Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Stansted Airport
The
Stansted Express
(
&
08457/850-0150;
www.stanstedexpress.com) train to
Liverpool Street Station runs every 15 minutes from 6am to 11:45pm; the trip takes
45 minutes. If you book online, the cost is £19. Tickets cost an extra £1 from the
station. If you're heading for the West End, get off at the Express's only interim stop,
Tottenham Hale, and switch to the Tube's Victoria Line.
A slower rail route on
National Express East Anglia trains
(
&
0845/600-
7245;
www.nationalexpresseastanglia.com) is no cheaper but does terminate at
Stratford, ideal if you're heading to the Olympic Park or lodging in East London.
Journey time is 1 hour, and trains leave hourly, Monday to Saturday.
By bus, you have several options depending on your final destination in the city.
The
National Express
A6 Airbus
(
&
0871/781-8181;
www.nationalexpress.
com) heads for Victoria Station, via the West End 24 hours a day; tickets cost £10
one-way. The
National Express A9 Airbus
connects the airport with Stratford sta-
tion, on the Tube's Jubilee and Central Lines. Tickets cost £8.
Easybus
(www.
easybus.co.uk) connects Stansted with Baker Street, at bargain rates as low as £2 if
you book ahead online.
Terravision
(
&
01279/680-028;
www.terravision.eu) runs
two generally half-hourly services to Victoria and Liverpool Street Stations, respec-
tively. One-way tickets cost £9. Note that because traffic conditions vary, any bus will
take between 1 and 2 hours, at the lower end of that range for eastern destinations
like Stratford and Liverpool Street.
For a ride to London's West End, a cab will charge around £100.
Luton Airport
Like Stansted, Luton Airport is well served by airbuses.
Greenline
(
&
0844/801-
7261;
www.greenline.co.uk) service 757 links the airport with Victoria Station via
Baker Street and Marble Arch. Fares are £15 for adults, £12 for children aged 5 to
13; a return costs £22 for adults, £17 for kids. (easyJet passengers can claim a signifi-
cant discount by booking online ahead of time.) Buses leave half-hourly for most of
the day.
Easybus
(www.easybus.co.uk) follows a similar route, with bargain one-way
fares as low as £2 available if you book ahead online, though you're more likely to pay
around £10. Buses depart every 20 minutes or thereabouts. The
National Express
(
&
0871/781-8181;
www.nationalexpress.com) airport bus runs a similar service,
with similar frequency; tickets cost around £14 one-way; children get 50% off the full
fare. All bus journey times are around 1
1
⁄
2
hours, a little less if you get off at Baker
Street.
It's quicker if you make for central London by train, although you first have to take
the short shuttle bus to Luton Airport Parkway station (£1.50 each way; buses leave
every 10 minutes). Both
First Capital Connect
(
&
0845/026-4700;
www.first
capitalconnect.co.uk) and
East Midlands Trains
(
&
08457/125-678;
www.
eastmidlandstrains.co.uk) run services to St. Pancras Station. Several direct trains
leave every hour, taking between 27 and 33 minutes to reach St. Pancras. One-way
tickets cost £12; half-price for children 5 to 15. See
www.nationalrail.co.uk
for
timetables and service updates. Buy tickets for any of the bus or rail routes into town
from the booths in the arrivals hall.
CHANGING AIRPORTS
National Express
(
&
0871/781-8181;
www.national
express.com) buses leave from Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, and Luton, circum-
navigating the M25 to each of these airports with varying frequencies. Gatwick to
Heathrow, for example, costs £22 for adults and takes just over an hour. Between
20
