London travel questions (Luton airport and tube)

[NeverTalksToStrangers2]

I'm flying into and out of Luton airport next month for a weekend. 2 adults, 2 kids.

Is the train easiest to get into the city?
If I prebook train tickets but our flight is delayed, what happens?! It's not cheap (roughly £60-£100 return (big difference in price on some trains) without a rail card, which I may get but it's not massively worth my while as I live in NI).

Is the train likely to be any/much more expensive on the day?

The last time we were in London my kids were able to use the tube for free. They are now 14 and 12. What is our easiest way to pay for them on the tube? We're only staying 2 nights so a prepaid railcard might not be worth it?

Thanks in advance!

the train is the Thameslink which goes to St Pancras / Farringdon / London Bridge. you can change to London underground at any of those.

you can't do it on oyster card so you need to book separate train tickets. Make sure you book to/from Luton Airport (not Luton Airport Parkway) because there is a little shuttle train from Luton Airport Parkway to Luton Airport and they will charge you an extra £5 or so if your regular train ticket doesn't go all the way.

if you get a flexible ticket rather than a fixed-train ticket, then you have flexibility for the plane being late etc. normally doesn't cost more if you book a bit in advance.

if you are on a budget and your destination is in North London, there are also several coaches that go from Luton to Golders Green / Finchley Road. I never bother to book in advance for them, just buy a ticket for the next bus in the arrivals hall.

kids over 11 need to pay for the tube. you can get them a young person's Oyster card (called Zip card) and then they will get half fares. but for 2 days, it might not be worth it. you can just pay with a debit card (a different card for each person) as they walk through the ticket gates.

Thanks!

On Thameslink it it is very expensive going in rush hour which in the morning on the way in is any train that arrives before 10am. For Thameslink you can go on any train, there's no booking Going the other way avoid 16.30-19.01. You won't be able to use a railcard on rush hour services

There are also East Midlands trains that go the Luton which you may have to stick with your booking. You might need travel insurance for that I guess?

National express might be worth a look

Our flight doesn't arrive until 10, so we are fine that way. Return is after 2pm, so ok also.

This makes sense as I was seeing east midlands ones that said I had to stick to the time. Will look up Thameslink.

National express bus to finchley road will be quick at late evening
Where is destination in london ?

I'm not travelling in the evening. We're staying in the Hackney Premier inn (partly because 2 of us have arsenal tickets (like actual gold dust) and I thought if the tubes were mental it would be walkable from Emirates.

That's another question... Are the tubes going to be crazy around the stadium?

We're arriving at 10am on a Saturday morning before Christmas... I expect traffic to be awful so a bus is maybe out?!

Put it in google directions

Google maps hackney premier inn direc tions ftom luton airport
It suggests thameslink to west hampstead then chznge to overground to dalston kingsland
Hackney is not on tube

Use google maps app and directions to or from
https://maps.app.goo.gl/bD7tXrcLN8cp9oNcA

There is no tube nearby it is overground so change west hampstead

Last time I travelled from Luton, an Uber to Cockfosters ( end of Piccadilly tube line) worked out about the same as 2 adult rail tickets. It might be worth checking cab fares if there are 4 of you travelling.

Ah. Didn't clock that Dalston wasn't a tube station. Is that going to be trickier? Hmm. Could switch hotels.

Don't use East Midlands trains. Thameslink is much more flexible. It's a commuter line so trains are every fifteen minutes and don't need booking in advance. You just buy a ticket (that includes the Dart shuttle train) at the machines at the airport. Saturdays are super off peak, so not expensive tickets at all.

I live on the Thameslink line and use Luton Airport regularly. Flew in last week in fact. It's really easy since the Dart opened. When you land, just follow the signs to onward travel. The machines are there, as are the counters for National Express coaches.

Just a note to check for rail strikes. There are some happening over the next month (but im not surr which lines are affected)

Book flexible tickets (ie if you don't get on X train you can got on A, B, C train). I've not booked a Thameslink for a while but I'm sure they have these. Or book an open return so you can travel anytime on the return day.

Yes all the Tube stations around the Emirates will be mega busy (Holloway is the closest but also Finsbury Park, Highbury & Islington, Arsenal and Caledonian Road will be busy). Same for buses and yes traffic will be heavy. Ideally you'd want to be able to walk.

There is a Premier Inn at Angel. That would be perfect. And Angel is a very central area.

The tube stations do get v busy around the Emirates so walking would be sensible. Not sure on how busy that is on match days.
The route of changing to the Overground at West Hampstead to Dalston is the best one but you will have to change stations from the Thameslink to the Overground. It's only a few minutes walk.
As an alternative hotel, there is a Premier Inn right by Archway Station which is half an hour walk from the stadium. To get there from airport, you could get a Thameslink to Kentish Town then a 134 bus would take you to Archway (tube isn't stopping due to escalator works) or train into St Pancras then Northern Line to Archway.

Angel is fully booked. I could move to the premier inn at Hammersmith though, which could get me onto the Picadilly line further away from the stadium?! Would that help?

Overground is similar to the tube, but just overground. It connects a various points to the tube, but for your purpose it connects to Thameslink at West Hampstead. Pretty straightforward.

I want to go to st Pancras. We won't have much luggage (just taking backpacks). My boys both need new trainers so want to go to Nike outlet store near there before going to hotel. We obviously can't buy too much due to luggage though (contemplating posting stuff home, lol).

I'm confident on the tube. My hubby not so much. As there are only two of us going to the match (my other son is a man city supporter) we'll be split up for a bit and I want it to be as simple as possible for him to get about without me.

We're also going to Winter wonderland and back to the future... My kids know nothing about this btw.

I've been trying for arsenal tickets for over a year. had entered several ballots for different matches and they told me about all the ones I had failed but didn't tell me I had got this one so the first I knew about it was an email confirming my ticket purchase.

Dalston is a great location for what you’re planning - the 30 bus from outside Kings Cross/St Pancras will drop you right outside the Premier Inn. The walk to Emirates is fine - you could also go 2 stops on the Overground to Highbury & Islington and walk up from there. Have fun - well done getting tickets!

The East Midlands service from Luton Airport Parkway to St Pancras is the fastest and nicest train. It's been rebranded the Luton Airport Express and is now significantly cheaper than Thameslink. Thameslink offers flexibility though. Whichever you choose, if you book from Luton Airport to St Pancras then your ticket will include the DART link from the airport to Luton Airport Parkway.

If you're taking a domestic flight then you walk straight through the airport from the furthest possible gates as they're set up to avoid passport control. It takes about 10 minutes to get from the plane out to the front of the airport. Add another 15 minutes to get the DART and onto the right platform at Luton Airport Parkway (platform 1 for Thameslink, platform 3 for East Midlands).

If you happen to know anyone from Luton, residents get half price DART tickets. If you do, it will probably work out cheaper to pay for the train and DART separately.

I'd get the DC pre-paid debit cards for the Tube. Make sure they're contactless. They can spend anything they don't use on transport at the airport.

Another spanner in the works for the trains is that they often plan engineering works over Christmas so if you're going home on Christmas Eve that might also be a consideration.