Airports in London

There are two main airports in London to fly into. Heathrow Airport is one of the major airports serving London. Located in West London, Heathrow is the busiest airport in the United Kingdom, and the third busiest in the world. It takes no time at all to get into Central London since Heathrow is only 15 miles away.

There are numerous ways to get into London from Heathrow Airport, one of the major airports in London. The fastest way to go would be the Heathrow Express. This is a journey of 15 minutes into Paddington Station. It departs from Heathrow Airport every 15 minutes. The cost for this is around $51.00 round-trip and $30.00 one-way. You will travel in comfort with air-conditioning, plenty of baggage space, wireless internet and free TV. Another option is the Heathrow Connect Train that runs every 30 minutes. This train makes about 5 stops along the way, and takes about 30 minutes to get into Paddington Station from Heathrow. The cost is around $15.00 each way. Paddington Station is close to Hyde Park and Oxford Street. You can, of course, go door-to-door with cabs and mini-vans, but this will cost a couple hundred dollars round-trip. My secret and cheapest way to get from Heathrow Airport to London would be to take the London Underground. The Piccadilly Line will get you into Central London for about $9.00 each way. Sure, it takes a little longer but you will be there in under an hour. It's also a good idea to travel as light as you can because you will be pulling your luggage along with you. To me, this is okay because of the cost-effectiveness of using the London Underground. Of course, everybody is different and will go the way that suits them the best, and the way they can afford to go.

One of the other major airports in London for travel is Gatwick Airport. Gatwick Airport is the second busiest airport in the United Kingdom, and is around 28 miles south of London, further away than Heathrow Airport. The fastest way from Gatwick into Central London is the Gatwick Express. These are trains that travel every 15 minutes between Gatwick Airport's South Terminal and Victoria Station in London. The fares are around $32.00 one-way and around $49.00 round-trip. The journey takes 30 minutes and is non-stop to Victoria Station. You can also take the First Capital Connect train to London Bridge, Blackfriars and St. Pancras stations. These trains leave every 30 minutes, and a one-way adult fare to St. Pancras Station is around $17.00. The journey to London Bridge takes about 40 minutes. Southern Railway has two trains per hour during the day between Gatwick Airport and London Bridge. A one-way ticket is around $15.00, and will take just under an hour to get to London Bridge.

Other ways to travel from the main airports in London would be to go by coach (bus), National Express runs hourly and takes about one and a half hours to get to Victoria Station in London. There are stops along the way. Fares run around $14.00 one-way or $25.00 round-trip. There is also a bus service into London called easyBus. Even though fares start at around $3.50 one-way, in checking this out, this is a fare that takes you one-way back to Gatwick Airport late at night. I worked out the fare for more normal hours, and found it to be around $26.00 round-trip. The best way to get the lowest fares is to book the easyBus Gatwick Airport transfer online. This could work for some folks. If it works for you, the bus runs every 15-20 minutes, and takes just over an hour to get into London. Taxis and mini-vans, however, could run around $150.00 just one way from Gatwick Airport. Transport from Gatwick Airport would depend where your hotel is in London, and how much you wanted to spend to get there. Be it trains, buses, or taxis, take whatever works best for you to get from these main airports in London.

Nevertheless, you have many options to choose from whichever of the airports in London you fly into. I probably would not take a taxi, but would more than likely opt for one of the trains, depending where I was staying in London. It will be fun planning your itinerary!

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