London transportation
 

Can anyone suggest the easist (and possibly cheapest) way to get from Heathrow into town, and then onto Stansted. We land in Heathrow around 1:00 in the afternoon after an overnight flight from LAX. We were planning on getting into town, grabbing a bite to eat, then go on to our hotel next to Stansted. We fly out of Stansted at 6:00 am the following morning. Also, on our return trip, we fly into Stansted and will spend 2 days in London (hotel in the Chelsea area). What are those transportation options? We are traveling with our 12 year old and hopefully a "small" amount of luggage.

m_kingdom2 will be along shortly to tell you to throw thrift to the wind and for heaven's sake, hire a car - and if £100 is in your price range, by all means do.

But most of us mere mortals will either take http://www.nationalexpress.com or ride the Tube to Liverpool St. Station and take the http://www.stanstedexpress.com/

Cheap for you is Tube to London from Heathrow, then Terravision or National Express coach from Victoria to Stansted (see Stansted airport website for details).

However as your flight is at 6:00am consider sleeping at the airport overnight like hundreds (yup hundreds) of other people - www.sleepinginairports.net.

You can tube from Heathrow quite easily, and it's the cheapest way (not quite the fastest, which I guess might equal easiest, but it's a lot cheaper than the Express). There are also many trains to Stansted, from Liverpool St. (the tube from Heathrow will only require one transfer to get there). Unfortunately, I can't seem to find any local trains to Stansted, though I know they've got to exist somewhere (only the Express is turning up, and at 25 quid return, it seems a little pricy). For the reverse journey, just use the return part of the ticket from Stansted, and then tube back to Heathrow.

Not sure I'd recommend sleeping in an airport with a 12 year old, unless you're really on a tight budget. I'll do it myself, but I'm 21 and don't particularly care about sleeping on hard tile floors, most 12 year olds do (and so do a lot of parents).

some will jump on to any thread about transport w/o reading the whole thing. The April04 <b>IS</b> staying at a hotel at Stansted.

If it were me - I'd go to Liverpool Street by tube and leave my bags in Left luggage. Then head out to explore anywhere you want. Then back to the station, retrieve you bags and get on the Stansted Express.

OP's flight is at 6:00am, therefore the latest they can get to Stansted is 5:00am if they want to get checked in in time.

The SEX starts at 4:30am and gets to STN at 5:15am which is too late.

So OP either gets a coach or stays at the airport

To get around with small luggage, the Tube and buses will be manageable (as long as you avoid rush hour).

Get an Oyster Card when you get to Heathrow, and load it with &pound;4.90 for each day you will use it within zones 1 &amp; 2. If you don't use all &pound;4.90 on a day, the rest will remain on your card.

Having an Oyster Card will allow you to buy single tickets between zones 2 &amp; 6 (LHR) for &pound;1.

DO NOT get a travelcard for zones 1-6, as it will cost &pound;6.30, whereas you'll only spend a couple of quid from your Oyster.

(All of the above fares are off-peak figures - after 9:30 weekdays and all day weekends.)

Take the Tube to Holborn, change to the Central Line to Liverpool Street and stash your gear there. The station is about a block from the Tower of London.

We are staying at the Stansted Hilton, which I understand, is right next to the Stansted airport. We fly into Heathrow on a Tuesday afternoon, but don't fly out of Stansted until early Wednesday am. All we really want to do is &quot;easily&quot; get into town, see maybe 1 sight, then get out to Stansted, so we can get some sleep. I like janisi's idea of the tube, left luggage, etc. It seems to be what we are looking for. However, since this is our first trip, ALL suggestions are appreciated!!!

Firstly, when booking these flights did you not think about how to get from one airport to the other? What sorts of costs did you factor in?

Also, I think you're mad going into London once you've landed. You've got two days in London on your return journey, and obviously this isn't a London trip. There are plenty of places for a bite to eat at airports/hotels no need to come into London.

And I would advise a car service, because you'll be tired before your holiday's even begun. It's better to spend a little bit extra and enjoy something you've spent a relatively large amount on...penny wise, pound foolish.

I'd actually take the Tube to Victoria &amp; leave your luggage there s it's a lot nearer to Tourist London than Liverpool Street. You'd probably find it worthwhile to get a day travel ticket for zones 1-6 when you arrive at Heathrow.

As you are continuing onto STN that day there is an even cheaper option for getting there and that's to take the Tube to Stratford (covered on your pass) &amp; connect to a National Express coach to STN there.

You arrive at Heathrow in the afternoon and need to be at your hotel in Stansted that evening to get to bed fairly early for that getting up at about 4 AM?
Forget going into London. There is NO time to see or enjoy anything. Go to a nice pub near Stansted for some local atmosphere, have a nice dinner, and go to bed. I don't know what time you arrive but unless it's before 1 PM you won't have any time at all -- transportation from Heathrow to Stansted will probably be two hours. Add in clearing customs and waiting for luggage and it's already evening.

Any idea of the price of a day travel pass for zones 1-6?

See above.

tfl.gov.uk

No, not tfl.gov.uk -

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/fares-tick....pdf#page%3d14

t

I also don't see the point of going into London just to eat dinner and then head to Stansted.

It doesn't sound as though you have some special dining experience planned in London. Or am I mistaken and you have someplace special you're going to?

The key to your decision is how tired you are when you get off the plane. I am a non-sleeper on planes and would want to go straight to bed. If you are not too tired then perhaps a brief visit to London makes sense (barely). I suggest being ready to either go directly to your Stansted hotel or into London and decide at the time. For information on direct coach service go to nationalexpress.com.

OK, so I think we will take the tube from Heathrow to London. Maybe the Liverpool Station. Now, just getting from London to Stansted....
I went on the National Express website to check the price from London to Stansted airport. Can anyone let me know what my &quot;starting point&quot; would be? London Central?? Honestly, I am really not trying to make this difficult!!
Also, we will be landing after an all night flight, so I am hoping we will be at least ready to sit, enjoy a decent bite to eat, then head on to the hotel.