Landing at East Midlands airport at 3am in the morning.

williewonder

Last year we caught the bus from East Midlands airport to Nottingham around 3.30am and arrived in Nottingham just after 4am. I was desperate for the toilet and obviously everything was closed at that time apart from McDonalds which must of been student night as McDonalds was packed and the toilets were filthy so I decided to hold it and use the train station toilets. They were closed as well and by this point I was desperate. I managed to hold until 6am when we boarded our train and I used the train toilets. I was touching clothe.

We are going back to Turkey in April and on the return will have the same schedule. Would it be better to wait around in the airport for 2/3 hours so I can use the toilets there if need be and catch the 6am bus into Nottingham and then train to my town. Do they have toilets at the airport open at that time? last time everywhere looked closed. This a thought.

elsien

Last time I was in an airport at silly o’clock in the morning, there were no cafés or anywhere to get a drink  but there were seats and there were loos. 

Other  more expensive option is to book into a hotel and return home later in the day. 

williewonder

We could get a taxi from the airport which would be around £60. Train fair is £9 each from Nottingham to my town, plus the bus trip costings from airport to Nottingham. I would have to buy all the tickets anyway so might be better to get a taxi? I'm quite poor so it could save me £10 if I wait for the bus and train but then extra £10 for connivence.

bagand96

If access to facilities like toilets etc is important then waiting at the airport would likely be the best option. As said above not much will be open in the dead of night, but there'll be somewhere to sit and a toilet.

Each to their own but landing at that hour after the journey I'd just want to get home. (probably not much sleep if you checked out the hotel the previous day!) If £10 is the difference between a taxi and hours hanging around for public transport then it's not even worth thinking about for me! How much is that £10 in terms of the overall cost of your holiday? 

la531983

williewonder said:

Last year we caught the bus from East Midlands airport to Nottingham around 3.30am and arrived in Nottingham just after 4am. I was desperate for the toilet and obviously everything was closed at that time apart from McDonalds which must of been student night as McDonalds was packed and the toilets were filthy so I decided to hold it and use the train station toilets. They were closed as well and by this point I was desperate. I managed to hold until 6am when we boarded our train and I used the train toilets. I was touching clothe.

We are going back to Turkey in April and on the return will have the same schedule. Would it be better to wait around in the airport for 2/3 hours so I can use the toilets there if need be and catch the 6am bus into Nottingham and then train to my town. Do they have toilets at the airport open at that time? last time everywhere looked closed. This a thought.

At that time of day the airport will be open for check in for the 6am departures and they have arrivals all through the night, toilets are in the baggage reclaim hall and the arrivals/check in hall.

Website says there is a Starbucks open from 3am, not sure if thats pre or post security though.

Pollycat

williewonder said:

Last year we caught the bus from East Midlands airport to Nottingham around 3.30am and arrived in Nottingham just after 4am. I was desperate for the toilet and obviously everything was closed at that time apart from McDonalds which must of been student night as McDonalds was packed and the toilets were filthy so I decided to hold it and use the train station toilets. They were closed as well and by this point I was desperate. I managed to hold until 6am when we boarded our train and I used the train toilets. I was touching clothe.

We are going back to Turkey in April and on the return will have the same schedule. Would it be better to wait around in the airport for 2/3 hours so I can use the toilets there if need be and catch the 6am bus into Nottingham and then train to my town. Do they have toilets at the airport open at that time? last time everywhere looked closed. This a thought.

You don't need to wait around for 2/3 hours to use the airport toilets.
They will be open.
There will be toilets on the way from the plane to passport control as well as in the baggage reclaim area.

daveyjp

Airports have toilets open 24/7.  Either in the baggage hall or in landside arrivals/departures area.

Pollycat

williewonder said:

We could get a taxi from the airport which would be around £60. Train fair is £9 each from Nottingham to my town, plus the bus trip costings from airport to Nottingham. I would have to buy all the tickets anyway so might be better to get a taxi? I'm quite poor so it could save me £10 if I wait for the bus and train but then extra £10 for connivence.

For me, it would be a no-brainer to take a taxi for £10 more than messing about with buses/trains.

elsien

williewonder said:

We could get a taxi from the airport which would be around £60. Train fair is £9 each from Nottingham to my town, plus the bus trip costings from airport to Nottingham. I would have to buy all the tickets anyway so might be better to get a taxi? I'm quite poor so it could save me £10 if I wait for the bus and train but then extra £10 for connivence.

You really aren't, going on your previous posts about the majority of your costs being covered by 117 and your surplus towards holidays. There are times when convenience outweighs costs and I would suggest this is one of them. 

thegreenone

If you can put aside £5 a week from now until end of March you will have enough for your taxi home from the airport.   Sometimes it's just necessary.  Particularly at that time of the morning.  Have a fabulous holiday.

Pollycat

thegreenone said:

If you can put aside £5 a week from now until end of March you will have enough for your taxi home from the airport.   Sometimes it's just necessary.  Particularly at that time of the morning.  Have a fabulous holiday.

It's not even that.

The difference between waiting around for buses and trains and taking a taxi is

williewonder said:
We could get a taxi from the airport which would be around £60. Train fair is £9 each from Nottingham to my town, plus the bus trip costings from airport to Nottingham. I would have to buy all the tickets anyway so might be better to get a taxi? I'm quite poor so it could save me £10 if I wait for the bus and train but then extra £10 for connivence.

So it's really only saving £1.00 per week until the end of March for the massive convenience of walking out of the airport, putting your bags in the boot and sitting back until the taxi drops you off at your front door.

It really is 

Pollycat said:

For me, it would be a no-brainer to take a taxi for £10 more than messing about with buses/trains.