Anyone who has tried to herd two overtired children, three suitcases and a pushchair through a London station at 5am knows the truth. Getting to the airport is often harder than the flight itself. Stansted sits roughly 40 miles north east of central London, out in the Essex countryside, and that distance can feel enormous when you are travelling with little ones.
The good news? With a bit of planning, the journey can be smooth. Here is what actually works for families.
Know Your Options Before You Book Flights
Stansted is popular for a reason. Ryanair, easyJet and Jet2 all run huge schedules from there, and fares to Spain, Italy and Portugal are frequently cheaper than from Heathrow or Gatwick. But cheap flights often come with awkward departure times. A 6:40am departure to Alicante sounds lovely until you realise it means leaving Clapham at half past three in the morning.
Check the flight time before you commit. An 11am departure might cost £25 more per person but save you a night in an airport hotel and a great deal of family harmony.
The Stansted Express
The train from Liverpool Street takes around 47 minutes and runs every 15 to 30 minutes depending on the time of day. Children under 15 travel free with a paying adult on certain tickets, which is genuinely useful if you have a few of them.
The catch is getting to Liverpool Street in the first place. If you are in south west London, that is a tube journey with luggage, often involving stairs and escalators that are not designed for a family of five. Factor in 45 minutes minimum, and more if you are travelling during rush hour.
Coaches
National Express and Airport Bus Express run regular services from Victoria, Stratford and Golders Green. Prices start around £12 one way if you book early. Journey times vary wildly though. The M11 can be kind at 4am and brutal at 4pm. Allow at least two hours if you are travelling in daylight.
Driving Yourself
Parking at Stansted for a week will set you back anywhere from £70 in the mid stay car parks to well over £200 in short stay. Mid stay requires a shuttle bus, which is fine with a rucksack and less fine with a travel cot and a toddler who has just fallen asleep.
Why many families choose a private transfer
For groups of three or more, the maths often shifts. Four Stansted Express tickets plus tube fares can creep towards £80 before you have carried a single bag. A private car picks you up at your front door, at the time you choose, with no changes.
Booking Stansted Airport transfers in advance also means you can request child seats, which is something most parents only remember at 2am the night before. Reputable operators will have booster seats and rear facing seats available, but you need to ask when you book, not when the driver arrives.
The other advantage is luggage space. A standard London taxi struggles with two large cases plus hand luggage. An eight seater minibus does not.
Timing: The bit everyone gets wrong
Stansted recommends arriving two hours before a short haul flight and three hours for long haul. With children, add 30 minutes. Not because security takes longer, though it sometimes does, but because toilet stops, dropped teddies and lost boarding passes are inevitable.
A few timing notes worth knowing:
Security queues at Stansted peak between 4am and 7am, and again around 3pm
The M11 northbound snarls up badly between 7am and 9:30am on weekdays
Bag drop desks for budget airlines typically close 40 minutes before departure, and they are strict about it
Half term and the first week of the summer holidays are consistently the busiest periods
Packing and practicalities for the journey
Keep one small bag within reach containing snacks, wipes, a change of clothes and any medication. Not in the boot. Not in the overhead rack. On your lap.
Pushchairs can go right to the gate with most airlines, and Stansted has a dedicated buggy collection point on arrival. Worth confirming with your carrier though, since policies differ between Ryanair and easyJet.
If you are travelling very early, consider letting children sleep in comfortable clothes and simply carrying them to the car. Several parents swear by this. No getting dressed, no negotiation, no 4am meltdown.
Build slack into the plan. Flights are missed not because families leave too late but because they leave with no margin. An extra 45 minutes at the airport might mean a slightly longer wait by the gate, but it also means you are not sprinting through Terminal departures with a buggy and a screaming three year old.
Plan the route, book the transport early, pack the snacks. The holiday starts when you stop worrying about the journey.
Monica Costa founded London Mums in September 2006 after her son Diego’s birth together with a group of mothers who felt the need of meeting up regularly to share the challenges and joys of motherhood in metropolitan and multicultural London. London Mums is the FREE and independent peer support group for mums and mumpreneurs based in London https://www.londonmumsmagazine.com and you can connect on Twitter @londonmums
