Most of you will arrive and depart at a London airport, simply because most flights to Britain terminate here. Indeed, even if your destination is northern England or Scotland, most flights go via London Heathrow.
This is the main London airport, a big, crowded place with 4 terminals.There are walkways, a bit confusing, between terminals 1-3. To get from these to terminal 4, which is 3 km away, take the Heathrow Express train which is FREE between the terminals (but costs a lot if you stay on it outside the airport). There are left- luggage areas; that at Terminal 4, for example, is attended and costs £4 (2002) per ITEM for up to 24 hours, so make sure you pack efficiently.
From here there is very good transport. There's plenty of signs guiding you to the right places to catch the various options.
To and from London: The best and cheapest method is the Underground (tube) . Allow 50 min to central London. Cost £3.80 (2005) to any station, or £6 for travel almost anywhere all day (after 0930h Mon-Fri). Tube trains start running from London at about 0530 (0700 Sun). If you have a very early checkin, Heathrow Express trains from Paddington start at 0510 but cost a whopping £13 (2002). Buses direct to Heathrow start at 0500, but cost £6 (2002).
During 2005-06 the Tube does not run to Terminal 4. Take the tube to Terminals 1-3 then change to the Heathrow Express to Terminal 4.
To other London airports: Transports
To elsewhere: If you plan to travel immediately to another region, do as follows. If you want to travel by train: Take the (frequent) bus to Woking rail station if you are bound for the southwest, or the (frequent) bus to Reading rail station if you are bound for the west or Midlands. If you are bound for the North or East Anglia, take a tube to the appropriate London rail station (Euston, St Pancras, Kings Cross or Liverpool Street). If you prefer to travel by Express bus: There are frequent buses from Heathrow to the West Country and South Wales, and some to the Midlands, North England and East Anglia.
The only accommodation close to the airport is expensive hotels. If you do not want this, you need a hostel in London for your last night. But that's no problem as there is very good transport from London and most hostels are near a tube station. Hostels in the Paddington or Earls Court areas are slightly better than others. The only problem is if you need to check in very early.
You may prefer a guest house for your last night, and there are some nearer to the airport, but still a bus, tube or taxi ride away:
(to be included)
Gatwick is an easier airport than Heathrow, it has 2 terminals connected by a shuttle. It is a long way from London, but there are frequent fast trains to London, trains to many other places, and regular buses to the other London airports. Several buses a day (incl Sun) run to Bristol, Cardiff, Swansea, Birmingham, Nottingham, Leeds, Cambridge, Norwich; and 3 a day to Newcastle. There are buses every 2 hours to Brighton.
For Gatwick, you can get there by train by 0500 or at half-hour intervals thereafter, so stay in London near Kings Cross, Blackfriars or (to arrive Gatwick after 0600) London Bridge. Or stay close to Gatwick in a bed & breakfast, which are good value for 2 or more people. Horley, 4 km away, is a pleasant town with a rail station, and a string of guest houses in Massetts Road. A frequent local bus (several per hour, 0430-2330) runs from the airport down Massetts Road to Horley. Here are some guest houses: (to be included)
Some guest houses offer free transport to the airport, but this is not vital as the nearby bus is frequent, or you can even walk it. The more people who can share a room (up to 4), the cheaper it will be.
Stansted is a compact but well-arranged airport. The bus station is down one floor then just outside, and the train station is two floors down and right there.
Trains run frequently from Stansted to London, but are expensive (£14.50 one-way, £24 return (2005)).
Coaches operated by Terravision run between Stansted and London, and cost less than half the train fare! They have the advantage that you can book in advance, avoiding problems with having the right cash available. They run to Victoria about every half hour, taking 75 minutes (£8.50), and to Liverpool Street station about every hour, taking 55 minutes (£7). The first morning coach leaves Victoria at 0300h, so you can get to Stansted however early your flight is. There are discounts if you book a return ticket. To book online, choose a bus at a convenient time for you, however if your arrival is delayed you may use your ticket on the next available bus. Go HERE , choose Stansted and your chosen London destination, choose the most convenient time from those listed (if the plane is delayed, you can travel on a later bus), and book right now, online!
Other bus companies including National Express also run from the Stansted bus station to London, with fares mostly a little higher.
If you have a daytime stopover at Stansted and want to spend a few hours in London, train is good value in this case, as you can get a ticket to London and back, and use almost any of London's buses, trains and tube trains, for £16.50 (if Mon-Fri, only after 0930h).
Trains run hourly to Cambridge and thence to other regions. They are very expensive unless you have a rail pass, or book 2 weeks in advance, or go somewhere and back in a day.
National Express buses run 2-hourly to Cambridge, Norwich, Brighton & Oxford, and there is one bus a day to Birmingham and Liverpool.
You can stay at your hostel in London and make a very early start, as trains start at 0500h, and Terravision buses run every half hour from 0300! Stay in a hostel near Liverpool Street or Victoria. Some people choose to sleep in the airport, which appears to be accepted although the airport is small and there are no quiet areas. But there are several hostels from which you can make an early start, and get a little more sleep than if you stayed in London, so do try these:
Lee Valley hostel is just 200 metres from Cheshunt Station. Trains run from London (Liverpool St) very frequently to Cheshunt taking 30 mins, and also from Cheshunt to Stansted (you may have to change trains). The first train from Cheshunt to Stansted is at 0519 (0638 on Sat). If you stay at the hostel you can have an evening in London (about £7 return by train including use of buses and tubes within London), provided you make 100% sure you catch the last train back at midnight!
Harlow hostel is also close to transport links to Stansted. It is 500 metres from a train station with frequent trains to London and also to Stansted, with trains to Stansted starting at 0530h. Not only that, there is also a local bus service 200 metres away, which runs to Stansted every half hour in the daytime, with the first bus at 0410h!
Both the above hostels have parking (unlike most London hostels), so they are good if you have a rental car which you want to drop at the airport.
There is also a YHA hostel at Saffron Walden which makes a good first or final night's stop. It has a good bus service to the airport (buses at 0412, 0512, then 2- hourly until 2112) and from the airport (0605 then 2-hourly until 2205). However, do not book this if you are arriving on a late flight, as the doors are locked at 2300. Hostel improvements are likely soon, thanks to a grant from the airport itself! To get to Saffron Walden from London or Cambridge, take a train to Audley End, but then it's 2.5 miles further and the bus connection is not good.
For trains, there are 10 buses a day to the nearby rail station, then frequent trains to many places. There are frequent buses to London, Cambridge and Oxford, 2 a day to Birmingham, 1 a day to Manchester and Exeter.
For Luton, you can stay in London (Kings Cross area is best) and get a train as early as you wish to Luton Parkway station. But there the convenience ends, as buses to the airport do not appear to run early, so you will need a taxi for the last 2 miles or so (details to be researched).
If you are flying at a civilised hour, stay anywhere in London because there are good tube, train or bus connections from any part of London to all the airports.
However, if you are taking an early flight to save money, do check the timings. Taxis are always available, but they are very very expensive at night, so if you rely on taxis they will certainly cost you more than what you might save on the flight! For details of options, see under each individual airport. Airport details
