London Airports

October 13, 2019

Heathrow Airport

I’d like to start this review of Heathrow by talking about my experience getting there. My flight was arriving into Terminal 5 at 10am on a cold and rainy Saturday morning (Southern England was hit particularly hard by the recent extreme weather conditions). I should mention that I live in Brighton, which is on the south coast of England, so I normally have very little reason to ever go to London. This is a big shame as its easily one of the best capital cities in Europe to visit.

Having said all that, I booked a cheap flight online the night before using Skyscanner and just happened to have an early morning hour long layover, My City of London (mycityoflondon.co.uk). Its always nice to have an adventure, and as anyone who has traveled knows, they. Hailing from a small town in Ireland, I had my first trip to Heathrow in 2002. I was just 17, and traveling around Europe for the first time on my own. I remember being struck by how mammoth it looked in comparison to Dublin Airport.

Although, that might be because Dublin doesnt have a half-built replica of Great Britains Houses of Parliament in the middle of its check-in area (Heathrow Terminal 1). With 5 different terminals, Heathrow can be a little intimidating at first glance. However, as the citys most important international airport, its actually surprisingly easy to navigate. At only 16 miles from the very center of the city, its perfectly situated for easy access via the London Underground.

Perhaps the single most important feature of the airport is its transportation network.     Heathrows airport has one of the largest transportation networks in all of London. There are 5 terminals, with an average distance of 1 miles between them. This means that you can always find a hotel, restaurant or shop just minutes away from where you are at any given time. If that's not enough for you, there is also the option to have a private luxury vehicle pick you up and drop you off at your desired destination.

Theres a lot to see and do at Heathrow. As it is such a large airport, its best to know what terminals youll be traveling through before arriving. This will make it much easier to book your travel to match up with the terminal you will be departing from. You may not have time to go into every shop at Heathrow, but there are several shops that are definitely worth checking out before you depart.

Luton Airport

Luton Airport has a good selection of shops, restaurants and cafes even before you reach the departure terminal. So whether its packing your own groceries in advance or grabbing a spot of lunch on the go, once you've checked-in and made it through security there's plenty to divert your time until its time to board. Theres even a small bookstore stocked with the latest novels and magazine so if you're running late and didn't pack enough reading material for your flight then this is an ideal place to fill that gap.

If you're looking for some peace and quiet before or after your flight, Luton Airport has it in spades. The airfield is specifically designed to minimize noise and environmental impacts in residential areas. There are four planes a day landing between midnight and 6am, and when flights are taking off, the majority of them fly over the airport before heading out into airspace. Other means of transport include the express coach from Luton bus station, taking the subway to St Pancras, or even purchasing one in advance online for use with the Oyster card system.

Luton services are operated by major low-cost carriers, such as Ryanair and Easyjet. If you'd like some first hand experience on this airport continue reading. According to Wikipedia, Luton has the largest Polish community in the United Kingdom. I dont know if the luton airport taxi guy was representative of this, but judging by his nice clean car and confident driving on the roads, he was far from the stereotypical bumbling taxi driver found in some other airports.

Southend Airport

With planes taking off and landing from the London Southend Airport every day, it’s hard to visit the seaside town of Southend-on-Sea, located 80 km away from the city center, without noticing it. In fact, the airport is so small and unnoticed that you can’t even see it on Google Street View (the photo above is actually taken from a nearby building). The official website also doesn’t provide any info about its exact location: Southend Airport, or simply Southend for short, is actually located near the center of the town.

Unfortunately, its small size makes it almost unnoticeable if you’re driving past in a car and only slightly noticeable if you. Southend Airport is located in the town of Rochford and only 26 miles from London City Airport. It serves the southeast of England and manages to keep its signature orange funnel on display throughout much of the year. Originally a fighter base during World War II, Southend went on to become one of Londons two largest airports, handling millions of civilian passengers each year.

   Thanks to its proximity to London, travelers can be in the center of town within just over an hour.  Speaking of which, head on over and check out our guide on how to get to London from Southend Airport. If you live in central London, you are probably familiar with Heathrow Airport. Surrounded by a plethora of hotels and attractions, it is probably the most convenient airport to stay at if you plan on visiting London for vacation.

But Heathrow is not the only airport in town, there are actually three others in the London area: Stansted Airport, Gatwick Airport, and Luton Airport. This post will focus specifically on the latter, namely Southend Airport's location. London. one of the most important and vibrant cities in the world. Its one of the most popular tourist destinations for people from all over the planet. What better way to experience this great city than fly into Londons third busiest airport: Southend.

Stansted Airport

There is no need to fly from near the centre of London. Stansted Airport is available and is a little cheaper with fares starting from around £14. Stansted Airport get things done on time and its not uncommon to find a cheap fare to Valencia or Alicante, which are both popular tourist destinations in Spain. Stansted Airport has recently upgraded its facilities and now offers free Wi-Fi access for its passengers, which makes it one of the more homestay experience airports there is.

Do you live near Stansted airport? Perfect! Whether youre a travelling businessperson, tourist or a fellow London resident, we would love to meet you. As for what it is that you're going to be doing on your visit well that's up to you, but our team can provide tons of ideas. Or simply check out some of the links below for more inspiration about what to do in and around the area. If youre heading to London, youll be spending some time in the airport.

Most airports just sell the basics, but Stansted has lots of shops, bars and restaurants so its worth knowing where to find the best bits if you have some spare time. Here are my top ten tips for spending more time enjoying your trip rather than hunting down somewhere to sit. With 5 different terminals, Heathrow can be a little intimidating at first glance. However, as the citys most important international airport, its actually surprisingly easy to navigate.