The bus system for Swansea and the rest of south and west Wales is First Cymru (www.firstgroup.com/south-west-wales). A very comprehensive transit system, First Cymru offers 57 bus lines that traverse Swansea Bay alone, and 17 of those lines run on Sundays. Routes 4A and 8 run 24 hours, the only two routes in the city to do so. Here are some bus lines that might be of interest to visitors:

-Routes 2, 2A, 2B, 2C, 3, and 3A: From Swansea bus station down Oxford Street to The Mumbles, returning in Swansea via St. Helens Road. Stops include Brynmill and Sketty Lane, near Swansea Beach; Blackpill, near Clyne Gardens; Oystermouth, close to the wharf and the seafront; Newton Road, near Oystermouth Castle; and Limeslade and Mumbles Hill, near Mumbles Beach and Mumbles Pier.
-Routes 4 and 4A: Morriston Hospital to Singleton Hospital, with stops at Swansea train station, the Civic Centre, High Street, St. Mary`s, Swansea bus station, St. Helens, and Brynmill.
-Routes 6, 7, and 44: From the bus station in the city center to Swansea Marina and the maritime quarter.

A daylong pass to ride the First Cymru buses in Swansea Bay (including Oystermouth and The Mumbles) costs about £5 and can be bought from the driver. Ask for the FirstDay Swansea Bay Bus Pass.

Taxis are easy to both hail from the street and book in advance. You will see white (or sometimes yellow, like in the U.S.) cars that look like taxis, and they are, but they cannot be hailed from the street and must be called in advance. Note the phone numbers on the white cars if you are interested in booking one for yourself. The typical taxis that you will find at ranks and the ones you can hail on the street are of the `Hackney carriage` type, so they look identical to the black cabs from London. Fares for taxis are among the cheapest in Wales, and will be approximately £6-8 for a two-mile journey, not factoring in tip or assistance with baggage.

There are five 24-hour taxi ranks in the city center, located at St. Mary`s Square, Kingsway, off Wellington Street at Quadrant Bus Station, at Swansea train station, and on Wellington Street. A well-recommended Hackney carriage black cab company is DataCabs (www.datacabs.com).

Swansea is home to four parking garages near the city`s attractions, with spots priced at £4 for up to four hours (£5-6 in person; to reserve your spot online, visit www.ncp.co.uk/parking-solutions/cities/swansea). The City Gates garage is the place to park to visit Swansea Bay; the National Waterfront Museum; the Maritime Quarter; Quadrant Shopping Centre; and Swansea Market.

The noted Welsh poet and writer Dylan Thomas (1914-1953) was born in Swansea and spent the first 23 years of his life here. He was born in a semi-detached house at 5 Cwndonkin Drive, which is open to the public today (www.dylanthomasbirthplace.com). He attended Swansea Grammar School, now called the Bishop Gore School located on De La Beche Road in suburban Swansea.

He worked as a reporter for two years at the South Wales Evening Post, which was headquartered in a building adjacent to Swansea Castle. Sadly you can`t visit that building today, as it was demolished in 1976. But you can visit the Dylan Thomas Theatre, home to the Swansea Little Theatre. He reviewed plays that the Little Theatre presented, and later joined the troupe as an actor. During his time, he performed at an old church hall in Southend, The Mumbles. At the theatre, there is a small exhibit on Dylan Thomas and how he portrayed Wales to the world, and routinely there are panel discussions hosted on Dylan Thomas`s importance not just to the arts but also to Swansea. For more information on the theater, visit www.dylanthomastheatre.org.uk. Finally, there is the Dylan Thomas Centre, located in the old Guildhall building at 6 Somerset Place, which is a museum and arts center dedicated to Dylan Thomas and his works. The Dylan Thomas Centre opened in 1995 to much fanfare, with former U.S. President Jimmy Carter present at the ribbon-cutting.

For much of the second half of his life, he lived in a small house with his wife and children in Laugharne, Carmarthenshire, a town located 40 miles northwest of Swansea.

The currency of Wales, like all constituent nations of the United Kingdom, is the pound sterling (£). U.S. dollars are not accepted. Please be sure to have the correct currency on hand or be prepared to exchange your dollars for pounds upon arrival. ATMs can be found at many locations in Swansea.

Nightlife in Swansea is largely clustered around Wind Street, where there are not only drink options but also lots of food options. You can find traditional pubs, hole-in-the-wall bars, nightclubs, and live music venues with signature cocktails. In The Mumbles, you will find these areas along Mumbles Road, from town down to Mumbles Pier, and on Newton Road as well, particularly in the few blocks away from Mumbles Road. Places typically close between 10 p.m. and midnight during the week, and clubs like Coyote Ugly are open until 2 a.m. all seven days of the week. (Note: With Wales in varying degrees of coronavirus-related lockdowns in 2020 and 2021, businesses have opened and closed -- and opened again -- with varying hours. Modified hours may continue through at least 2021.)

The two major museums in Swansea are the Swansea Museum (Victoria Road), the oldest museum in Wales, which showcases the industrial, maritime, and cultural histories of the city; and the National Waterfront Museum (Oystermouth Road), showcasing `the sights and sounds of...300 years of Welsh industry and innovation`. Other museums in Swansea include the aforementioned Dylan Thomas Centre; the Mission Gallery, a contemporary arts gallery housed in the old St. Nicholas Church on Gloucester Place in the maritime district; and the Egypt Centre, a curation of ancient Egyptian artifacts located on Swansea University`s campus.