To get to Cambridge, you will have to fly into one of London's several airports. Most flights
from the US will arrive in Heathrow (LHR) or Gatwick (LGW). Flights from Europe will arrive
in either of these airports or Stansted (STN) or Luton (LTN). However, none of these airports
are in immediate proximity to Cambridge. The two common potential modes of travel from
airport to Cambridge (or vice versa) are coach (bus) and train. With each of their respective
student cards, coaches offer a slightly cheaper price and the station is closer to town; trains offer
more comfort and (once you get to the rail station) a shorter ride. You may also opt to take a taxi,
though it will probably be rather expensive. For more information about coach and train, see the
Section 6.2 above. Information is given below for travel to the airports from Cambridge, but
instructions also apply for the reverse trip (from the airports to Cambridge).
- Heathrow - (http://www.baa.co.uk/main/airports/heathrow/)
Train: The first step is to take the train from the Cambridge to London King's Cross/
London Liverpool Street. This will cost about £23 return (1/3 less with rail cards) and take
45 to 90 minutes (depending on the number of stops the train is scheduled to make). From
King's Cross, you can take the Piccadilly Line of the Underground all the way out directly to
Heathrow. This will cost about £4 and take approximately 1-1.5 hours from King's Cross to
Heathrow. From Liverpool Street Station, you can take the Circle, Hammersmith and City or
Metropolitan lines to Kings Cross, then perform the route as mentioned above. Note that
there are two Underground stops for Heathrow: Terminal 4 and Terminals 1, 2, & 3.
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However the Terminal 4 stop is closed until September 2006, and the route to it is replaced
by a bus. Thus, it is important to know out of which terminal your airline flies. Instead of
taking the tube all the way to Heathrow, you can also take the Heathrow Express from
Paddington Station, which is on the Hammersmith & City Underground line, approximately
15 minutes from King's Cross by Underground. This train costs £13.00 one-way and takes
15 minutes from Paddington to Heathrow. Learn more at http://www.heathrowexpress.com/.
Coach: You can also take a bus directly from the Cambridge coach station (on Drummer
Street) to Heathrow. This will cost £30.50 round-trip or £24 one-way (or £24 and £19.00
respectively with a Coachcard) and take 2.5 to 3 hours, depending on traffic. The service is
run by National Express (see Section 6.3 below for more details) and tickets can be
purchased ahead of time online or at the office on Drummer St.
Though the train/Underground route is the fastest and can be the cheapest option, it can be a very
difficult trip to manage with several bags, as you have to get on and off a train and travel on one
or more Underground trains. The main advantage of the coach is that it is a lot less hassle - the
coach station is more convenient than the train station in Cambridge, and you won't have to lug
your bags across King's Cross and the underground. Then, if you are convinced that coach is the
way to go, you should consider getting an NX2 travelcard/Coachcard. - Gatwick - (http://www.baa.co.uk/main/airports/gatwick/ )
Train: Unlike Heathrow, you cannot take the Underground directly to Gatwick Airport.
However, you can take the Gatwick Express from Victoria Station (which is on the Victoria,
Circle, and District Underground lines) in London. This train costs £13.00 one-way and
takes 30 minutes from Victoria. Learn more at http://www.gatwickexpress.com/. A cheaper
option is a slightly slower train (35 minutes) operated by Southern Trains for £9.00 one way.
Coach: As with Heathrow, you can take a coach from Cambridge (the buses stop on
Drummer Street) to Gatwick. This service, again offered by National Express, costs £34
round-trip or £28 one-way (or £27 and £22.00 respectively with a Coachcard) and takes 3.5
to 4.5 hours. - Stansted - (http://www.baa.co.uk/main/airports/stansted/ )
Train: Though it is labeled a London airport, Stansted is well outside of the city; the airport
is nearly halfway between London and Cambridge. You can take a train from Cambridge
directly into Stansted Airport for a price of £7 each way, taking 30 to 70 minutes. (If you
want to head into London instead of Cambridge, you can take the Stansted Express. This
train takes 45 minutes and costs about £15 one-way. For more information, see http://www.stanstedexpress.com/.)
Coach: National Express runs many coaches daily between Cambridge and Stansted. The
journey takes 45 to 60 minutes and costs about £11 round-trip or about £9 one-way (or £9
and £7 respectively with a Coachcard). Though this option is generally slower than the train,
the coaches run later into the night than do the trains, so you might find that you have no
choice but to take the coach. Again, the coach stop in Cambridge will also put you in a more
convenient location than the rail station will. You should consider beforehand, so that you
might save money by purchasing a round trip ticket with one service.
33 - Luton (http://www.london-luton.co.uk/ ) -
Like Stansted, Luton Airport is outside of London and approximately halfway between
Cambridge and London, but it is less trafficked than any of the three airports discussed
already. Train and coach options similar to those discussed above are available for travel to
and from Luton.