Broadstairs to Stansted airport transfer, with Luton and London City: two river crossings compared

Crossing the Thames at Dartford

After the Thanet Way and the M2, cars bound for Stansted and Luton cross the river at the Dartford Crossing. The crossing is charged between 6am and 10pm every day of the year, including weekends and bank holidays; outside those hours there is no charge.

Tolls on the journey are one of the few things that can be added to the fixed fare, where they apply. Traffic is not: a long queue at the crossing does not change what you pay.

Broadstairs to Stansted airport transfer: the M11 leg

North of the river the car picks up the M11 for Stansted. The typical time from a Broadstairs address is 1 hour 55 minutes to 2 hours 20 minutes, similar to Gatwick.

At the airport the car sets you down in the Express Set Down area right outside departures, where the allowed stop is short, so have coats on and bags ready to lift out. Coming home, collections are made from the Short Stay car parks: your driver meets you inside the terminal with a name board first and walks you to the car.

Luton: the longest of the five runs

Luton has the longest typical time from Broadstairs, 2 hours 5 minutes to 2 hours 35 minutes, also by way of the Dartford Crossing. If the same trip is offered from more than one airport, weigh that extra time against the flight times and prices.

Drop-off and pick-up at Luton both use the Drop Off and Pick Up Zone, a short walk from the terminal, where vehicles can stay up to 30 minutes. The zone is barrier-free and cashless, so the car drives in, you unload and you walk across to check-in.

London City: the shortest drive, through the Blackwall Tunnel

London City is the closest of the five to Broadstairs, typically 1 hour 35 minutes to 1 hour 55 minutes. The car follows the A2 into south-east London and takes the Blackwall Tunnel under the Thames to the airport side of the river.

Transport for London charges for the Blackwall and Silvertown tunnels in both directions. Peak rates apply on weekdays from 06:00 to 10:00 northbound and 16:00 to 19:00 southbound, and nothing is charged between 22:00 and 06:00. As with Dartford, the toll can be added to the fare where it applies.

The drop-off zone at London City allows a maximum stay of 10 minutes, so be ready to get out as soon as the car stops.

Stansted, Luton or London City: the three side by side

If you have a choice of airport, here is how the three compare from a CT10 address:

• London City: 1h 35m – 1h 55m, via the A2 and the Blackwall Tunnel; the tunnel is free from 22:00 to 06:00.
• Stansted: 1h 55m – 2h 20m, via the Dartford Crossing and the M11; the crossing is charged from 6am to 10pm.
• Luton: 2h 5m – 2h 35m, via the Dartford Crossing; the same crossing hours apply.
• All three: the M2 and M25 often lose lanes overnight for roadworks, and a Friday afternoon can add 30 to 45 minutes on the M25.

Early starts from Broadstairs

For an early flight the sum is simple: take the airline's bag-drop deadline, subtract the top of the typical range and then half an hour more. For a 06:00 bag drop at Luton, that puts the pickup just before 03:00; for the same deadline at Stansted, about 03:10.

There is no surcharge for the hour, and a car that crosses at Dartford before 6am meets no crossing charge at all. The fixed fare you saw when you booked is the fare you pay, whatever time the alarm goes off.

Where the car meets you in CT10

Wherever you live in Broadstairs, the booking works the same way: enter the address and the fixed fare for it appears. In the old town, where Harbour Street passes through the York Gate, we agree a meeting point the car can reach. In St Peter's, Reading Street, Dumpton, Northwood and Westwood a pickup at the door is usual, and in Kingsgate a house name helps the driver in the dark.

If you would rather walk out to the car, Westwood Cross works well: it sits on the A256, the road the car takes out of town anyway.

Home again: collections at all three airports

Give us the inbound flight number and we watch it land. The driver arrives for the real landing time, not the timetable, and waits in arrivals with a name board. You have 45 minutes from touchdown at no charge after an international flight and 30 minutes after a domestic one; after that the standard waiting rate applies. If the flight is delayed for reasons outside your control, the wait costs nothing extra.