London has five international airports – Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton and LondonCity – and all of them have good transport links into the city centre, although they can be quite pricey.
Heathrow – this is the world’s busiest airport and it’s about 15 miles from the city centre. All four terminals are served by the Piccadilly line of the Underground system, and trains take about an hour to reach the city centre. At £4 per journey, this is the cheapest option. Other alternatives are the Heathrow Express train to Paddington Station, which runs four times an hour and takes 15 minutes, costing £15, or the National Express bus service to Victoria Station, with a journey time of 45 minutes and departures twice an hour. Tickets cost £10. If you’re arriving late at night, there’s a night bus service to Trafalgar Square, which takes an hour and runs every 30 minutes, costing only £1.50.
Gatwick – Gatwick is 32 miles south of London and has good train connections. Rail travel in Britain is privatised, so there are several different companies operating on the same lines. The Gatwick Express to Victoria Station is every 15 minutes and the journey time is 30 minutes. Tickets cost £12, making it the most expensive option. South Central trains run along the same line and are £4 cheaper, but the journey is 10 minutes longer. Alternatively, there are Thameslink trains to King’s Cross every 15 minutes, which cost £10 and take 45 minutes.
Stansted – Stansted Express trains run from Stansted, 36 miles north-east of London, to Liverpool Street Station. There are two trains per hour and the 50-minute journey costs £15. The other option is the National Express coach to Victoria Station. There are two to three departures per hour, the journey time is 90 minutes and tickets cost around £10. .
Luton– at 40 miles north of London, Luton is the furthest airport from the city centre. The journey time into the city isn’t necessarily longer though. There are free shuttle buses to the Luton Airport Parkway station, from where you can catch a Midland Mainline train to St Pancras or a Thameslink train to King’s Cross. Both services run every quarter of an hour and the half-hour journey costs £10. Alternatively, there are Green Line buses which run every 30 minutes and cost £8.50. It’s a long journey though – 70-80 minutes. .
LondonCity– this is the closest airport to the centre of London, only nine miles out of town. There’s a Docklands Light Railway station in the terminal, which runs to CanningTown and Bank underground stations. Journey time to Bank is 20 minutes and tickets cost £3.
Arriving by Train
There are several main line stations in London, all of which serve different parts of the country. Here’s a guide to the main stations and their arrivals:
King’s Cross – northern England and Scotland
Euston – northern England and Scotland
Liverpool Street– the channel ports and the east of Enlgand
Paddington – west of England
Waterloo– west of England and Eurostar from Paris and Brussels
City Transport
Underground
There’s no better way to get around than by Underground or ‘tube’ as it’s often known. London has the biggest, the best and the busiest underground network in the world. Various ticket options are available, from single journeys to books of tickets and travel passes.
Buses
If you want to see some of the city while you travel, buses are a good option. The iconic old Routemaster buses are no longer in service, but the modern double-deckers are just as good.
Taxis
Black cabs are reasonable value for money if there are a few of you travelling – they can transport up to five people. Watch out for large price increases in the evening though – it might be cheaper to take the tube. Minicabs are a cheaper alternative to black cabs, but they are less strictly controlled and some can be unlicensed. Try to get the name of a reputable minicab firm from your hotel or the pub you’re in.
