Flights to London and London Transport Information  

London Airports - London has 3 main airports, Heathrow (15 miles from London), Gatwick (28 miles from London) and Stanstead (38 miles form London), each well linked by rail and bus services into the centre of London.
Heathrow now has 5 terminals, each large enough to match many smaller airports. To travel from Heathrow it is best to use the Heathrow Express train service which takes only 15 minutes to Paddington station (but allow 30 if it is critical you arrive on time).The train runs between 5am and 11pm only. Heathrow is in zone 6 for travelcard purposes, and is the only one of the three airports for which you can use a travelcard. A taxi would take an hour for the same journey but may be your choice if you arrive after 11pm.
Gatwick airport has two terminals, north and south. The Gatwick express train service runs between 5am and a little after midnight. The journey time to Victoria station is 30 minutes. There is also a bus service running between 5am and 21:30pm which takes 90 minutes. A taxi takes 70 minutes ( as a rough guide allow a £1 per minute for taxi fare). Taxis are metered and you will be able to see the fare on the display in the cab - the cost depends heavily on the traffic congestion at the time of your journey.
Stanstead has a single terminal and is mainly used for domestic flights or flights from Europe. The Stanstead express train takes 45 minutes to reach Liverpool St station. It runs between 6:30 am and just after midnight. There is a coach service to Victoria coach station which takes 100 minutes.
Travelcards are usually the most economical way to travel in London, but do check first if your hotel has complimentary transport. A multi-day travelcard is the best buy and for even better savings buy the London Pass with travel which gives free entry to attractions and free travel in zones 1-6. You also save a lot of time waiting in queues! If you wish to use the pass to travel from Heathrow airport to London you need to buy it in advance and have it delivered to your home address. If you choose collection you have to travel into the centre of London to collect it.
You buy a travelcard for a specified number of consecutive days. On those days you can travel for free, after 9:30 am, in the zones you have chosen. The 6 day pass actually gives you seven days travel and can be used at any time of day. The centre of London is zone 1 and the further out you are the higher the zone number.
Oyster card may be better if you plan to travel on non-consecutive days. The guarantee is that you will not pay more than the cost of a day travelcard providing you remember to follow all the rules for using the card. If you forget to swipe out at the correct points this can be an expensive option. You pre-load the card with a travel credit and continue to use it until your credit is running low. You can add more credit at any main station but don't plan on being able to do so at the smaller unmanned stations.  

London Transport Information from the Airport from London is very easy. With 10 railway stations sometimes the main problem is deciding which you want to get to.
Paddington - links to Heathrow,
Victoria - links to Gatwick, nearest to Buckingham palace, close to Victoria coach station
Liverpool St - links to Stanstead, trains to eastern counties
Euston - trains to north
Waterloo
Charing Cross
Kings Cross - Eurostar
London Bridge - links to Sussex
Marylebone - links to Chiltern line

Approximate Rail Travel Times from London to the major cities are
Manchester 3 hours from Euston,
Birmingham 2 hours from Euston,
Liverpool 3 hours from Euston,
Glasgow 6 hours from Kings Cross or Euston,
Stratford upon Avon,Avon 2 hours from Marylebone or 3 hours from Euston
Windsor,Berkshire 35 mins from Paddington,
Brighton, Sussex 1 hour from London Bridge or Victoria,
Newquay, Cornwall 5 hours from Paddington,
Plymouth, Devon 3.5 hours from Paddington,
Chester, Cheshire 2 hours from Euston,
York, Yorkshire 2 hours from Kings Cross.

Internal Flights -Internal flights within England are mainly used by business travellers. There are a few bargains to be found especially as addons to your main fare. Flybe and Jet2 have very good price special offers. Some operators to check are

Flights to England from some example cities
Amsterdam 1 hr 15 mins $229
Paris 1 hr 15 mins $215
Brussels 1 hr 15 mins $200
Rome 3 hrs $320
New York 7.5 hrs $865
Montreal 10 hrs via New York $836
Flight durations and costs are from Vayama which caters for US and Canadian residents. If you are from another country try Thomas Cook or Thomsonfly

Hotels Near London Airport When you first arrive in England especially after a long flight it is more comfortable to stay the night in a hotel. It is also safer than driving immediately on arrival, especially as you must remember to drive on the left hand side of the road. Last minute offer a good range of hotel choices - if you are planning to visit an event then try Superbreak as they do combined offers to hotel and tickets.

English Currency - the currency in England is the £ (pound sterling). It is very easy to change euros or dollars to pounds in any travel agent or bank. You can also change money at the airport on arrival.

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