Cambridge to Colchester runs about 10 times a day, with the first departure around 06:19 and the last around 14:33. One passenger pays between €10.07 and €11.88, every fee included, depending on the operator and the way you travel. The fastest door to door is 1h 19m over 74 km, on services run by 4 operators across 2 modes.
What one seat costs
The spread between the cheapest and dearest typical fare on this corridor, across 4 operators and 2 ways of making the journey. The operator sets the price on the day.
Typical fares
€10.07 to €11.88
- 6%Moves across the booking window
When it runs, leaving Cambridge
No operator has filed a timetable for this direction yet, so the first and last departure below follow the pattern of the corridor. Read them as the shape of the service day rather than as times to turn up for.
- 06:19First departure
- 14:33Last departure
- 10Services per day
- 60%Run direct
Eurostar runs this service and does not sell it here. Bookaway takes the payment.
Buying this journey
Bookaway lists departures for Cambridge to Colchester on your date, and you pay on their side.
See Cambridge to Colchester on Bookaway
Or compare on TrainlineOr compare on Trip.com
Partner link. We do not sell this ticket, and we earn nothing from this one.
Essex County Council runs this service and does not sell it here. Bookaway takes the payment.
Buying this journey
Bookaway lists departures for Cambridge to Colchester on your date, and you pay on their side.
See Cambridge to Colchester on Bookaway
Or compare on TrainlineOr compare on 12Go
Partner link. We do not sell this ticket, and we earn nothing from this one.
Fares by date
What this journey usually costs, by departure date. It shows which days run dearer.
Typical fares
- about €10.63Mon14
- about €10.07Tue15
- about €10.07Wed16
- about €10.08Thu17
- about €10.08Fri18
- about €10.08Sat19
- about €10.07Sun20
- about €10.07Mon21
- about €10.07Tue22
- about €10.07Wed23
- about €10.07Thu24
- about €10.07Fri25
- about €10.07Sat26
- about €10.07Sun27
- about €10.07Mon28
- about €10.07Tue29
- about €10.07Wed30
- about €10.07Thu1
- about €10.07Fri2
- about €10.07Sat3
- about €10.07Sun4
Based on what this route has cost recently. The operator sets the price on the day, and the live fare is confirmed when you book.
The coach gets you into Colchester. It does not get you a bed, and neither do we.
A room in Colchester for the night the coach gets in
Sort by distance from Colchester Station and you can see which places are ten minutes on foot and which are not.
Search Colchester on Booking.comOr compare on Expedia
Partner links. We do not sell accommodation. We earn a commission when a booking completes, and it never changes what you pay.
When to book Cambridge to Colchester
The same search run across the whole booking window, so the shape of the curve is visible rather than described.
- €10.0790 days
- €10.0760 days
- €10.0745 days
- €10.0730 days
- €10.0721 days
- €10.0714 days
- €10.077 days
- €10.073 days
- €10.631 days
- Cheapest lead time
- Fares bottom out around 90 days ahead, at €10.07.
- How much it moves
- The gap between the cheapest and dearest lead time is 6 percent. The dearest point is €10.63, 1 days out.
- What that means
- Today sits outside the cheap window, which opens around 90 days before departure. There is no advantage to booking this minute.
Book now Fares on this route are lowest around 3 days ahead, so there is no rush yet.
This corridor, specifically
Facts that apply to Cambridge to Colchester and to no other route on the site.
Clocks
Both ends keep the same time, so the arrival is the departure plus the journey.
The shape of it
74 km
64 km as the crow flies, 16% further by the route services actually take. The bearing runs south-east.
Who lives at each end
145,674 → 130,245
Population at the departure city and at the arrival city, which is usually what decides how often anything runs.
How we know
0/4
4 of these connections were inferred from service-area overlap rather than observed in a timetable. We would rather say so.
The route
What the journey actually looks like
Direct or connecting, how far the route really runs, and what happens when a connection is missed.
- Direct or connecting
- 67% of the services we sell on this corridor run through without a change. The remaining 33% involve one connection.
- How far it really runs
- The route covers 74 km against 64 km in a straight line, a detour of 16 percent. Track and road geometry account for the difference.
- Where the change is
- Connections are made at Southend-on-Sea, Basildon, Romford, Enfield Town. The gap between arriving and leaving is 50 minutes, of which about 5 is walking.
- If the connection is missed
- The tightest connection we sell here has a 19 percent chance of not being made on the timetable alone. Part of this journey is a self transfer between separate tickets, so leave more time than the minimum and expect to check in again.
Who runs this route
The coach gets in hours before any room is ready. Holding a bag is not what we sell.
Left luggage near Colchester Station
Most of the points near Colchester Station open before the first train and shut after the last one.
Check Colchester on StasherOr try Bounce
Partner links. We do not run these networks. We earn a commission on a booking, and the price is the same as going direct.
Questions about Cambridge to Colchester
The questions people actually ask about this journey, answered from the same prices and times the page above is built on rather than written once and left to go stale.
How long does it take to get from Cambridge to Colchester?
The fastest journey from Cambridge to Colchester takes 1h 19m door to door, of which 36m is spent moving, on the train. Most services take around 1h 29m, because that average includes slower stopping services and journeys with a connection. Times include reaching the terminal and leaving it at the far end.
How much does it cost to travel from Cambridge to Colchester?
The cheapest fare from Cambridge to Colchester is €10.07, as of 13 September 2026. A typical fare across the next three weeks is €12.99. Both figures are the total for one passenger, including taxes, supplier fees and our service fee, so nothing is added at checkout.
What is the cheapest way to get from Cambridge to Colchester?
The cheapest way from Cambridge to Colchester is by coach, at €10.07 for one passenger on 15 September 2026. That journey takes 1h 47m door to door. Cheaper is rarely faster on this corridor, and the comparison table on this page shows what each mode costs against what it saves.
What is the fastest way to get from Cambridge to Colchester?
The fastest way from Cambridge to Colchester is by train, at 1h 20m door to door. Only 36m of that is spent moving; the remaining 44m is reaching the terminal and leaving it at the far end. The cheapest fare on that mode is €11.88.
When should I book Cambridge to Colchester?
Fares from Cambridge to Colchester bottom out around 90 days before departure, at €10.07. Across the whole booking window the gap between the cheapest and the dearest lead time is 6 percent, measured on 13 September 2026. Booking inside the last week has consistently cost more on this corridor.
Which day of the week is cheapest for Cambridge to Colchester?
Sunday is the cheapest day to depart from Cambridge to Colchester, at €10.07. That is the median of 21 priced departure days across the next three weeks, as of 13 September 2026. Shifting a departure by one day is usually worth more than shifting the booking by one week.
Which month is cheapest for Cambridge to Colchester?
September is the cheapest of the next 6 months to travel from Cambridge to Colchester, at €10.07 for one passenger. Each month is priced on its fifteenth, so the comparison is like for like rather than a mix of weekends and midweek departures.
Who runs services from Cambridge to Colchester?
4 operators sell services from Cambridge to Colchester across 2 modes: Essex County Council, Eurostar, Eurostar International, Greater Anglia. Journey times, fares and fare conditions differ between them, and the operator table on this page compares all of them on speed, flexibility and what is provided on board.
Is there a direct service from Cambridge to Colchester?
67 percent of the services we sell from Cambridge to Colchester are direct. The rest connect at Southend-on-Sea, Basildon, Romford, Enfield Town, with about 50 minutes between the two services. Both legs are sold on one booking, so a missed connection is rebooked at no charge.
How much CO2 does the journey from Cambridge to Colchester produce?
Travelling from Cambridge to Colchester by coach produces about 2.0 kg of CO2 per passenger, the lowest of any mode on this corridor. The same journey by Train produces about 2.4 kg, roughly 1 times as much for one passenger.
Which station or terminal do services from Cambridge to Colchester use?
Services from Cambridge to Colchester by train leave from Cambridge railway station and arrive at Colchester Station. Allow about 44m in total for reaching the departure terminal and leaving the arrival one, which is already included in every door to door time on this page.
Can I change or refund a ticket from Cambridge to Colchester?
4 of the 4 operators we sell from Cambridge to Colchester allow a change or a refund. A change on a changeable fare costs €5.00. The operator table on this page names which is which, and the condition is shown again before you pay.
Where these numbers come from
Places, coordinates, operators, which operator serves which pair, and every distance on this page are real and come from open data. Where a corridor has a filed timetable the departure times are real too, and ferry fares are the prices the operators publish themselves.
Derived from service area No carrier record names this exact pair. The operators listed publish a service area covering both places at a distance their mode plausibly carries people, which is evidence that the corridor is served and not evidence of a specific service. Pages state which, because presenting the two as the same thing would be dishonest.
Where no operator publishes a fare for a corridor, the price here is our own estimate, worked out from the real distance and the real operator through a fare curve that follows lead time, day of the week and season. It tells you roughly what the journey costs. It is not a seat anyone has agreed to sell, and the payment step will not take it.
Defined in full at Door to door, Fares, The booking window, Carbon, Distances
- On this page
- Every figure above was computed for Cambridge to Colchester on 13 September 2026: 74 km of route against 64 km in a straight line, 12 services a day, 4 operators a cheapest fare of €10.07, and 1h 19m door to door on the fastest mode. The return direction is computed separately and its numbers are not these numbers.
The coach is the simple part. What you do once you are in Colchester is somebody else's catalogue.
Day trips out of Colchester and across United Kingdom
Day trips that leave Colchester in the morning and cover a good part of United Kingdom by evening.
See Colchester on GetYourGuideOr browse Viator
Partner links. We do not sell tours or tickets. We earn a commission on a booking, and it never changes the price.
The two ends, compared
Cambridge reaches 48 places in 2 countries on services we hold, over distances from 40 to 279 km. Colchester reaches 23 places in 1 countries, from 41 to 93 km.
Other ways to make this journey
Leaving Cambridge
- 48Places you can leave for
- 2Countries
- 9Operators
Arriving in Colchester
Leaving Colchester
- 23Places you can leave for
- 1Countries
- 4Operators