Getting to the airport is not usually your main concern when booking a holiday. The airline, hotel, dates and destination seem infinitely more important. However, your holiday should start the moment you leave home and close the door on 'normal life' for a week or so.
So getting to and from the airport should just be an extension of your holiday so this means a stress-free, quick and affordable journey. So what options do you have?
You could drive. This sometimes makes more sense for large families with lots of baggage. You can leave when you want to; no hanging around and you are transported from door-to-door. However, airport parking can be pricey. Take Gatwick Airport for example; long stay parking in the south terminal is around ?30 if booked in advance but up to ?60 if you just drive up and pay for seven days' parking.
You also have fuel costs to take into account; possibly a long drive, which on the return leg, is the last thing you want to do after a long flight and potentially a stressful journey of stop-and-go on the M25. So what other options do you have?
The train is another possibility. All of London's airports are served by train and the service tends to be pretty punctual and straightforward. However, it can be rather pricey, especially if you are travelling as a family. Return fares on the Stansted Express for instance are over ?26 per adult and more than ?13 per child, so for a typical family of four, you're looking at paying almost ?80.
Add to this the hassle of getting all of your luggage to a central London station and waiting around on a cold platform at some un-Godly hour of the day and the train is looking less and less attractive. But don't rule public transport out just yet.
Bus or coach is now becoming a more realistic choice. There are usually several pick-up locations dotted across the capital so there is no need to get to Liverpool Street or Paddington and therefore no need to worry about transporting heavy bags across London on public transport.
A good example is easyBus because not only does it offer a variety of pick-up points to Luton, Stansted and Gatwick, it also has single fares from a very affordable ?2 and the service runs every 15 to 20 minutes.
This article is written by Milissa Brusser and inspired by easyBus, the leading low cost airport transfers bus and coach service for all airline travellers. At easybus.co.uk you can buy tickets to and from London Gatwick for just ?2 online.
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