3.7/5
Independent service rating based on 16 verified reviews
London City Airport (LCY) is situated at the Royal Docks in the London Borough of Newham, around 7km east of the City of London and 6km east of Canary Wharf, which makes it the most convenient choice for business travellers heading to these financial areas.
LCY is the fifth-busiest airport serving London by passenger numbers and the 14th busiest across the UK ̶ it processes over 5 million passengers annually.
It serves 45 exciting destinations, including Amsterdam, Berlin, Budapest, Edinburgh, Malaga, Nice, New York and Prague, so it’s particularly well connected for a reasonably small air hub.
You can drive into the centre of London from here in around half an hour (depending on traffic) via the A1203 and A3211 and you can reach Manchester from LCY in around 4 hours via the M1 and M6.
With Enjoy Car Hire, you can choose the perfect car at London City Airport to completely satisfy the requirements of your itinerary and travel party. For instance, if you’re on a solo trip or travelling with a partner and want a nippy ride to roll around the city streets and park easily, the Toyota Aygo fits the bill perfectly, while a four-door Ford Focus seats five comfortably while still being compact enough to manoeuvre easily. Alternatively, a Volvo V-60 seats five with ease and also has ample room in the boot for all the cases required for a longer road trip, while a Ford Galaxy seats 7 and is sturdy enough to take a large party all the way to the Scottish Highlands in fine style.
In order to provide you with complete peace of mind, we only partner with tried and tested car hire partners such as Hertz and Green Motion Car and Van Rental, and car rental packages typically include components like free cancellation up to 48 hours before the start of the agreed rental period, third party liability, 24 hour assistance and theft protection.
Booking your car is child’s play ̶ just drop your details in our search box and in a split second you’ll be served up with several brilliant deals to compare.
Ready for the lowdown on driving in LCY and the eclectic attractions of London and south east England? Let’s hit the road!
The official London City Airport site has useful information on getting to and from LCY, but you can be in London city centre in around a half hour, the rest of the south east is on your doorstep and cultural powerhouse cities of Manchester and Liverpool are a few hours’ drive to the north via reliable motorways.
Driving (and parking) in London can be tricky, so if your vehicle comes fitted with a Satnav, switch it on to keep yourself right, and Capital FM’s travel news is always worth checking out.
Please be aware that there’s now a speed limit of 32 km/h in several areas of central London, but the usual speed limits are 48 km/h in built-up areas, 96 km/h on single carriageways, 112 km/h on dual carriageways and 112 km/h on motorways.
You should also be aware that there’s a congestion charge zone within the London Inner Ring Road area – this covers the City of London’s financial centre, and the West End, which is London’s shopping and entertainment centre. The congestion charge is £11.50 a day at the moment, and the zone is active between 7am and 6pm Monday-Friday but it doesn’t apply at with weekends. You can set up auto payment at a discounted rate on the Transport for London website and also find more detailed information on the charge.
The Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) applies in the same area as the congestion zone, and it’s enforced every day of the year except Christmas Day – for your purposes, it means that vehicles driving here have to meet a minimum standard for exhaust emissions, but your LCY car hire provider will be well aware of these rules, so your choice of car should be compliant as standard.
For your information, a Low Emissions Zone (LEZ) also applies to the entirety of Greater London, but this shouldn’t concern you as it applies only to trucks and coaches.
Read the Highway Code from cover to cover before you arrive in London – these are the strict rules for road safety in Britain you’ll feel much more confident driving in the capital once you’re aware of them. In the meantime, here are a few more tips:
The challenges of driving in London are similar to getting behind the wheel in any major city, but stay alert, drive with caution, observe the speed limit and you’ll have a safe and enjoyable time.
There are countless cultural activities and historical sites in London ̶ it’s a bustling multicultural metropolis where you’ll meet and mingle with residents and visitors from all over the world.
But the south east of England has much to recommend it too and if your itinerary permits, you should take time to explore this attractive UK region. Here are a few highlights in London and the south east:
As you can see, London City Airport is a great gateway to the attractions and amenities of London, the south east and the rest of the UK.
With Enjoy Car Hire, you can order your LCY car in a couple of clicks and hit the road in hassle-free style on arrival.
Name | Review | Rating |
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Trusted Customer | Don’t think the staff were great at the outlet Also they gave me a car that had additional faults that weren’t on thier system Lucky I had read the small print and taken pictures but felt really like they were trying to find damage to charge you extra I’d stay away from the outlet in future | |
Nikolaos Benetos | Very quick and friendly! Rodney was great and explained everything to us. Definitely would use again. There was a deposit, which we got back within 2-3 days. | |
MK | Great car - super service. Fast check in and drop off | |
Trusted Customer | Terrible customer service. Waited over one and a half hours to get to the counter only to be told that they would not accept the renter's identification. We were showing a passport card that will allow exit and entry from the USA but it was not accepted. No disclosure on the website that only a passport would be acceptable for a secondary id. | |
DEEPAK GOYAL | Green motion is not recommended at all. Do not go for them. | |
Trusted Customer | Great hiring experience. Good to actually have someone there to hand the car over to at the end of the hire. | |
Trusted Customer | Great company, good price, easy to collect/ drop off | |
Oleg | I have hired a car for weekend from Keddy through the Europcar hire desk, this wasn’t my first time, as usual everything went smooth, thanks to Sheraz , who was very professional and helpful! | |
Mourad Atil | I have used budget London city airport twice so far . On each occasion the service was excellent the young man at the desk is just brilliant and friendly to me with brilliant customer service | |
Artur Kis | Great staff, very helpful and friendly. Highly recommended | |
Frederic GOURGUES | I cancelled my booking wih green motion regarding all the very very bad advices and red flags leaved by previous customers. | |
Allya | Rob was very helpful and they gave me a great rate. Returning my car was nice and easy. | |
PRASHANTH KUMAR KARKERA | easy check in , pick up & drop off... | |
Trusted Customer | Vehicle in great condition, at a convenient location and with a competitive price. | |
Trusted Customer | I didn’t rental car . They did not accept UK driving license. My license is 1 year and 11 months old . They need minimum 2years . The website never mentioned anywhere minimum criteria.my advance payment is gone. | |
Peter Thomson | Didn’t deal with them for more than a few minutes |