Heathrow Airport
Getting between Heathrow Airport and London, both directions. Pick your terminal below: what serves LHR differs by terminal.
Heathrow and London City sit inside the zones your contactless or Oyster card already covers, and London City is the only one of the six with no airport premium on top. Gatwick, Luton, Stansted and Southend lie beyond the zone edge on National Rail, where the operator you board sets the fare, sells its own discounts, and runs its own caps or none at all. The daily limit on what your card can be charged in town does not necessarily reach that far.
The best ways into London
Public transport
- Piccadilly line (London Underground) CheapestSimplest
- Costs
- from £5.50
- Takes
- About 55 minutes to the centre
- Pay
- Pay by contactless, Oyster card, Travelcard or paper ticket.
- National Express coach
- Costs
- from £9.50
- Takes
- About 40 minutes to the centre
- Pay
- Pay by app ticket or paper ticket.
- Elizabeth line
- Costs
- £13.90
- Takes
- About 45 minutes to the centre
- Pay
- Pay by contactless, Oyster card, Travelcard or paper ticket.
- Heathrow Express Fastest
- Costs
- £26.00
- Takes
- About 15 minutes to the centre
- Pay
- Pay by contactless, Oyster card, e-ticket or paper ticket.
Taxis and ride apps
- Black cab heathrow.com
- Takes
- About 60 minutes to the centre
- Pay
- Pay by contactless.
- Get one
- Take one from the taxi rank, book it by phone or in the app or hail one in the street. The pickup point is below.
- Pickup
- Designated taxi rank directly outside each terminal building.
- Uber uber.com
- Takes
- About 60 minutes to the centre
- Pay
- Pay by in-app payment.
- Get one
- Book it in the app or online. The pickup point is below.
- Pickup
- Not at a fixed point: the app shows where to meet the driver once you book.
- Bolt bolt.eu
- Takes
- About 60 minutes to the centre
- Pay
- Pay by in-app payment.
- Get one
- Book it in the app.
- FreeNow free-now.com
- Takes
- About 60 minutes to the centre
- Pay
- Pay by in-app payment, cash or card.
- Get one
- Book it in the app. The pickup point is below.
- Pickup
- Freenow states dedicated in-app walking directions from arrivals to the driver at airports it is present in ('there'll be dedicated walking directions in the app to help you find your driver').
Every way in and out, in full
Train 2
- How you pay
- Pay by contactless, Oyster card, Travelcard or paper ticket.
- Terminals
- Individual stations at T2/3, T4, and T5.
- Worth knowing
- £13.90 Heathrow to central London Zone 1.
Serves this terminal directly. Board at Terminal 2 Elizabeth line station.
Serves this terminal directly. Board at Terminal 3 Elizabeth line station.
Serves this terminal directly. Board at Terminal 4 Elizabeth line station.
Serves this terminal directly. Board at Terminal 5 Elizabeth line station.
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- How you pay
- Pay by contactless, Oyster card, e-ticket or paper ticket.
- Terminals
- Heathrow Express has two physical stations: Heathrow Central (serving Terminals 2 and 3, reached via a short inter-terminal walkway) and Terminal 5 (its own station).
- Worth knowing
- Premium airport express, priced outside TfL zonal fares: single £26.00, same-day return £30.00, return £42.00; Business First single £32.00.
Serves this terminal directly. Board at Heathrow Central station (short walkway to T2/3).
Serves this terminal directly. Board at Heathrow Central station (short walkway to T2/3).
Reachable from this terminal on the free inter-terminal shuttle. Board at Heathrow Central station, then free connecting shuttle bus. About 8 minutes on foot from this terminal.
Serves this terminal directly. Board at Terminal 5 station (dedicated).
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Metro 1
- How you pay
- Pay by contactless, Oyster card, Travelcard or paper ticket.
- Terminals
- Three direct stations - Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3, Terminal 4, and Terminal 5 - each served without transfer.
- Worth knowing
- From £5.50 to central London.
Serves this terminal directly. Board at Terminal 2 Piccadilly line station.
Serves this terminal directly. Board at Terminal 3 Piccadilly line station.
Serves this terminal directly. Board at Terminal 4 Piccadilly line station.
Serves this terminal directly. Board at Terminal 5 Piccadilly line station.
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Bus & coach 1
- How you pay
- Pay by app ticket or paper ticket. No contactless. No Oyster card. Operator ticket.
- Terminals
- Direct stops outside Terminal 4 and Terminal 5; also at Heathrow's Central Bus Station, a short walk from Terminals 2 and 3.
- Worth knowing
- From £9.50 one-way including a £1.50 booking fee (fee waived for logged-in My Account bookings).
Serves this terminal directly. Board at Stop outside Terminal 4.
Serves this terminal directly. Board at Stop outside Terminal 5.
Serves this terminal directly. Board at Heathrow Central Bus Station (short walk to T2).
Serves this terminal directly. Board at Heathrow Central Bus Station (short walk to T3).
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Taxi & ride apps 6
- How you pay
- Pay by contactless. Card guaranteed.
- How you get one
- Take one from the taxi rank, book it by phone or in the app or hail one in the street. The pickup point is below.
- Where to get one
- Designated taxi rank directly outside each terminal building.
- Terminals
- T2, T3, T4, T5 - each terminal has its own rank
Serves this terminal directly. Board at Taxi rank outside Terminal 2.
Serves this terminal directly. Board at Taxi rank outside Terminal 3.
Serves this terminal directly. Board at Taxi rank outside Terminal 4.
Serves this terminal directly. Board at Taxi rank outside Terminal 5.
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- How you pay
- Pay by in-app payment.
- How you get one
- Book it in the app or online. The pickup point is below.
- Where to get one
- Not at a fixed point: the app shows where to meet the driver once you book.
Serves this terminal directly. Board at Terminal 2 Uber pickup point.
Serves this terminal directly. Board at Terminal 3 Uber pickup point.
Serves this terminal directly. Board at Terminal 4 Uber pickup point.
Serves this terminal directly. Board at Terminal 5 Uber pickup point.
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- How you pay
- Pay by in-app payment. No cash.
- How you get one
- Book it in the app.
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- How you pay
- Pay by in-app payment, cash or card.
- How you get one
- Book it in the app. The pickup point is below.
- Where to get one
- Freenow states dedicated in-app walking directions from arrivals to the driver at airports it is present in ('there'll be dedicated walking directions in the app to help you find your driver').
- Worth knowing
- Freenow confirms airport pickup fees exist and are built into the quoted fare: Freenow also offers a fixed fare specifically from central London to Heathrow.
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- How you pay
- Pay by in-app payment. No cash.
- How you get one
- Book it in the app.
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- How you pay
- Pay by in-app payment or cash.
- How you get one
- Book it in the app or online.
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Other airports for London
- Cheapest
- National Express coach · from £6.00 · ~105 min
- By
- Train, Coach, Taxi and Ride apps
- Fastest
- Train · ~30 min
- Cheapest
- National Express airport coaches A6/A8/A9 · from £5.00
- By
- Train, Coach, Taxi and Ride apps
- Fastest by public transport
- Train · ~48 min
- Cheapest
- Thameslink · from £6.50 · ~24 min
- By
- Train, Coach, Taxi and Ride apps
- Fastest by public transport
- Train · ~4 min
- Cheapest
- DLR (London City Airport station) · ~25 min
- By
- Tube, Taxi and Ride apps
- Fastest by public transport
- Tube · ~25 min
- Cheapest
- Greater Anglia · from £13.40 · ~55 min
- By
- Train, Taxi and Ride apps
- Fastest by public transport
- Train · ~55 min
Paying on the rest of the network: London guide · Contactless in London