8 Cheap Day Trips from Brighton
Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use.
The Cheapest Day Trips Cost Less Than a London Round Trip
A same-day trip up to London realistically runs £20-40 unless you book an Advance fare weeks out, and it is easy to spend that without leaving Brighton’s own station. The eight day trips below mostly beat that, several by bus for a few pounds, and the two furthest options still come in under £15 each way if you book ahead. If your day trip needs wheels rather than rails, compare rental cars for the South Downs routes where public transport runs thin.
8 Day Trips from Brighton, by Cost and Time
| Destination | How | Journey time | Rough cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lewes | Direct train | 17-20 min | Advance fares from a few pounds |
| Devil’s Dyke | Bus 77 | ~30 min | citySAVER day ticket |
| Ditchling + Ditchling Beacon | Bus | Varies | citySAVER day ticket |
| Seven Sisters / Birling Gap | Coaster bus 12/12A/12X | 75-100 min | citySAVER day ticket |
| Eastbourne + Beachy Head | Direct train | 37 min | From ~£8-15 advance |
| Bluebell Railway | Bus 270 (Sat/Sun/bank holidays) | ~1h29 | citySAVER + railway ticket |
| Alfriston + Drusillas | Train to Berwick, then walk, or bus 11X | ~50 min combined | From ~£8-15 advance train |
| Rye | Train with a change | 1h30-1h50 | From ~£15 advance |
Lewes is the cheapest and easiest first day trip, full stop
Direct trains from Brighton to Lewes take 17-20 minutes and are the shortest, most frequent, least planning-heavy day trip on this list. Lewes Castle, the historic high street, antique shops and Anne of Cleves House are all walkable from the station. One thing to flag if you are here around 5 November: Lewes hosts the world’s biggest Bonfire Night celebration, trains stop calling there from around 5pm that evening, and non-residents are actively discouraged from attending.
Do you need a bus pass for Devil’s Dyke and Ditchling Beacon?
A citySAVER day ticket covers both, and it is the better buy the moment you are making two or more bus trips in a day. Devil’s Dyke runs on bus 77, weekends and bank holidays year-round plus weekdays in summer only, a genuine planning trap if you show up on a random winter Tuesday expecting a bus. Ditchling Beacon’s bus 79 follows a similar pattern: Sundays and bank holidays year-round, Saturdays added in summer.
Seven Sisters is the best free view, but budget the bus time
The Coaster buses (12, 12A, 12X) reach Birling Gap in 75-100 minutes, with up to 14 buses an hour combined across the routes and departures every 30 minutes on Sundays. A citySAVER ticket covers the whole trip. Birling Gap alone makes a workable half-day out and back; walking any stretch of the cliff path toward Beachy Head turns it into a full day, so decide which one you are doing before you get on the bus. If you would rather not manage the bus timetable yourself, a Seven Sisters day tour handles the transport.
Stretch further for Eastbourne, the Bluebell Railway, Alfriston and Rye
Eastbourne is a direct 37-minute train, and from there the 13X bus, a taxi around £10, or a roughly three-mile walk each way gets you to Beachy Head. The Bluebell Railway, a heritage steam line, is reachable on bus 270 straight from Brighton to Horsted Keynes on weekends and bank holidays, and National Rail sells a 2-for-1 rail and Bluebell combo ticket worth checking before you book separately. Alfriston and the small zoo at Drusillas Park combine well on the train to Berwick followed by a 20-25 minute walk, or the direct 11X bus from Brighton to Eastbourne, which also stops at Drusillas. Rye is the longest trip here, 1h30-1h50 each way with a change, genuinely worth it for the medieval cobbled streets, but only if you are treating it as a full day rather than squeezing it into an afternoon. Save the South Downs walking day trips (Devil’s Dyke, Ditchling Beacon) for after you have read our free nature spots guide, it covers the same bus routes in more depth.
Cut the entry cost with the 2-for-1 rail trick
If you arrive anywhere by train, the National Rail 2-for-1 scheme covers Royal Pavilion, SEA LIFE Brighton and Brighton i360 admission, and the same principle applies at some day-trip destinations too: show a valid, dated rail ticket for two-for-the-price-of-one entry. Check the current terms on nationalrail.co.uk before you travel, since these schemes shift periodically, and cross-check bus routes and fares directly against visitbrighton.com before you set out. For accommodation if any of these trips turns into an overnight, check rates on Booking.com .
Book train tickets in Advance where the route allows it, ideally the moment a date firms up. The gap between an Advance single and an anytime fare on these routes regularly runs £15-20 each way, more than the price of the day trip itself.