Fixed-fare offers are paused just now.
Any fixed-fare route price quoted below was a limited-time promotion and is not running at the moment — we will be opening them again. Everything else in this article still stands, and every journey is quoted upfront on our standard rates before you book.
Cardiff Airport is Wales's main international airport — south coast, ~12 miles south-west of central Cardiff. Smaller than Bristol but useful for travellers within Wales who don't want to transit Bristol or Heathrow.
The chauffeur run
Distance: ~130 miles via M27 / M4 / M48 / M4. Time: ~2:30-3:00 off-peak. Pricing: Per-mile rate from Southampton — ~£250 standard saloon, qualifies for 5% volume discount.
Cardiff's surcharge — cheapest in UK
- £3 drop-off for 10 minutes — the cheapest of any UK airport
- £4 short-stay for 20 minutes
- Free option at Car park 2 (6-minute walk)
Cardiff was free of drop-off charges until 2025; the £3 introduced in early 2026 keeps it the lowest in the country. Useful when comparing surcharge-inclusive totals against alternatives.
When Cardiff from Southampton
The route exists primarily for:
- Wales-based travellers returning home (rare booking shape from our Southampton hub)
- Direct seasonal routes that don't exist at Bristol (occasional charters)
- Welsh-bound business travel — Cardiff drop, onward to a Welsh destination by chauffeur
For most travellers, Bristol Airport (£160 fixed-fare from Southampton — roughly £90 less than the Cardiff per-mile estimate) is the practical south-west choice.
Reading
- /airports/cardiff
- Bristol Airport from southern England — closer alternative