London Travel Answers

I would think underground would be much quicker,even with luggage, do you HAVE to go by cab?

Hi, To get from Bayswater to City Airport for 8.30am (presuming a week day?) you should leave 1.5 hours to be safe. The actual journey (erase all cars, traffic lights and 'incidents') is only about 30 minutes; add rush hour traffic (starting from 7am), late cab drivers, a diversion due to something or other and voila, 90 minutes of your life has disappeared. Public transport is a real option (Bayswater to Notting Hill to Bank, change to the Docklands Light Railway - about an hour journey time), but it would be busy and prone to the random events that cause delays for rushed travellers, plus you'd have to cope with stairs and commuters - I'm presuming you have lots of luggage! Matto www.barefootinvestments.com

Hi, To get from Bayswater to City Airport for 8.30am (presuming a week day?) you should leave 1.5 hours to be safe. The actual journey (erase all cars, traffic lights and 'incidents') is only about 30 minutes; add rush hour traffic (starting from 7am), late cab drivers, a diversion due to something or other and voila, 90 minutes of your life has disappeared. Public transport is a real option (Bayswater to Notting Hill to Bank, change to the Docklands Light Railway - about an hour journey time), but it would be busy and prone to the random events that cause delays for rushed travellers, plus you'd have to cope with stairs and commuters - I'm presuming you have lots of luggage! Matto www.barefootinvestments.com

Thank you very much for your prompt feed-back. I will have heavy luggage, that's why I want to avoid the underground. Unfortunately from City Airport the only useful flight is in the morning. But I have more options from other airports, so I will probably choose to fly from Gatwick in the afternoon. I am trying to avoid Heathrow because it has become a nightmare.

Hey, Manara - I've flown in/out of Heathrow and Gatwick over the past week or two and I can't see much between them. The fog caused some real problems but that has cleared; now the security lines are just as long at both airports, in fact Gatwick was longer since domestic and international go through the same security; I would choose the best airport for your flight. Transfer-wise, Heathrow is the best bet from Bayswater as you can get a cab to Paddington, then take the Heathrow Express using the luggage trolley or a porter as you go - that cuts your door-to-gate journey down to about 40 minutes. I believe you can still check your bags for some airlines at Paddington, but you should check that. Gatwick is less fun because you either have to do the M25 (argh!) or the super-slow suburban route in a taxi or take a cab to Victoria and then the Gatwick Express. Matto www.barefootinvestments.com

Thanks for the additional info, but I already know how to get to Gatwick or Heathrow. I've been flying several times to and from Heathrow in the past months, and I've seen it get more and more crowded, and the process (not only security, but every step) become longer and longer. When I used City Airport for the first time in July it was unbelievably fast. But of course it's because it's so small, and the number of flights is so much smaller than in Heathrow. I will choose Gatwick because from there I can fly to Bologna, much more convenient for me than Milan. And I'll go by train from Victoria.

Thanks for the additional info, but I already know how to get to Gatwick or Heathrow. I've been flying several times to and from Heathrow in the past months, and I've seen it get more and more crowded, and the process (not only security, but every step) become longer and longer. When I used City Airport for the first time in July it was unbelievably fast. But of course it's because it's so small, and the number of flights is so much smaller than in Heathrow. I will choose Gatwick because from there I can fly to Bologna, much more convenient for me than Milan. And I'll go by train from Victoria.