Travel

Travel

Getting to London

Plane

London has 6 international airports (London City, Gatwick, Heathrow, Stansted, Southend and Luton) — serving over 300 international destinations. London City Airport is located 5 minutes from ExCeL London, offering 350 flights a day to over 40 destinations.

Travel times from airports to ExCeL London:

  • London City Airport 5 minutes (car or taxi); 15 minutes by DLR
  • Gatwick 1 hour 15 minutes (car or taxi); 1 hour (public transport)
  • Stansted 1 hour (car or taxi); 1 hour 10 minutes (public transport)
  • Heathrow 1 hour 20 minutes (car or taxi); 1 hour 30 minutes (public transport)
  • Southend 1 hour (car or taxi); 1 hour 25 minutes (public transport)
  • Luton 1 hour 20 minutes (car or taxi); 1 hour 40 minutes (public transport)

Train

London is connected by rail to all major cities in Great Britain, with frequent services to all corners of the country. Rail services in the UK are run by a set of private train operating companies. Your point of departure will determine the best service to take and at what station your train will arrive into London.

Rail tickets can be booked via National Rail or Trainline — tickets are usually released 12 weeks from date of travel and booking early can save you money!

Getting around London

Contactless and Oyster cards vs Travelcards

Contactless and Oyster cards are the cheapest way to pay for a single journey on the London transport network. This includes travelling on the bus, Tube, tram, DLR, London Overground, most TfL Rail, Emirates Air Line, Thames Clippers River Bus, and most National Rail services in London.

You can use a bank card that shows the contactless payment symbol or mobile payments with devices such as phones, watches, key fobs or wristbands. An Oyster card itself takes the form of a plastic smartcard, instead of a paper ticket. To ensure you pay the correct fare, you must always tap in on the yellow card reader at the start of your journey and tap out at the end. If you don’t, the maximum fare will be charged. For more information visit contactless.tfl.gov.uk

Alternatively, you may wish to purchase a Travelcard, which lets you travel as often as you like on bus, Tube, tram, DLR, London Overground and National Rail services in London. You can purchase a one-day or seven-day travelcard, issued as a paper ticket. For more information visit https://londonpass.com/en-us/london-transport.

Apps

The most reliable app for getting around London is the TfL Go app (containing live maps, public transport schedules, live travel times, walking and cycling routes etc.), which you can download for Android or iOS from https://tfl.gov.uk/maps_/tfl-go.

DLR (Docklands Light Railway)

The Docklands Light Railway (known as the DLR) is part of the London Underground network. Two of the stations, Custom House and Prince Regent, are on our campus. Trains pull up at a covered walkway leaving visitors with less than a two minute’s walk to the entrance.

Check your event listing for the entrance for your event. Alight at Custom House for the west entrance and Prince Regent for the east entrance and ICC London.

London Underground

The Jubilee Line and the DLR are the quickest routes to ExCeL London. 

Alight at Canning Town on the Jubilee Line and change onto a Beckton-bound DLR train for the quick two-stop journey to ExCeL: Custom House for ExCeL (for the west entrance) or Prince Regent for ExCeL (for the east entrance or the ICC London). ExCeL is approximately 20-minutes walking distance away from Canning Town underground station.

Elizabeth line

The new Elizabeth line provides Direct links for national travel: Farringdon (for Thameslink services), Paddington (for Reading, Oxford, and the South West) and Liverpool Street (for Stanstead and the east of England) with faster journey times across London. This line also provides better connections for international visitors, including a 43-minute direct connection from Heathrow to ExCeL (Custom House station).

London Overground

The London Overground, part of the London Underground network, serves a large part of Greater London and parts of Hertfordshire with 112 stations on several routes. The Overground is highlighted in Orange on the Tube map.

The DLR and Jubilee Line can be connected from multiple Overground lines such as Stratford, Canada Water, and Shadwell. It’s also possible to join the Overground and travel to ExCeL London from Euston station. 

River bus

The Uber Boat by Thames Clippers currently serves all major London piers, from Putney to Woolwich, including Greenwich, Canary Wharf, Tower and London Bridge, Embankment and London Eye. This is the fastest and most frequent boat fleet on the river with departures every 20 minutes. The nearest pier is Royal Wharf Pier, a 20-minute walk to ExCeL’s west entrance or use what3words ///luxury.grand.value. Contactless and oyster cards can be used when travelling on the river bus. You can also download the Thames Clippers or Uber app to purchase tickets. For more information visit www.thamesclippers.com

Emirates Air Line Cable Car

The Emirates Air Line Cable Car connects ExCeL London to The O2 and North Greenwich station. The journey takes under 10 minutes and a cabin takes flight every 30 seconds. The cable car station is located at the west of the venue, a 5-minute walk from ExCeL’s west entrance or use what3words ///luxury.grand.value. Contactless, oyster cards and travelcards can be used when travelling on the cable car. For more information visit tfl.gov.uk/emiratesairline

Taxis

ExCeL London has two onsite taxi ranks, located just outside the west and east entrances to the venue. If you are travelling from the west to ExCeL, please use postcode E16 1XL or what3words ///luxury.grand.value. If you are travelling from the east to ExCeL, please use postcode E16 1FR or what3words ///spoken.leader.makes.

Cycling

Explore London using the Superhighways or Quietways on your own bike or hire a Santander Cycle for as little as £2 – there are plenty of docking stations across London. We are very close to the Cycle Superhighway route CS3 which runs from Barking to Lancaster Gate in Central London, and we have 60 cycle racks to park your bike free-of-charge. You can also take your bike on the Emirates Air Line Cable Car or on the DLR at off-peak times. For more information visit tfl.gov.uk/modes/cycling/

Walking

Walking is a great way to discover the local area and can be the fastest way of travelling between stations.

ExCeL is approximately 20-minutes walking distance from Canning Town underground station and you can download the walking route map from ExCel London here. 

Driving and onsite parking at ExCel London

ExCeL London offers 3,070 onsite parking spaces, with 2,000 spaces located directly beneath the venue. There are three car parks on campus; the orange car park underneath the venue, the east car park (when in use) and the Royal Victoria multi-storey car park on Seagull Lane.

We are using what3words to help you find the right car park on the ExCeL estate. Download the what3words app or go to the website www.what3words.com, and enter the three word address (///word.word.word) as shown below.

  • Orange car park ///expect.likes.eager
  • East car park ///spoken.leader.makes
  • Royal Victoria car park ///output.rooms.drive

All onsite parking is pay and display, and costs £20 for up to 24 hours. Parking can be booked in advance at www.excel.london or payment can be made at pay and display machines in the car parks. 

For more information about getting to ExCel London, take a look at the venue’s travel page.

Suggestion: As participants are busy with AAMAS sessions during the day, they may be interested in visiting London’s (mostly free) museums in the evening, as listed here, or one of the many other attractions London has to offer.