Stansted Transfers to Central London

If you land at Stansted on your trip to London, here are the best ways to get to the city centre.

Vicky Del Moral

Vicky Del Moral

6 min read

Stansted Transfers to Central London

Aircraft landing | © Kevin Hackert

Stansted (STN) is one of London's major airports. It is 60 kilometres from the city centre, so city transport does not run here and you will need to take a train, bus or transfer to get between Stansted and London.

Best transfers between Stansted and central London

Stansted Airport Terminal| ©bjaglin
Stansted Airport Terminal| ©bjaglin

My recommendation is to hire a shared or private transfer to save time and money getting between London and Stansted. It's definitely the most convenient option of all, as it picks you up and takes you from door to door and operates 24 hours a day, every day of the week, adapting to any flight schedule.

Book a transfer from the airport to your hotel

Shared transfer between Stansted and London

Night traffic in London| ©Phil Dolby
Night traffic in London| ©Phil Dolby

I think this is the ideal option if you are travelling as a family, especially with young children, and if you are arriving tired after a flight of several hours. These vehicles carry a maximum of 15 passengers and the drivers speak Spanish and Portuguese, making it easy for you to communicate with them. They also take care of your luggage. Each passenger is only allowed one suitcase and one handbag.

The carpooling service between Stansted and London is the same there and back and takes approximately one hour, depending on traffic, with no more than 3 stops along the way.

To book your shared transfer back to Stansted from your hotel, simply provide the address of your accommodation and the time you would like to be picked up.

What is included in the Stansted to London shared car transfer?

  • Professional driver
  • Travel ticket on your mobile device
  • Transport by minivan or air-conditioned car
  • Transfer to your accommodation in central London/Stansted airport in a car shared with other travellers (maximum 15)

What is not included in the shared private car transfer service between Stansted and London?

  • Food and beverages
  • Gratuities
  • Excess baggage charges (if applicable)

Other details of interest on the transfer service between Stansted and London

  • You will receive immediate confirmation of your booking (cancellation is free of charge up to 24 hours in advance).
  • There is a 1 hour waiting time for disembarkation and baggage collection on European flights and 90 minutes for intercontinental flights from the time your flight lands.
  • Each traveller is allowed a maximum of 1 suitcase and 1 hand bag (oversized luggage may have certain restrictions)
  • Travel time is approximate and depends on time of day and traffic conditions.
  • Child seats available
  • Seating for up to 15 passengers

Book a transfer from the airport to your hotel

Private transfer between Stansted and London

Stansted Airport Terminal| ©Hugh Llewelyn
Stansted Airport Terminal| ©Hugh Llewelyn

If you would like to make your arrival in the British capital even more comfortable and quicker, you can book a private transfer between the airport and your hotel. With this option you will have a completely private vehicle for you and your group, so you will not have to share it with other travellers.

The private vehicle service lasts approximately one hour depending on traffic. But in this case, the great advantage is that, as the only passenger, you and your group will be dropped off directly at your accommodation without any prior stop.

In principle, the luggage rules are a little more flexible in this option, as the vehicle will be exclusively for you and your group, but please note that if the size of your luggage is bulky, you should make enquiries during the booking process to ensure that there will be enough space.

The private transfer back from your hotel to Stansted

The private transfer back to Stansted works in exactly the same way as the transfer to Stansted, but if I may offer a tip, when calculating the pick-up time from your hotel, allow plenty of time (especially if your flight departs at rush hour) to get to the airport on time. London traffic can be a bit chaotic at certain times of the day.

Book your transfer from your hotel to the airport

The Stansted Express train

Stansted Express Train| ©Joshua Brown
Stansted Express Train| ©Joshua Brown

Travelling by train between Stansted Airport and central London is possible. There is a train that runs directly to Liverpool Street with just one stop on the way at Tottenham Hale. This train departs from Stansted Airport's own rail line, the Stansted Express, in Terminal 2.

You can buy your Stansted Express ticket directly from there or book it online in advance and take any of the trains which run every 15 minutes non-stop from 4.30am to 11.30pm. The ticket costs around £19 one way and £32 return.

This is a good option to save you the hassle of traffic, but once you get to Liverpool Street or Tottenham Hale you will need to see what is the best combination of tube, bus or train to get to your accommodation from there.

Buses between Stansted and London

National Express bus| ©martin arrand
National Express bus| ©martin arrand

The cheapest option between Stansted Airport and central London is by bus. There are several private bus lines available: National Express, Terravision, Airport Bus Express and EasyBus, all stopping in central London. The big disadvantage is that the transfer can take longer as there are intermediate stops for the large volume of travellers using this service.

Easybus buses

  • Prices range from £2 to £10 (depending on how far in advance you buy it).
  • These buses run every 20 minutes, 24 hours a day, all year round.
  • The journey time is approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes.
  • Luggage is also limited to one suitcase per person and one carry-on bag.
  • Routes vary depending on the direction of the destination, one of which is the Baker Street A stop, opposite Baker Street tube station.

National Express Buses

  • You need to book a specific time to catch the bus.
  • Prices range from £8-£9 one way and £15-£16 if you buy a return ticket.
  • They do not have any baggage limits.
  • Their lines make many stops along the way, so the journey to the end point may be longer too.
  • Their different routes have different destinations (London Victoria and Liverpool Street, for example).

Terravision buses

  • Their destinations are London Victoria and Liverpool Street.
  • Theyhave no luggage restrictions.
  • You don't have to book a specific time, just an approximate time of use.
  • As for their timetables, they depart every 30 minutes.
  • Their prices do not depend on how far in advance you buy them, but they are cheaper if you buy your ticket online.

If you prefer a door-to-door option, the most economical is the shared transfer, which will drop you off at your hotel without having to spend a large budget on uber or taxi fares.

Book a shared transfer from the airport to your hotel

How to travel by Uber or taxi between London and Stansted

Typical London Taxi| ©Calgary Reviews
Typical London Taxi| ©Calgary Reviews

Travelling from Stansted to London in a VTC such as Uber is a very comfortable option as it takes you in your own vehicle which can be larger or smaller depending on the number of passengers and needs such as a baby seat or wheelchair friendly cars.

The average price of an Uber transfer between London and Stansted is £40 each way, 30% cheaper than normal taxis, so it's a good price if you're travelling in a group and you split your payment as you're not charged per person but per journey.

Transfers from other airports

It's possible that when you book your flight to London, you may have several options, as it's a city with four airports. If this is the case, don't worry, as the transfer services are very similar at all London airports. If you find this useful, you can check out our guides on how to travel from the different airports to central London and back.

Book an airport transfer to your hotel

Different options to move between Stansted and central London

Private transport| ©Luxury Train Club
Private transport| ©Luxury Train Club

As you can see, there are a number of ways to get between Stansted and central London, so I've put together this comparison table to give you at-a-glance information on prices and times for each option.

  • Shared or private transfer

  • From approx. 22 Euros

  • Duration: 1 hour

  • Destination: your hotel

  • Stansted Express Train

  • From 20 euros

  • Duration: 1 hour

  • Destination: Tottenham Hale or Liverpool St. Pancras.

  • Easybus bus

  • From 3 euros

  • Duration: 2 hours

  • Destination: London Victoria

  • Uber

  • From 45 euros

  • 1 hour

  • Destination: personalised