across.
The parade day of the Brighton and Hove gay pride week. Many roads in the centre of Brighton will be closed.