Cambridge is a mere 50 mi 80 km north of London; with good rail services and road communication links, Cambridge is easily accessible, whether travelling by car, or by public transport.
By bus
National Express (http://www.nationalexpres...) provides bus links to major cities around the country, including direct services to London Victoria and Birmingham, as well as frequent airport coaches to Luton, Stansted, Heathrow, and Gatwick. National Express coaches depart from Parkside, next to Parker's Piece park, about half a mile from the City Centre. Many services also stop at the Trumpington and Madingley Road Park and Ride sites.
The bus station for shorter-distance buses is on Drummer Street, conveniently located for all the main sights. Stagecoach (http://www.stagecoachbus....) operate routes from Cambridge to Bedford, Ely, Peterborough via a connection at Chatteris, Newmarket, Saffron Walden, Bury St Edmunds and Oxford.
Several different bus and coach companies notably Stagecoach and Whippet Coaches operate services within Cambridge and the surrounding area, and therefore tickets for one company may not be valid on buses routes operated by other companies. The service is notoriously irregular, and it is best to leave around half as much time again for a journey as the buses are often delayed/cancelled/slow, and if an urgent connection is to be made they are best avoided, especially the "citi" branded buses: walk or take a taxi.
By car
Parking can be difficult in central Cambridge and the one way street system is extremely confusing. The Council recommends the use of the "Park and Ride" (http://www.cambridgeshire...) scheme free parking and a £2.30 return bus faremap of Park and Ride routes (http://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/21309478-7F32-4BAA-8136-9B21D79F656E/0/Park_and_Ride_Map.pdf). For details visit The National Park and Ride Directory (http://www.parkandride.ne...)
Cambridge is connected to London primarily by the M11 or the A10. From the north, come off the A1 onto the A14.
By plane
Cambridge is within easy reach of some but not all of London's international airports.
London Stansted (http://www.baa.com/main/a...) is 30 mi away, for example, has regular bus and rail services into Cambridge. Direct rail services leave every hour from platform 2 to Birmingham New Street and take about 35 min with a return fare £12.80. For more frequent services take the Stansted Express to London from platform 1 and change at Bishops's Stortford or Stansted Mountfitchet, taking about 50 min. Note, however, that rail services may be unavailable if your flight arrives Stansted very late or departs very early in the day, and while the airport likes to advertise hourly services, there are some strange gaps in the timetable so check the boards before you buy a ticket, and go to the bus terminal if there is nothing sensible on offer. National Express coaches run between Cambridge and Stansted including late at night, taking about 55 minutes and costing £11.50. Abacus Airport Cars Cambridge rides there from £40.00 one way.
Luton Airport is best reached by National Express Coach, taking about 1.5 hours and costing £14, but these run every only every 2 h or so.
London Stansted and London Luton airports offer many of the cheapest international flights to be found in Europe, with many of the big low-cost European airlines such as Easyjet, Ryanair and TUIfly having a hub at one of these two airports.
Heathrow is 90-120 min away by car, depending on traffic. National Express Coaches to and from Heathrow central bus station take around 2.5 h for £25. A less comfortable but cheaper and faster option is to take a train to King's Cross and then use the tube, taking about 2 hours total and costing £22 less if you have an oyster card. Abacus Airport Cars Cambridge costs £85.00 one way.
Gatwick is the least convenient London airport, being on the opposite side of London: driving necessitates a tour of the M25 London ring road and takes around 3 h by car. It is best reached by train to King's Cross, walk to St. Pancras and train to Gatwick or by connecting by tube to Victoria and then catching the marginally faster Gatwick Express with a total journey time around 2 h for fare £28. Abacus Airport Cars Cambridge rides there from £100.00 one way. There is a National Express bus service available, again around 3 h and that M25 again.
London City Airport is best reached by train to King's Cross, then Underground and Docklands Light Railway across London, tfor £22 less if you have an Oyster card. Abacus Airport Cars Cambridge rides there from £77.00 one way.
Cambridge has its own airport, but there are currently scheduled flights only to France, Italy and Jersey.
By train
Wikitravel has a guide to Rail travel in the United Kingdom.
Regular trains run from London King's Cross and Liverpool Street to Cambridge. The fastest "Cambridge Cruiser" services to and from King's Cross run nonstop and take under 50 min, generally departing at :15 and :45 minutes after the hour. "Semi-fast" services stop at a few intermediate stations and take about 65 min, slower stopping trains may take up to 90 min. Try to avoid taking a train with more than 8 stops between Cambridge and London Kings Cross to avoid the slowest trains. Trains to and from London Liverpool Street, for which cheaper tickets are sometimes available, all take about 75 min. Direct trains from Stansted airport to Cambridge take 35 min catch trains from Stansted going in the direction of Birmingham. Because Cambridge is one of the main junctions of the East Anglia railway network, trains also run to and from Ipswich, Norwich, Peterborough and Birmingham. See National Rail (http://www.nationalrail.co.uk) for timetable and fare information.
You can buy an overnight Rail and Sail (http://www.stenaline.co.u...) ticket from Cambridge to anywhere in the Netherlands for around GBP80, using the Harwich-Hook of Holland ferry route. Ensure that you choose the correct ticket, but you can find deals that cover the ferry including a room and bed and travel between Cambridge to any station in the Netherlands. Departures from Cambridge are at about 7pm; going the other way, you arrive a bit before 10am. There are daytime ferries too, but the train timetables mean you can make no train connection.
The train station is about 1.2 mi south of the city centre; there are regular buses to town and a taxi rank outside the station. The station has a staffed travel centre, self-service ticket machines note that many take only European smartchip cards and do not accept cash and automatic ticket barriers you need your ticket to get both in and out of the station. Pay attention buying tickets as there is often a queue at the machines and none at the ticket windows. There are also ATMs, several cafes and a bookstore, on the platform accessible only to ticket holders, and a mini-supermarket in the station foyer. Note that the station is very long, with several trains parked end-to-end on the main platform, so you may need to walk a long way between trains if you have a tight connection. Bags can be left at Station Cycles (http://www.stationcycles....) just outside the train station, for a small fee.