I’ve always considered London to be a great gateway to Europe if traveling from the U.S.  I just got back from my third trip there and it was the most cost-effective yet; with the value of the British pound at an all-time low as a result of Brexit, US dollars go extra far. Travelers, it’s time to take advantage of the value of the pound and start planning your London itinerary! You can start with this guide to London airports that discusses the main airports in the area, how to get between the airports and Central London and even how to travel between London airports.

UK Air Passenger Duty

Something to keep in mind when planning a trip to London is that there is an UK Air Passenger Duty added to flight departures out of the UK (excluding departures that are considered a layover).  This duty automatically adds £78 per passenger to long-haul flights (2,000+ miles) departing out of the UK, for basic fares, and £156 per passenger for premium cabin tickets (premium economy, business, or first class).  Luckily, this duty is not as high on short-haul flights (<2,000 miles)—it’s £13 for economy tickets and £26 for premiums—but still, no one likes paying extra on already-expensive airline tickets. How to avoid it?

Well, it’s not added to inbound flights, so to avoid the UK APD and save your hard-earned £/$/€, book a flight into London and then depart from a different European city to avoid the duty on the departing flight.  This is something I discuss further in my post The Cheapest Way to Travel Europe and is definitely worth considering since it will give you the opportunity to see another city outside of the UK and get cheaper airfare at the same time. Win-win!

London International Airports

The two largest airports in London are Heathrow and Gatwick, and budget-friendly travelers may also use Luton since low-budget airlines like Ryan Air and Easy Jet fly out of it.  Just like the strategy I mentioned in my NYC Tips post, I am not biased towards any one of these airports; my primary concern is to find the cheapest airfare, and I’ll go with whichever airport will get me on the lowest-cost flight.

Heathrow International Airport

Heathrow is the main airport in London and is one of the busiest international airports in the world. It is the hub for British Airways, but numerous other airlines use Heathrow, too. 

Warning: maybe my husband and I just arrived at a busy time, but the wait time in line to get through immigration and customs was the longest I’ve experienced in my life (almost 2 hours total!), which was brutal after traveling from the west coast of the U.S.

Heathrow to London Tube

After making it through a potentially brutal immigration and custom process, visitors have a few options to get to central London. The cheapest way to get from Heathrow to London is by taking the Piccadilly Line on the London Underground (aka the tube).  Depending on when you travel, the tube ride from Heathrow to the London Bridge station, for example, will only cost £3.10-5.10 per person (using an Oyster card—see more about that below).   Travel time is approximately one hour and depending on your final destination, you may need to switch lines once you get closer to central London.

Heathrow Express Train

There is also the Heathrow Express, a 15-minute train to Paddington Station, where you can then switch to a tube ride to your final destination.  While this option may save a little time, it is more expensive (about £25 per person for a one-way fare). If you want to utilize the Heathrow Express, I recommend that you purchase your tickets in advance and purchase a return fare, instead of a single, because the round-trip ticket is only about £37. 

Heathrow Uber

Uber continues to operate in London (while appealing the cities recent ban) and can be an affordable option to get to Central London from Heathrow, especially if you’re traveling with others.  Heathrow Uber rides to London will cost approximately £40 and will take about one hour.

Taking a Heathrow to Gatwick Uber is a good option if needing transportation between London airports. It takes about 40 minutes to one hour, depending on traffic, and costs £60-75.

Gatwick Guide

London Gatwick Airport is located about 30 miles south of Central London. Even though this airport is further from Central London than Heathrow, it’s the second busiest London airport so chances are high that visitors may fly in or out of it.

Gatwick Express

There are several options for travel between the airport and central London, including the Gatwick Express, a non-stop train to Victoria Station.  This train ride takes 30 minutes and costs about £18; a return ticket can be purchased for approximately £32.  Once you arrive at Victoria Station, you can transfer to the tube to get to your final destination.

Thameslink Gatwick

The cheapest way to London from Gatwick is by taking ThamesLink. On my recent trip to London, we stayed near the London Bridge, so we used ThamesLink to get from the London Bridge station to Gatwick.  The train ride took about 30 minutes (with a few stops) and cost £10.  I preferred using the ThamesLink train since it was the cheapest way to Gatwick from London and the station was close to where we were staying.  For travelers who are not staying by the London Bridge, there is an option to take a tube from the London Bridge station to their final station.

Gatwick Uber

Uber is also an option for travel between Gatwick and Central London, but I’d only recommend Uber if you are traveling when there is no traffic, because it’s about an hour drive and can take up to two hours if there is traffic.  Ex: if you are looking for Gatwick to London late night options or Gatwick to London after midnight options.

On our recent trip to London, we landed at 3:00 a.m. local time, so we took an Uber to our hotel (traffic was not a concern that early in the morning!), and we wanted the convenience of a straight shot to our hotel. The ride cost us £55 and was worth it in that scenario, but in most cases, I would recommend using Gatwick Express or Thames Link to save money and time (which is why we took Thames Link when we left London a few days later).

As mentioned above, Uber is also a good option if needing to travel between Gatwick and Heathrow. It takes about 40 minutes to 1 hour, depending on traffic, to travel by car between the two airports. This is a much faster option than the Tube which will take almost 90 minutes! The Gatwick to Heathrow Uber cost will run you £60-75.

London Luton Airport

Since most of the budget airlines use Luton airport, chances are high you will be coming in or out of Luton if flying on Ryan Air, Easy Jet, Wizz, Vueling, etc.  No worries, I’ve used budget-airlines through Luton and there is a quick 10-minute shuttle from the airport to the Luton Airport Parkway train station, where you have several train options that will connect you to stations in Central London (specifically, St. Pancras International, Farringdon, and London Blackfriars). 

From those stations, you have access to the tube to get to your final destination.  Plan for at least an hour trip and about £15 each way, which makes this the cheapest way to get from Luton Airport to London.

London Underground Oyster Card

As you may have noticed throughout this post, there is a high likelihood that you’ll utilize the tube as part of your transportation between London airports and your accommodation.  And not only that—you’ll most likely use the tube to explore the cities most Instagrammable spots or take day trips from London during your stay.  The most economical way to use the tube is by purchasing an Oyster card prior to your first tube trip (which may be at Heathrow airport if you are taking the Piccadilly line to central London!).  The good news is that you can purchase an Oyster card at London airports!

To learn more about the Oyster Card and other budget-friendly travel tips for visiting London, check out my London on a Budget post!

So now it’s time to start researching your airfare for a trip to London!  And once you arrive in London, be sure to check out the Bermondsey Beer Mile, which I wrote a post on for my savvy beer lovers out there!  Until then…Cheers!