Transportation to Stansted Airport

I think is the info you're looking for: http://www.stanstedairport.com/to-and-from-the-airport/train/. The station is, more or less, underneath the terminal.

Are you coming from Heathrow or central London? Another option is the National Express bus. My 18 year old daughter and her friend used the national express bus when they arrived in London last year and needed to get to Stansted. The bus was easy to find from the bus terminal at T5 and it was efficient. They did not have to worry about the underground and getting to the right train. They just got on the bus and could sleep some more! We added the flexible fare just in case of flight delays. It worked out great for them.

There is a direct shuttle bus service from Heathrow Airport to Stansted Airport, and vice versa.

The coach services depart from Terminal 5 (travel time: 115 min.) and makes a stop at Terminal 4 (travel time: 100 min.) and Terminal 1, 2, and 3 (travel time 80 min.).

If you decide to add the Flexible Fare to your ticket during the booking process paying £ 5.00 more each way, you will have the possibility: to board any available coach 12 hours before/after the original departure time; change the departure date without any extra charge and your ticket fare will be refund on you if you cancel 24 hour before departure time.

http://coach.nationalexpress.com

Hello mpaulyn, and thank you DavidM and mpaulyn for your response. We'll be arriving from Heathrow on Friday and staying in London until Thursday. Our flight to Scotland leaves Stansted Airport at 12:30. I was looking at train tickets but it seems they're a little pricey. I was also looking at easyBus.com, it seems they have good prices but I've never heard of them before.

I was looking at train tickets but it seems they're a little pricey.

When are you travelling? Best are Advance tickets; if you don't see them they're not on sale yet.

https://www.virgintrainseastcoast.com/

Gosh, Raymond, the rail fare from London is eye-watering. It costs me considerably less for the return fare, over much the same distance, from Cambridge to Stansted. Unfortunately, unlike Gatwick, you don't have the alternative of regular train services.

I don't know easyBus either, except by name, but have no reason to avoid them. National Express also run buses from central London, starting at Victoria Coach Station. The fare looks to be around £10 to £12. You can use the link in mpaulyn's message.

When I flew from Stansted in mid-January, the security area was jam-packed. I had previously paid for fast-track but expected it to be quiet at that day and time. The security staff told me this was typical. So, if I were you, if consider booking that before your flight (on the airport website).

£19.00 is eye-watering?

Seems pretty reasonable to me for all that distance. Three quarters of an hour on the train for only £19? Sounds ok to me.

That's if you walk up and buy the ticket. It is only £8 in advance.

If your flight leaves at 12:30 then you will have to be there at least 2 hours before . I came through Stansted last summer and it was a lot busier than I had expected. I have not heard of the easy bus company. If you can give me your location in London then I can give your specific details on how to get to Stansted. (I grew up around Stansted and live now in Missouri - and a frequent traveller back and forth to the UK).

Yes, Nigel, it is eye-watering. A return Cambridge-Stansted is only £14.90 for much the same distance, albeit a less frequent service. I couldn't find the advance fare on their website but doesn't it commit you to a specific time and date? The walk-up fare is more than twice the equivalent fare for London to Elsenham, the first station beyond the airport branch. I realise supply and demand come into it but it's an obscene gouge on airport passengers.

Still, could be worse, could be the Heathrow Express.

Some opinions on "sleazybus" from TA:

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTopic-g186338-i17-k5169870-o130-Easybus-London_England.html

I would only ever use Stansted Express. Yes, others may be a few pounds cheaper but it is so stress free to get on at Liverpool Street and go straight to the airport. No transfers, no walking, no finding the right bus. Departs from Liverpool Street (or Stratford or Tottenham Hale if you're staying in those areas) every 15 minutes. Takes 45 mins. Costs 19 pounds. Highly recommended.

Perhaps I'm doing something wrong Nigel but I haven't been able to find any train tickets for 9 or 19 pounds yet, but I'll keep looking. So far the only price for trains I've been able to find is about 24 pounds per person.

Have you been looking on the Stansted Express website?

Note that the advances are valid for the day of travel not for a specific train on this offer.

If you can't get cheap tickets on the Stansted Express the best balance between price and time is to take the National Express bus from Stratford railway station (train from Liverpool Street or Central Line or Jubilee Line tube). Going out to Stratford by rail or tube gets you past the worst traffic delays.

While there are, as Darren said, trains from Stratford directly to Stansted, they are all-stations trains that take a very long time, not the Stansted Express.

still wonder why you're not taking the train to Scotland rather than faff around getting to Stansted

simple, ramblin' on, flying is so much simpler, cheaper and above all, faster.

Let's see,

an hour from London to Stansted plus a fare
2 hours or so check in at Stansted plus a fare
90 minutes flight
an hour or so to Edinburgh after getting off the plane, plus a fare.

So that's only 5 and a half hours plus 3 fares. Simple!

Oh, wait a minute. The train from London to Edinburgh only takes 4 hours and 23 minutes and one cheap fare. And it is city centre to city centre.

Ooops.

I hope irony translates across the pond!

For Central London to Edinburgh by flying the only airport that makes any real kind of time sense would be City as you can still pitch up there not much in advance.

Well Nigel, I would prefer to take the train as my family and I took trains on our last trip to Europe, however my wife would rather fly than take a train. She doesn't enjoy being on a train for longer than 2 hours and I'm not going to force her to do something she doesn't enjoy. Also, not trying to be cheap because it would probably cost less to take the train but I would like to find the best deal, I don't have money to just throw away. So perhaps being a little more helpful and polite and trying to understand someone else's situation instead of making fun of someone would make you sound less condescending.

I do want to thank everyone else for the great information and the links that you gave me. I was able to find train tickets to the airport for 12 pounds a person thanks to Marco's link. Thank you again for your support and understanding.

Thank you for that previously unknown information, Raymond.

I think it is unlikely that most people would expect you and your wife to prefer a more complicated and slower journey than a simpler, easier and more comfortable one.

Different people have special needs. I think you are pretty good to your wife to stand around at airports and make extra journeys when you'd rather be on the train.

I have to say for myself, because I fly for long journeys like Rome and Venice, flying - with all the airport and crowding issues - is not something I would ever say I enjoy now in the 21st century. But it is a means to an end and I just get on with it. I personally would never fly when the train is faster and cheaper.

I've been married 37 years and i do things for my wife I'd rather not.

I hope you have a pleasant journey, Raymond. I found the renovated departure area at Stansted quite agreeable in January, so you shouldn't be too stressed out if you arrive way early for your flight. And, on arrival, you can now get a tram from Edinburgh airport to the city centre.

I can't comment on London-Edinburgh journeys but I often travel from Cambridge to a town near Glasgow. For me, the total cost is usually much the same whether I fly or take the train. I prefer the train but find it can be easier to track down the air fares.

Bon voyage.

Thank you Nigel for your understanding. Sometime what we do for our love ones doesn't always make sense but we do it because we love them.