London Airports: How to get to the centre | Guide to London

Guide to London

1. Pre-departure advice for London: preparing for your trip
2. London Airports: How to get to the centre
3. Accommodation in London: the best options
4. What to see in London
5. Public transport in London
6. The English Gastronomy
7. London nightlife
8. The surroundings of London: cities not to be missed

The UK is big, but we are talking specifically about London. London is well-connected by 6 airports, 4 of which are better-known and can be found outside of Zone 6, although still easily accessible from the city centre. The best known because it is the largest is Heathrow Airport, (continuing in order of importance and size) followed by Gatwick, Stansted, Luton, City and Southend. The first four airports have flights to almost any destination within the European Union and elsewhere! I have used the others to reach London from France and Switzerland, so I suppose they also do EU and non-EU routes like the others.

The airports

London Heathrow Airport

Heathrow is to the west of London, in Zone 6. Accessible by the Underground, bus and train (with changes), Heathrow isn't just the largest airport but also the best known and busiest in terms of passengers.

Well-connected, it has hotels nearby if you don't want to travel at night or you could stay in a nearby village and travel the following day. Other options include hiring a car or a taxi, which are advisable if travelling in groups of more than 2 people.

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The blue line on the London Underground (the Picadilly Line) is that which takes you directly to the centre. It takes a little over 30 minutes without changing (obviously depending on your ultimate destination). Express trains go to Paddington station every 15 minutes, from where you can reach many further destinations.

I would recommend to always start by making your own way to get used to a city as vibrant and chaotic as London. On your arrival, follow the signs for "Train", "Bus", "Taxi" or "Underground" as necessary and find the ticket machines where you can buy the tickets for your chosen mode of transport. Alternatively, head for the ticket windows so you can start practising your English immediately! Generally the British are helpful and very polite so don't be afraid and throw yourself in!

The prices can vary from 5 to 20 Euros, depending on whether you take a bus (cheapest) or a train (most expensive). A taxi will set you back at least €100.

Important! If you plan on using the Underground at any point during your visit I recommend you buy an Oyster Card, especially if you will be in London for a while. For shorter visits you may find a tourist pass more suitable (you can buy them for 2, 3 or 5 days).

If you choose to buy your tickets daily you will soon find yourself paying substantially more than the offer price, especially if you live in the outer zones and will be travelling into the centre frequently. If you will only be travelling within the outer zones, a zone pass may be sufficient.

For more information, go to the Heathrow Airport website.

London Gatwick Airport

Gatwick is the second largest airport serving London and also one of the best-known globally. It is well served by shops, bars, World Duty Free and plenty more. You certainly won't get bored or go thirsty when you arrive at this airport. It is as well-connected to London as Heathrow, with trains, buses and taxis (but no Underground). Actually, I find Gatwick better connected, and you can arrive at London Victoria in just 30 minutes on the Gatwick Express or Southern Rail. Gatwick is south of London and all trains stop at Clapham Junction (zone 2 and south of the River Thames) before terminating at Victoria (zone 1). From both you can change to an Overground train, Underground, or bus to get to where you need to go.

Tickets are as described above for Heathrow, either by buying from the machines or from the ticket window and trying out your English.

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Both Heathrow and Gatwick offer regular and efficient services to the city centre. If you can't find the Underground, there are trains; if there aren't trains there are buses; and if there isn't a bus there are taxis (but as I would always opt for the other options). The trains are the quickest, departing every ten minutes or so.

There are different bus companies that operate from both airports (as well as from Stansted and Luton): Terravision (an Italian company), National Express, Easybus (bus service offered by EasyJet), amongst others. If you have any doubts, click on the link on the airport websites.

As well as these bus/coach companies, there are also the local buses which operate all over the city. Well-known as the famous red London bus, they operate 24/7 and may be a cheap option, if not very fast. Bear in mind that you may need to change buses, and that the timetables change at night.

Click for Gatwick Airport website.

Stansted Airport

Stansted Airport is to the north-east of London. Considered Ryanair's main base in London, cheap flights to Europe make Stansted very popular - and therefore busy. It has a small duty free area and a number of restaurants which can get very busy at peak times. Stansted is connected to the city by trains to London Liverpool Street station, where you can change to the Underground (the red Central Line and black Northern Line). There are also buses run by private companies or the red London buses and you still have the option of a taxi (not advised unless absolutely necessary, due to the high price).

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The companies offering a bus Transfer service to London Stansted are generally the same as the other airports and can be found outside the airport by following the signs for "Bus". Buy your tickets at the stands inside the arrivals hall. If your destination is close the airport, so much the better, but there really is nothing to worry about as London is truly well-connected day and night.

Click for London Stansted website.

London Luton Airport

Luton is situated to the north of London, west of Stansted. Luton isn't as big or as well-known as Heathrow or Gatwick, and has a small duty free and a number of restaurants like Stansted. Size is not important however; what we are interested in is how well-connected they are to London.

Both Luton and Stansted are less well-connected than the two bigger airports, but they are still easily accessible even without a car. Generally the airport buses to Luton leave from Victoria Coach Station, a five-minute walk from Victoria Station where you can take a bus, the Overground or the Underground to your destination. The Underground is on the District Line (green), Circle Line (yellow) and Victoria Line (light blue; any guesses where the name came from?!).

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Victoria Station is on Buckingham Palace Road. Obviously all the information on getting from the airport to the centre can be used in reverse. As such, both Luton and Gatwick have good connections to all of London from Victoria by rain, bus and Underground. Buses from Luton are run by the aforementioned companies, while the trains have different operators: Thameslink connects the airport with different stations in central London. One of these is St Pancras International (from where you can catch long distance trains to cities on the continent, such as Paris). Luton Airport Parkway train station is a short distance from the airport, so a shuttle bus takes passengers from one to the other. The shuttle is free if you already have your train ticket - otherwise it costs £1.60 one way.

The airports are all well connected and the travel time will never be more than 3 hours (max. by bus).

Click for London Luton Airport website.

London City Airport

London City Airport is, rather unsurprisingly, in the "City" zone of London and near Canary Wharf, the financial centre of London seemingly populated by a greater-than-average proportion of men in ties. The airport is especially catered towards business use, and flight destinations reflect this. City is the fifth busiest airport in London, close to the famous Docklands in zone 3. Transport connections to the rest of London are obvious due to its central location. As well as trains, local buses, taxis (cheaper than from the other airports because of their proximity to the rest of London), there is also the DLR (Docklands Light Railway) which connects the Docklands (including Canary Wharf and Greenwich) to central London.

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Click for London City Airport website.

London Southend Airport

Southend Airport is on the coast, east of London. It is still accessible in a short amount of time using different modes of transport.

The train is the fastest way to get to the city from the airport, arriving at London Liverpool Street Station in just 52 minutes, with up to 5 trains running every hour during peak times. The station is in front of the airport, and as always, the tickets can be bought from the ticket machines nearby. If you can't find the machines you can always ask anyone in uniform, "Where can I buy tickets, please?".

Local buses will take you to the surrounding towns such as Chelmsford on their way to Stansted Airport. There is one bus/coach service per day into London with Jetlink, which may be most useful for especially early or late flights only. There are still taxis, but once again are very expensive. It is also possible to arrive by bike from some places locally, although I wouldn't want to try it with 20kg in my suitcase. Whatever floats your boat, as they say... After arriving in the centre, you will once again have to change to the Underground or to a local bus, depending on your final destination.

Click for London Southend Airport website.

Conclusion

London is well served in terms of airports, where you can find everything you need (the smaller airports have fewer amenities), and certainly in terms of transport to and from the city. Each airport has a variety of transport to choose from, ranging from trains, private bus/coach companies, local buses, taxi, private transfers and hire cars, and getting to and from the airports shouldn't cause any problems. In any case, it is always best to do your research before you go by checking out the websites as above. They are clear and have plenty of information on how to reach London. The frequency of journeys has got to be one of the bonuses about visiting London, with train services running every 10-20 minutes, bus/coaches running every half an hour, and local buses every 15 minutes or so.

Well, I hope this guide has been useful, not only to find your way easily once you've arrived in England, but also to calm your travellers' nerves before landing in an unknown country.

If you have corrections relating to the published content then feel free to comment below as it will help other travellers make their own plans.

In the next instalment of this series "Tourist Guide, Destination: London" we will be discussing Accommodation in London; the best options, price advice, zones and plenty more that may be useful during your research about your trip to London.

To read the article, click the link Accommodation in London: the best options.

Otherwise, if you want to know more about what to visit in London, click here: What to see in London.

Enjoy your trip!

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