Both ways from London start with LNER from London King’s Cross to York, about two hours. The York trains differ slightly: the one for the all-rail connection takes about 1h 54m, and the one for Scarborough about 2h. The quicker route then takes TransPennine Express from York to Scarborough, 49 minutes, and Arriva’s X93 or X94 bus for the last hour to Whitby bus station. On a typical weekday run that came to about 4h 17m, and the best connections did it in just over four hours.
To stay on rails, change at York for TransPennine Express to Middlesbrough, about 57 minutes, and again at Middlesbrough for Northern’s train to Whitby station, about 92 minutes. That took about 5h 12m, close to an hour longer, and the King’s Cross departures we found connecting were the 06:33, 10:33, 14:33 and 16:33. The waits at York and Middlesbrough added up to nearly 50 minutes, against just under half an hour at York and Scarborough on the bus route.
Driving the 273 miles via the M1 takes about 5h 14m, so the all-rail way from King’s Cross is roughly level with the car, and the Scarborough route is about an hour quicker than both.
Trains for the Scarborough connection left King’s Cross at 05:48, at three minutes past most hours from 07:03 to 15:03, then at 18:00 and 19:00. The 16:33 all-rail departure falls between the 15:03 and the 18:00, so it is the one to look at for a mid-afternoon start.
Some London departures go via Eaglescliffe or Darlington to Middlesbrough instead of changing at York, but none of them was quicker than the Scarborough route.
The bus from Scarborough pulls in at Whitby bus station, six minutes and 406 metres from the swing bridge. Whitby station, at the end of the all-rail route from King’s Cross, is 525 metres and seven minutes away.
Journey times and changes below come from the rail and bus timetables for Tuesday 1 December 2026. Weekend and holiday timetables differ, so check the day you travel.
From London King's Cross on the weekday we checked: 06:33, 10:33, 14:33 and 16:33.
From London King's Cross on the weekday we checked: about hourly between 05:48 and 19:00.
By road it is about 273 miles from London to Whitby, mostly via the M1 — roughly 5h 14m with clear roads. Car parks in Whitby are listed on the Getting Here page.