London Stansted Airport to Cambridge
Cambridge is about 50 km north of Stansted. Direct CrossCountry and Greater Anglia trains take about 30–40 minutes, with advance fares from £8. National Express coaches reach Parkside in about 45 minutes from £9.80.
Stansted is Cambridge's nearest large airport, and the two are linked by a direct train that takes about half an hour. It is one of the easier airport transfers in England. There are two catches: contactless is not the way to pay, and the railway station is a fair walk from the colleges. Here is how to get it right, and when the coach to Parkside is the better choice.
How far is Cambridge from London Stansted Airport?
Cambridge is 50 km (31 miles) from London Stansted Airport by road, about 30 min by car outside rush hour. In a straight line it is 36 km. By public transport, CrossCountry / Greater Anglia takes about 30 min and costs £8.
Every way to get there
Our verdict: CrossCountry / Greater Anglia is the one to take: £8 with no change, and about as quick as going by car. Timetable: Weekdays roughly 05:20 to 23:05 direct; later trains change at Bishop's Stortford.
What it costs for your group
The train is charged per person, while a taxi is one price for the whole car — so the more of you there are, the better door-to-door value looks.
| Group | Train (per person) | Taxi (per car) | Best value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solo · 1 traveller | £8 | £80 | Train |
| Couple · 2 travellers | £16 | £80 | Train |
| Family of 4 · 4 travellers | £32 | £80 | Train |
Which option should you choose?
| If your priority is… | Our pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Lowest price | CrossCountry / Greater Anglia | From £8, about 30 min, no change needed. |
| Speed | CrossCountry / Greater Anglia | 30 min, from £8. |
| A group of 4 | CrossCountry / Greater Anglia | Four tickets still come to about £32 — less than a car. |
| A late-night arrival | Taxi or pre-booked transfer | CrossCountry / Greater Anglia stops overnight — timetable: Weekdays roughly 05:20 to 23:05 direct; later trains change at Bishop's Stortford. |
By transport mode
Train
Advance fares from £8 (Trainline). Contactless not accepted on CrossCountry, and Cambridge is outside Greater Anglia's tap-in area, so buy a ticket first.
Where to catch it: Stansted Airport station, below the terminal
Times: Weekdays roughly 05:20 to 23:05 direct; later trains change at Bishop's Stortford
Best for budget travellers near a stationBus / shuttle
From £9.80. Stops at Cambridge Parkside, close to the city centre. One 20 kg case and one soft bag included.
Where to catch it: Stansted coach station, opposite the terminal
Times: From the airport 01:00 to 22:50
Best for solo & budget travellersTaxi
Quoted per address; about £80 on independent estimates. Give the college or department name as well as the street.
Where to catch it: Street Cars desk, international arrivals concourse
Times: 24 hours
Best for small groups in a hurryPrivate transfer
From about £88 for a saloon. The driver tracks the flight, so a late landing does not lose you the car.
Where to catch it: Arrivals hall; the driver follows your flight number
Times: 24 hours
Best for families, groups & late arrivalsCambridge & London in photos
Buying tickets in London
Trains. The Stansted Express and Greater Anglia accept contactless bank cards and phone wallets at the station gates. Since 8 March 2026 the fare is worked out by Transport for London's system. Tap in at the airport and out at your London station. To Liverpool Street it costs £21.00 off-peak, or £23.00 Monday to Friday between 06:30 and 09:30. Oyster cards are not valid to or from Stansted. You can use them on the Tube once you reach Tottenham Hale or Liverpool Street.
Advance Stansted Express singles start at £9.90 online, but they are tied to one train. Railcard discounts do not apply to contactless, so railcard holders should buy a ticket. CrossCountry trains (towards Cambridge and Birmingham) do not take contactless, so buy a ticket online, from the machines, or at the ticket office. The office is open 06:30–00:00 every day.
Coaches. National Express has desks and touch-screen machines in baggage reclaim and the arrivals hall. Booking online is cheaper, and the £1.50 booking fee is dropped when you are logged into My Account. A standard ticket is valid on a similar departure up to three hours either side of the booked one. For £5 more, Change & Go lets you board any coach within 12 hours either side. Flibco tickets are cheapest online and valid on any departure that day until 04:00 the next morning. First Essex X20 tickets cost £3 and you can pay the driver in cash or by contactless, or use the First Bus app.
Taxi scams & safety in London
Stansted has no rank of metered London black cabs. The airport's on-site car operator is Street Cars. Its desk is in the international arrivals concourse, and there is a courtesy phone in the domestic baggage reclaim area that rings the desk. Street Cars quotes a price for your exact address before you travel, takes cash or card, and its cars collect from right outside the terminal. Agree the fare at the desk before you go to the car.
In England a private-hire car must be booked through a licensed operator. Turn down anyone who approaches you in arrivals offering a ride. Pre-booked transfers and app cars use the collection points given in the booking, not the kerb. The most common expensive mistake here is not a scam at all: tapping an Oyster card at the station gate. Oyster is not valid at Stansted, so use a contactless bank card, a phone wallet or a paper ticket.
Step-free access in London
The rail station is directly under the terminal. The airport says the walk takes about two minutes and is step-free by lifts, escalators and ramps. The coach station is opposite the main terminal entrance and is also reached step-free.
- National Rail lists Stansted Airport station as step-free category A, with step-free access to every platform, lifts, accessible toilets, a Changing Places toilet and baby changing.
- Station staff are available around the clock, and the ticket office opens 06:30–00:00 daily. Induction loops are fitted.
- To book help with a train journey, email Greater Anglia's passenger assistance team ([email protected]) at least 24 hours before you travel.
- The airport says the coach station has a full range of accessibility services. For help inside the terminal, use the airport's Assisted Travel service.
Getting from STN to Cambridge
A short journey, by rail
Cambridge lies about 50 km up the M11 from the airport. Most visitors, whether starting a conference, a term or a weekend of college gardens, go by train. Two operators share the line. CrossCountry runs through trains towards Birmingham that stop at Cambridge, and Greater Anglia adds its own services. Trainline's sample timetable shows about 47 trains a day, almost all direct. The fastest take under half an hour and most take 30 to 40 minutes.
On a weekday afternoon, TfL's planner listed a CrossCountry departure at 14:25 arriving 14:56, and a Greater Anglia one at 14:46 arriving 15:20. That is roughly the pattern: a fast train and a slower one each hour, with gaps that vary.
On tickets, a correction
A common assumption is that the contactless system introduced at Stansted in March 2026 covers this trip. It does not. CrossCountry trains do not accept contactless at all, and Cambridge is not one of the stations listed for Greater Anglia's tap-in scheme. Buy a ticket before you board. You can get one online, from the machines at the airport station, or at the ticket office, which is open 06:30 to midnight daily. Trainline lists advance singles from £8. Walk-up fares cost more, and booking a specific train is the main way to save.
The station is directly under the terminal, about two minutes from arrivals, with step-free access to every platform.
Bicycles and big bags
The airport's rules for bikes differ by operator. CrossCountry requires a bike reservation made in advance. Greater Anglia carries bikes on most trains, with some peak-time restrictions. Stansted Express takes folding bikes only. E-scooters are not allowed on any UK train. If you are bringing a bike for a term in Cambridge, a Greater Anglia service is the simpler choice, even if it takes a few minutes longer.
For three people, three advance tickets come to about £24. That is far below a car at £80 to £88, but the car takes you to the door rather than to a station on the edge of the centre.
Station or Parkside?
Cambridge railway station is south-east of the historic centre, so most people continue by bus, taxi or on foot. If your destination is near Parker's Piece, the Grafton Centre or the colleges around Christ's, National Express may suit you better. Its coaches stop at Parkside, which is much more central. National Express quotes fares from £9.80, a fastest journey of 45 minutes, and departures from the airport between 01:00 and 22:50. It runs up to 11 services a day on routes including the 777 and the 727/728. The coach station is opposite the terminal entrance.
Each coach ticket includes one large case up to 20 kg and one soft bag. That makes the coach a reasonable choice for a student arriving with a term's worth of luggage, as long as nothing goes wrong on the M11.
The last train, and the night coach
For a weekday in late October, TfL's planner showed the last direct train as the 23:05 CrossCountry, arriving 23:35. After that there was a 23:58 departure with a change at Bishop's Stortford, arriving at 00:49. Then nothing until about 05:20. National Express's 01:00 coach fills part of that gap. Check the night of your arrival, because engineering works on Sundays can change the rail pattern.
Going by car
The drive takes about 45 minutes in light traffic. Street Cars, the on-airport operator, has a Cambridge page and quotes per address, asking for the college or department name as well as the street. One independent estimate puts a taxi to Cambridge at about £80, and comparison sites list pre-booked private cars from about £88. If you are travelling with a colleague or two, a booked car to a college porters' lodge removes the bus-from-the-station step at a reasonable cost per head.
Summing up
Travelling alone with light bags: the train. Arriving very late or very early: the coach. Two or three people with heavy cases heading straight for a college: a car booked ahead.
STN to Cambridge — FAQ
How far is Cambridge from Stansted Airport?
What is the cheapest way from Stansted to Cambridge?
What is the fastest way?
Can I pay by contactless to Cambridge?
How much is a taxi from Stansted to Cambridge?
When is the last train from Stansted to Cambridge?
I land after midnight. How do I reach Cambridge?
Sources
Fares and times on this page were last held against their official sources on 21 October 2026. Operators change prices without notice — if you spot a difference, the operator’s own page is the authority. How we check fares.
- Trainline — Stansted Airport to Cambridge train times and fares · checked 2026-10-21
- TfL Journey Planner — sample journeys from Stansted Airport, 27 Oct 2026 · checked 2026-10-21
- London Stansted Airport — travel by train (Stansted Express, contactless, first/last trains) · checked 2026-10-21
- National Rail — Stansted Airport station facilities and accessibility · checked 2026-10-21
- National Express — Stansted to Cambridge · checked 2026-10-21
- London Stansted Airport — travel by bus or coach (National Express, Flibco, First Essex) · checked 2026-10-21
- Time Out — contactless payments at Stansted from 8 March 2026 · checked 2026-10-21
- Airmundo — London Stansted taxi price estimates · checked 2026-10-21
- Kiwitaxi — Cambridge to Stansted private transfer prices · checked 2026-10-21
- London Stansted Airport — taxi services (Street Cars desk, courtesy phone) · checked 2026-10-21
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