How to get around?

Atavan-Halen

Hey there, so I'm planning to go to London for the day and will be flying into either gatwick or heathrow. I mainly want to ramble around Oxford street, Hyde park and maybe Piccadilly circus. What's the best and preferably cheapest way to get from either airport to Oxford st and how long does it take? Also any other things I can do that will fit into a day?

Thanks!

Jack B. Badd

Gatwick & Heathrow both have trains running from them into the city & from there you can easily hop on the tube. You can get the tube directly from Heathrow & it'll probably be the cheapest option but my preference would be for the train - check out http://www.heathrowairport.com/transport-and-directions/getting-into-london & http://www.gatwickairport.com/transport/to-london/
For general transport links, see the journey planner on http://www.tfl.gov.uk/.

hytrogen

Two options: either buy a day pass which work on all tubes buses trains.
The other option if you're not sure you'll use the public network too much is to get yourself an oyster card. They cost about £5 plus whatever you top it up by and give you a cheaper rate on all London transport than paying cash for each journey. Usually £10 is loads for using in just one zone so if you're here for just a day that would be a good option. It's what the Leaf card back in Dublin is based on & is really effective on all transport links.

Fysh

If you want a "minimum amount of changes" option, you could use the Picadilly line to get from Heathrow to Picadilly Circus, then change to the Bakerloo Line and go one stop to Oxford Circus.

The easiest way to do this and allow for any additional travel would be to get a Zone 1-6 Day Travelcard at a cost of £15.80. You could use an Oyster Card as an alternative, and the price cap for your day's travel would work out at £15.80 as well. See here for pricing details, and here for Tube maps.

It's worth noting that using the Tube to get to/from the airport will take about an hour or more each way. If you decide to use one of the train services (eg Heathrow Connect (~25 mins, every 30 mins)/Express (~15 mins, every 15 mins)) you'll get there faster but you'll pay accordingly.

djpbarry

atavan-halen wrote: »

Hey there, so I'm planning to go to London for the day and will be flying into either gatwick or heathrow. I mainly want to ramble around Oxford street, Hyde park and maybe Piccadilly circus. What's the best and preferably cheapest way to get from either airport to Oxford st and how long does it take? Also any other things I can do that will fit into a day?

Fly into Heathrow, get on the tube and you'll be in Central London (Piccadilly Circus) in about an hour.

I would question why you're planning on only spending one day here though?

djpbarry

Fysh wrote: »

It's worth noting that using the Tube to get to/from the airport will take about an hour or more each way. If you decide to use one of the train services (eg Heathrow Connect (~25 mins, every 30 mins)/Express (~15 mins, every 15 mins)) you'll get there faster but you'll pay accordingly.

And the train only leaves you at Paddington.

Atavan-Halen

djpbarry wrote: »

atavan-halen wrote: »

Hey there, so I'm planning to go to London for the day and will be flying into either gatwick or heathrow. I mainly want to ramble around Oxford street, Hyde park and maybe Piccadilly circus. What's the best and preferably cheapest way to get from either airport to Oxford st and how long does it take? Also any other things I can do that will fit into a day?

Fly into Heathrow, get on the tube and you'll be in Central London in about an hour.

I would question why you're planning on only spending one day here though?

I booked my flights today so will be flying into gatwick instead as it was a bit cheaper.

I see there's theres the gatwick express which takes about half an hour to Victoria and is £27 return and then google maps tells me it's about a 30 min walk to Oxford street from there. Is this about right?

Only spending one day as I've neer been to london but always wanted to go. I can't get the time off work anytime soon to stay for a few days so just want to to a little bit of sightseeing and shopping.

Be well and win

If you fly into Gatwick, Gatwick express return ticket will cost you £20-£30. It's a nice walk from Victoria up to Oxford street or 2-3 stops on the tube. You'd go from the airport to Oxford Circus in a hour. Local trains will be slower but cheaper

Oxford street is nothing to write home about, very busy and lots of tacky shops. Some good shopping streets off it and John Lewis is great, brilliant shop

djpbarry

atavan-halen wrote: »

I booked my flights today so will be flying into gatwick instead as it was a bit cheaper.

I see there's theres the gatwick express which takes about half an hour to Victoria and is £27 return and then google maps tells me it's about a 30 min walk to Oxford street from there. Is this about right?

Don't get the express - just get a regular train. It's cheaper and only takes about 5 minutes longer.

And book in advance:

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk