Bangor railway station sits on the North Wales Coast Line between Chester and Holyhead. Direct trains run from London Euston (approximately 2h 40m on the fast service via Crewe and Chester). Trains also connect Bangor to Cardiff, Manchester, and Birmingham. The station is a 15-minute walk from the city centre.
By road, the A55 North Wales Expressway runs along the coast and connects directly to Bangor; the A5 (Telford's original coaching road) approaches from the south via Betws-y-Coed and Snowdonia. The M56/A55 from Manchester takes about two hours in normal traffic.
For onward travel to Anglesey, both the Menai Suspension Bridge (road) and the Britannia Bridge (road and rail) cross the strait a few miles southwest.