There are two principal railway stations in Bristol, Bristol Parkway and Bristol Temple Meads, and there are scheduled coach links to most major UK cities.

The city is connected by road on an east-west axis from London to Wales by the M4 motorway, and on a north-southwest axis from Birmingham to Exeter by the M5 motorway. Also within the county is the M49 motorway, a shortcut between the M5 in the south and M4 Severn Crossing in the west. The M32 motorway is a spur from the M4 to the city centre. The city is also served by its own airport, Bristol International (BRS), at Lulsgate, which has recently seen substantial investments in its runway, terminal and other facilities.

Public transport in the city consists largely of its bus network, provided by First Group. Buses in the city have been criticised for being unreliable and expensive, and in 2005 First were fined for delays and safety violations. Use of private cars in Bristol is high, and the city suffers from congestion problems, estimated to cost the economy £350 million per year.

Since 2000 the city council has included a light rail system in its Local Transport Plan, but has so far been unable to fund the project. The city was offered European Union funding for the system, but the Department for Transport did not provide the required additional funding.

As well as support for public transport, there are several road building schemes supported by the local council, including re-routing and improving the South Bristol Ring Road.

The central part of the city has water-based transport, operated as the Bristol Ferry Boat, which provide both leisure and commuter services on the harbour.
Bristol was never well served by suburban railways, though the Severn Beach Line to Avonmouth and Severn Beach survived the Beeching Axe and is still in operation.

The Portishead Railway was closed to passengers under the Beeching Axe, but was relaid in 2000-2002 as far as the Royal Portbury Dock with a Strategic Rail Authority rail-freight grant. Plans to relay a further three miles of track to Portishead, a largely dormitory town with only one connecting road, have been discussed but there is insufficient funding to rebuild stations.

Despite being hilly, Bristol is one of the prominent cycling cities of England, and is home to the national cycle campaigning group Sustrans. It has a number of urban cycle routes, as well as links to National Cycle Network routes to Bath and London, to Gloucester and Wales, and to the south-western peninsula of England. Cycling has grown rapidly in the city, at 1.64% between 1991 and 2001, and 21% between 2001 and 2005.

Bristol is at the hub of Britain's national cycle routes, surrounded by scenic waterways, canals and unspoiled countryside - ideal for leisurely walks.The city is surprisingly easy to get around, so visitors can leave their car behind and walk, cycle, or use the bus, ferry and rail services offering easy access to the city, coast and countryside.