London Travel Guide for Corporate Travellers

One of the coolest and modern cities in the world with rich history and great tradition, London is also a leading financial district.

If you are visiting London or travelling through the city for business purpose, our special guide will help you to explore the city in a better manner. You will also get few suggestions on what you can do in your free time.

Here is the list we've created as a business travel guide offering handy tips and advice to make your business travel convenient.

Be little choosy about the airport

London city boasts five main airports namely Heathrow, Stansted, Gatwick, City and Luton. Choose the airport that is close to your accommodation. Heathrow, which is the busiest airport, is situated in the West, Stansted in the North East, Gatwick in the South and Luton in the North West. So it’s important to know the exact place you will be staying and which will be the nearest airport from there. If you have option to choose, you will surely save lot of travelling time, making life on road hassle free.

Look for good accommodation option

Look for some comfortable accommodation option if your accommodation budget is fairly good. It’s better not to stay at an airport hotel in case you are staying for few days in the city otherwise you will be secluded from rest of the places in London.

If you don’t want to spend much, stay at affordable serviced apartments which offer excellent accommodation option just like any luxury hotel but at cheaper rates. Most of the services are included in the rent and there is nothing to pay extra.

There are lot many serviced apartments in the popular neighbourhood like Old Street, Shoreditch, Hoxton, Islington and Canary Wharf. If you are looking for luxuries of 5 star hotels, stay at thesqua.re service apartments, offering good deals for business travellers. A good price on long and short term stays; the apartments are also well-connected with public transportation, making it easy for you to go around.

Onward Travel

After reaching at the airport, you can choose from a comprehensive range of rail and road transportation options that will take you to your desired destination. Heathrow airport is just twenty miles away from the central London. So you can board Heathrow Express which goes from Terminals 1–3. It’s fastest way to reach the location and will reach Paddington Station in only fifteen minutes. If you get down at terminal 4 and 5, you can still board the same rail, which will take only few minutes extra. The trip will just cost you £21.50 if purchased in advance and £26.50 if bought on board.

You’ll have access to free Wi-Fi, electrical sockets and USB ports in the rail. So you can utilize it throughout your journey.

Another option is the Heathrow Connect service which is little cheaper i.e. £10.10 as compared to rail. It runs as frequent as after every 30 minutes. Due to several stops and halts, it takes little extra time to reach Paddington Station.

If you plan to travel by road, the National Express offers good value for money. It will take you straight to London Victoria Coach Station for just £6.00 from Heathrow’s Central Bus Station.

The drawback of using road transport is that to reach central London from the airport there is lot of traffic and congestion that can make your journey little tedious and time consuming.

Getting around the city

Taking taxis will add up to your expenses quickly, so choose tube to get around the city. Buy pay-as-you-go oyster card and take London’s underground system tube to travel. A single ride starts at $2.60. If you are staying for few days it’s better to get a smart card that will cost you ($9.90) for a day and a week pass at ($49.50). You will get the refund of £5 after you return the card. For top ups, you can recharge the card from any tube stations and swipe it to use it for boarding train.

If you are travelling around a lot and very frequently using Oyster Card then there’s a capped daily spend which can actually save a lot of money.

You might feel little uncomfortable travelling in tube during peak hours and warm weather. So be prepared for it but still it the best way to travel.

If you are travelling during the rush hour (morning 7.30 to 9.30 and 4.40pm to 6.30pm evening) by taxi, you will find it very hectic and tiring due to heavy traffic. Sometimes traffic is also due to ongoing road works and accidents.

Still if you want to hire a cab from Heathrow it will cost you between £50 and £80, depending on how bad the jam is.

Things to do in and around the city

During your business trip to London if you are left with some free time, make sure you tour the city and visit some of the popular attractions. Do visit the theatres in the city which are very popular among Londoners.

If you love to stroll, there are plenty of walks happening some or the other day, where you can get along with likeminded people and make good friends.

Look for best places to dine and wine in when dining alone. If you want to get along with new people there are many professional groups you can join for interesting talks, networking and other business-centric events. Also, you can join casual groups for dining events and informal networking.

Whether you’re looking for the best places to stay, the UK City wonders to behold or the top tours in and around London to experience, this all purpose UK travel guide, will answer all your questions.

Note:This article (and photos) was submitted by one of our contributors.