Transport to London
3 May 2010
There are several ways of getting to central London but they vary is time and cost. The fastest way is to use a rail service. The express trains are non-stop but cost more than the national rail companies. The regular trains do not take that much longer and you have more options as to what station or part of London you want to terminate.
Rail
Most Americans for whom this guide is written for, land in Heathrow or Gatwick. Stansted and Luton can be used and they will be added to my site someday. Eurostar is a high-speed rail service from continental Europe that brings you in to St. Pancras Rail Station, which is in central London.
I land at Gatwick but I stay far from Victoria station. I save money by taking First Capital Connect to St. Pancras via London Bridge. I can walk to my hotel but the cab is cheap enough that I don’t have to lug my luggage. The cab from Victoria would be way more than twice what it cost from St. Pancras. It does take more time but I still wait for check-in anyway.
Once you arrive at an airport don’t get overly concerned about getting transport. There are people there (in uniform) that can help you select a method and how to pay. Once on a platform read the monitors to see what train is approaching and its destination. It may not be yours. There are audio announcements as well.
Coach
Coach service typically brings you into the Victoria Coach Works in South West central London south of Victoria Rail Station. This is not true in some cases but your coach operator will guide you. Still you will be in the tick of it. Airports have well displayed signs showing departure points. See my pages: From Gatwick and From Heathrow for more on this.
Car
Should you be unfortunate to drive a car into London you will pay dearly for it. Central London has a congestion charge of £10 a car to enter the central part of London. This is the Transport for London Congestion Charge page.
If you should be able to hire a private car service you will be relaxed.
Taxi
A cab ride or limo into London from an airport other than London City Airport will cost a lot and take some time. If you need to do this fine as a cab ride will be scenic and a limo means somebody else is paying. London City Airport is actually in London and easy to get in and out of.
Credit Card Issues
Ticket machines typically have a credit card reader that one inserts a card into. Unlike many readers in the states, you do not insert and remove. The machine will tell you when to remove your card. I can’t say that I like this as I would like to keep my fingers on my card at all times. If you feel uncomfortable with this you can go to a service window.