Flights.

My friend and I flew on British Air from Dublin to London Heathrow airport in 2017. Our flight left Dublin about 1 pm, we landed about 2:30 pm or so. After going through LHR, we waited at least an hour for the Bus, got caught in rush hour traffic and finally checked into our hotel near Victoria Station about 6:30 pm. I felt it was a wasted day. I don't know anything about London City airport so I can't speak to that.
In our case, I didn't think flying was a quicker option. I haven't taken the train ferry, although it might be more leisurely and you might see more scenery?

Unless you have personal reasons to return to Dublin for a second visit, why not use a multi-destination search function to look into flying back home from the UK? I am only familiar with these itineraries trans-Atlantic, where they save considerable time and the cost of returning to the arrival city. But it should be worth doing some research. for an east-bound destination.

Flying is much easier than taking the ferry/train and stands a lesser chance of delays or cancellations. Assuming you are only have hand luggage, you will need to be at the airport 60-75 minutes before departure. Use London City, as it’s less hassle than Heathrow or Gatwick. The flight time is 1 hour 20 plus say 30-45 minutes to get through the airport. It will take another 30-60 minutes into central London by public transport.

Returning, as City is a small airport, you can allow 45 minutes before departure for your arrival time.

I'm following this discussion because I'm exploring the idea of flying to/from Berlin via LCY. From research I've learned that LCY is served by Docklands Light Railway which links up to the London Underground (Tube) system, is closer to central London than Heathrow or Gatwick, and as a small airport appears to be quicker to get into and out of than the big airports. It lacks plush amenities like airport lounges, and I've read that if you get there too early you may literally be standing around for awhile.

Sorry that I can't give you a "to the minute" estimate on walking out of LCY after landing. You might look at the flyertalk forum or a similar discussion forum devoted to airline travel, which may have that info from experienced travelers. Or the Transportation topic on this forum, maybe?

From research I've learned that LCY is served by Docklands Light Railway which links up to the London Underground (Tube) system, is closer to central London than Heathrow or Gatwick.

Yes, London City is the only airport actually in London. Heathrow isn't in London, neither is Gatwick and most definitely not in London are Luton, Stansted or Southend but they all list themselves as London airports. This is sometimes why there is a bit of disappointment when people realise that with a three hour layover at Heathrow they can't just pop into central London to kill some time.

I have flown DUB to LCY. ( I have flown in and out of LCY numerous times.) It's a very small airport and aircraft taxiing I about 5-10 minutes. You will not have to go through immigration in London so it shouldn't take more than 10 minutes to get to the DLR. How long after that depends on where you are going.

How long it takes in Dublin depends on what time you get there. Two hours before is suggested.

Flying from DUB to LCY is much faster than ferry and train.

I've used LCY many times for internal flights and it is super quick. You will of course take a bit longer to go through immigration I presume but the beauty of it is that it is very compact so you don't have to walk for miles on end. The Docklands light Railway is right at the entrance ( I have literally managed cabin door to train door in 5 'minutes before). Depending on where you want to visit first it is very quick to get there. I would recommend changing at Canning Town onto the Jubilee line for the quickest route in. 20 minutes and you can be in Westminster. On your return, yes it's small but gets a lots of business travellers leaving in the evening so if leaving around 5pm I'd probably look to arrive 75 minutes before the flight to get through security which is a bit of a military operation!

You will of course take a bit longer to go through immigration

Let me reiterate....there is no immigration between Ireland and the UK.

Thank you all for your contributions. I checked with adjusting my flying out of London back to Australia instead of travelling back to Dublin but the cost will increase by about $1000 in airport taxes so the two extra days I would have had in London won't be happening.
Cheers all.

Hi Frank. I'm sure this topic gets done to ad nauseum but I can't work out why there isn't immigration for someone to go through between Dublin and London. What am I missing?

It's called the Common Travel Area that encompasses the UK and Ireland. Virtually free travel between the two although Ireland wants to check anyone entering carrying a passport from anywhere besides the UK and Ireland. The UK has no checks when traveling from Ireland.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Travel_Area

Thanks for the clarification Frank. Never been to Ireland, I should go some time! I presume this is to do with peace in Northern Ireland etc.

How about kayaking between the two islands, thus getting in a good workout and saving money?

It was an arrangement that just carried on from before the partition of Ireland, although there used to be customs posts on the land border. Although it was suspended between 1939 and 1952 for cross-Irish Sea journeys. The current arrangements are given in the "Joint Statement Regarding Co-Operation on Measures to Secure the External Common Travel Area Border" signed between the two Governments in 2011.

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