If you are coming to London by air and you are going to be seeing a show then 99 times out of 100 that means you are staying overnight. So the extra element to consider is the hotel. The easiest thing to do is buy the whole package from one place – flight, hotel, theatre tickets, insurance, entrance to attractions, pre-theatre meals. You can do it separately yourself but why not go online and book it all in one fell swoop!
Things to remember: There are five airports that service London: City, Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton and Stansted. City is the most central but Heathrow is the only one on the Underground network. From standing on the platform at Luton Airport Parkway you can be sitting in your theatre seat in 40 minutes – I’ve done it, but I wouldn’t recommend it! Stansted, like Luton is the landing strip of choice for the cheap airlines so, like Luton, and like all other airports in Europe receiving EasyRyanBaby flights, it is not actually in London! However the links are good, just don’t expect your journey to be over on touchdown.
The cheapest flights can arrive very early. If you are staying overnight, even if you spend half your morning getting to the hotel, you may not be allowed into your room for 3 more hours. You can pay for an early check-in but quite often this is equivalent to paying for an extra night! So we suggest having something planned for arrival. If your hotel has a pool why not head down there and sloosh away the trials of your trip before finding a local restaurant for lunch to really get into the weekend.
Of course you have just arrived in the greatest city on earth: most hotels will hold your luggage so you may want to explore, but there is always tomorrow!
Also beware: because check-in is from 2pm, if you plan to see a matinee that either means you are going to check-in and run like the clappers to the theatre or you are going to have to get into your room after the show: maybe an evening show might be a better bet on the first night of your break.
The mainline stations are St Pancras, Euston, Paddington, Waterloo, Charing Cross, Victoria, Liverpool Street and Kings Cross.
As you would expect all stations have excellent connections into Theatreland. The West End is right in the heart of London and every mainline station is within 20 minutes journey by underground, taxi or bus on a good day.
Just as with theatre tickets there is a bewildering range of train tickets available. Plan ahead and commit to a certain train and tickets can be very cheap. Pop in to town at the drop of a hat and you will be glad you read the chapter above about saving money on theatre tickets.
Look out for Advance purchase tickets and Apex Tickets as well as saver Returns and Cheap day returns.
From many stations on the UK mainland the cheapest tickets are those included in theatre and hotel packages to London or Theatre Breaks. The pricing system is not a straight discount on standard tickets but based on a series of zones splitting the country up. Consequently “the deal” is better from some stations than it is from others. For example at the time of writing (April 2012) it only costs an extra £15 to travel from York to London as it does from Peterborough to London. Not a Geography Major? Well take a look at google maps to see how much of a deal that is from York and how hard that is on the good citizens of Peterborough!
I know some may like me to point out that often you can get deals on theatre tickets when you buy your train tickets. Yes you can, but as I mentioned before under Ticket Prices there is no such thing as an exclusive theatre ticket deal: you can probably get deals on theatre tickets when you buy your detergent too!
Can I hold my hand up now and say, as much as I have travelled by bus: across islands and continents, to school and to work, with businessmen, snowboarders and chickens, I have never gone to the theatre by bus!?
After a show I like to be my own master. I like to have the choice of going for a drink or an explore. If I want to wander the streets and drink in the delicious atmosphere of London at night I am going to miss the bus, if I want to go home I want to get there as quickly as possible and the words “quickly” and “bus” do not go together: I get grumpy if I miss the fast train and have to catch the slow one.
There are companies that offer day trips and companies that offer overnight trips. The prices are great, the companies honest, the bus drivers friendly. Will I ever do it? No! But that is probably because I know my way round London and have people I can go to the theatre with.
Bus trips are great if you are unsure of London (which hopefully will not be the case after you have read this) or if you are a single traveler (which hopefully you will not be now that you can persuade your friends to come with all your new found knowledge).
Normally one day trips arrive early and people can do their own thing, have a meal prior to performance etc . It may not be your thing but, without pigeon-holing too much – well OK a lot – it is perfect for the more mature person living within a certain distance of London who wants to see something but has no-one to go with.
But do remember the journey home after the show. Whilst it can be quite a party atmosphere, with everyone keen to share their thoughts on the production you have just seen, it can add an hour or two to your night and staying overnight with one of these companies is not necessarily going to solve that issue as, to keep the price down, your hotel may be an hour’s bus ride away – not always, but it is worth checking.
It is very tempting to drive down to London. Your luggage in the boot, a space on the back seat for the shopping on the return journey. Whatever calculations you do, include the congestion charge and £35 per day parking charges. It may be less but best to be pleasantly surprised.
Evening parking charges are also being threatened so check before hand, nothing is worse than that moment when the car’s clock clicks over to 19:30 and you still haven’t found a parking space!
There is some good news though: look out for a deal between West End theatres and NCP that will allow you to get a 50% discount on evening parking if you show your ticket stubs. And driving in London is no worse than driving in any strange big city, or should that be no better? If you are a confident driver then you should be fine.
Hotels can arrange parking or point you in the direction of the nearest car park but even some of those hotels who used to have their own car parks have now handed them over to NCP type organisations to run as a separate concern. It is always best to talk to the Concierge about parking facilities prior to your arrival.
Many people driving in from the north of the country park at Brent Cross and then get the tube or bus in. That is quite a good idea and in many ways gets the best of all worlds.