ARRIVING IN LONDON BY AIR
- See also: Public transport in London
for a quick summary of airport transport options (scroll down to Aiport transfers section)
Arrival into London by air will bring you into one of five airports: Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, London City or Luton. Most travellers will arrive at Heathrow or Gatwick, the two major international airports. If you are making connections through Heathrow, please leave a little more time to clear security than you would at other airports. Last summer's bomb scares are still having a minor delaying effect.
LONDON CITY AIRPORT (LCY)
London City airport is primarily a business airport serving major European destinations.
HEATHROW (LHR)
NB: Since the opening of Heathrow Terminal 5, rail services have changed. Different trains go to different terminals. Download this map from TfL to make sure you get on the correct train!
From Heathrow, you can get into the city by taking the Underground Piccadilly Line (this currently costs £4 for a single (one-way fare) or hopping on the Heathrow Express (£13.50 single if purchased online; £14.50 if purchased at the station), which takes you directly to Paddington Station.
Although the Heathrow Express is considerably more expensive than the Underground Piccadilly Line, it is by far the best way to start your stay in London and well worth the investment. It takes you straight to the west-central Paddington station, in clean, modern and comfortable trains which take about 15 minutes and don't stop at all, and there are special areas to place your luggage in.
A new option is the Heathrow Connect train, which leaves from the same platform as the Heathrow Express. This service also runs from Heathrow (Terminals 1,2,3 only) to Paddington Station. However, it also makes several intermediate stops, and thus takes 20-30 minutes. The cost, though, is significantly cheaper ((£6.90 one-way, £12.90 open return-trip). The webiste is http://www.heathrowconnect.com/.
The Piccadilly line is slower (stops over 15 times before reaching Central London and takes 40+ minutes) and can be very hard to manage on with suitcases and luggage, and also gets very busy with commuters during the rush hours. Whilst access to the Heathrow Express is made easy, if travelling on the Piccadilly Line (Underground) you must expect lots of carrying your bags up and down steps, trying not to get in people's way etc. - not a very stress-free experience.
Taxis (or at least Black Taxis) from Heathrow can be quite expensive, depending on your destination in London; fares of £60 or more are not unheard of. Licensed mini-cabs are cheaper, usually around half the price of Black Taxis. These can't be found in taxi ranks, but if you know a London contact near your final destination, you can ask them to book you a reliable mini-cab to come and pick you up.
Limousines from all London airports are a luxurious treat to end a very often stressful flight or to make your journey to the airport punctual and comfortable. Some are actually very cheap and provide a lot of service for the money; they may come in and meet you in the airport, serve you tea and coffee with biscuits or have a fully stocked bar. Check the policies of the companies, as some will give you your money back If they are delayed.
Airport transfer services
A good alternative is any of the various airport transfer services running to and from Heathrow. These are cars or vans that you book in advance, and can be especially economical for groups. Fares can be as little as £44 for a group of four, or £19 for a single (prices last verified March 2007. Seasonal variations.) Most of these services will drop you at any address inside the M25 ring road.
A new service called Dot2Dot(http://www.dot2.com) offers reservation-based door-to-door or train station-airport shuttle service. An economincal alternative to taxis and even the Heathrow Express.
GATWICK (LGW)
For Gatwick arrivals, the easiest way to get into the city is by taking a Gatwick Express train which is non-stop for the 25 miles and arrives at Victoria Station, the hub for all coach transportation in London (£14). A slightly cheaper option (£9) -- which take from 5 to 20 minutes more, depending on the stopping pattern -- is to take a Southern train to Victoria. These trains become very crowded in the rush hour. First Capital Connect runs services to Kings Cross Station (£9). If you’re heading to Brighton or other points south, arriving at Gatwick airport and catching the train is much more expedient than arriving at Heathrow, making your way into London, and then catching a train south. For both, there are other options of both coaches and taxis, but due to traffic and cost, it’s best to stick with the trains. However, if you are travelling in a group of three people or more, it may be more economical to take a taxi or pre-book a car transfer into the city.
STANSTED (STN)
Stansted, to the north of London, is used primarily used by charter and low-cost airlines, with mostly short-haul European destinations, though some U.S. flights do arrive at Stansted.
The Stansted Express train runs every 15 minutes to Tottenham Hale (35 mins) and Liverpool Street station (45 mins) in the City. If you are heading for the main hotel districts in the West End and Kensington it is far more convenient to change at Tottenham Hale for the Victoria line than to continue to Liverpool St. Coach services can be more convenient for some parts of London. To East London the A9 coach ( National Express) is quicker and cheaper (£7 one way) than the train (£15 one way). It runs every half hour and only takes 45 minutes to Stratford, which is the eastern terminus of the Jubilee and Central lines. Terravision operate services running from Victoria, Finsbury Square and Liverpool Street (Bishopsgate).
LUTON (LTN)
Luton, to the north of London, is used primarily by charter and low-cost airlines, servicing mostly short-haul European destinations.
From Luton trains are the best way to go. There is a shuttle bus from the airport to Luton Parkway rail station which takes around 8 minutes. (TIP: if you are getting rail tickets, choose "Luton Airport" rather than "Luton Airport Parkway", as you'll be charged a £1 for the bus from the station to the airport).
Luton connects to the Underground at St. Pancras via First Capital Connect; and London City is also accessible via an extension to the Docklands Light Railway (DLR), which opened in December 2005 and connects to the London Underground. This now provides a more convenient connection than the bus shuttle to Liverpool Street Station.
GENERAL TRANSPORT ADVICE
Coach transfers (bus,similar to Greyhound) are a very economical way to travel into the city centre. Due to congestion on the motorways, they can take much longer than the train, but can be much cheaper.
The UK's main coach company National Express runs frequent, comfortable services from Heathrow (about 1 hour) , Gatwick (about 1h20), Stansted (about 1h30) and Luton (about 1h20) to Victoria coach station, the main hub for British coach travel, where coaches and trains can be caught to many other parts of the UK and Europe, or the tube taken to your destination in central London.
National Express has a so-called "funfare", an off-peak fare, which is much cheaper than the train , e.g. Victoria station (central London) to Southampton costs only 4 pounds on-way, compared with 26 on the train! Other companies such as Terravision also offer low-cost coach travel from Stansted and Luton, with discounts for Ryanair passengers. GreenLine and EasyBus also offers a coach service from London Luton airport, with discounts for EasyJet passengers. All the coach services operate very frequently and tickets can be bought online or at the airport when you arrive.
Airport Parking
Purple Parking - Purple parking offers parking at a wide selection of UK airports. They have off-site parking (where a shuttle service is provided free of charge to and from the airport), and also 'chaffuer' service (drop and pick up at the terminal building). Their rates are also competative.
Car hire
Another way to get from the airports to London is through car hire (North American term: rental car.) . But mind, driving around London can be a hellish experience, especially during "rush hour", the daily morning and afternoon commutes that, despite their name, tend to last from about 07.00 to 09.00 and 17.00 to 19.00. Car hire in the UK is expensive, but all the major rental companies operate from the airports, though most travellers will find they have no use for a car in central London. Only consider hiring a car if you're planning to visit more rural areas. Also remember that if you rent a car, you are responsible for paying the congestion charge, £8 per day, to drive into central London. Parking is also very costly.
International train travel
Eurostar is the only high speed international train service operating between the UK and France/Belgium. From late 2007, Eurostar will terminate at St Pancras International, a newly-renovated station in central London, with the longest champagne bar in Europe. Journey times are currently approximately 2.5hrs from central London to central Paris, and 2.25hrs to central Brussels. Onward connections are available throughout Europe.
Domestic train travel
King’s Cross, Victoria, Paddington and Euston stations are just a few of the main terminals for train travel, and all connect to the Underground and buses. If you get lost, there are maps galore in all the Underground stations and you can always ask one of the knowledgable staff members who patrol the stations.
Train times from London airports:
- DLR from London City Airport, 22 minutes to Bank, 14 minutes to Canary Wharf.
- Heathrow Express, 15 minutes to Paddington. Piccadilly Line 1 hour to Piccadilly Circus station.
- Gatwick Express 30-35 minutes to Victoria (30-40 minutes on the Southern Line). First Capital Connect 30-35 minutes to London Bridge.
- Stansted Express 45 minutes to Liverpool Street.
- First Capital Connect (formerly Thameslink) 35 minutes from Luton Airport Parkway to Kings Cross Thameslink station
