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London Stansted (STN)

First of all, it's worth looking at the excellent Journey Planner website, if you're headed to London. It will plot a route for you, using public transport, with timings, costs and detailed destination and walking route maps.

Also, note the spelling. It's S-T-A-N-S-T-E-D, only one 'A'. I say this not in a spirit of pedantry, but rather to help you with your Google, Train and Coach searches

Stansted Express

Scheduled to take 45 minutes from Liverpool Street. An hour is not uncommon. Details on the Stansted Express website.

Fares:

• £15.50 single in Express Class
• £25.50 open return in Express Class (30 day limit)
• £24.50 single in First Class
• £41.00 open return in First Class (30 day limit)

Carnets and combination fares available, along with through tickets to London Underground destinations. London Transport travelcards are not valid, although extensions can be bought.

There is a slight discount of these fares if you use Tottenham Hale Station instead of Liverpool Street.

National Rail railcards can now be used on this service, offering a 1/3rd discount for adults and 2/3rds for kids, for an annual fee.

Destinations:

• Liverpool Street is in the heart of the 'City' financial district.
• Connections at Liverpool Street for One Railway services to West and East Anglia, as well as the boat train to Harwich.
• Connections at Liverpool Street for the Tube to the Central, Circle, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines.
• Connections at Tottenham Hale to local One Railway services, and to the Victoria Line (one of the fastest Tube lines) for connections to King's Cross, Euston, the 'West End', Victoria, Stockwell (yay!) and Brixton. This is a very good connection.

Pros:

• Fast and comfortable, with good luggage storage. This is by a long way the fastest way to get to London from Stansted.
• Takes you to Liverpool Street, which right in the 'City' financial district, where you can connect to a taxi or the Tube (as above).
• Stan-EX + taxi can work out cheaper and much faster than taxi all the way.

Cons:

• Expensive, particularly for multiple travellers.
• Not necessarily the fastest option for certain areas of London.
• The taxi queues at Liverpool Street can be long at peak times, and at the end of the evening.
• The train service finishes at about midnight. Because STN is primarily an LCC airport, there are lots of early and late departures and arrivals. Should you hold a ticket, and you miss the last train, you can use the night coach service, but do not get a ticket discount.
• Cancellations are depressingly frequent on this service, and it's only half-hourly. Check the Stan-EX website before leaving, and leave plenty time to get to the airport. Remember, if you're on an LCC and you miss the check-in cut-off time due to problems on the train, you can kiss goodbye to your outbound ticket.
• The trains can get horribly packed. At the airport, head for the 'outside' section of the platform for more space, and at Liverpool Street, head for the front.

Tips:

• There are huge queues at Liverpool Street, at times, for the ticket counter. The machines do take credit cards - you can't miss them, they do have a lot of orange.
• A large proportion of STN passengers use the Express. As a result, queues immediately after the arrival of a train can be very long. If you have plenty time, go and get a coffee, and pop back in 15 minutes. Otherwise, position yourself well. You want to be in the middle of the train (slightly forward) to get to the escalators quickly. If you're at the front or back, you'll end up using the far more circuitous ramps up to the terminal.
• As stated above, leave more time than you need. This service has relatively poor reliability, and railway problems are no excuse for late check-in.
• If your final destination/origin is on the Victoria Line, use the Tottenham Hale connection. The link from the Tube to the Stan-EX platforms is easy, there are ticket machines, and there's a nice, heated coffee bar to wait in. It saves a lot of time, and the crowds of Liverpool Street.
• Post-pub queues (from 11pm onwards, latter half of the week) for taxis at Liverpool Street can be utterly horrendous (I've seen people waiting over an hour). If this is the case, walk round to the Bishopsgate exit of the station, and try and hail a cab there.
• Taxi touts often work Liverpool Street station in the evening. Avoid at all costs.
• Check operating hours. If you're likely to be travelling when there's no train, there's no great advantage to using the Stansted Express coaches over National Express.
• Don't get confused with Stansted Mountfitchet station. This is a different place, and half the Stan-EX trains stop there. Stansted Airport is clearly marked as such, and is the last station.

Other Rail Services

Details on the Central Trains and One Railway websites.

Fares:

• Varies according to length of journey.

Destinations:

• One Railway operates through services to Cambridge and beyond. There are also slow trains to London, but there is no price advantage to using these. They are useful for intermediate stations between Stansted and Tottenham Hale, however.
• Central Trains operate through services to Peterborough (connections to GNER services to the East Coast and Scotland), the East and West Midlands. See the Central Trains site for details. Note that Central Trains will be taken over by the West and East Midlands rail franchises in the course of 2007.

Pros:

• Very convenient direct links.
• Faster than coach services.

Cons:

• Can be expensive, particularly if you don't book in advance.
• Relatively limited schedules compared to the London services.

Tips:

• The Central Trains service travels a fair distance, and through a relatively obscure route. This means that it is fairly liable to delays. Leave plenty time.

Rank Taxis

Note that Stansted Airport is outside Greater London, and so black cabs do not pick up here. Instead, the airport has a preferred operator, Airport Carz.

Fares:

• Varies according to length of journey.
• See the Airport Carz website for examples.
• Expect £80-90 for Central London.

Pros:

• Convenient, and reasonably regulated.
• The fares are fixed, with many standard rates, so you're not at risk of ridiculous fares due to traffic queues.
• You book the taxi at a counter in Arrivals. It's all very well organised.
• You can also pre-book on their website.
• For some cheap off-airport (or old airport) car parks and hotels, they may well be your only option.

Cons:

• Rather expensive. You're still saving vs Stansted Express in a large group, though.
• London Taxis ('black cabs') are not obliged to take you to Stansted Airport. If they do agree, negotiate the fare, rather than running on the meter, unless you like taxi fares that resemble phone numbers.

Tips:

• If you find yourself arriving late, have missed the last Stansted Express, and either can't face the coach or find there are huge queues for it, speak up! You won't be the only person in this situation, and it's not uncommon for groups of strangers to share a taxi into London. Obviously, use common sense as to who your fellow passengers are.
• In that above situation, don't expect an LCC to pay your cab fare.

Pre-Booked Taxis

Fares:

• Varies according to length of journey and company involved.
• Flyertalkers have noted Addison Lee and Airport Direct as options.
• Expect fares of £60-70 for Central London, including pick-up fees. The return to the airport is cheaper (in the £50-60 region).

Pros:

• Cheaper than an airport taxi, and cheaper than the Stansted Express in a group.
• Fixed rate means no worries about ridiculous fares due to traffic problems.
• You will get met at arrivals.
• You can order MPV taxis, usually seating up to 7.

Cons:

• Much lighter regulation than the official London Taxis. While I personally have had nothing but good experiences with the companies mentioned above, it is extremely important only to deal with reputable private hire ('minicab') companies in London. The PCO (website above) has a licencing scheme, which is a good indicator. You can also go on personal recommendations. But, I cannot stress enough, do not just get into a 'taxi'. Black cabs are fine, decent minicab companies are fine. But there are instances of all sorts of problems reported in London, from dangerous vehicles and driving, through to armed robbery and rape in illegal minicabs. Never take a taxi from a tout.
• Credit cards are not generally accepted.
• You are still subject to the vagaries of London traffic, without the ability to use bus lanes.
• In case of delays, you may well be charged extra for waiting time. An LCC will not take responsibility for this.

Tips:

• Private hire companies are not bound by per-mile or other fee regulations. Always agree a price beforehand.
• Unless you specify otherwise, a taxi will sit 3, 4 at a push.
• 7am-10am and 4pm-7pm are the peak times in London. Yes, they are that long. Be warned.

Coach Links

National Express run a series of coach (bus) services to Central London from Stansted. They also run direct, long-distance buses further afield.

See also the Terravision Express coach service.

Fares:

• Search on the National Express website above for fare details, as these vary according to many factors, but Central London fares are:
• £8.50 single to Victoria on Terravision
• £14 return to Victoria on Terravision
• £10 single to Victoria on National Express
• £15 return to Victoria on National Express
• £6 single to Stratford on National Express

Pros:

• Opens up a number more direct destinations within London, and around. Of particular interest are:
  1. Cambridge
  2. Essex and the Home Counties
  3. Stratford for connections to the Jubilee and Central Lines, DLR and rail.
  4. Golders Green for connections to the Northern Line.
  5. Luton Airport
  6. Gatwick Airport (this does take a long time)
  7. Heathrow Airport (this does take a long time)
• Dedicated luggage storage.
• Reasonably priced option, particularly on longer distances.
• The Stratford route is relatively speedy.

Cons:

• Again, traffic.
• Also, for longer distances, they're not always the most comfortable.

Tips:
[list][*]The National Express website allows online booking of e-tickets.[*]You can buy a ticket at the National Express counter at Stansted, or on the bus (cash only on the bus).

Bus Links

There are some additional bus links around Stansted. See the Airport Web Pages for details.

Fares:

• Vary according to distance and operator.
• This is outside London, so no London tickets apply.

Pros:

• Cheaper than a taxi.

Cons:

• It can be difficult to know where to get off.
• Not good with a lot of luggage.

Tips:

• If you're not sure where to alight, don't be shy: ask the driver!
• Have some change ready. Many buses are exact fare only, and those that aren't tend not to take banknotes.

Will update with other airports, and inter-airport links when I get the chance. Comments, corrections, etc, all welcome in the meantime.