How to get to London from its airports

You decided travel to London. Well, you've found such a great flight deal that you've decided not to pass it up. We couldn't agree more: London deserves a trip. Of course, to which airport and at what time? It may seem like an irrelevant question in view of the ticket price you found, but all that glitters is not gold. Depending on the airport, you can "lose" up to two hours on the way to the City, in addition to a good amount of pounds upon arrival in the British capital. Just because, getting to central london from the airport it can be very tricky.

For starters, there is four major airports in London. To continue, each one has its own train line. Obviously, they also have bus lines. Of course, there are taxis at the gates. And, to finish, you can also hire a private transfer to your hotel. Too many options for getting to london from the airport? Definitely. In addition, how could it be otherwise, each one has a price and a duration.

Read on, whether you've already bought your plane ticket or are still thinking about it. There are offers that cannot be missed, but it is better to know what you will have to do when you arrive to make the most of your time and your budget.

London airports, because it is the first thing you have to pay attention to

Do you know how many airports there are in London? No less than four: Stansted, Gatwick, Heathrow and Luton. Do not think that they are airports in nearby cities that are “sold” as London – in the style of Milan-Bergamo or Barcelona-Girona. No, all four are from the English capital.

Actually, there are more, there are six airports in London, but those are the four that most flights arrive at. Obviously, each one is in one direction and none is what is said to be in the center of the city. Think that the closest, Heathrow, is 32 km from the City. And the others? Stansted at 65 km, Gatwick 45 km and Luton 56 km. You are beginning to understand that it is going to take a while from the plane seat to being in the hotel bed, right?

Private transfers to your hotel from London airport

The more comfortable optionalthough not the cheapest –sometimes, not the fastest– is that of the private transfer from London airport to your hotel. When leaving the baggage claim area, you will find your name on a sign and you will not have to do anything more than follow the person who takes it, get in the car and get off at the door of your hotel. We have already said that it is the most comfortable.

Prices? Well, it depends on the airport where your plane arrives. To give you an idea, we talked about about €100 a couple from Heathrow. From Luton, the most expensive, about 140 euros. Yes, it is cheaper – because cheap, what is said to be cheap is not – to go to the center of London from Stansted than from Luton despite being further away. Depending on the number of people the vehicle varies. Don't think it will take three cars to take the six friends downtown. It won't cost triple either, check out the prices for private transfers to central London.

Another point in favor, in addition to comfort, is that you can book your transfer at any timewhile trains and buses have operating hours.

Public transport to central London from the airports

Beyond private transfers and taxis, you can also Getting to central London from the airport by public transport. As we said at the beginning, each airport is connected to the city center with at least one bus line. train and another of bus. And, also as we said at the beginning, some of those train lines are fast and will take you to the center faster than on four wheels. Of course, they are not cheap either. If you want to start your trip to London saving as much as possible, yours will be the bus... and patience.

Keep reading, we'll tell you how to get to central London from each of its airports.

How to get to central London from Stansted airport?

The fastest way to getting to the center by public transport from Stansted Airport It is by train, specifically in the stansted expresswhich takes a few 45 minutes to get to Liverpool Station –London Liverpool Street in the search engine–. In this Web you can see the schedules, the prices and book your ticket –do scroll when it opens, the information is below. There are tickets for couples and for groups with which to save a little.

He bus it takes about an hour, but it can cost half as much as the train, take a look at the bus prices and times from Stansted to central London -beam scroll when it opens, the information is below.

Gatwick airport to central London

In the case of Gatwick airport, we are talking about the Gatwick Express. The train that takes you to the center, specifically to London Victoria Station, in about 30 minutes. In this Web Do you have prices and schedules? scroll once open.

Gatwick airport also has a train station on the line thameslink, one of the main ones in the entire London transport system with 115 stops and which operates 24 hours a day. You can get to London Bridge station for around €16 –instead of the €27 for the Gatwick Express– at, depending on the time, between 30 and 50 minutes. In this Web you can find all the information and buy your tickets from Gatwick airport to central London.

He bus It takes about an hour and a half, but it can cost half as much as the train. You have all the information in this Web.

Getting to Central London from Heathrow Airport

if you expected a heathrow express, you're right! That is the name of the train that leaves from Heathrow airport and arrives at London Paddington in about 15 minutes from Terminals 2 and 3. From Terminal 5 it takes 6 more minutes. If you're not in a hurry, in a half hour You can do the same route, also by train, for almost the half price: €15 compared to 28-30 for the Heathrow Express. In -this Webalthough it says Heathrow Express, you can see the prices and schedules of the economic version, as well as buy yours.

In about 45 minutes you can make the journey in bus at less than a third of the price of the Heathrow Express –about €8–. Take a look at this Web to see the schedules and buy yours.

How to get to central London from Luton airport

Don't look for signs for the Luton Express on arrival at Luton Airport. Here, the train line that reaches central London is the thameslink, which also passed through Gatwick airport. It reaches central London from Luton in about 45 minutes. In this Web you can see them Thameslink train tickets to central London and buy yours.

He bus from Luton airport to central London, there are several stops, it takes between an hour and an hour and a half, for around €15. Take a look at this Web to see all the options.

If you had already bought the offer ticket, now you know how to get to central London from the airport. If you're still looking at flights, you already have one more thing to look at – in addition to schedules and prices –: the airport you're arriving at.