Planning your flights to and from the USA: You will want to book a red-eye flight to Heathrow, Gatwick or Stansted airport that departs in the evening of April 1, 2025. Non-refundable airline tickets from the USA to London’s Heathrow or Gatwick airports in April 2025 are expected to cost about $850 RT from New York. Note that we cannot accommodate early arrivals due to school schedules, but hotel accommodations are available. For your return flight to the USA, bear in mind that you will want to leave Ely 5 hours beforehand to allow for sufficient travel time. Therefore, we suggest a 1 pm or later departure. We will provide transportation from Ely to Heathrow on Wednesday, April 9, 2025 leaving Ely at 7:30 am & 10 am and arriving at Heathrow by 10:30 am & 1 pm respectively, traffic permitting. These will cost approximately $40.
Getting to Ely: From Heathrow, Gatwick or Stansted airports, take a train to Ely. This currently costs $50 – $80 depending on the train. We will meet every train from London up to 4 pm, and our shuttles will transport you and your luggage to our reception area. Be sure to look for our welcoming table on the Ely train station platform. Since you can charge tickets to credit cards, it is not absolutely essential to bring English cash with you. Also ATMs are widely available. Cash can be changed even at the luggage carousels prior to customs!
Of course you may choose to extend your stay in Europe and in the past people have spent additional time in Scotland, Ireland, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and Norway. Note that there is good train service to London, Edinburgh and Paris, and good air transportation from Stansted Airport (STN), which is a short train ride from Ely, to many European destinations.
More details of transportation from London’s airports to Ely will be provided to participants prior to departure.
Documents: The new British government have changed the rules! Now you have to obtain an Electronic Travel Authorization prior to your visit. It costs £10 or $13 and you have to go here, and allow 3 working days to get it. Also, be sure to apply for your passport well ahead of your travel. If you plan to travel on to other European countries, check their requirements, some ask for at least six months extra time on passports. Full current information can be found at the U.S. State Department website.
