London Travel Know-How
Most transport advice tells you to book early and leave extra time. These guides deal with the specific problems that actually go wrong, and what to do about each one.
Practical problems, not generic advice
There is no shortage of transport advice that tells you to book in advance and allow extra time. It is true and it is nearly useless, because it does not help the person standing at a Heathrow forecourt who has just realised their airline moved terminal in April, or the family discovering that a travel system and four suitcases do not both fit in a saloon.
This hub collects the guides that deal with those specific situations. Each one is built the same way: what actually happens, why it happens, the numbers you need to plan around it, and the recovery steps if it has already happened to you.
They are written from the operator side of the glass, which is where the patterns become visible. Lost property clusters in three places in a car. Wrong-terminal drops almost always trace back to a code-share booking. Fog delays flights while snow delays roads, and almost nobody plans differently for the two. None of that is obvious from the passenger seat, and all of it is useful before you book.
The know-how guides
Seven practical guides, each solving one specific problem.
What fits in a taxi boot
Real capacities for saloon, estate, MPV and 8-seater, plus the sixty second way to size a vehicle correctly before you book.
Left something in a minicab
The three places items hide, why the first hour decides the outcome, and how a licensed booking traces the exact vehicle you were in.
West End curtain down times
Indicative finish times by show type, why the curtain call adds ten minutes, and where a car can legally collect you in Theatreland.
Dropped at the wrong terminal
Inter-terminal transfer times for Heathrow and Gatwick, why code-share bookings cause it, and the ninety second prevention routine.
Snow, fog and storms
Fog hits flights, snow hits roads and storms move your arrival airport. A different plan for each condition.
Transfers with a baby or toddler
Which seat suits which stage, what the private hire exemption really means, and how to fit a buggy alongside the luggage.
Minicab etiquette
Front seat or back, tipping in the UK, food, pets, music and waiting time. The unwritten rules, with the reasoning behind each.
How to use this hub
Four ways people actually arrive here.
Before you book a specific trip
Start with the sizing guide if luggage or a group is involved, and the etiquette guide if it is your first time using private hire in London. Both take a few minutes and remove most avoidable friction.
When something has already gone wrong
Go straight to the lost property or wrong terminal guide. Both are written as ordered recovery steps, because in those two situations the sequence matters far more than the detail.
When the forecast or the calendar looks difficult
The bad weather guide and the post-event guides cover the two conditions that break normal timing assumptions: degraded infrastructure and simultaneous mass departure.
When you are travelling with people who need more
The infant guide and the sizing guide together cover almost every family transfer question, from seat types to whether the pushchair will fit next to the cases.
Related guide hubs and services
Where to go next.
Post-event taxi guides
Stadium, arena and theatre timing plans across London, including Wembley, Twickenham and Tottenham.
London airport comparison
How the London airports compare on access, journey time and resilience.
London 8-seater taxi
Larger vehicles for groups, sports kit and long-haul departures.
Book a fixed-fare journey
TfL licensed, price agreed in advance, flight tracked on airport pickups.