How to travel to London in 2022
Have you been lured in by the bright lights and sights of England’s capital? With so much to see and do for all ages and at all times of day, it’s easy to see why lots of people visit London on a regular basis. The city received some 21 million visits in 2021, the last pre-Covid year.
At the same time, London is famous for its busyness – and getting in and around the city isn’t always easy. Unless you live centrally, your three main options are car, train and plane – and each have their pros and cons.
Read up on your options below to help you plan easy and affordable trips to the capital.
By car
London is easy to reach on the UK’s road network, with several major motorways and A-roads going in or around the city. Once you’re there though, driving can be a frustrating and expensive experience – especially at peak times.
As well as battling traffic and busy roads, you’ll need to pay congestion charges throughout large parts of the day midweek and on weekends. You’ll also need to drive an efficient car or pay daily charges to drive in certain areas marked as Low or Ultra Low Emission Zones.
Parking is also hard to come by the more central you go, so you might be best steering clear of driving unless you’re travelling to somewhere on the outskirts – like a hotel or airport.
By train
For many, travelling into London by train is a far easier and more relaxing way to go. The city has several major train stations that are visitor attractions in themselves, and you can sit back and snooze, eat or use Wi-Fi on the way.
If you can, booking in advance will get you the best seats at the best prices. It’s worth researching the train times to London as prices can vary heavily throughout the day. Travelling outside of peak times – early in the morning and around 4-6 in the afternoon midweek – will help you avoid the crowds too.
If you can’t, be prepared to pay higher prices and travel on busier carriages.
By plane
Depending on where you live, it could be most economical to fly to one of London’s six major airports. You could take off and touch down in well under an hour – but there are some important points to bear in mind.
One is that, while your flight itself might be speedy, you’ll still need to factor in time for travelling to and from airports and passing through security checks.
Perhaps more importantly, it’s becoming widely accepted that we all need to start flying less wherever possible. A recent study found that we should aim to take no more than one short-haul flight every three years – so flying to London could be seen as overindulgent.
Which option suits your plans and priorities best?
