Eight Hours between Heathrow and Stansted...diversions?
 

Just got a schedule change from RyanAir...instead of four hours in London, I've got eight, before our flight to Bergerac departs. In the experience of the experienced folks on this forum, is it worth a quick run into London to see a few sights in the four extra hours we've been presented? Bear in mind we'll be hauling baggage and children. Hire a minivan and driver, perhaps? Any suggestions?

aww, I would. why not? If you can hire a driver you can at least see Big Ben and Parliament, Buckingham Palace, wander around Covent Garden for a bit. I'd say go for it.

oh, and also--I would say have the driver pick you up at LHR, tour through London and then have him take you to STN.

&quot;<i>have the driver pick you up at LHR, tour through London and then have him take you to STN.</i>&quot;

But I'd count on it costing a couple hundred &pound; to have a driver-guide pick you up at Heathrow, drive you into London, give a tour of the major sites, and the drive up to Stansted.

You <i>might</i> find someone who would do it for &pound;100 - &pound;150 -- but just a normal car service from LHR to central London costs over &pound;30, and more from London to Stansted.

You could go into London on your own - but you really won't really have much free time and have to deal w/ the luggage. Count on 1.5 - 2.5 hours from touch down to arrival in central London. And Ryan Air is <b>very</b> strict about check in. You must be checked in -- not merely standing in the queue when they close check in.

That is a nasty layover - And I'm not actually sure what I'd do - but if you can find someone who would do it for a reasonable cost maybe go for it.

First, you're fortunate that Ryanair changed its flight time. The general rule of thumb is to allow five hours between scheduled arrival at one London airport and scheduled departure from another. Since Stansted is the farthest airport from London, six hours would be safer.

Why? A late arrival, delay in getting through immigration/passport control, or heavy traffic can use up your margin in a hurry. And janisj is right about Ryanair's check-in policy. If you don't meet their deadline, your tickets are worthless and you'll have to buy new ones at much higher prices on a later flight.

My advice is to take a National Express Coach (see www.nationalexpress.com for timetables and prices) directly from Heathrow to Stansted. Then get a bite to eat and relax.

I tend to advise against any London airport-airport transfer and I hate to say it, but you're doing about the worst one there is.

Given the time you have (i.e. you wouldn't really see much of London anyway) and the luggage and children consideration, I'd say just find the most comfortable, relaxing way to get to Stansted and forget trying to do much else.