Getting to Stansted at stupid o'clock next Tuesday

[thfc2001]

Need to get to Stansted airport for 5.20am next Tuesday and look like I will be relying on public transport.. getting to Victoria/Baker Street for a Megabus seems one option, or maybe a cab? Has anyone else done a similar journey of late?

Cheers for any advice - much appreciated!

[Sammo]

Cab - definately the easiest at that time of the morning.

[themaninblack]

Cab to Stratford and then National Express bus?

[thfc2001]

is stratford worth going to rather than the centre?

terrorzilla has also been mentioned... i fear cab would be a lot more moolah...

[Marmora Man]

Go by train the night before - bed down at 12.00 midnight on a bench and set your phone for a wake up. Stansted Express from Liverpool St is a reasonable price - certainly cheaper than cab.

[Jeremy]

That actually sounds quite reasonable. Spending 5 hrs in the airport overnight is no worse than getting up at 2am.

[Anna27]

cab is ?60 i think

flying to Madrid by any chance...;-)

[Guest]

Another way is taxi to Liverpool St (or failing that bus via Elephant & Castle) then Route Express (?) bus from outside Liverpool St to Stansted. The all-bus option should take a couple of hours at that time of day.

Though frankly if you're going to have to get up at 2.30am there doesn't seem much point going to bed so perhaps better to snooze in the airport as Marmora Man said.

[Medley]

Think I'd do it by getting bus to Eleph and then 100 to Liv St and then Terravision coach from Liv St to arr Stansted c. 11.45pm and then bed down.

Don't know how near the Oground you are but alternative would be that to Shoreditch, walk to Terravision coach.

Book the Terravision coach beforehand. They're run by crazy Italians but just as quick as Nat Exp coach and much cheaper.

Train an utter rip off and slow - although obv not troubled by traffic.

Imagine cost of cab to be pretty ruinous.

Agree about sleeping at airport, partic if you can take clothes/small blowup mattress/earplugs etc to make it more comfy

[thfc2001]

taxi for ?58 went for in the end... not too bad i've been hearing

not a big fan of bedding down... fairly large gentlemen tend to struggle sitting on airport seats, let alone sleeping in them.. and taking clothes with me would mean having to drag them all round madrid

*Anna27 - yes, madrid v spurs here I come!

[thfc2001]

taxi for ?58 went for in the end... not too bad a price from what I've been hearing

not a big fan of bedding down... fairly large gentlemen like meself tend to struggle sitting on airport seats, let alone sleeping in them.. and taking clothes with me would mean having to drag them all round madrid

*Anna27 - yes, madrid v spurs here I come!

[malumbu]

Too late to offer advice but would like to share my views in any case. Firstly that the Stansted Express isn't (an express sevice), and is a rip off. Unlike Gatwick, and to a lesser extent Heathrow, where there is plenty of reasonable competition for rail services (and undergound), you just have the one rail service calling itself an express but averaging under 60mph and using the same tracks as the stopping service (so can get caught up by slow trains). And then on bank hols and Sundays when many people fly they put on less trains.

So going back ten years, I have a less silly o'clock flight. Get to Liverpool Street at 4.50 with my very young daughter to catch the first train. Place is almost in the dark, no announcements or signs, and we and dejected passengers wait 40 minutes for the first train (5.00). So it leaves half an hour late, with twice the number on board, but trundles all the way to the airport. We miss our flights by five minutes, partially because the train is so croweded we can't get off quickly.

I complain to be told that we should have left earlier (this was the first train). I point out that there was no information and that if we had known, hang the expense, would have jumped into a black cab. After going to some passenger committee thing got some dosh off Stansted Express, but after that never again. Golden rules, don't fly Ryanair but if you do select a Luton departure. If flying budget always try and go from Gatwick.

I'll share my stories about Ryanair and Stansted airport another time.

Oh, some practical advice, splash out on a cheap B&B that will run you to the airport in the morning.

[JohnL]

I was on an Easyjet flight from Barcalona yseterday - The plane was leaking fluid on the ground at Barca (I don't know why and it was rather spooky) - new plane - we got in at 1:30 instead of 11:30 - no train, no tube.

Nat Express Bus to Victoria then Bus to ED - home at 3:30

It's possible, but just.

[JohnL]

Anna27 Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> cab is ?60 i think

>

> flying to Madrid by any chance...;-)

I went Stanstead - Barcelona - Madrid - Bernabeu - Barcelona - Stanstead.

Real End (well halfway line) - Fantastic (for a loss) - Fans do not need to be segregated if sensible - welcomed in Madrid - Spurs fans singing - 'We don't want to go home'

[thfc2001]

Got taxi in the end, ?58 but fairly quick (was fearing worst given the accident there the day before).. Came back to Stansted at 3am, not wanting to shell out for a taxi again I got a coach to Victoria (4am to 5.10) then bussed to Elephant and ED, got through front door at 6.15 - yikes long day... lucky was off work wednesday...

[thfc2001]

What a stadium! lovely warm weather as well, if a few Spurs fans had a bit too much to drink... Poor result but memorable day out... was in fourth row of away end, we could see small pockets of Spurs fans all over the Bernabeu - magic!

[Anna27]

my husband went stansted-porto-madrid for the 3 day trip

says he had a great time, he got into the away end as well

[jaybee82]

We fly to Sardinia at 6am in July and I've booked a Premier Inn not far from the airport for ?29. Obv car parking is on top, but book it early enough and its around ?50 for the week.