Bristol Airport directions? The AA or Google

Marvel1

I aplogise in advance this is not a money saving question, but I know most people use this forum.

Travelling from South Wales to Bristol Airport.

Directions from the airport site itself state:
Come off J22 from M4 onto the M49, join the M5, come off J18 onto the A4, follow signs for Bristol Airport and turn onto A38

Seems simple enough.

However The AA site:
- Leave the M4 at junction 22, then at roundabout take the 2nd exit onto the M49
- Continue forward, then bear right onto the M5 SPUR
- Branch left, then at Portway roundabout take the 2nd exit onto the A4

The above seems to be J18A when viewing the map and confirmed by Street View and signposted.

Now Google Directions and My Sat Nav are giving the directions as:
- At junction 22, take the M49 exit to Avonmouth
- At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto M49 heading to Avonmouth
- At junction 18, exit onto M5 toward Weston-s-Mare
- At junction 19, take the A369 exit to Portishead/Royal Portbury Dock
- At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Martcombe Rd/A369
- Turn right onto High St
- Turn left onto Mill Ln

The above seems to back roads, I don't want that.


Anyone know which is "right", I would prefer to be following road signs and not sure if street map is too old.

Paul_the_Painter

I would just go back to the old school. Follow the directions the airport gives, and follow the roadsigns.
Pre sat nav, millions of people took billions of journeys relying on nothing more than a map and road signs.
Follow your sat nav until you are on the M5, then follow the road signs.

daveyjp

Just ensure you take your satnav for the return journey. Its a few years since I used Bristol, but getting to Cardiff proved a nightmare due to a distinct lack of signs to main routes.

PasturesNew

I just drive along the M5 and follow the signs - it's well signposted, even though it's a tiny airport in a field in the middle of nowhere.

Marvel1

Thanks all, sign posts it is.

iolanthe07

PasturesNew wrote: »

I just drive along the M5 and follow the signs - it's well signposted, even though it's a tiny airport in a field in the middle of nowhere.

That's a bit unfair. The airport has grown a lot over the last few years, and could no longer fairly be described as 'tiny'. North Somerset is not 'nowhere'!

ciderboy2009

Personally I would follow the Sat Nav - if it's going the route I think it is then none of it could really be classed as 'back roads' and you should avoid any traffic (apart from possibly on the Avonmouth Bridge) as you won't actually hit Bristol.