Airports: Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton & London City

Heathrow Airport

Heathrow is the biggest and busiest airport in the UK, located 15 miles west of central London. It has four terminals (confusingly numbered 2 to 5, because number 1 was closed). If you’re arriving on an international flight with one of the big airlines then this is where you’ll probably end up.

Website – heathrow.com

Telephone – 0844 335 1801

Heathrow Express – The Heathrow Express train is the quickest way to travel between the airport and central London, but unfortunately it only stops at Paddington which isn’t exactly the most central of stations.

So unless your hotel happens to be in Bayswater or near Marble Arch then you’ll probably have to catch another bus or tube train straight afterwards – which means that it’s not as quick as it first appears. (If you have to buy an underground ticket on top, then you may as well just catch the underground from Heathrow in the first place.)

The good news is that it’s a fast direct train which only takes 15 mins from Terminals 2&3, and 21 mins from Terminal 5. Terminal 4 is a bit more annoying because you have to catch a free transfer service from Terminals 2&3 first which takes about 4 mins, so the entire journey time from Terminal 4 is about 25-30 mins.

You can buy tickets at the Heathrow Express website.

National Rail – National Rail trains used to go by the fancy name of ‘Heathrow Connect’ but now they prefer to be known as ‘TFL Rail’. They follow exactly the same route as the Heathrow Express but stop at some extra stations along the way so they take a bit longer to get into Paddington: 27-29 mins from Terminals 2&3, and 33-35 mins from Terminal 4.

Underground – Terminals 2&3 share the same underground station whilst Terminal 4 and Terminal 5 have one each. The Piccadilly line runs from all three stations.

Trains from Terminals 2&3 to central London run roughly from 5.15 AM to 11.45 PM (Mon-Thu), 24 hours (Fri-Sat) and 3.15 AM to 11.30 PM (Sun) – but check the timetables to be sure. Trains run from Terminal 4 run roughly from 5 AM to 11.35 PM (Mon-Sat) and 5.45 AM to 11.15 PM (Sun). Trains from Terminal 5 run roughly from 5.25 AM to 11.40 PM (Mon-Fri), 24 hours (Fri-Sat) and 3.15 AM to 11.25 PM (Sun).

The first train in the opposite direction, from central London to Heathrow, will obviously depend on where you catch it, but using the station at Piccadilly Circus they run roughly from 5.45 AM to 00.20 PM (Mon-Thu), 24 hours (Fri-Sat) and 3.45 AM to 11.25 PM (Sun).

You can find the prices on our train fares 2024 and child train fares 2024 pages. Look for the row zones 1-6.

Coach – National Express run a service between Victoria Coach Station and Terminals 2&3, T4 and T5. The journey takes about 35-60 mins, depending on the time of day you travel.

Timetables and prices can be found at their website nationalexpress.com.

Bus – Heathrow’s main bus station is outside Terminals 2&3. The only direct bus between the airport and central London is the N9 – but that’s a night bus. It takes about 70 mins and operates roughly every 21 mins from 00.45 AM to 6.45 AM (Mon-Thu), 00.45 AM to 8.05 AM (Fri-Sat), and 00.45 AM PM to 6.45 AM (Sun). From Trafalgar Square to Heathrow it runs roughly every 15-20 mins from 00.10 AM to 6.35 AM (Mon-Thu), 00.05 AM to 7.10 AM (Fri-Sat), and 11.35 PM to 6.35 AM (Sun) – but check their timetable to be sure.

Check out our adult bus fares and child bus fares pages for the prices.

If you’re travelling during the day then I seriously wouldn’t bother with the bus because it will be a total nightmare. It will take you approximately 2½ hours and you’ll have to change buses at least twice.

Taxi – A black taxi from Heathrow into central London will take around 30-80 mins depending on the traffic and where you want to be dropped off. Check out our taxi fares page for an idea of the price.

Gatwick Airport

Gatwick is located 30 miles south of central London. It has two terminals, North and South, but the trains and buses all depart from the South. There’s a free shuttle train between the two which takes about five minutes.

Website – gatwickairport.com

Telephone – 0344 892 0322

Gatwick Express – The Gatwick Express is a high-speed train to Victoria that takes about 30 mins. Victoria is just about within walking distance of Parliament and Big Ben, but if your hotel is further away than that then you’ll probably have to catch a bus or tube train straight after.

You can use an Oyster to pay for a ticket but the cost won’t count towards the daily or weekly cap.

Timetables and prices can be found at their website gatwickexpress.com.

National Rail – Trains between Gatwick and central London (Blackfriars, London Bridge or Victoria) run roughly every 10-65 mins from 4.40 AM to 00.40 PM (Mon-Sat) and 5 AM to 00.40 AM (Sun). From central London to Gatwick they run roughly every 10-40 mins from 4 AM to 1.10 AM (Mon-Fri), 4.10 AM to 1.10 AM (Sat) and 4.10 AM to 00.50 AM (Sun) – but check their timetables to be sure.

Once again, you can use an Oyster to pay for a ticket but the cost won’t count towards the daily or weekly cap.

Underground – Not possible. Gatwick is too far away.

Coach – National Express runs a coach service between Victoria Coach Station and Gatwick which takes 65-95 mins. They operate every 30-60 mins, 24 hours a day (Mon-Sun).

Timetables and prices can be found at their website nationalexpress.com.

Bus – There are no direct buses between Gatwick and central London because it’s too far away.

Taxi – A black taxi into central London will take around 70-90 mins. Check out our taxi fares page for an idea of the price. You might find that a minicab is cheaper but you’ll have to ring around for a quote.

Stansted Airport

Stansted has one terminal and is nowhere near London. If a low-cost airline sells you a ‘London flight’ to Stansted then you’ll have a very long walk – it’s 35 miles away!

Website – stanstedairport.com

Telephone – 0808 169 7031

Stansted Express – The Stansted Express takes you to Liverpool Street in 47-59 mins.

Timetables and prices can be found at their website stanstedexpress.com.

National Rail – National Rail is the Stansted Express – it’s exactly the same train.

Underground – Not possible. Stansted is too far away.

Coach – National Express runs a coach service between central London and Stansted that takes about 1½ hours. From Stansted to central London they operate every 30 mins, 24 hours a day (Mon-Sun). From central London to Stansted they run every 30 mins from 02.13 AM to 11.14 PM (Mon-Sun).

Timetables and prices can be found at their website nationalexpress.com.

Bus – There are no local buses between Stansted and central London because it’s too far away.

Taxi – A black taxi from Stansted airport into central London will take around 60-90 mins. Check out our taxi fares page for an idea of the price. You might find that a minicab is cheaper but you’ll have to ring around for a quote: stanstedairport.com/getting-to-and-from/by-taxi.

Luton Airport

Luton has one terminal and is located 32 miles north of central London.

Website – london-luton.co.uk

Telephone – 0158 240 5100

National Rail – You have to get a 10-min shuttle bus from the terminal to Luton Airport Parkway station and then catch a train into London Bridge or St. Pancras.

The trains take around 25-60 mins and operate every 10-60 mins, 24-hours a day.

Underground – Not possible. Luton is too far away.

Coach – National Express runs a coach service between central London and Luton Airport. It takes about 35-70 mins and operates every 20-60 mins, 24 hours a day (Mon-Sun).

Timetables and prices can be found at their website nationalexpress.com.

Bus – There are no local buses between Luton and central London because it’s too far away.

Taxi – A black taxi from Luton airport into central London takes around 60-80 mins. Check out our taxi fares page for an idea of the price. You might find that a minicab is cheaper but you’ll have to ring around for a quote: london-luton.co.uk/to-and-from-lla.

London City Airport

London City Airport is the smallest airport and lies just 6 miles east of central London. It is mainly used by business travellers and their private planes.

Website – londoncityairport.com

Telephone – 0207 646 0088

National Rail – Not possible. The airport’s train station only serves the Docklands Light Railway (DLR).

Underground – The DLR runs from between London City Airport and Bank in the heart of The City. The journey takes about 22 mins.

Trains from the airport run roughly every 7-12 mins from 5.35 AM to 00.15 AM (Mon-Sat) and 7.05 AM to 11.15 PM (Sun). Trains from Bank leave every 7-12 mins from 5.30 AM to 00.3 AM (Mon-Sat), and 7 AM to 11.30 PM (Sun) – but check their timetable to be sure. (Important note: If you’re travelling from Bank then you need to catch a train heading towards Woolwich. If you board a train heading towards Beckton or Lewisham then you’ll miss your flight because they don’t go to the airport!)

You can find the prices on our tube fares 2024 and child tube fares 2024 pages. Look for the row which says zones 1-3.

Coach – London City Airport is the one airport that National Express doesn’t bother with because it’s so close to the centre of town.

Bus – Despite its closeness to central London there are no direct buses between the airport and the centre of town.

Taxi – A black taxi from London City Airport into central London will take around 30-50 mins and cost anything from £30 to £90. Check out our taxi fares page for an idea of the price.