While most people think of Heathrow as ‘London’s airport,’ there are actually five airports servicing London, or six if you count Southend, which I will discuss below. There are a range of different options to get to and from each one.
I must preface any advice on transportation by saying the time, convenience and value will depend HUGELY on where in Greater London you are headed. London is so big and spread out that I’ve always had a different favourite London airport based on where I was living at the time, because of the proximity of one particular airport to my house.
To compare the different options I’ve used a baseline of leaving each airport at midday on a weekday. Peak hour travel can hugely increase travel times, particularly by road. A friend recently took a mini cab from Heathrow to East London in peak hour and it took 2.5 hours!
For consistency, I have looked at the cost of each option booked exactly one month in advance. I’ve chosen two destinations in central London to travel to – Trafalgar Square, which has for hundreds of years been considered the ‘true centre’ of London (and is what all street sign distances are based on), as well as Kings Cross, which has always felt to me to be a very central location, as it is next to one of the biggest tube, National Rail and Eurostar stations in London.
Some general notes and caveats before we jump into travel options:
- As there are multiple terminals at both Heathrow and Gatwick, I’ve calculated time, cost and value from Heathrow Terminal 2/3 and Gatwick South, as they are slightly quicker and closer to London than other terminals at those airports.
- Quickest won’t always mean ‘best,’ so I’ve tried to balance convenience, value and speed. I’ve visited each of these airports at least five times, some many more, so have done these journeys many times.
- I haven’t included hire car prices as they would be both very similar times to Uber/cabs and I shudder to think where you would even park a car in central London.
- FYI – Black cabs are those you take from a cab rank (not pre-booked), mini-cabs are those you pre-book through a specialist company and they send a car to collect you.
- All UberX prices assume no surge given it is in the middle of the day.
- In terms of waiting times (for trains, etc.) I’ve used an average waiting time, so if a train is every fifteen minutes I’ve factored in a waiting time of about 7-8 minutes. Naturally depending on when you reach the platform, if may be more or less time waiting.
- There are also National Express bus services from most London airports but they take such a long time that I haven’t included them here despite the low prices. They will take much longer than the corresponding tube services and won’t cost much less. I once took a National Express to Stansted when I first moved, and it felt like it took about 2 hours, and I would not do it again regardless of price.
London Heathrow
Heathrow is the largest and busiest airport in the United Kingdom, and is where most true ‘premium’ flights will arrive.
To Trafalgar Square:
- Express train: Heathrow Express to Paddington (£14.30 – journey takes 15 minutes with departures every 15 minutes) + Bakerloo Line to Charing Cross – (£2.40 – journey takes around 18 minutes with departures every 1 – 2 minutes) — total = £16.70 + around 40 minutes
- Regular train/tube: Piccadilly line to Leicester Square + Northern line to Charing Cross (£3.10 together, departures on both lines every 4 – 5 minutes) — total = £3.10 + around 60 minutes
- UberX: £29 – £38 and around 53 minutes
- Black cab: around £70 pounds and around 53 minutes
- Mini-cab: around £43 pounds and 53 minutes
Winner: regular tube for single travellers, UberX for families
To Kings Cross:
- Express train: Heathrow Express to Paddington (£14.30 – journey takes 15 minutes with departures every 15 minutes) + Circle/Hammersmith & City line to Kings Cross St Pancras – (£2.40 – journey takes around 18 minutes with departures every 5 minutes) — total = £16.70 + around 40 minutes
- Regular train/tube: Picadilly line all the way to Kings Cross (£3.10, departures on both lines every 4 – 5 minutes) — total = £3.10 + around 62 minutes
- UberX: £32 – £43 and around 58 minutes
- Black cab: around £79 pounds and around 58 minutes
- Mini-cab: around £48 pounds and 58 minutes
Winner: regular tube for single travellers, UberX for families
The Heathrow Express is, per mile, the most expensive train route in the world.
London Gatwick
Gatwick is the second busiest single-runway airport in the world, and while it primarily serves as a premium leisure airport with many flights to the Caribbean and Southern Europe, it also serves as an ‘overflow’ airport where premium carriers such as Cathay Pacific, Qatar and Emirates operate limited services to after they have exceeded their Heathrow slots.
The big secret with Gatwick, is that the Gatwick Express is only a few minutes faster than the National Rail to Victoria, but much more expensive. I’ll include it for comparisons sake but would never recommend you take this option.
To Trafalgar Square:
- Express train: Gatwick Express to Victoria (£17.80 and 27 minutes, with departures ever 30 minutes) and Circle or District Line to Trafalgar Square (£2.40 and around 20 minutes with departures every 1 – 2 minutes) — total = £20.20 and 62 minutes depending on when your next Gatwick Express leaves
- Regular train/tube: National Rail to Blackfriars (35 minutes, departures every 13 or so minutes) and then District or Circle line to Embankment (3 minutes, departures every 2 – 3 minutes) — total = £10.30 and 48 minutes
- Uber X: £55 – £71 and around 80 minutes
- Black cab: £109(!) and around 80 minutes
- Mini-cab: £61 pounds and around 80 minutes
Winner: regular train/tube for single travellers, mini-cab for families
To Kings Cross:
- Express train: Gatwick Express to Victoria (£17.80 and 27 minutes, with departures ever 30 minutes) and Victoria Line to Kings Cross (£2.40 and around 14 minutes with departures every 1 – 2 minutes – the Victoria line is FAST) – total = £20.20 and 58 minutes depending on when your next Gatwick Express leaves
- Regular train/tube: National Rail to St Pancras International (£8.10 and 50 minutes with departures every 13 or so minutes) — total = £8.10 and 56 minutes depending on next departure
- Uber X: £76 – £99 and around 86 minutes
- Black cab: £156(!) and around 86 minutes
- Mini-cab: £62 pounds and around 86 minutes
Winner: regular train/tube for single travellers (it’s a no brainer given that you don’t need to change trains, but if you’re happily spending £156 on a cab, then this article probably isn’t for you anyway) mini-cab for families
London City
City is a true ‘business’ airport with narrow-body only services from Europe’s business capitals, as well as the famous BA2 A318 flight from New York. London’s City’s X-Factor is that it is, by far, the closest airport geographically, to Central London. Therefore, the prices and times will be quite different to the other airport.
There are no express/airport trains to the city because of its proximity.
To Trafalgar Square:
- Normal tube: DLR to Canning Town (6 minutes with departures every 10 minutes) and then Jubilee Line to Westminster (15 minutes with departures every 3 – 4 minutes) — total = £2.80 and around 30 minutes
- UberX: £21 – £28 and around 33 minutes
- Black cab: £40 and around 33 minutes
- Mini-cab: £35 and around 33 minutes
Winner: regular tube for single travellers, and I’d probably still take the tube for families, because it’s slightly quicker and much cheaper
To Kings Cross:
- Normal Tube: DLR to Bank (21 minutes with departures every 10 minutes) and then Northern line to Kings Cross St Pancras (8 minutes with departures every 3 – 4 minutes) — total = £2.80 and around 38 minutes
- UberX: £21 – £27 and around 38 minutes
- Black cab: £44 and around 38 minutes
- Mini-cab: £37 and around 38 minutes
Winner: regular tube for single travellers, UberX for families (Canning Town is a much easier station to change at than Bank, which is one of the busiest and most spread out stations in London)
London Stansted
I actually quite like Stansted. It was built as a true low cost airport, and is Ryanair’s biggest global hub – they fly from 170 destinations to Stansted alone. It doesn’t operate anywhere near capacity (unlike Heathrow and Gatwick) so while there’s nothing premium about it, I do find it fairly easy to navigate, even at peak times.
There are no underground/National Rail services from London, so if you are wanting to travel by rail you are limited to the Stansted Express. It’s imperative to buy tickets well in advance because they are very expensive last-minute.
To Trafalgar Square:
- Express train: Stansted Express to Liverpool Street (£14 and around 50 minutes, every 15 minutes) and then Central line to Tottenham Court Road/Piccadilly line to Leicester Square (£2.40 and around 23 minutes, every 2-3 minutes) — total = £16.40 and around 92 minutes
- UberX: £59 – £74 and around 67 minutes
- Black cab: £150(!) and around 67 minutes
- Mini-cab: £63 and around 67 minutes
Winner: express train for single travellers, mini-cab for families
To Kings Cross:
- Express train: Stansted Express to Liverpool Street (£14 and around 50 minutes, every 15 minutes) and then Circe/Hammersmith & City/Metropolitan line to Kings Cross St Pancras (£2.40 and around 12 minutes and every 2 minutes) — total = £16.40 and about 78 minutes
- UberX: £54 – £69 and around 60 minutes
- Black cab: £137 and around 60 minutes
- Mini-cab: £59 and around 67 minutes
Winner: express train for single travellers, mini-cab for families
London Luton
The lowest of low-cost airlines like Wizz fly to Luton, and the facilities reflect this. It’s essentially a giant shed in the middle of nowhere, a long, LONG way from London. I do everything I can to avoid landing at Luton mainly because there is no train to the airport so any public transport requires the frustrating bus to the train station.
If you have to land there, here are your options.
To Trafalgar Square:
- Local train/tube: Take the annoying transfer bus from Luton airport to Luton Airport parkway, which is included in your National Rail ticket, and takes 10 minutes, then take a National Rail direct to St Pancras International (£17, and 34 minutes leaving 10 – 15 minutes) then take the Piccadilly line to Leicester Square (£2.40 and around 10 minutes, every 2-3 minutes ) — total = £19.30 and around 70 minutes
- UberX: £53 – £68 and around 70 minutes
- Black cab: £121 and around 70 minutes
- Mini-Cab: £56 and around 70 minutes
Winner: local train/tube for single travellers (but it’s hell), mini-cab for families
To Kings Cross:
- Local train/tube: Take the annoying transfer bus from Luton airport to Luton Airport parkway which is included in your National Rail ticket and takes 10 minutes, then take a National Rail direct to St Pancras International (34 minutes leaving 10 – 15 minutes) — total = £16.90 and around 60 minutes
- UberX: £49 – £64 and around 58 minutes
- Black cab: £114 and around 58 minutes
- Mini-Cab: £54 and around 58 minutes
Winner: local train/tube for single travellers, mini-cab for families
One more consideration: London Southend
Most Londoners don’t consider Southend to be a London Airport, because it is even further from London than the other five airports. I’ve only flown out of there once (it was the only flight to the tiny Spanish island of Menorca on a Friday night), and while it took a VERY long time to get there, it was quite an easy airport to navigate because it is so small and only had one flight ever hour or so.
I would not dream of arriving into Southend late at night (i.e. after 11pm) on any night of the week because train links do run very late into the night, and it is so far from London a black cab would be horrendous as you’ll see below.
As you might expect for such a small airport, there is no express airport train into London.
Nonetheless, assuming you land at noon as per the other London airports, here are the Southend timings:
To Trafalgar Square:
- Local train/tube: National Rail to Liverpool Street (around 53 minutes, every 20 minutes), and then Circle line to Embankment (around 13 minutes, every 10 minutes) — total = £17.10 and around 82 minutes
- UberX: £68 – £91 and around 73 minutes
- Black cab: £147 and around 73 minutes
- Mini-Cab: £58 and around 73 minutes
Winner: local train/tube for single travellers, mini-cab for families
To Kings Cross:
- Local train/tube: National Rail to Liverpool Street (around 53 minutes, every 20 minutes) and then Circle, Hammersmith & City or Circle line to Kings Cross (around 11 minutes every 2 minutes) — total: £17.10 and around 76 minutes
- UberX: £70 – £93 and around 70 minutes
- Black cab: £150 and around 70 minutes
- Mini-Cab: £58 and around 70 minutes
Winner: local train/tube for single travellers, mini-cab for families
Bottom line
There are about a million variables in these calculations, and I expect many of you will point them out in the comments. Traffic, weather, crowds, time-of-day, delays, strikes, familiarity with London, luggage, mobility, etc., can all affect times, cost and convenience.
You’ll notice that I usually place value over convenience, particularly for single travellers. This is because I am regularly booking extremely cheap European flights in and out of London as low as £20 each way and cannot stomach the thought of paying two or three times the cost of the flight just to get home from the airport!
This is not a ‘be all and end all definitive list.’ But if you didn’t even know London had so many airports, are not familiar with how to get from them into the city, hopefully this will be a useful starting point to ensure you don’t waste both too much time and money getting into the city.
How do you get to London from your preferred London airport?
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