Stansted Transportation

Getting a reasonable taxi quote from the taxi company based in the airport is a real challenge - we visited Stansted earlier this week to be told that our journey to North London would be over £100. This seemed very expensive and so my husband used his smart phone to book an alternative company - Stansted Airport Cars - on 01279 816901.

We had to wait 30 mins but we saved over £40!

The advice is to book your taxi transfer in advance and you will save many ££s. There are loads of companies that will meet and collect you in the arrivals hall. We are converted anmd plan to do this when we travel up to Edinburgh in October this year too!

Many people do not realise that when they arrive at London Stansted airport, they are not in London - they are in the country around 30 miles from the centre of London. Fortunately the links into London are quite good, but you need to consider the costs BEFORE you snap up that cheap flight !

The quickest, most convenient and most expensive way to get into London is by train using the Stansted Express ( £ 15.50 single, £ 25.50 return in May 2007 - concessions available). The journey should take 45 minutes with trains leaving every 15 minutes. Trains run from 5:30 or 6:00 in the morning until midnight, and take you to Liverpool Street station where there are good Underground connections, as well as bus routes.

If you are travelling to Stansted from Liverpool Street Station, tickets can be bought from the special ticket machines on the concourse near platform 6.

For more information and timetables, check the website.

(Temporary picture - sorry, haven't got one of the train !)

Very often you land at London Stansted and it is actually NOT in London (Ryanair passengers note!) so the quickest way to get to Liverpool Street Station in North London and the Tube is to take this train. The trains leave every 15-30 minutes and it takes around 45 minutes to get to Liverpool Street. Before that it stops at Tottenham Hale, VERY North London in 35 minutes!

They also have a night coach service, should you get in after midnight and before 4.00am, but this doesn't run at the weekends.

You can get all the up to date times and prices from the website below. It's also handy to check out day tickets for London travel on the buses and Tube at www.londontransport.co.uk

Visitors guide for London can be found at www.timeout.com/london

If you plan to continue your journey around Britain you can get information on tickets and times from www.qjump.co.uk

Stansted airport's main switchboard number is 0870 000 0303

The Stansted express train to London (Liverpool Street)is a disgusting rip-off at TWENTY FOUR pounds return in cattle class. (or express class as they call it).

It certainly is not a sleek, aerodynamic, high-speed train either.

In addition it stops at 00.30 at night, so coaches are the only option during the night.

It is at least clean and convenient. Some Low-cost airlines offer tickets whilst on the way to London that will give you a bit of a discount, but remember that the road links are far cheaper.

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The Stansted Express is the fastest way to travel to/from London.

With 4 trains per hour it is also the means of transportation that runs most frequent to/from the Capital.

An Express Class Open Return ticket to the London Liverpool Street Station from ticket machine/office costed £26.80 and is valid for 3 months (in 2009).

Tickets can also be bought over the Internet. At the station are ticket machines where you can collect your ticket with your personal purchasing code. Buying over the Internet is cheaper and open to promotion codes.

The train platforms are in the basement of Stansted Airport with 2 sets of ramps leading down; lifts are available too.

The train has a minibar on wheels service.

The train has 2 London stops (both with London underground services):
-Tottenham Hale (35 minutes travel time)
-Liverpool Street Station (50 minutes travel time)

The Landscape of transport opportunities has slightly changed over the last few years. National Express now runs the train service, which is the fastest way to get to central London (Liverpool Street), but also the most expensive. National Express runs also one of three bus lines, serving Golder’s Green, Finchley Road, Baker Street and Victoria Coach Station. Its bus service is the only connection running 24h between central London and Stansted. Terravision runs a similar service for a similar fare, but not 24h. They serve Victoria Coach Station, Liverpool Street and Bromley by Bow. The cheapest way to get to London, with exception of walking or hitchiking, is easybus. Their tickets are available from 2 GBP one-way. To get these fares, book your trip as soon as possible.

Coaches need between 0115 and 0140 h from Stansted to central London, depending on traffic. The train (http://www.stanstedexpress.com) needs only 40 minutes.

Easyjet has also changed their boarding policy since I posted this tip in 2006. As with Ryanair, there is also a ticket you can buy to be boarded first, called “Speedy Boarding”. Afterwards, passengers requiring special assistance will be boarded. The remaining passengers are divided in group A and group B. To get a group A boarding pass, meaning you will be boarded ahead of group B, just check-in early, preferably online. If you are interested in getting a group A boarding pass, get early to your check-in counter (or chjeck.in online). Easyjet opens their counters very early, often far ahead of the offcial two hours before departure.

Once arrived at the gate, keep ears and eyes open. Depending on staff and gate, the boarding procedure is followed more or less strictly, but I experienced that it is never followed really strict. So, if you like to fight for your seat, show up early at check-in and gate. If you don't want to do that or don't care about your seat, just show up on time.

If you are not familiar with Easyjet, please read the terms of conditions before booking. Following these rules will help you to get a nice flight for a low fare.

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Flying with Ryanair is something special, it just depends on your point of view, if it the form of special is positive or negative. The negative side is that you will not get many extras you’ll get on most airlines. This begins with free meals and ends with the use of a check-in counter. Travelling with Ryanair means that you’ll need to go through your booking carefully before clicking the final button and later check-in online. If you have baggage, you’ll have to declare it while you book and you’ll be charged an extra fee for it. For more details about the rules and fees, check out the page as below. The positive thing is: Follow their rules and you can see Europe for a penny.

There are no more classic check-in counters in Stansted, only some baggage drop-off counters in zone F and J. Self-service eletronic counters are located in zone G. During 2009, classic check-in counters will be removed at all Ryanair airports.

Some extra tips you should consider while flying Ryanair: Ryanair does not assign seats, meaning you will chose your favourite seat on board. To get early on board, there are two possibilities: Go to your gate early and try to get in front of the queue or purchase a priority boarding pass (online cheaper than at the airport) and you will be boarded first.

If you do not have a Visa Electron card (the only one which enables you to book without paying a credit card fee), visit http://www.entropay.com for a free virtual Visa Electron card. I do not take reponsibility for that, but my experiences with this company are good.

Ryanair flights usually depart from gates 40 – 59. For those who spend the night at Stansted waiting for a morning flight, it is recommended to go to these gates as soon as possible. There are many benches without armrests waiting for you to get some more sleep. Keep checking the screens for your flight to appear. If flights departing later than yours appear on the screen, but yours doesn’t, ask the staff for the gate. That usually means that your flight will depart from gates 1 – 19.