Our Greater London Megathread

mfceiling

Fred Swanson wrote: »

Interesting as my debit card only can do online authorisations. In any shop it is tap and wait for authorisation. It doesn't do the Irish thing of tap and gone in a second.

My wife's oyster card had a zero balance and we never copped it. I used my contactless card on the bus and it literally beeped within a second.

schemingbohemia

Question for anyone who's gone to Wembley for a match - realistically how long has it taken you at full time to get from your seat to Wembley Park Station? I do realise this is quite open as it will depend greatly on which stand you're in. Google Maps is suggesting a 10 minute walk but obviously getting from your seat to outside the stadium can take a while.

rainbow kirby

A lot more than 10 minutes. It can be worth walking to Preston Park station on the Metropolitan line (about 1.5km) to get on before the masses.

Vic_08

schemingbohemia wrote: »

Question for anyone who's gone to Wembley for a match - realistically how long has it taken you at full time to get from your seat to Wembley Park Station? I do realise this is quite open as it will depend greatly on which stand you're in. Google Maps is suggesting a 10 minute walk but obviously getting from your seat to outside the stadium can take a while.

Wembley Stadium station on the Chiltern line is closer, particularly if you are in the south stands, direct connections at Marylebone aren't great but it is only a 5 min walk from Baker Street, they usually stop additional trains there at game times.

Alternatively Wembley Central is a bit further walk.

It really depends on where you are going and what teams are playing, Unless I was in a rush to get somewhere I would look at going the opposite direction to the masses and finding a different route.

schemingbohemia

Thanks, i'd already booked a weekend in London when Manchester City qualified for the League Cup Final - flying out of London City at 2020, game kicks off at 430 - it's not really a runner I know. It's against Arsenal.
I reckon getting to London City by 1940 would be ok as it's usually very quick to get through security but that means hoping there's very little to no injury time and doing a runner on the dot of the final whistle.
Probably best to stick to a pub sadly.

Hi all

Wondering if you could advise me. On Sunday, March 4th, I'll arrive into London Gatwick (from Geneva, Easyjet) North Terminal at 7:45pm. I think I'll then need to collect my bag and proceed to the South Terminal.

I then have my connecting flight to Dublin (Aer Lingus, South Terminal) at 9:15pm.

Do you think I'll be ok timewise for this flight? Any way I can get my back sent to Dublin from Geneva via some sort of Aer Lingus / Easyjet partnership? (wishful thinking?)

Thanks in advance

Marcusm

EasyJet don’t interlink tickets and bags except the “Worldwide by easyJet” which doesn’t include Aer Lingus. There’s a monorail train between the terminals and I would expect you to be ok but no time for hanging around, especially if baggage is delayed.

L1011

I wouldn't even consider this - you could easily be 40 minutes queueing for UK immigration on the inbound. Most Irish passengers have never suffered that due to the CTA and not flying to the UK from outside it. It is a slow process at the best of times, can take 20mins to clear 150 passengers

Bags should be ready by the time you've cleared immigration

Inter terminal transfer will take 15mins or so and you need to check in at a desk in sufficient time due to the hold baggage

highlydebased

rainbow kirby wrote: »

A lot more than 10 minutes. It can be worth walking to Preston Park station on the Metropolitan line (about 1.5km) to get on before the masses.

Preston Road!

Preston Park is in Brighton

Locker10a

It will be ok if the easyJet flight is on time,and you’re fairly fast through the terminals, Aer Lingus check in closes 45 minuets before departure so you’ll need to be checked in BEFORE 8:30pm for the Dublin flight

Marcusm

Marcusm wrote: »

EasyJet don’t interlink tickets and bags except the “Worldwide by easyJet” which doesn’t include Aer Lingus. There’s a monorail train between the terminals and I would expect you to be ok but no time for hanging around, especially if baggage is delayed.

Cool - thanks for the info

L1011 wrote: »

I wouldn't even consider this - you could easily be 40 minutes queueing for UK immigration on the inbound. Most Irish passengers have never suffered that due to the CTA and not flying to the UK from outside it. It is a slow process at the best of times, can take 20mins to clear 150 passengers

Bags should be ready by the time you've cleared immigration

Inter terminal transfer will take 15mins or so and you need to check in at a desk in sufficient time due to the hold baggage

Hmm do you think it will be busy Sunday Eve?

Locker10a wrote: »

It will be ok if the easyJet flight is on time,and you’re fairly fast through the terminals, Aer Lingus check in closes 45 minuets before departure so you’ll need to be checked in BEFORE 8:30pm for the Dublin flight

Yeah - can't have any delays...

Thanks for the tips...

Moznips

Hi All,

My family and i are planning a trip to London (2 adults + 2 young children)
The main reason of the trip is to bring my kids to Harry Potter World (HPW). My son isn't making his communion like the rest of the class and we want to do something special for him that week.

i'm looking for advise on best place to stay and fly into (Gatwich/ Standstead, Luton??)
i don't want to be dragging kids around too much (they're 5+7) so though we could stay near Victoria where the bus departs for HPW.

Would Gatwick be a good airport to fly into?

The plan is to stay for two nights (Thursday/ Friday and return Saturday afternoon)

Thanks,

P

frag420

National Express goes to Victoria station from Stansted, takes about an hour. Not familiar with the other airport routes as this is the one I use the most.

https://www.nationalexpress.com/en/destinations/london/stansted-to-london

Staying around Victoria could be expensive at a weekend, London is easy to commute around so you could stay wherever in Zones 1-2 and still be no more than 30-40 mins from the Harry Potter bus at Victoria.

Moznips wrote: »

Hi All,

My family and i are planning a trip to London (2 adults + 2 young children)
The main reason of the trip is to bring my kids to Harry Potter World (HPW). My son isn't making his communion like the rest of the class and we want to do something special for him that week.

i'm looking for advise on best place to stay and fly into (Gatwich/ Standstead, Luton??)
i don't want to be dragging kids around too much (they're 5+7) so though we could stay near Victoria where the bus departs for HPW.

Would Gatwick be a good airport to fly into?

The plan is to stay for two nights (Thursday/ Friday and return Saturday afternoon)

Thanks,

P

lorcand1990

I flew into Gatwick & it has very good links to the city- regular & not too expensive

I don't know about the bus from Victoria, but if you stay near Euston station, you can get the train to Watford Junction & then a feeder bus to HPW- that's what I did when I stayed there. Just make sure you pick up Oyster Cards for transport

Moznips

thank you - much appreciated

mfceiling

Was there a few weeks ago with the kids. Flew into Gatwick and an open return on the train to london bridge was £70 for all of us.
Oyster card is the way to go for getting around the city.

Tilikum17

Download he Citymapper app if you’re not that familiar with London.

It’s amazing.

amcalester

If you're planning to stay near Victoria then I'd fly in to Gatwick and then get the train to Victoria.

The station is in the airport and the travel time is only 30 minutes on the express service.

Gatwick also has an express lane for internal arrivals so no need to queue up for passport control, not sure if this is the case in Stansted.

endabob1

Moznips wrote: »

Hi All,

My family and i are planning a trip to London (2 adults + 2 young children)
The main reason of the trip is to bring my kids to Harry Potter World (HPW). My son isn't making his communion like the rest of the class and we want to do something special for him that week.

i'm looking for advise on best place to stay and fly into (Gatwich/ Standstead, Luton??)
i don't want to be dragging kids around too much (they're 5+7) so though we could stay near Victoria where the bus departs for HPW.

Would Gatwick be a good airport to fly into?

The plan is to stay for two nights (Thursday/ Friday and return Saturday afternoon)

Thanks,

P

Sorry I had typed a long message but your thread was moved and I lost it.

Why not fly to Luton & stay in Watford?

If you are only in the UK for 2 or 3 days, one day will be at HPW, which is just outside Watford, there are shuttle busses to and form the station. 1 day in London, just get a fast train from Watford Junction under half an hour to Euston
Hotel will be cheaper, closer to main attraction, less time travelling to and from hotel/airport.

In other news, if you are planning a visit to any of the London attractions like the aquarium etc.. book them in advance, much cheaper. Oh and bring the kids to the National History Museum, it's great.

amcalester

endabob1 wrote: »

In other news, if you are planning a visit to any of the London attractions like the aquarium etc.. book them in advance, much cheaper. Oh and bring the kids to the National History Museum, it's great.

And the Science Museum.

Moznips

amcalester wrote: »

And the Science Museum.

ah thanks never thought of that - great idea!

exiledelbows

Just to clear up a few things. Don't get the Gatwick express service from Gatwick to Victoria - get the Southern service instead. It's 3 minutes slower but half the price.

Also, National Express from Stansted to Victoria takes 90 minutes minimum I'd say, not an hour. Of the above options, I'd stay near Victoria (via Gatwick) if you can, or near Watford (via Luton) to save money.

frag420

exiledelbows wrote: »

Just to clear up a few things. Don't get the Gatwick express service from Gatwick to Victoria - get the Southern service instead. It's 3 minutes slower but half the price.

Also, National Express from Stansted to Victoria takes 90 minutes minimum I'd say, not an hour. Of the above options, I'd stay near Victoria (via Gatwick) if you can, or near Watford (via Luton) to save money.

Have taken it three times since November, longest was 70 mins and that was because of traffic near marble arch.

PTH2009

been to both places before but different parts and heres my plan and need advice

Im flying from Dublin too London City Airport on the 18th June at 11.50am

I want to visit the London Eye from the Airport (how would i get there ???)

Im going to an event in the O2 Arena that night and staying in the King William Hotel on Trafalgar Road Greenwich. So I plan on going from the nearest tube station from the London Eye to the nearest to the hotel. Can prob get taxis from hotel to the arena and back

The next morning i want to get from the Hotel to Euston station to get a train to Manchester ???. going to book the train a few days before i leave as its much much cheaper. Is this possible and not too much hassle ???

thanks for the advice

whomitconcerns

London Eye from the Airport -
DLR from airport to canning town. Jubilee line from canning town to Waterloo. London eye is outside!

London eye to king william hotel (Why?????) to O2

Jubilee line, waterloo station to north greenwich station. The O2 is right at the station. Then get the 188 or 129 bus from the station, will drop you right outside the hotel.
Hotel to arena is 10mins on bus max.

next day
188 to North greenwich, Jubilee to London bridge and northern line from there to euston.

PTH2009

whomitconcerns wrote: »

London Eye from the Airport -
DLR from airport to canning town. Jubilee line from canning town to Waterloo. London eye is outside!

London eye to king william hotel (Why?????) to O2

Jubilee line, waterloo station to north greenwich station. The O2 is right at the station. Then get the 188 or 129 bus from the station, will drop you right outside the hotel.
Hotel to arena is 10mins on bus max.

next day
188 to North greenwich, Jubilee to London bridge and northern line from there to euston.

Thanks for the advice

cheapest hotel i could get and nearest to the arena

Are buses pay on the it or card only ???

England are playing there first world cup game on the 18th June but kicks off at 7pm and ill prob be in the arena then

whomitconcerns

card only on bus. assuming you have contactless

PTH2009

whomitconcerns wrote: »

card only on bus. assuming you have contactless

yeah Visa Debit

isotonicdrink

Vic_08 wrote: »

The previous post is spot on, Gatwick Express is a waste of money for no extra benefit. It will be cheapest for you to use Oyster or contactless credit card for the single trip from Gatwick.

The 2for1 offer requires 2 tickets valid on the day you avail of the offer.

You could buy paper travelcards and use them for your travel as well as the 2for1 entries but they are now much more expensive than the day caps on Oyster/contactless if you are staying in zones 1-5. If you are going to be travelling to zone 5 or 6 on the same day as visiting an attraction and not travelling before 9.30 am it may be cheaper and simpler to use travelcards as they are valid for 2for1, if you do this they must be bought from a National Rail ticket office, not Underground to be eligible for 2for1 entry.

Most likely you won't be going beyond z5 so it will be cheaper for you to use Oyster for travel and buy 2 rail tickets for each day you want to use the 2for1 offer.

The cheapest rail ticket that would be good for the offer would be Vauxhall - London Waterloo single at £3.10 each, you can reduce this to £2.05 each by adding a railcard discount. (you don't have a railcard but as you won't be using these tickets to travel that doesn't matter) You will need to buy 2 of these for each day you want to visit an attraction with the 2for1 discount. You will also need to buy these online and pick-up at a railway station ticket machine, Gatwick Airport would be fine for this.

this is a link to the type of tickets you need, obviously you need to pick the correct dates, the time on the ticket doesn't matter.



best to read the details/prices carefully and check on the attraction's own websites that there aren't any other offers available that beat the 2for1 price.

Only getting around to thanking you now as I forgot my password and associated email etc. etc. Anyways, mega answer and exactly what I was looking for, appreciate it

Morby

Going to London shortly to meet a friend and the weather doesn't look great. Just looking for some ideas as to stuff we can do that will be indoorsy, like museums, Maddam Tussauds and similar, anyone got any suggestions or recommendations please?