Luton Airport is connected to central London and Luton by public transport.
Bus to London
Buses are the cheapest and fastest transport to some parts of London. Compared to the train, they run directly from the terminal to the centre without the need to change trains.
There are two companies that run to the airport: National Express and Terravision (the buses are often in Greenline colours). Both companies run 24 hours a day, 2-3 times an hour during the day and about once an hour at night.
According to the timetable, the journey to the centre takes about 100 minutes, and to the nearest tube station, Brent Cross or Golders Green, about an hour. At peak times, delays of up to 30 minutes should be expected due to heavy traffic.
Ideally, buy tickets online for the lowest price; in the event of flight delays, the following services can also be used.
- National Express (buy tickets: nationalexpress.com): flat price 11 gbp / return from 17,60 gbp, stops - Golders Green, Finchley Road, St. John's Wood / Zoo, Baker Street, Paddington, Marble Arch, Victoria Station
- Terravision (buy ticket: terravision.eu): flat price 11,50 gbp / return from 18 gbp, stops - Bricket Wood, Brent Cross, Finchley Road, Baker Street, Marble Arch, Victoria Station
Ticket prices are flat and it doesn't matter how far in advance you buy your ticket.
- Travel time to the city centre: 100-120 minutes
- Frequency: 30 to 60 minutes on each line
- Fares: from 11 gbp
- Buy a bus ticket - terravision.eu or nationalexpress.com
Trains to London
The train is the fastest service to central London, even though the station isn't right next to the terminal. Luton Airport Parkway station is reached by an automatic DART train every 4 minutes (total journey time from the terminal to the station is less than 4 minutes).
Buy your train ticket online via Trainline.com to the airport (choose Luton Airport by DART). This ticket includes travel on the DART automatic train.
The cheapest 'Advanced Single' tickets start at amounts from 7,60 gbp, but you must book at least 2-3 weeks in advance and use the service at the specific time.
"Anytime Day Single" tickets using any train on any given day cost 22,40 gbp.
The trains themselves then run at irregular intervals of 8 to 20 minutes for 24 hours. For timetables and ticket prices, visit Trainline.com. In central London, the train stops at St Pancras or Blackfriars station, for example, see the map below.
Total train journey time to Blackfriars station in central London is 55-65 minutes.
- Journey time to the centre: 65 minutes
- Frequency: 8 to 20 minutes, the DART shuttle train from the airport to the station runs once every 4 minutes
- Fares: 22,40 gbp for any service, special fares from 7,60 gbp (specific service)
- Buy train tickets - thetrainline.com
To Gatwick Airport
The fastest connection is a direct train (timetable and ticket purchase: trainline.com) from Luton Parkway station, where the DART automated train runs free from the terminal.
In total, the train journey takes around 2 hours and costs around 20 gbp to 32 gbp depending on your particular ticket choice.
To Heathrow and Stansted
National Express buses provide direct services to these airports from Luton, ticket bookings and timetables are available at nationalexpress.com.
- Heathrow: buses depart approximately once an hour to reach their destinations within 80-100 minutes. Prices start at 16 gbp.
- Stansted: Buses run approximately once every 1-2 hours, take an hour and a half and cost from 17,10 gbp.
Bus to Luton
From the airport you can of course also get to the town it is named after. Luton city centre is connected to the terminal by the A bus service every 15 minutes or 30 minutes at night. It runs 24 hours a day. You can buy a ticket from the driver at 2 gbp, where you can pay with a contactless card or via the Arriva mobile app (available on: Google Play / App Store).
You can also buy a day ticket for 4,70 gbp.
The timetable can be found at arriva.co.uk.
To Oxford and other cities
There is a National Express bus service to Oxford directly from Luton Airport around 6-7 times a day. The journey takes over 2 hours and costs from 19 gbp.
Milton Keynes, Northampton, Coventry, Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Leicester, Nottingham, Manchester, Sheffield and more.
It is always best to buy your tickets online in advance.
Car Hire
Want to set off straight from Luton Airport to explore the English countryside? A car will definitely be the best choice to drive around the small villages or natural attractions of England.
Prices in high season are around 44 eur per day.
