Thursday 24 February 2011

Heathrow, Gatwick or Stansted?

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London is a big city and there are actually three airports to travel to. The question is which airport should you use when travel to and from London?

I have learned a few tricks after living in London for over two and a half years when it comes to travelling and the most obvious choices are not always the easiest or the cheapest. It used to be a direct flight from Stansted to my hometown in Norway, Trondheim, but it took ages for me to actually get to the airport from my flat. I live in south-west London and it would take me over two hours just to get to Stansted. And it wasn’t very economical. One bus, London Underground to Liverpool Station and then the Stansted Express. If I were to buy a return ticket for the Stansted Express, as so many tourists do, I would be paying over £30 on my way to Stansted. And the time I was using was almost the time my flight would use back home.
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It is almost the same with going to and from Gatwick. I would have to take a bus, London Underground to Victoria Station and then the Gatwick Express. Here again I would also be using more than £30 put it is a little less time consuming as Gatwick is closer to central London than Stansted, but still expensive. I just realised that it is actually easier for me to take the train rather than the express from Gatwick, but I was surprised to find out that it was not so much cheaper. But then again, when I first arrive to Gatwick it is a direct flight home.

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Heathrow is without a doubt the easiest airport to get to from central London. The Piccadilly Line on the London Underground takes you directly to the airport, and from Piccadilly it takes about 40 minutes, more or less. When I went home for Christmas last year my boyfriend and I booked tickets from another airline so we could travel from Heathrow. There is no direct flight to Trondheim so we would have to go to Oslo first, but it cost about the same as it would have if we had travelled from Gatwick and we didn’t really use much more time. And it was so much easier and more economical to fly from Heathrow. At least for us.

I think a lot of people are most concerned about what the airfares are costing and not really thinking about how to get from the airport and to central. I know I didn’t think much of it at first, but I have come to find that if I spend a little bit more on my plane ticket then I might be saving money on other transportations. Of course, sometimes it is easier and cheapest to go to Stansted or Gatwick. I simply wanted to share my travel experiences and hopefully give some travellers a few tips.


9 comments:

  1. ive never been to stansted. We recently picked someone up from the terminal 5 at heathrow..that was impressive!

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  2. yah i had to figure all of that out when i flew to london a few months ago - heathrow was definitely easiest! and cheaper :)

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  3. Great tips!! Good to know. London is one of my fav cities and I hope to get back there soon!

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  4. Love the first photo...

    Have a great evening:)

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  5. I always take ground transport into consideration when choosing an airport- sometimes your time is worth more than money too, if its a short trip especially!

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  6. Wow this is a great, informative post! I'm not going to London any time soon, but if I do go in the future, I hope I remember these tips! :)

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  7. Claire - I don't really like Stansted so I'm glad I'm not going there anytime soon. But I flying out from Heathrow again when I'm going home for Easter =)

    Krystal - I know, Heathrow is the best =)

    Twenty.Something - Glad to hear you liked the tips =)

    Gilr in Oslo - So do I, it is so cool =) Have a great day.

    Meri - I could not agree more =)

    Jennifer Fabulous - Thank you, I'm glad you found it informative =)

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  8. I've never been to heathrow, but I heard it's best.

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Thank you for taking your time ♥ Your comments put a big smile on my face and I read and respond to every single one of them ♥

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