aj

We will be flying Easy Jet from Nice to London. I have the choice of Gatwick, Luton and Stanstead. Out of these three which is the easiest/cheapest to use to travel to London city center? Thanks for the help.

ira

Hi aj,

Gatwick is most convenient.

There is an express train from Gatwick to London Victoria Station.

See http://www.gatwickexpress.co.uk/

Kate

Both Stansted and Gatwick have a fast rail link to London. They cost roughly the same (not cheap) with Gatwick being about 15-20 mins faster. Luton is more inaccessible - you'd need to get a bus (which would take ages) or, I think, there's local (slow) trains. Look up nationalrail.co.uk to check schedules.

The cheapest way into London from all these places will be buy coach (bus), but I don't have details, and traffic may make the bus option long and stressful (at least from my perspective).

The Gatwick Express train gets into Victoria station, whereas the Stansted Express gets into Liverpool Street station. Victoria is more central.

On balance, Gatwick is probably the most convenient, but Stansted would be ok too.

Patrick

I'd look at the flights and pick by convenience as well. Last I looked the Nice to Gatwick flights are only in the late afternoon arriving in the early evening. Depending on when you are flying Stansted may have a couple of choices and usually has a convenient 10:15 AM flight arriving at Stansted before noon. So if that's better, go for it.
Depending on your luggage, you can take the Stansted Express all the way to Liverpool Station and take the tube or taxi from there. It may take a little longer than the Gatwick Express to get into town, but the total time may also depend on where you're staying. You can also get off the Stansted Express at Totenham Hale to connect with the Victoria Line which may be easier for you to get to your final destination.

aj

Thanks for all your help!

JoeTro

If you end up flying to Luton, EasyJet offers a bus service into Central London. I believe the website is easybus.co.uk. (it might just be easybus.com). There are other services as well via bus into London. The Stansted express takes 45 minutes by train and drops you off at a Tube station. I've never gone Gatwick into London.

m_kingdom2

Stansted (note the spelling) is miles away from anywhere, Gatwick is convenient if you intend to use the Gatwick Express, however, if I'm having a car to an airport (and can't use Heathrow), I'd always choose Luton as it's a fast drive on the M1 which is usually traffic-free, unlike the route to Gatwick or M25 to Stansted.

Patrick

Maybe you didn't notice m_kingdom that aj said "easiest/cheapest" to use. That eliminates a car service to any of these places which will run a minimum of about 35 pounds, if you are lucky!! I too took a car to Luton and it was quick and easy, but that has no relevance to this question.

Where2Travel

So which is it : easiest or cheapest? We'd all like travel like this to be both easy and cheap but more often than not they are at totally opposite ends of the spectrum for airport transfers.

Patrick

Maybe I'm wrong, but when I see easiest/cheapest I assume the person means cheapest, then hopes it's fairly easy too. When they say "best" then I assume it means the quickest and easiest to do -- without much concern for the price. Naturally sometimes those assumptions are wrong. But over the years I've learned that when someone uses the word cheapest anywhere in the post -- that is generally the most important element for them.

Of course sometimes we get those requests for "best hotel in the city -- cost is no object" then later they come back to say "not over $150", so it is often hard to guess what people are thinking.

mkh

was wundering if somebody could tell me how to get from stanstead airport (23.30 in the evening) to gatwick airport.Is there a direct bus or train? I`m from Norway and havent been on any of the airports..
Since we arrive late, Gatwick open all night?

JoeTro

I'm pretty sure there is a National Express bus, but it may not be direct. Check at National Express' website (nationalexpress.com - or maybe it's nationalexpress.co.uk) Anyway, I am pretty sure a service does run.

mkh

Is there a cheaper option than national express from Stansted to Gatwick? They wanted 48 pounds for two people..

JoeTro

National Express is honestly the only one that I know of. Can you Google both airports and see how they recommend getting to/from each of them? Maybe contact Gatwick as well; perhaps they can inform you of a better service to Stansted than National Express.

ira

Hi mkh,

Try http://www.londontoolkit.com/travel/...d_transfer.htm

janis

mkh: You could save about £18-£20 by taking a bus to Victoria Coach station and then another bus (different bus company) from Victoria to LGW. Unfortunately the Gatwick bus doesn't start until about 7 a.m.

You have a terrible connection arriving at Stansted at nearly midnight. Plus - Stansted is about 30 miles north of London and LGW is 30+ miles south of London so there is no easy/fast/cheap way to do the transfer . . . . . . . .