Preparing for foreign airports and local transport
Most arrival stress happens in the first hour: you are tired, your phone may not work yet and every sign follows a system you don't know. A little planning for that hour makes the rest of the trip easier.
Preparing for foreign airports and local transport comes down to four things you can sort out at home: the right travel permission, a phone that works when you land, a planned route from the terminal to your first bed, and a way to pay for it. With those in place, the first hour abroad becomes routine.
Travel permission comes before the ticket
More countries now ask visa-free visitors to apply online before they travel. The United States has ESTA, Canada has the eTA for visitors arriving by air, Australia and New Zealand run their own electronic schemes, and the UK's ETA now applies to nearly every visa-exempt nationality. Airlines check these at check-in or the gate, so a missing approval means not boarding, not a problem on arrival. Apply only through the government's own website or app: lookalike agencies charge several times the official fee for the same form.
A phone that works the moment you land
Check what your network charges abroad, or buy a travel eSIM and install it at home while you still have Wi-Fi, switching it on when you land. Download offline maps of the arrival city, screenshot the hotel booking and save the address in the local language and script; a taxi driver in Tokyo or Shanghai may not read the English version. Airport Wi-Fi is a fallback, not a plan.
From aircraft door to arrivals hall
Most international airports follow the same sequence, even when the signs look unfamiliar:
- Immigration. Follow signs for arrivals or passport control, not transfers. Some passports can use automatic gates; others queue for an officer, who may ask where you are staying, so have the address ready.
- Baggage reclaim. Screens show the belt for your flight number. If a bag does not appear, report it at the airline's desk before leaving the hall, as it is much harder afterwards.
- Customs. Many countries use a green channel for nothing to declare and a red one for goods to declare.
- Arrivals hall. Cash machines, transport desks and waiting drivers are here, and so are the unofficial drivers who approach new arrivals.
Choosing your first ride
Look up every option before you go, with costs and last departure times, because a late landing can rule out the cheapest one. Rail and metro links are usually cheapest and avoid traffic, but involve stairs and changes with luggage, which is why one wheeled case and a backpack beats two large cases. Official taxis queue at a marked rank; some cities set a flat fare from the airport to the centre, as Paris and New York do, while others use the meter. Ride-hailing apps often collect from a designated zone, sometimes a level or two away from arrivals. A pre-booked car with a driver holding your name costs more, but removes every decision when you are at your most tired.
Check your arrival terminal too, since at some airports the station is a long walk or a shuttle ride away.
Paying for transport abroad
Contactless bank cards and phones now open the barriers on public transport in a growing number of cities, including London, New York and Singapore. Elsewhere you will need a local travel card or cash, so carry a little local currency for the first journey. When a card machine offers to charge you in pounds rather than the local currency, choose the local currency: the conversion offered at the terminal is almost always worse than your bank's rate.
Taxis, touts and staying safe
Use the official taxi rank, a licensed app or a car you have booked in advance, and politely ignore anyone who approaches you in the arrivals hall offering a ride, however official their lanyard looks. In a metered taxi, check the meter is running; at a flat-fare rank, confirm the price before you set off. Our guide to airport taxi scams in London and how to avoid them describes the same tricks as they appear at London's airports, and most of them travel.
If London is your first foreign airport
Visitors landing at Heathrow can take the Elizabeth line, the Heathrow Express or the Piccadilly line into town, and all of them accept contactless payment; our comparison of every option from Heathrow to central London sets out the trade-offs. Prefer to be collected? Rushxo drivers track the flight and stand by the exit from customs holding your name, and the price is agreed in advance: a saloon from Heathrow Terminal 3 to Covent Garden is £85, and from Gatwick's South Terminal to Victoria £123.
| Journey | Distance | Drive time* | Saloon | MPV | Executive | 9-seater |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heathrow Terminal 3 to Covent Garden | 18 miles | 40 min | £85 | £100 | £115 | £130 |
| Gatwick South Terminal to Victoria | 39 miles | 1 hr 5 min | £123 | £138 | £153 | £168 |
One-way fixed fares, 4 Oct 2026. *Light traffic.