U.K. and Ireland - Stansted? Southend? Help!

Hi,

I have been getting a little dizzy trying to figure this out. I will likely be going to London for about 24 hours as it significantly cuts down on my airline cost. Looking at getting to London, I can find very good fares into Stansted as well as Southend. Keeping in mind that I have no idea where I am going in London, but I am hoping to do the "popular touristy" things, which is the better airport to fly into, both from a cost to the city as well as duration of the trip.

I also could fly into Heathrow for a little bit more if that is significantly better to do.

I will be coming in from Belfast if that makes a difference.

Thanks

You'll need to do the maths for door to door rather than airport to airport. So whilst LHR may be slightly more expensive for the flight it could be cheaper overall once you add in transport costs. You may also be able to find flight times for one airport more suited to your plans than with other airports. You should also add into the mix the possibility of flying into one airport and out of another or using different airlines for different legs.

All the London airports have copious information on how to get from them to London.

So once again - do the maths.

Southend Airport is in the town of Southend-on-Sea, about an hour's train ride from London.

Stansted Airport is just outside the town of Bishop's Stortford and is also about an hour's train ride from London.

Both airports have their own train stations, and trains from both airports go to Liverpool Street station... so in terms of travel time there is absolutely no difference.

Rail fare from Southend Airport to Liverpool Street is significantly cheaper than train fare from Stansted.

Train timetable to Stansted caters for first/last flights.
Train timetable to Southend does not - so buyer beware if you are looking at very early/very late flights.

Engineering works to June (at least) will disrupt Sunday travel to Southend.

For just a 24-hour stay, I'd pick LHR if the extra cost is not significant.

The cost of point to point, balanced against your time to do it, is the only way to work it out. Normally the third factor is where you are aiming for - but as you say it is "London" so that is a big target!

Flying from Belfast, you have to take into account flight costs, and some LoCo's charge for luggage.

... you say it cuts down on your costs? Are you flying on from LHR? Starting from DUB is more tax efficient! No APD etc