The Hilton Riverside, where I stayed before a trip to New York from London City Airport, operates a ferry to the Canary Wharf area of the docklands. The service crosses a short stretch of water every 10-15 minutes. Guests at the hotel get free passes for their stay.

The dock for the board connects directly from the hotel reception and is a 1 minute walk – easily managed with luggage. The operators of the ferry are happy to help passengers with bags on and off the boat.

Inside the boat there is a Hilton logo:

The seating is more the adequate for the small number of passengers onboard. My trip had about 10 people who appeared to be a mixture of guests and office workers who park their car on the other side of the river and commute by boat. There are excellent views of the hotel from the boat:

As we came in to dock at the other side, we passed a yacht already out on the water:

The ticket check is at the Canary Wharf side where the agents collect hotel guests’ tickets if they are checking out. A short walk – up a ramp or a lot of steps, leads to a bus stop.

The driver was very helpful advising that I needed the next stop for Westferry Station. The DLR station is close enough for a walk if you want to avoid the bus fare and don’t have too much luggage. I had the last day on my season ticket and so it cost nothing.

At Westferry, the trains stop on opposite platforms and so you need to make sure you use the correct lift to get to the platform. The indicator board shows the destination of the trains, and as there are three destinations served from this stop, you need to make sure you have a train which stops at City Airport. The display does mention the airport. When the train pulls in you need to join the front for quick exit at LCY.

It was quiet on the morning I was there and so I managed to get the ‘drivers seat’ –

As the trains are unmanned this does give an excellent view of the route.

A 15 minute journey and I was at City Airport.