Students are back: Welcome Week and free UNIBUS travel
Bournemouth University's Welcome Week began on 21 September 2026, with free UNIBUS travel until 2 October. What it means for the town and for visiting families.
The town changed gear on Monday. Welcome Week at Bournemouth University started on 21 September 2026, the start date for most new students, and from that day until Friday 2 October students travel free on the UNIBUS routes that link the Talbot and Lansdowne campuses with the town centre and the beach, the university confirmed.
It is a confident start to the year. BU was named the top university in the South West region and top 20 in the UK at the Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2026, and in July it announced a partnership with Bournemouth & Poole College to give local learners clearer routes from college into degrees.
What it means around town
Two universities, BU and the Arts University Bournemouth, sit on the Talbot campus on the Poole border, with BU's business school and the Lansdowne campus in the town's office district by the station. Between them they bring tens of thousands of students back each September, and the effect is immediate: the Lansdowne is busy again, the buses fill, and the town centre's evening economy, which kept its Purple Flag for a 16th year this week, gets its autumn trade.
For visitors, late September is one of the better times to be here. The sea is at its warmest, the summer crowds have gone, and the calendar is full: Arts by the Sea this weekend, Run Bournemouth in October, and the Europa League nights at the Vitality from 15 October.
For families on move-in weekend
Parents dropping a student off usually want a base for a night or two rather than a hotel by the campus. The Flexiestays hotels on the West Cliff are ten minutes from the town centre on foot and a short drive from both campuses, and an apartment with a kitchen and a living room suits a family with a car full of boxes better than a hotel room. Where to stay in Bournemouth compares the neighbourhoods, and things to do in Bournemouth fills the Sunday. Visiting academics and staff on placements between term dates are one of the groups the business desk books apartments for by the month.
Frequently asked questions
Monday 21 September 2026 is the start date for most students joining the university, with Welcome Week running that week. The university's own pages have the detail for each course.
Most families want a night or two in town rather than a campus visit. The West Cliff hotels are ten minutes from the town centre and a short drive from both the Talbot and Lansdowne campuses; a serviced apartment with a kitchen suits a family better than a hotel room for a move-in weekend.
