Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Arrival
The majority of visitors arrive in London
at one of its five airports, all but one of
which can involve an expensive trip to
the centre. Those arriving by train or bus
are dropped right in the middle of the
city, with easy access to public transport.
(
W
gatwickexpress.com) run between the airport
and London Victoria (daily 4.30am-1.30am; every
15min; journey 30-35min); tickets cost around £20
single, £35 return (less online). A cheaper option is
to take a
Southern
train service (
W
southernrailway
.com) to Victoria (every 15min; journey 35min),
which stops at a couple of intermediate stations, or
a
First Capital Connect
train (
W
firstcapitalconnect
.co.uk) to various stations within London (every
15-30min; journey 30-45min), including London
Bridge and St Pancras; advance online tickets for
either cost from £10 single.
From the North and South terminals
easyBus
(
W
easybus.co.uk) runs buses to West Brompton tube
near Earl's Court (daily 4.30am-midnight every 20min;
1hr 10min), with online tickets going for as little as £2
single (£10 if you buy on board).
National Express
buses run from Gatwick direct to central London
(daily 5am-9.30pm hourly; 1hr 30min); tickets cost
around £7 single, £13.50 return. A
taxi
will set you
back £100 or more, and take over an hour.
By plane
Flying into London, you'll arrive at Heathrow,
Gatwick, Stansted, Luton or City airport, each of
which is less than an hour from the city centre.
Heathrow
Heathrow (
W
heathrowairport.com) lies around
fifteen miles west of central London, and is the
city's busiest airport, with five terminals and three
train/tube stations: one for terminals 1, 2 and 3,
and separate ones for terminals 4 and 5. The fastest
(and most expensive) trains into London are the
nonstop
Heathrow Express
(
W
heathrowexpress
.com) services to Paddington station (daily 5am-
midnight; journey 15min); tickets cost £20 one way
or £34 return (more if you purchase your ticket on
board the train).
Heathrow Connect
(
W
heathrow
connect.com) trains stop at some intermediate
stations (Mon-Sat 5am-midnight, Sun 6am-11pm;
every 30min; journey 30-40min) but tickets cost
just £9.50 single and £19 return. An even cheaper
alternative is to take the
Piccadilly Underground
line
(
W
tfl.gov.uk), which connects the airport to
numerous tube stations across central London
(Mon-Sat 5am-11.45pm, Sun 6am-11.30pm; every
5min; journey 50min-1hr); tickets cost just £5.50
single - £5 if you have an Oyster card - or you
can buy a Day Off-Peak Travelcard (Zones 1-6) for
£8.90 (see p.22).
National Express
bus services (
W
national
express.com) run from Heathrow direct to Victoria
Coach Station (5am-9.30pm every 15-30min;
journey 40-55min); tickets cost £6 single, £11
return. From 11.30pm, you can take night bus #N9
to Trafalgar Square for a bargain fare of £2.40 (every
20min; journey 1hr 10min).
Taxis
are plentiful, but
will set you back between £50 and £80 to central
London, and take around an hour (much longer in
the rush hour).
Stansted
Designed by Norman Foster, Stansted (
W
stansted
airport.com) is London's best-looking international
airport, and lies roughly 35 miles northeast of the
capital. The fastest trains are run by
Stansted
Express
W
stanstedexpress.com) to Liverpool
Street (daily 5.30am-12.30am; every 15-30min;
journey 45min), and cost £20 single, £33 return if
you book online. All year round, 24 hours a day,
easyBus
runs buses to Baker Street tube (every
20-30min; 1hr 15min), with online tickets going for
as little as £2 single (£10 if you buy on board).
National Express
runs buses 24 hours a day
calling at various places in London en route to
Victoria Coach Station (every 30min; journey 1hr
30min-1hr 45min), with tickets £9 single.
Terravi-
sion
(
W
terravision.eu) also run coaches to
Liverpool Street and Victoria (daily 7.15am-1am;
every 30min; journey time 1hr 15min), with tickets
£8 single, £15 return. A
taxi
will set you back £100,
and take at least an hour.
City Airport
City Airport (
W
londoncityairport.com), London's
smallest, used primarily by business folk, is situated
in the Royal Albert Docks, ten miles east of central
London, and handles European flights only. The
Docklands Light Railway
(DLR) takes you straight
to Bank in the City (Mon-Sat 5.30am-12.15am, Sun
7am-11.15pm; every 8-15min; journey 20min),
where you can change to the tube; single tickets
cost around £4.50 (less if you have an Oyster card).
Gatwick
Gatwick (
W
gatwickairport.com) is around thirty
miles south of London, and has a train station at the
South Terminal. Nonstop
Gatwick Express
trains
