Once you have gotten to Manchester and checked out where your hotel is, where the things to see are and where the nightlife is you will then need to know about the best way of getting around. The following pages are a guide to the forms of transport available within the city centre that you can use during your stay but when looking at them please remember if needs be everywhere is within walking distance of almost all locations.

Metrolink Trams:-

By far the most popular form of city centre transport in Manchester is the Metrolink tram system. Over 19 million people a year travel on its ever growing network (37 stations and counting) and a staggering £1 billion is being invested and spent as we speak improving existing track, building new trams and extending the network to new locations like MediaCity where the BBC plans to move to in Salford.

Quick and easy and with station stops near all bars, clubs and hotels, Stag and Hen Manchester recommend this is the best form of transport for moving around the town centre if you want to cut down on walking. During the day a tram runs every 6 minutes and later on it stretches only to every 12 minutes and most day return tickets will set you back as little as £1.20 in the central zone (regular ticket inspections to occur so a ticket is a must!). Don't however expect a tram ride back to the hotel though as the last service from most stations tends to be around 10.30pm.

To purchase tickets all you need do is use the self service ticket machines that are present at every tram stop either in the station or on the platform. Stag and Hen Manchester would advise having some change available as it will make life easier when purchasing tickets however they are extremely easy to use no matter how you pay.

Some important Tram stations to be aware of include:-

Manchester Buses:-

Metroshuttle is a complimentary bus service run jointly by the local council, National Car Parks Manchester and First. It runs three routes which between them cover most of the major areas in the city centre. These bus routes can be caught straight from all city centre railway stations (Piccadilly, Oxford Road, Deansgate/Castlefield, Salford Central and Victoria) as well as many of the larger car parks. Areas on the outskirts of the city centre (such as Spinningfields, Petersfield, and the Millennium Quarter) are now easier to access from other parts of the city. Just note, that due to a high-level of pedestrian priority around areas such as Deansgate, traffic in the city centre is often slow.

Manchester has an extensive pay bus route network operated by numerous commercial operators with Stagecoach and First operating the majority of those routes. The main bus station for the south of the City is Piccadilly Gardens and the north of the city is Shudehill next to the Printworks.

The Stagecoach 43 service runs regularly through the day and night out to Manchester Airport and the Stagecoach 250 or First 100 will run buses at a rate of around three an hour to and from the Trafford Centre from the city centre. On Sundays though this frequency does decrease dramatically and you will be better off going on the tram to Stretford and getting the metrolink shuttle bus to and from.

In Manchester bus Tickets are usually purchased directly from the driver. First and Stagecoach both offer day-savers for unlimited travel on their company's buses, which cannot be used on other buses. A FirstDay is currently £4.00. If transfer between different bus companies is required then you can ask the driver for an "any bus day-saver" instead.

If you do decide to use buses then check out www.tfgm.com/ for up to date information on operators, routes and departure times or call 0871 200 22 33 (10p per minute from a landline) for information.

Manchester Taxis:-

As a general rule you should be able to get anywhere you need to go within the city centre for £5-10. Customarily taxis are required to put the meter on for journeys within the M60 ringroad (and a little further in places) if you feel this would be cheaper than agreeing a fixed price although it is sometimes hard to convince them to do so at busy times (this is the law though and you can threaten to report them). If you are to travel further it is best to agree a price in advance.

Taxis other than black cabs must be booked in advance over the phone and are marked with the yellow Manchester City Council sign on the bonnet, and the firm's phone number (again on a yellow strip) on the sides. These are often called minicabs or private hire cars.Avoid rogue mini cabs at all costs as these will treble your fare and take you to a cash machine to get money to cover it should you not have enough with you.You may find it difficult to get a black cab after the pubs shut on Friday and Saturday nights in the city centre, so it serves to have a back-up plan for getting back to your accommodation.

Larger groups are most likely to be able to "flag" down a taxi on the road. If you're struggling for a taxi after midnight and don't mind waiting around drunk people, it can often be easier to join a queue outside larger clubs, such as those in The Printworks or Deansgate Locks, as black cabs often stop here.

There are a number of taxi ranks within the city centre which are staffed by stewards during busy periods. These ranks are serviced only by black cabs, but there are also private hire taxi/minicab companies that you can walk to, and then wait (inside or usually outside) until a car becomes available.