Suggestions on how to get to St. Pancreas Station at 4 am!!

Can you arrange a taxi thru your hotel?? We did that several times and they called and taxi came within ten minutes but that was day time. We had similar situation in Paris twice each time hotels called very very early. And again no problems. Check as soon as you register in hotel.. I know they say 4:45 AM perhaps because there is not much going on at that hour but I thought they usually wanted two hours before departure to go thru immigration. We only did it midday but it did go quickly. .

Yes, I suppose we will have to take a taxi. Besides, this will be much safer at that time of the morning. However, at present I am in the States, so I’m not sure whether our hotel will book a taxi for us. I definitely want to take a licensed taxi (not a Uber). How does a person book a taxi? I certainly doubt that we could hail a cab that early in the morning!!😆

Nice! Last summer I also foolishly bought tickets for the earliest train but with a family of 14 and plenty of luggage (but hey, they were the cheapest tickets available lol)

Needless to say, we had to take several taxis and we left with plenty of time. We were staying over in Kensington/Chelsea. We actually just called Uber and had no problems at all, but it wouldn't have hurt to schedule it the day before or have the hotel schedule it for us.

Checking in at St. Pancras was super busy and a bit chaotic. Once we were in the waiting area it was crowded with nowhere to sit. It was still worth it to take a taxi and get there early though.

If it is late June or July I would walk, walking through London during sunrise as the city wakes up is magical. Otherwise uber. Not sure what you mean by safety at that time?

Your hotel will most likely have a local taxi company (black cab) on speed dial, ask them to arrange taxi at whatever time you want it the morning of the day before, and then get them to confirm it before you head to bed. Your only other option is to change to one of the many hotels around St Pancras, all of which seem quite expensive.

Just take a taxi - you can juat call one yourself or prebook on an app (I find FreeNow works well). We usually leave very early to the station and I find the prebooked taxis will arrive early and wait while we check out. I normally take a taxi rather than an Uber because they have more luggage space, but Uber is also pretty reliable in London. If you prefer not to book it yourself, any halfway decent hotel will book for you.

"this will be much safer at that time of the morning."

Nothing to worry about - when I'm jetlagged i've been known to go for a walk at that time and while dark, it's often pretty busy already. London is a very safe city.

Re times - 75 minutes prior is the recommended time for Eurostar regardless of when in the say you're traveling.

PS it's St Pancras, named after the saint :)

Just being picky, but…..it’s St. Pancras you want, not Pancreas!
A common mistake. ;)

I also would walk. But to St Pancras. Otherwise get your hotel to call a cab.

If you're adventurous, if you can walk over the Golden Jubilee Bridge to Trafalgar square, there is a night bus - N91 - that will take you right to St. Pancras. Google Maps will give you many alternatives for night buses - just plug in starting location, destination, and desired arrival time. But at that hour, a cab makes the most sense.

I certainly doubt that we could hail a cab that early in the morning!!

I don't know why you have that impression. London is a 24 hour city, so there are always taxis around.

If it is a Friday to Saturday night or Saturday to Sunday night then a local would take the night tube, or otherwise the pretty dense night bus network which exists. I agree with Olivia (although not with luggage) walking across London by night can be quite the experience. I've done it before (notably Euston to Victoria, off a late train arrival at around 2am, connecting into a roughly 5am train from Victoria). Victoria is closed overnight other than for Gatwick train departures, so time to kill on a fine night. Anywhere in central London is safe at night.
I regularly do Victoria to Waterloo at around 6am- arrived overnight from Scotland or the North of England, and I never need my buffer time before the Waterloo train departure, so may as well walk (with luggage) than bus then killing time at Waterloo.
Or once Victoria to the Tower of London at 6am as the city came to life- in some ways it reminded me of Hong Kong Central (of all places) at that time of the morning- a totally different city to the daytime/evening city the tourist experiences. It was very different to being in that early morning commuter crowd rushing round train to tube to office, instead having time to enjoy London again.

I agree with those saying to get your hotel to book you a taxi the night before. You can also pre book an Uber, which is what we do when we have an early flight, and it's always worked out well.

Personally, I would not walk. First of all, walking is 50 mins vs 20 mins in a taxi- that's an extra half an hour you could be sleeping. Secondly, while London is a safe city, I would not personally feel comfortable heading out at 4am for a walk of nearly an hour. In addition, you have luggage to consider, and if you have a wheeled suitcase you will be making a lot of noise an at unsocial hour. London isn't really a 24 hour city the way somewhere like New York is- not a whole lot is open past 11pm (the mayor even appointed a "night czar" several years ago to look into this) so it will feel pretty empty beyond people who need to be out at that time for work related reasons.

Your most convenient, easiest choices will be either a Taxi or a pre-hired car service. More than likely, your hotel will be able to arrange this. Ask when you check in. If they can, ask when you should alert them to book it.

I would be shocked if your hotel does not use a reliable car service. They usually get a small commission when booking it for you. (it won't cost you any extra.) But don't worry, it will be a reliable service.

The same for a taxi. If they get one for you it will be reliable.

If you don't want to have the hotel do it, use an app like Freenow.

Your other choice is to spend the last night near St. Pancras. I've stayed at the Premier Inn St. Pancras a few times due to early trains. It's a five minute walk to the station.

Walking from Waterloo to St Pancras at 4am with your luggage and a train to catch is up there with the most mental suggestions I've seen on here :)

Well, it works for me. Perhaps I need therapy.

Don't take it personally! It gave me a bit of a chuckle at the thought of it. Bonus points for doing it in the rain. It seems like the sort of thing I might have thought was a good idea when I was 21 and had been up all night.

I'm a backpack user and I wouldn't do it, never mind having to listen to my wheeled bag for an hour, and it will take longer than an hour with a bag. Google tells me it's 2.1 miles of dodging street to street across the west end.

I'd get an Uber or a minicab these days.

At that time, and even with a tip, the taxi shouldn't cost more than about 15-20 GBP.

While I am usually all for walking and a sunrise walk sounds lovely, I most definitely would not want to get up even earlier to walk 50 minutes across town dragging my bag and listening to my travel companions crabbing at me for booking such an early train.

Book your taxi at least the night before. If you are staying at the Premier Inn, if they won't make the call for you, they will help you make the call if you ask kindly when they are not busy checking in other guests.

Don't fret about this now. You'll be able to book a taxi when you're in London.

There's an N63 bus which you can catch just south of Waterloo Bridge, depending on which stop is closest. That's just one bus straight there. You'd need to build a little time buffer in to account for the walk to the bus stop, and night buses are usually on a 10 or 15 minute frequency. It sets you back if you just miss one. There's a Thameslink train from Blackfriars too, but that's getting a bit far to walk to.

The N63 goes across Blackfriars Bridge, having come up Blackfriars Street from the Elephant- stops at Southwark Station (Stop SA), Stamford Street (SD) and Blackfriars Station South Entrance (C).
From Stop SA departures are at 0347, arrive KC 0401, and 0417 arrive 0431- this morning the 0347 tracks as running 2 minutes early, and the 0417 on time.

Gerry, I am glad I am not the only one who thought that!

I will also say, there is a big difference between going for a walk thru London at 4am and at 6am. Even on the summer solstice, the sun is not up until 4.45am so 4am will be pitch black pretty much any time of year.

Right now sunrise is about quarter to seven, so the sun is up just as I am finishing my morning run, and I agree that is magical. But when I am running in the dark at the same time in the winter it doesn't feel very magical.

Just for balance, I will add that a favourite memory of mine in Paris is a long walk to Gare Montparnasse on a Saturday morning for an 8am train with a friend. The city was pretty much empty, except for a group still carrying on from the night before on their balcony (they even invited us up, but we declined). So I agree that an early morning long walk can be nice, but 4am is just too early in my opinion.

Now I look at where the N63 goes on a map, it is a bit of a walk from County Hall area. Six and half a dozen with the Thameslink train at Blackfriars almost. Neither are fantastic options.

OP is traveling with a granddaughter.

Keep peace in the family. Take a taxi!

Many thanks to everyone for their great advice. I will definitely get a taxi since I will have my granddaughter with me.
I love this forum! Everyone is super helpful!!

Uber can be pre booked as well.

Whoops just read you don’t want an Uber. I’ll leave my response in case someone else has a similar question. Have a great trip.

Uber in London (and anywhere in the U.K.) are licensed taxis. You are not allowed to operate as a private hire vehicle without being licensed. So an Uber or another pre booked taxi service will be exactly the same.

Black cabs are different. They can be hailed in the street whereas other taxis (commonly called minicabs) can only be booked in advance.