Travel
We look forward to welcoming you to Oxford! Known as the city of dreaming spires, Oxford has a rich history of architecture and academia...
It is also the city where we first met, at a hat party down the Cowley Road (if you're wondering what a hat party is, it is just a party... where you have to wear a hat... which Paul did not... so ended up having to wear a bicycle helmet...)
Strongly identifiable as a university town, the University of Oxford serves 30,000 students via 39 colleges to comprise one of the oldest universities in the world.
Please Note: New Travel Requirement for the U.K.
The U.K. has implemented a new travel requirement, the Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA), effective as of January 2025. Travelers who aren’t required to have a visa will need the ETA, which costs £10 and takes an average of three days to process. You don’t need the ETA if you have a visa to visit the U.K. or British or Irish citizenship. For more details about the ETA guidelines, visit this website. Download the U.K. government’s ETA app for the fastest processing here.
Getting here...
Arrival By Air
The nearest international airport to Oxford is London Heathrow (LHR) and is approximately a 90 minute ride. Gatwick Airport (LGW) is approximately a 2–2.5 hour ride. From both airports, you can catch a bus, taxi, or train to Oxford.
Otherwise, you can fly into another London Airport (Stanstead (STN) or Luton (LTN) and travel into London then from London on to Oxford.
By Train
From London, the train is the most efficient mode of transportation. We recommend getting an off-peak return ticket which is approximately £40 and takes about 60 minutes.
The Oxford train terminal is about a ten minute walk from the centre of Oxford.
Note: there is no train option from Heathrow Airport (LHR) direct to Oxford, however the Heathrow Express Train goes direct to Paddington (15 minutes) and from there you can board a train to Oxford.
By Bus
The Oxford Bus Company travels directly from Heathrow Airport (LHR) to Oxford and takes about 90 minutes. The round-trip bus fare is approximately £30 and can be purchased on-site. Buses leave from LHR every 30 minutes.
https://www.theairlineoxford.co.uk/oxford-to-gatwick-bus/
If you are travelling from London, you can take the Oxford Tube which picks up from Victoria, Marble Arch and Sheppard's Bush and arrives directly in Oxford City Centre.
https://www.oxfordtube.com/
By Taxi
The fare for a taxi from Heathrow Airport (LHR) is approximately £160. Cars booked in advance or Uber fares are approximately £70-£120 and take about 60 minutes. The taxi fare from all other airports will be so extortionate, we don't recommend even asking...!