Travel & Airport Transfers

Oxford’s close proximity to several international airports (Heathrow, Gatwick, Birmingham and Stansted) offers an easy access from Europe, the Americas and the rest of the world. Furthermore, Oxford has excellent road and rail connections with the rest of the UK.

The following page provides travel information to/from Oxford and may have several links to outside service providers. However, this information is for the convenience of our students and their parents/legal guardians only. We neither have any association with these service providers, nor should this be taken as an endorsement of their services.

The information below is only a guide. Further detailed information will be sent to registered students.

Travelling by our Airport Transfers Service

We are pleased to provide free return airport transfer service between London Heathrow and Oxford to our students. One or more members of our programme team will meet and welcome students at airport arrivals. For large groups, our dedicated transport will leave Heathrow airport at no later than 1500h on the first Sunday of each programme and leave Oxford for Heathrow at 0900h on the last Saturday of each programme. Exact times and modes of transport are subject to change depending upon arrival times and the number of students booked to travel with our service. Please ensure that you allow at least a couple of hours for immigration clearance and luggage collection in and out of the airport. Public transport will be used for small groups of students.

We are also happy to assist international students with transfers from other airports (Gatwick, Stansted and Birmingham), but students are to meet their own travel costs.

We expect all students to arrive by 1700h on day 1 of the programme for registration and the welcome dinner. We will do our best to provide dinner for late arriving students, although this cannot be guaranteed. 

Accompanying parents/guardians

Parents/legal guardians of minors can also travel with our transport service (subject to availability of seats) at an additional cost of £65 for a single journey or £120 for a return journey. Advanced booking will be required.

Luggage policy

Luggage restrictions may apply on our service vehicle.

Travelling by Public Transport

Students who want to make their own travel arrangements to/from Oxford may find the following information useful.

Coach Travel

Oxford is well-connected with the rest of the UK and its airports via various coach services offered by providers such as National Express, Oxford Tube, CityLink/Oxford Bus Company and MegaBus. Tickets for most services can either be pre-booked online, or obtained from the driver in cash or by card.

The Oxford Tube and Oxford Bus Company run frequent, 24-hour coach services from London Victoria to Oxford, with several pick-up points along the way in London and Oxford, running every 10-20 minutes during peak times. Oxford is also well served by National Express coach services from all over the country.

The most convenient airport for Oxford is London Heathrow. The Airline service runs frequent coach services from London Heathrow (every 30 minutes) and London Gatwick airports (every 60 minutes) to Oxford.

See below for further information about the various airports serving Oxford and approximate coach travel times:

Heathrow (75 minutes): https://www.heathrow.com

Birmingham (90 minutes): https://www.birminghamairport.co.uk

Luton (130 minutes): https://www.london-luton.co.uk

Gatwick (150 minutes): https://www.gatwickairport.com

Stansted (215 minutes): http://www.stanstedairport.com

Train Travel

There are frequent direct train services between Oxford Station and London Paddington, and Oxford Parkway and London Marylebone. In addition, Oxford has excellent train connections with the South Coast and Northern England, and most other parts of the country. Further train travel and fare information can be found on the National Rail Inquiries website, http://www.nationalrail.co.uk or Trainline website, https://www.thetrainline.com. Both Oxford stations are connected with the city and suburbs via public transport and taxi services.

Travelling by Taxi/Cab

Several short- and long-distance taxi/cab services are available in Oxford. Some of these will allow booking by a mobile app or online.