Most people should take Southern’s direct train from London Victoria. It reaches Eastbourne in just under an hour and a half, with nine stops, and on the weekday we checked it ran about every half hour from 05:34 until 22:46. For most of the day the pattern was easy to remember: trains left Victoria at 24 and 54 minutes past the hour, from 07:24 through to 21:54. The first of the day, the 05:34, is in Eastbourne at about 07:00.
If London Bridge suits you better, Thameslink’s trains from there to Brighton are the other main option. They take about an hour with six stops, and at Brighton you change to Southern for the 38-minute run to Eastbourne; on the typical journey that change allows about eight minutes, and the whole trip takes about 1h50. That is more than 20 minutes slower than the Victoria train, so it is worth it only when London Bridge is much easier for you to reach. These connections ran hourly on a weekday, from 05:35 and then at a quarter past the hour from 06:15 to 21:15.
The last direct departure from Victoria on the timetable we checked was the 22:46, which came after a gap of nearly an hour following the 21:54 and gets to Eastbourne a little after midnight. For an evening in London, those are the two Eastbourne trains to aim for. Routings changing at St Leonards Warrior Square or Ashford International also exist and took around two hours or a little more, and Brighton connections at 29 minutes past the hour took over two hours. None of them beat the direct Victoria service, and neither does the car: by road it is 79 miles via the A267, about 2h15.
Eastbourne station is about 600 metres from Terminus Road, an eight-minute walk.
Journey times and changes below come from the rail and bus timetables for Tuesday 1 December 2026. Weekend and holiday timetables differ, so check the day you travel.
From London Victoria on the weekday we checked: about every half hour between 05:34 and 22:46.
From London Bridge on the weekday we checked: about hourly between 05:35 and 21:15.
By road it is about 79 miles from London to Eastbourne, mostly via the A267 — roughly 2h 14m with clear roads. Car parks in Eastbourne are listed on the Getting Here page.