HI Can anyone give directions for travel from Manchester Airport to Canary Wharf London. How long it takes and what stations to change at.
thanks

From Manchester Airport, Virgin train service, direct to Euston station in London. Total time 2 1/2 hours. Then via tube, Nothern line to Waterloo, then Jublie line to Canary Wharf. Total time 25 minutes.

Sorry, I gave you bad information. I was thinking from Manchester Piccadilly. From the Airport you can go to Piccadilly station and then on to London. Total time this way will be 3 plus hours. Other train serice is from the Airport to Crewe and then onto London. Sorry for the bad initial info.

You would be better to use the www.nationalexpress.co site as they have express buses to London central from the airport & you do not have to drag your luggage to the station , plus its cheaper.

If you do go by train, book ahead. www.thetrainline.com
If you do book ahead, remember you have to travel on the stipulate ddates, so if your plane is delayed, you could end up having to pay again.
If you do travel without prebooking, try to travel outside rush hours and ask the server what the options are. Remember, returns (round trips) are cheaper than singles (one ways). National Express coaches are also an option, saving you having to go to Manchester to change. However, it would still work out about 90 mins longer. It is cheaper, though!

Also, if travelling by train, try to check if there are any scheduled track works on that day. For some time, weekend travel has been affected by track works that have made the normal 2 and a half hour journey into 4 hours and sometimes meant getting off the train and diverting part of the journey by bus. This isn't usually a problem on weekdays.

By tube from Euston to Canary Wharf, it would be better to take the City branch of the Northern Line, and change to the Jubilee Line at London Bridge. If gingerpot is going for the Marriott after all, then it's also possible to change from the Northern at Bank to the DLR, and get out at West India Quay, right beside the Marriott. However, there are a couple of dozen particularly steep and narrow stairs between the Northern and DLR at Bank. The change at London Bridge is a bit easier - about a dozen stairs up and a couple of dozen stairs down. But from Canary Wharf Jubilee Line to the Marriott is a few hundred yards' walking by a fairly circuituous route - or take the DLR from Herons Quay to West India Quay.

An option with fewer stairs - slower and a bit more expensive, but cheaper than a taxi from Euston - would be to take the 205 bus from Euston to Liverpool St and the City Airport shuttle bus from Liverpool St to Canary Wharf. Changeover at Liverpool St is no more than a few yards, but you would still have the walk from Canary Wharf to the Marriott.

Great! I'm on the right track now!
Would you know how long it would take me in time to get from West India Quay Station to Waterloo Station? I need to catch the Eurostar at 8:39am. How much time should I allow?
thanks

Gingerpot, see your other thread about transport from Euston to Canary Wharf. If your train leaves Manchester at 6.30pm as you said there, you might well miss the last City Airport Shuttle Bus from Liverpool St, so that might not be an option after all.

As for getting from the Marriott to Waterloo for the Eurostar, you need to be at Waterloo before 8am (and the early morning Eurostar trains can be pretty full, so don't risk skimping on their advertised check-in time), so I would aim to leave the hotel around 7.15 am to give yourself plenty of time for any delays. Actual travel times are not a lot - West India Quay station to Heron Quays about 5 minutes. Walk down into the Canary Wharf Jubilee Line station (allow another 5 minutes), about 10 minutes on the train to Waterloo, allow a good 10-15 minutes to navigate your way through the morning rush-hour crowds at Waterloo. The Jubilee Line will be full at that time of the morning, but there will be lots of people getting off as well as on at Canary Wharf. Stay at the front of the train to be at the right end of the platform for the Eurostar end of Waterloo.