The nearest main-line railway station is Wareham, on the London Waterloo to Weymouth line — two and a quarter hours from London. From Wareham, the X3 bus runs to Swanage in about forty-five minutes, or the Purbeck Breezer 50 in summer via the Sandbanks chain ferry from Bournemouth.
By car, Swanage is at the end of the A351 from Wareham (twenty minutes) or via the chain ferry from Sandbanks (a five-minute crossing with reliable but occasionally long queues in summer). Parking in Swanage in season is paid and competitive — arrive early or use the park-and-ride at Norden, which connects to town by Swanage Railway steam train.