Having recently returned back from a short break in Brighton I felt it necessary to talk about National express as this is what we used to return back home.

Our journey began at Brighton coach station where we got onto the coach which was already there and waiting. The driver let us onto the coach about 3 minutes before departing and I must admit I did not expect to have to put my own luggage on board especially considering it was throwing it down with rain. Just before boarded everyone has to show the driver your reference number which you get when you book and you just print off the email. This method is very easy as you don't need to receive any tickets.

Once on board I was very surprised how nice the coach was, for example the seats were incredibly comfort and were leather which made it more luxurious. Also I noticed that each passenger gets a brief information pack on safety guidelines which are good to know. The coach also had a toilet on board which a lot of people seemed to use. Having got a seat at the back I thought it would be a bad place as it was next to the toilet but I think they must have had an air freshener in there as it smelt really fresh and clean. There was also the usual air conditioning and heating facilities above your seats which was good as older coaches always seem to be really hot and stuffy and this was totally opposite.

When we departed from Brighton we left dead on time which I was impressed by and then from there on we made numerous stops along the way including Gatwick airport which people boarded on and off fairly quickly and the driver kept us informed throughout through the coach sound system. During the journey it seemed smooth and was in comfort throughout.

Upon arrival at Victoria we had to change coaches and we managed to do this but this could have been better sign posted to which stop we was getting on at. This also took off at about the time it should have done and boarding the coach was done easily. This next stage of our journey took the longest and was the least enjoyable. We did however have a stop for a walk and food halfway but then ran into very heavy traffic which made our journey time around an hour longer than it should have done.

Price wise I couldn't have got a better deal to Brighton as it cost two of us £18 one way which is a bargain really, although this was a summer special offer. We booked it online through their website which was easy to do and simple to understand and we just printed our reservation number off.