To St Pancras International · One way · 2 adults · All service hoursPrices are whole-party totals. Times are recorded journey durations; no walking or waiting has been added.
All prices are totals for 2 adults. Group fares included.
How do I get from London Luton airport to London city center?
For one traveler the cheapest way is the National Express coach at from £7, 60–90 min; the fastest is the Luton Airport Express at £17.20, 32–40 min. Every option below is priced as a total for your party and says where it leaves you.
4 listed options
Prices marked "from" are starting prices set by the operator.
Lowest listed totalshuttle
National Express coach
shuttle · National Express
60–90 min rideRuns all night
Stands R and S at the airport bus station→Victoria Coach Station on the A1 and A31
24-hour serviceLuggage space
from £14total for 2 adultsfrom £7 each2 × £7 adult fare, at leastBuy ticketOn National Express
Hours, tickets & luggage
"From just £7 one-way" from the airport, limited availability, including a £1.50 booking fee waived with an account. The return-direction page quotes "from £13.20" instead. A 33 per cent discount for four or more, code GRPAPT33, applies to singles on the A1 and A2 only.
Luggage. One large suitcase (or two medium) and one soft hand bag per person, in the hold.
Adult single £15.00, child (5 to 16) £10.00, one under-three free per paying adult. An adult 2-trip mobile ticket costs £16.00 for two journeys within three months — a pound more than two singles. A Family 2-trip is £35.00 for up to five people with at most two adults.
Luggage. A coach with a hold; the operator does not publish a luggage allowance.
Luton DART from the terminal to Luton Airport Parkway→St Pancras International
Luggage space
£34.40total for 2 adults£17.20 each2 × £17.20 adult fareBuy ticketOn East Midlands Railway and Luton DART
Hours, tickets & luggage
The same two purchases as Thameslink: £12.30 by contactless (£16.60 between 06:30 and 09:30 on a weekday), plus the £4.90 DART — no separate Express fare exists on contactless. The operator also sells Advance tickets "from £10 one-way or £20 return, includes the Luton DART transfer", booked to "Luton Airport" up to 12 weeks ahead and tied to one train.
Luggage. Up to three items each — two large and one small — in the vestibules and overhead racks, on the operator's rule.
Luton DART from the terminal to Luton Airport Parkway→St Pancras International
24-hour serviceLuggage space
£34.40total for 2 adults£17.20 each2 × £17.20 adult fareBuy ticketOn Thameslink and Luton DART
Hours, tickets & luggage
Two purchases: £12.30 by contactless at Luton Airport Parkway (£16.60 between 06:30 and 09:30 on a weekday; otherwise off-peak), plus the £4.90 Luton DART single at its machine or online. £12.30 applies to St Pancras, Farringdon, City Thameslink, Blackfriars and London Bridge alike; Oyster is not accepted. A through ticket to "Luton Airport" includes the DART and is the only way to get a Railcard, GroupSave or Kids-for-£2 discount, but those need a paper fare that is not published, so they are not priced here.
Luggage. Racks by the doors and overhead; the DART is built for suitcases.
The options are still here — your budget or journey-time filter is drawn tighter than any of them. Widen either one, or reset the filters, to bring them back.
Road journey times vary with traffic. Prices and availability should be confirmed with the operator.
Going somewhere specific?
"The center" is not one place, and the answer changes
Every coach and bus into London leaves from the bus station directly outside the terminal's front entrance. National Express uses stands R and S there; the Green Line 757 uses stop K.
The taxi rank
The taxi rank is just beyond Bus Bay A, close to the terminal — follow the signs for the taxi rank once you're through arrivals. There's no need to pre-book: join the line and a marshal sends you to the next licensed cab.
Uber and Bolt
Uber and Bolt both operate at Luton. Neither names one fixed meeting point: watch for the rideshare pickup signs after arrivals, then follow the exact spot the app shows once a driver is assigned.
Before you travel
Where each one starts, how long it runs, what it carries
regional · Thameslink and Luton DARTThameslink, via the Luton DART
From
Luton DART from the terminal to Luton Airport Parkway, four minutes; the trains leave from the main-line platforms
To
St Pancras International, then Farringdon, City Thameslink, Blackfriars and London Bridge
Luggage
Racks by the doors and overhead; the DART is built for suitcases.
Runs
All night
Journey
32–55 min
Two purchases: £12.30 by contactless at Luton Airport Parkway (£16.60 between 06:30 and 09:30 on a weekday; otherwise off-peak), plus the £4.90 Luton DART single at its machine or online. £12.30 applies to St Pancras, Farringdon, City Thameslink, Blackfriars and London Bridge alike; Oyster is not accepted. A through ticket to "Luton Airport" includes the DART and is the only way to get a Railcard, GroupSave or Kids-for-£2 discount, but those need a paper fare that is not published, so they are not priced here.
The £4.90 is easy to pay twice or forget once. Touching in at Parkway does not cover the DART; a ticket to "Luton" does not either; only a ticket to "Luton Airport" has it inside. Buy it before you reach the barrier at the terminal.
Overnight it is a reduced service, and only St Pancras and Blackfriars are served through the night — Farringdon's last train is 00:26, City Thameslink's 22:58. The overnight interval is not published, so check the day you land.
The journey time is the DART plus 24 to 45 minutes on the train; the airport gives 41 minutes to Farringdon, 43 to City Thameslink, 46 to Blackfriars and 49 to London Bridge before the DART.
A contactless card pays for one person. Every traveler needs their own card or device, children pay the adult rate at the reader, and no discount can be applied to a tap.
GroupSave takes a third off for three to nine adults off-peak, including the DART on a through ticket, but only on a paper Off-Peak ticket whose price is not published. Kids for £2 and the 25 per cent Duo Off-Peak Return are the same shape.
St Pancras has no step-free access to or from the Thameslink platforms from 15 June to mid-September 2026, on the operator's notice.
train · East Midlands Railway and Luton DARTLuton Airport Express, via the Luton DART
From
Luton DART from the terminal to Luton Airport Parkway, four minutes, then a platform change
To
St Pancras International, non-stop, and nowhere else
Luggage
Up to three items each — two large and one small — in the vestibules and overhead racks, on the operator's rule.
Journey
32–40 min
The same two purchases as Thameslink: £12.30 by contactless (£16.60 between 06:30 and 09:30 on a weekday), plus the £4.90 DART — no separate Express fare exists on contactless. The operator also sells Advance tickets "from £10 one-way or £20 return, includes the Luton DART transfer", booked to "Luton Airport" up to 12 weeks ahead and tied to one train.
The first departure is not stated here: the operator says the first train from Luton Airport Parkway leaves "just after 05:30" on weekdays without printing the minute. The last trains it does print: 23:25 Monday to Friday, 22:28 Saturday, 21:58 Sunday.
On Sundays there is no Express before 12:28 from the airport (12:14 from St Pancras). A Sunday-morning landing is a Thameslink or a coach.
It saves a few minutes over Thameslink, not the fare: 22 minutes non-stop against 24 to 45, for the same £12.30 on a contactless card. It only goes to St Pancras; for Farringdon, the City or London Bridge the stopping train is direct and the Express is not.
The operator's Advance ticket "from £10" must be used on the train booked; miss it and you buy again. Railcards apply; GroupSave does not — East Midlands Railway is not in the scheme.
The 32 minutes is the operator's own figure and includes the DART and the change at Parkway; the train alone is 21 to 22 minutes.
Stands R and S at the airport bus station, in front of the terminal exit
To
Victoria Coach Station on the A1 and A31; Paddington on the A2; all three via Baker Street and Marble Arch
Luggage
One large suitcase (or two medium) and one soft hand bag per person, in the hold.
Runs
All night
Journey
60–90 min
"From just £7 one-way" from the airport, limited availability, including a £1.50 booking fee waived with an account. The return-direction page quotes "from £13.20" instead. A 33 per cent discount for four or more, code GRPAPT33, applies to singles on the A1 and A2 only.
First coach from the airport is 00:10 (Victoria 01:37), last is 23:35 (Victoria 01:00), running around the clock with up to 49 a day; the airport also says every 30 minutes overnight. Nothing is timetabled to the minute for the small hours, so check the day you land.
Sixty to ninety minutes to Victoria on the operator's own estimate; its "fastest journey of just 40 minutes" is to Golders Green, at the top of the Northern line, not to the center.
Three routes, three sets of stops. The A31 is described as calling only at Baker Street, Marble Arch and Victoria, though it may also stop at Finchley Road & Frognal and St John's Wood; the A2 ends at Paddington rather than Victoria except overnight, when it serves both. The group discount does not apply to the A31.
A Standard ticket boards any similar coach within three hours either side of the one booked; Change & Go, £5 each way, widens that to twelve hours. Every ticket has a guaranteed seat.
The airport and the operator disagree about how many A1s and A2s run each day — 13 and 31 against 43 and 16 — so neither figure is repeated here.
Stop K at the airport bus station, outside the terminal
To
Victoria via Brent Cross, Finchley Road, Lord's, Baker Street, Marble Arch and Hyde Park Corner
Luggage
A coach with a hold; the operator does not publish a luggage allowance.
Runs
All night
Journey
77–95 min
Adult single £15.00, child (5 to 16) £10.00, one under-three free per paying adult. An adult 2-trip mobile ticket costs £16.00 for two journeys within three months — a pound more than two singles. A Family 2-trip is £35.00 for up to five people with at most two adults.
The fare is eight months old. It is the operator's own figure and Arriva has not published anything more recent; treat £15 as the last published price rather than a promise.
Since 2 November 2025 the operator runs it around the clock: every 30 minutes by day, every 20 at the busiest times, hourly overnight, and the 755 number is gone — everything is a 757. The airport says the same.
It is the slowest way in: about 1 h 17 to Baker Street and 1 h 30 to Victoria on the operator's own schedules, against 32 minutes to St Pancras by train.
A mobile single is valid for two hours once activated, so activate it at the stop, not at baggage reclaim.
Not valid on 25 and 26 December or 1 January, on the operator's own terms.
What is the cheapest way from London Luton airport to London city center?
For one traveler, the National Express coach at from £7. Per-person fares multiply with the size of your party and per-vehicle fares do not, so check the total for your group rather than the single fare.
How do I get from London Luton airport to London city center by train?
For one traveler the cheapest train is the Luton Airport Express at £17.20, 32–40 min, and it is also the fastest. It is not the cheapest way in: the National Express coach at from £7 is. See every option by train →
How do I get from London Luton airport to London city center by bus?
For one traveler the cheapest bus is the National Express coach at from £7, 60–90 min, and it is also the fastest. For one traveler that is the cheapest way into London by any means. The fastest way overall is the Luton Airport Express, 32–40 min. See every option by bus →
How long does it take to get from London Luton airport to London city center?
National Express coach: 60–90 min. Green Line 757 coach: 77–95 min. Luton Airport Express, via the Luton DART: 32–40 min. Thameslink, via the Luton DART: 32–55 min. London Luton Airport is 51 km from central London, by road.
How far is London Luton airport from the city center?
51 km to central London, by road; the airport's own "42 km" is measured to the railway from St Pancras to Luton Airport Parkway — "26 miles (42 km)" on the airport's rail page — a station 2.3 km short of the terminal, not to the center. The fastest way in takes 32–40 min; the cheapest, the National Express coach, 60–90 min.
Is there Uber or Bolt at London Luton airport?
Uber and Bolt both operate at Luton. Neither names one fixed meeting point: watch for the rideshare pickup signs after arrivals, then follow the exact spot the app shows once a driver is assigned.
Where do I catch the National Express coach at London Luton airport?
Stands R and S at the airport bus station, in front of the terminal exit. Follow the signs from arrivals. It leaves you at Victoria Coach Station on the A1 and A31; Paddington on the A2; all three via Baker Street and Marble Arch.
Worth knowing
The station is not at the airport. Every train stops at Luton Airport Parkway, 2.3 km away; the last leg is the Luton DART, a four-minute shuttle with its own £4.90 adult fare (£2.45 child, under-fives free). You can walk instead: about a mile, a steep hill, around half an hour.
Tapping in does not pay for the DART. Contactless works at Luton Airport Parkway (Oyster does not): £12.30 off-peak or £16.60 in the weekday morning peak to St Pancras, Farringdon, City Thameslink, Blackfriars or London Bridge. The DART is a separate purchase, at its machines or online, making the walk-up total £17.20. Only a ticket bought to "Luton Airport" — not "Luton Airport Parkway" or "Luton" — includes it.
The Luton Airport Express costs the same as the stopping train if you tap: £12.30 on contactless, whether the 22-minute Express or the 24-to-45-minute Thameslink. The Express advertises "from £10" and the airport quotes Thameslink "from £6.50" — both Advance fares booked ahead, and the £6.50 excludes the DART.
Thameslink runs through the night to St Pancras and Blackfriars on a reduced service; the DART runs 24 hours; National Express runs every 30 minutes overnight and the Green Line 757 hourly. Only the Luton Airport Express stops: last train 23:25 Monday to Friday, 22:28 Saturday, 21:58 Sunday, and none at all before 12:28 on Sunday mornings.
Taxis are metered, not flat-fare: £4.60 for the first 300 metres, then 20p every 36 metres for about a kilometre, then 20p every 140 metres, plus 20p per 40 seconds waiting. A £7 pick-up-zone charge and any congestion charge can be added to the meter.
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