Easily the best way to get over to Sunderland is to give the 'official'
buses a wide berth and catch the Metro. Note that your train ticket to the Toon
covers you for the Metro to Stadium of Light or St Peter's, whereas you could
have to pay extra to catch a train over.Should you for some reason choose to have your pre-match pints in Sunderland rather than in the Toon, you may be surprised to know that there are apparently a few decent pubs in Sunderland. None of them are anywhere near the ground though. They're shown on the pub map below. It goes without saying that no pub in Sunderland will be welcoming when we play there!
Pub map
Internet Ground Guide
The Football and Real Ale Guide
A Love Supreme (decent unofficial site)
Ready To Go (ditto)