Airports | Trains | Taxis | Limos | A-Z | Underground | Buses | Eurostar
AIRPORTS
There are five airports serving London: Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton, Stansted and London City. If you are arriving on a direct flight from the United States you will probably arrive either at Heathrow or Gatwick. Heathrow Airport is generally more chaotic than Gatwick and flights arriving there are generally more expensive than those that land at Gatwick. Luton is used mostly by the English on their way to cheap holidays in Spain with bargain basement flights and service. Stansted is an elegant and peaceful airport, designed by Norman Foster who also designed the Millennium Bridge, but few airlines operate flights to/from the U.S. there. London City Airport is a small airport used mostly by business travelers flying within the U.K. or Europe.
TRAINS TO LONDON
If you plan on getting the train from the airport, there are express trains to London at both airports for around the same price - £14 one way. The train from Gatwick - the Gatwick Express - will take you to Victoria Station which is more centrally located than Paddington Station where the train from Heathrow - the Heathrow Express - arrives.
LONDON TAXIS
If you plan on getting a cab into London from the airport, try to arrive at Heathrow. Although flights to Heathrow can be more expensive than flights to Gatwick, a cab to central London from Heathrow will cost about £40. A cab from Gatwick will cost about £80. Many car services operate from both airports but only only official black cabs are allowed to use the bus lanes from the airport. If you choose anything other than a black cab it will take longer - and traffic can be quite heavy. Official black cabs are not necessarily black but they can be identified by the "taxi" light on top which will be lit if they are available for hire. They can carry 5 people in the passenger section and are wheelchair accessible. If in doubt, ask your driver whether or not he is driving an official London cab which can use the bus lanes. And get an approximate quote prior to beginning your journey.
Within London there are both black cabs and minicabs to choose from. Minicabs are ordinary cars and can often be cheaper than black cabs. They can be booked at one of the independent mini-cab offices located throughout the city. Often when coming out of a popular restaurant or nightclub you will be approached by drivers offering a cab service. If they are legitimate minicab companies they will have the appropriate ID, usually hanging around their neck. Most clubs and restaurants will have an arrangement with a minicab service. However, there are also unlicensed drivers who will approach you offering to take you at cheaper prices. These can be particularly tempting if no other cabs are available, but be careful - you don't want to end up being a crime statistic. You should always take a black cab when possible or a properly licensed minicab.
LONDON LIMOUSINES
If you require a chauffeured limousine either within London or to get from the airport into London, the most dependable and professional limo company is BCH Chauffeur Services - also known as Brown's Chauffeur Hire. They aren't the cheapest but they are the most dependable offering a very personalized service. If you are renting a luxury car with a driver, avoid stretch limos. They are considered tacky and more suited to "hen" (bachelorette) parties than VIP clients. Brown's offers Mercedes sedans, Rolls Royces and Bentleys.
LONDON A TO ZED
The first thing you should buy when you get to London is a book of maps called the London A - Z (pronounced "zed" here.) Most newsstands sell them. Buy the official one, published by the Geographers' A-Z Map Co Ltd. It's usually less expensive than imitations and more detailed. And don't worry about looking like a tourist walking around with one. Londoners often use them to navigate the confusing streets, so there's no reason you shouldn't. Londoners get lost all the time. So will you.
If you ask someone for directions, don't expect exactness. The directions you receive will most likely be something like "walk down the road to such and such pub, cross over to the opposite side of the street, look for a small shop selling such and such, go left at the first turning and carry on down the road." Many Londoners would rather give wrong directions than admit they don't actually know how to get to wherever you are going.
LONDON TUBE TRAINS
Public transport in London can be extremely confusing. You have two options - the tube or the bus system. The tube is mostly an underground system similar to the New York subway. A subway over here, however, is a pedestrian underpass. The tube system is called the Underground. Do not make the mistake of asking someone on the street where the nearest subway is - ask for the nearest Underground station.
If you want to know how to get from point A to point B on the Underground, the London Transport web site, Transport for London, has an online journey planner which you can use. However, unless you are already familiar with London you may find the results confusing. It does not always give you the best way to get to your destination. It is easier to go into any Underground station and ask a staff member for the best route.
Tickets for travel on the London Underground are the most expensive fares in Europe and may be the most expensive in the world. If you are traveling with a group of people, it may be cheaper to take a cab to your destination rather than a tube train.
For purposes of public transport, London is divided into different zones. When you buy a ticket or travel card make sure it covers the zones you want to travel to. You can find a map of the zones at any Underground station. Travel on the Underground in central London is £3.00/$5.00 per trip, even if you are going only one stop. Then it's another £3.00 to return. This basic fare is expected to go up to £4.00 in 2007.
You can save money by buying a one-day travel card which allows unlimited travel for the day. A Zone 1 travel card, for instance, is £6.20/$11.00 at peak times and £4.90/$9.00 at off-peak times. Off-peak cards can only be used after 9:30 am. There are also three-day travel cards available.
If you here for a week or longer, you can save more money by getting an Oyster card. This requires filling out a form with your personal information either online or at a tube station. There are several different Oyster card schemes. The Pay as You Go Oyster Card is like a mobile phone top-up voucher. You can top up the card online or at an Underground station and the amount you pay for fares is guaranteed to be 50 pence less than what you would pay using a travel card. Good luck trying to make sense of the Oyster website. There are two Oyster guides that you can download from the site - one five pages and the other 11 pages. But do you really want to have to read through these and surrender your personal details to London Transport just to save 50 pence on your tube/bus fares?
LONDON BUSES
Most buses require buying tickets in advance. There are usually ticket machines at the bus stops. If the bus stop sign is yellow you must have a valid ticket before boarding. If the bus stop sign is white you can usually pay on the bus.
Traveling on bus can be cheaper than traveling on the Underground - but, unlike in the states, there are no such thing as "transfers" here. If you have to get off one bus and get on another you will have to pay two separate fares.
LONDON TO EUROPE
If you get you are traveling to another destination in Europe from London, the two main budget airlines are Easy Jet and Ryan Air. However, you might also consider alternative means of travels such as the Eurostar train if you are going to Paris. The Eurostar train is particularly convenient as it leaves from central London (Waterloo Station) and arrives in central Paris (Gare du Nord) - saving you considerable time and money.
