Inverness to Luton: Connections, Lounges and Hotels 2027

Luton is my favourite secret weapon for getting out of the Highlands on a budget so here’s all I know about Inverness to Luton connections to help you plan your own trip.

EasyJet flies there from Inverness every day, and once you land you’ve got the whole of Europe on your doorstep at budget airline prices. You’re also an hour from central London and the Eurostar.

Here’s everything I’ve learned about making Luton work from Inverness.

Flights from Inverness to Luton

EasyJet flies Inverness to Luton once or twice a day, and the flight takes about 1 hour 20 minutes. The pattern I see most often:

• Late morning or lunchtime departures most days, landing early afternoon. These are perfect if you don’t fancy a 4am alarm.
• Early departures on some Sundays and Thursdays, landing mid-morning, which opens up even more onward flights.
• Evening departures on several days, which are handy if you’re staying overnight in London or near the airport.

Times change every season, so check the current Easyjet timetable before you plan anything. When it comes to booking flights I generally use Trip.com because you can pay a small additional fee and get a refund on your flight if your plans change.

Inverness to Luton Connections

Where Can You Get to From Luton?

Luton is easyJet’s home and the main UK base for Wizz Air, which is brilliant for Eastern Europe. Between them and Ryanair you can fly direct to around 28 countries, including:

• Sun: Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Cyprus, Malta, Turkey, Tunisia
• City breaks: Krakow, Budapest, Prague, Vilnius, Tallinn, Sofia, Bratislava
• Something different: Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova, Iceland

My favourite trick: fly into one city and out of another. I’ve done Budapest to Bratislava to Vienna by train and bus. It costs far less than going back and forth to the UK, and you see three places instead of one.

My Rules for Self Connecting at Luton Airport

Inverness to Luton and Luton onwards are separate tickets. The advantage of this is that often the cost is lower, but there is some risk involved too. If your first flight is delayed then you may miss your flight connection. Here’s what I do to minimise the risk as much as possible;

1. Leave at least three hours between landing and your next departure. Leave more in winter.
2. Travel hand luggage only if you can. Otherwise it’s collect your bag, check in again and go back through security.
3. Get travel insurance that covers missed connections.
4. Never self-connect onto a cruise or a tour start date – for something big like that I would always stay the night before to reduce the chance of connection issues.

Luton to London and the Eurostar

Luton isn’t just for flights. It’s one of the easiest ways to get from Inverness into central London and it’s very easy to do.

1. Walk out of arrivals to the DART shuttle, which takes a few minutes to Luton Airport Parkway station. Bear left when you come out of the airport building to find the entrance to the DART Shuttle building.
2. Take the train direct to St Pancras, which takes about 30 to 40 minutes.
3. At St Pancras, connect to the Circle, Hammersmith & City, Metropolitan, Northern, Piccadilly and Victoria lines.

Money-saving tip: book your train ticket from “Luton Airport”, not Luton Airport Parkway, so the DART is included. Otherwise you pay for the DART separately and it makes the overall journey more expensive.

Breakfast in Inverness, lunch in London, dinner in Paris. The Eurostar leaves from St Pancras. Trains from Luton usually arrive on the upper level, so just walk down to Eurostar check-in on the lower level – you don’t even have to go outside!

Need Euston for the train North? Turn right out of St Pancras and it’s an 8 to 10 minute walk to Euston train station.

Photo Credit: MyLounge

Lounges at Luton Airport

Luton has two lounges you can pay to use, and I’ve tried both. They’re small, so they fill up fast and they are not always both open which means demand for lounge access can often outstrip supply.

Pre-book, especially for early morning flights.

Lounge	Where	Hours	My score	My verdict
No1 Lounge	Ground floor, next to Gate 17	4am to 8pm	8/10	My pick. A proper cooked breakfast and a tended bar, plus a tiny workbench with sockets. Busy and noisy at 8am, but much better than a crowded terminal.
My Lounge	Upper floor, check in by Accessorize	4am to 9pm	6/10	A homely, casual feel with big windows for people-watching, but a limited buffet, few sockets and not many vegetarian options

Prices: around £40 to £42 to walk in for three hours, or a little less through Loungepair. With Priority Pass it costs me £20.60 a visit, plus £6 to pre-book, which is great value.

Read my full reviews: No1 Lounge Luton and My Lounge Luton.

If you’re a regular traveller, it’s worth looking at Priority Pass, which makes lounge access much more affordable.

My membership works out at about £20 a visit. Here’s my full Priority Pass review.

Where To Stay at Luton Airport

An airport hotel makes sense if you’re on an early morning flight out of Luton, or landing late and flying home to Inverness the next day.

One of my favourites is the Holiday Inn Luton Airport, and it’s an ideal overnight stop. The room was clean and quiet, and at around £44 for a double it was great value. You can walk to or from the hotel to the airport or take a quick bus connection.

• Getting from terminal: about a 10-minute walk – bear right when you come out of the airport building. Take the Arriva Bus A from stand J (about 5 minutes, card only). A taxi costs about £10.
• Breakfast: from 6am on weekdays and 8am at weekends, but the first hour is continental only. If you’re on a very early flight, you’ll be grabbing something at the airport.
• Also handy: a restaurant until 10pm, 24-hour room service, free WiFi and a 24-hour gym.

Read my full Holiday Inn Luton Airport review.

Check out hotels for Luton Airport on the map below

Want Me To Do the Hard Work?

If you’d rather not juggle two tickets, I can book a package from Inverness where your connections are protected. Just send me a message at Guided Travels – my independent travel agency.

And if you’re not in Mel’s Travel Club yet, join free to get my Inverness Connection Guide and two deals a month that actually work from Inverness.