On this page (6 sections)
Getting between the airports
If your trip means moving between Stansted and one of the other London airports, the National Express coach is the answer for almost everyone. It runs direct services to Heathrow, Gatwick and Luton, so you stay on one vehicle with your luggage and avoid dragging cases across London. There is no direct train between any pair of these airports, because they sit on different lines, so every rail route goes through London with at least one change.
The coach is direct but exposed to road traffic, mainly the M25, so the journey times are long and vary with the day. The exception is Gatwick, where the direct coach runs the long way round via Heathrow and takes about three hours, and the train through London is often quicker. Whichever you choose, the thing that catches people out is not the route but the time: a connection between two flights, especially on separate tickets, needs far more of a buffer than the travel time alone, covered at the end of this page.
Each route at a glance
The direct coach for each airport, with the rail alternative through London.
| To | Coach time | Coach from | Coach frequency | Rail alternative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heathrow | About 1 hr 30 | £23.50 | Roughly hourly | Liverpool Street, then Elizabeth Line |
| Gatwick | About 3 hr (via Heathrow) | £27.50 | Every 2 hours | Via London, about 2 hr 15 |
| Luton | About 1 hr 35 | £18.10 | Every 2 hours | Via London, then Thameslink |
Coach times and fares are National Express figures and move with demand; frequencies are from the airport. Road times swing with M25 traffic, so treat them as typical, not guaranteed, and check the live time and price for your date.
Stansted to Heathrow
The National Express direct coach is the easy answer, running roughly hourly, taking about 1h30 at its fastest and costing from £23.50 one-way. There are up to nine services a day, with the last leaving Stansted around 19:25, so it is a daytime option rather than a late-night one. The coach drops at Heathrow Central for Terminals 2 and 3, with most services continuing to Terminal 5.
There is no direct train. The rail route means taking the Stansted Express to Liverpool Street, then the Elizabeth Line straight on to Heathrow, a single change and a broadly similar total time once you add it up. The coach wins for keeping your luggage with you and avoiding the changes; rail can win if Liverpool Street suits your start and the roads are busy. For a tight connection or a group, a taxi is the door-to-door option at a higher fare.
Stansted to Gatwick
This is the awkward connection. The direct National Express coach runs every two hours from around £27.50, but it takes about 2h55 to 3h20 because it goes the long way round via Heathrow, adding some 40 miles to the shortest distance. For a single vehicle with your bags it still has its place, but it is a long ride.
The train through London is often quicker, at roughly 2 hours 15. The airport's own routing is the Stansted Express to Liverpool Street, across London to Victoria by Underground, then the Gatwick Express south to Gatwick, which takes 30 minutes on the last leg. An alternative is to change onto a Thameslink service through central London that runs to Gatwick directly. Either rail route means changes and separate fares, so weigh the time saved against the hassle. With heavy luggage and time to spare, the direct coach is simpler; in a hurry, the train usually wins.
Stansted to Luton
The National Express direct coach runs every two hours, takes about 1h35 at its fastest and costs from around £18.10 one-way, the cheapest of the three airport links. There are up to eight services a day, and unlike the Heathrow route some run overnight, with a first coach from Stansted around 01:00, which suits an early Luton departure.
By rail the trip goes through London and onto a Thameslink train to Luton Airport Parkway, then the short shuttle to the Luton terminal, which means several changes and is rarely worth it over the direct coach. For most journeys between the two airports, the coach is the straightforward choice. A taxi is again the door-to-door fallback for a group or a very tight connection.
Connecting flights: time to allow
If you are flying into one London airport and out of another, the travel time between them is only part of the picture, and underestimating the rest is how people miss flights. On separate tickets, allow at least 3 to 4 hours between landing at the first airport and your departure from the second, and more during busy periods.
That window has to cover a lot: clearing the aircraft, immigration if you are arriving from abroad, collecting your checked bags, the journey between the airports, then checking in again and clearing security at the second airport. Pack hand luggage only if you possibly can, because it removes baggage reclaim and recheck from both ends and cuts the risk of a delayed bag. Check in online for your second flight before you leave the first airport. And remember the hard truth of separate tickets: if a delayed coach or train makes you miss the second flight, the airlines owe you nothing, so the buffer is your only protection. For the wider set of options to and from Stansted itself, see the Stansted to London hub.