London - How to get there?

I recently got a question about how to get to from the Netherlands to London, since six airports (City, Heathrow, Stansted, Gatwick, Luton, Southend) being advertised as 'London' doesn't make the choice really easy and everyone has his or her own preference. So I decided to do some research, as I couldn't give a clear answer right away. Living in the center of the Netherlands, there are three options to go to London, from the biggest airport Schiphol, or the regional ones of Eindhoven and Rotterdam.

Here you can find information about how to go from the Dutch airports to the airports in London and from the London airports to the city center. At the end I'll give an overview combining both routes and the time and money they will cost you.

Personally, I always go for the Ryanair flight from Eindhoven to Stansted, simply cause it's by far the cheapest option for me. For me Schiphol is about 1 hour away with public transport, Eindhoven and Rotterdam both 1:45 door-to-door. I could be in London's city center 2 hours faster I guess, but it saves me enough money to make up for these 2 lost hours.


From the Netherlands to the London airports.

From Eindhoven:

There are two options: flying to Stansted or to City. Stansted with Ryanair can be done once or twice a day for 20€, if you wait for the right offer or if you are flexible in your dates and just want to visit London once. Flights to City, also once or twice a day with KLM / AirFrance or Cityjet will set you back about 130€.

From Rotterdam:

Only one option, KLM / Air France / Cityjet, couple times a day, for about 150€.

From Schiphol :

All six London airports can be reached from Schiphol.

City can be reached a couple of times a day, with KLM / Air France / Cityjet for about 130€

Heathrow with KLM can be done for about 100€, at multiple times a day.

The 4 other airports share quite some similarities: Easyjet will be your best (or only) bet, flights will leave to/from every airport about 2/3 times a day and return trips will start at 65/70€

From the London Airports to the city centre.

Both Heathrow and City airport are located within the ring and will therefore be the fastest ones to go to the city center. Stansted is located North East of London, relatively close to Cambridge while Luton is in the North West. Gatwick is the only one located on the South and can be used to go to Brighton for example. Southend is located near England´s eastern coast.

With this global overview given, I´ll post an overview as how to get to Central London and what it will roughly cost. For public transport in London, check the page of TFL. 

City:

You can use the DLR with your travelcard / Oyster. Only costs you really have to make are the extra costs for a zone 1-3 travelcard, since as a normal tourist, you'd probably only need zones 1-2. But at 1 (off-peak) or 2 pounds (peak), it's not that big of a deal. 

Heathrow:

Connected to the metro. Traveling before 9:30 during the week will cost you 7 pounds more than a zone 1-2 travelcard, so a single ticket will be the best option, otherwise, just get a zone 1-6 travelcard for 1.5 quid more than a zone 1-2 one.

Trains are a little faster and start at 8 pounds for a one-way trip but you will need a travelcard anyway.

Stansted / Luton / Gatwick

Again quite a few similarities. Trains (check them out on the website of the corresponding airport) will get you in the city center in anywhere between 30 and 60 minutes for about 25 pounds a return trip. Easybus will take you 75/90 minutes, and starts at 2 pounds for single trip, but is more likely to cost about 10 quid for a return trip.

Southend:

No buses, only trains which will take about an hour. I expect the costs to be the same as the other airports.

Overview:

Just a little overview, sorted by a time-cost ratio from leaving the Netherlands, transferring to public transport (15-30 mins) and getting to the center. Prices are for a return trip and more or less the cheapest bus easy to find prices which can be found if booked well in advance. Prices do not include the travel nor time you have to spend getting to the airport. During the Olympics, those prices may well be unfindable. The times stated below are a one way trip.


If you live (remotely) close to Eindhoven, the best options are:

• Eindhoven – Stansted – 30 euro, 3 hours (Ryanair / Easybus)
• Eindhoven – Stansted – 50 euro, 2/2,5 hours (Ryanair / train)

If Eindhoven is not an option for you it's more or less equal between a couple of options: Heathrow will cost you a little more, but will allow you to travel with a better airline and with luggage, the other options will save you some money, but will cost you some more time. Finding a really cheap Easybus can make a difference of 10 euros extra. But in the long run, little details will have to make your decision, for example the exact location within Central London you need to be as all transfers will enter the center from a different side, the time you want your flights to leave or the time you are willing to spend on the trip.

• Amsterdam – Heathrow – 110 euro – 2 hours (KLM / metro, including a whole day traveling in zone 1-2)
• Amsterdam – Gatwick – 85 euro – 3 hours (Easyjet / Easybus)
• Amsterdam – Luton – 85 euro – 3 hours (Easyjet / Easybus)
• Amsterdam – Stansted – 85 euro – 3 hours (Easyjet / Easybus)

The only other recommendable options are Amsterdam and Eindhoven to City, which will cost you about 140 €, including a 1 day travelcard and will bring you to the city center the fastest. In other cases, the money you save by booking Easyjet will be counterfeited when booking an expensive train ticket.