tedgale

We are flying to London next Monday, arriving at Terminal 2 on Tuesday at 10 AM.

We plan to take the Tube into central London. We're staying in Craven Street, very close to Charing Cross station. We might alight at Leicester Square and walk (9 minutes) or we might transfer from the Piccadilly Line and alight at Charing Cross.

We fly often to European airports, where immigration and customs procedures are very rapid. But I have no idea how fast or slow the entry process is at LHR. We have only carry on, so no delays for baggage.

Q. 1: I need to set up a rendezvous in advance with the owner of the flat we are renting. Is 12 noon a reasonable time? Or should I say 1 PM?

Q. 2: Our return flight to IAD is on a Monday at 12 noon. Is 9:30 AM a realistic time to get on the train (from Gloucester Road) for a noon flight? Google says it's a 38 minute journey. We are flying Business Class, so check in may be faster and we will not check any bags.

Oyster Card questions:

I'm trying to decide between an Oyster Card with Pay As You Go and loading a 7 day pass onto an Oyster Card, plus a supplement for the LHR trips.

We will use the card for transit from and to LHR and for trips within Zones 1-2.

If I understand correctly, the second option would cost:
GBP 5 for the card itself (return of the card is now subject to a GBP 3 admin fee)
Plus: GBP 32.10 for the 7 days of travel
Plus: 2 off-peak fares (2 X GBP 1.50) for zones 3-6, to cover the trips from LHR inward to Zone 2 and back.

Q. 3: Have I got those numbers right?

Thanks for your assistance and any related advice you might care to provide.

PalenQ

Are you going to any sights that charge in London - if so the 2 for 1 offer is only with a TravelCard issued at a national rail station on paper - can save tons of money. Heathrow's train station does not qualify - just a note just in case you have not heard of the 2 for 1 thing.

http://www.daysoutguide.co.uk/2for1-london

BigRuss

(1) split the difference. Likelihood is you can get there by 12, but build in some cushion.

(2) No. Your check-in times are dictated by the airlines not how reasonable you think it is to get to LHR at 1020 for a noon flight. Leave earlier, arrive no later than 10 am.

(3) How many "we" are there? If 2 or more, then get paper travelcards at Charing X instead of an Oyster and go to www.daysoutguide.co.uk for discounts including the War Rooms, the Tower, and Hampton Court Palace. You'll save more than what a rack-rate trip on the Piccadilly to Leicester Square will cost.

janisj

Slight change to BigRuss' #3 . . . get PAYG Oysters ate LHR (get them at the ticket window -- shouldn't be a long queue) w/ enough £ to cover the trips from/to LHR plus any other outside zone 2 journeys (like to Hampton Court Palace).

Then buy paper 7 day, zone 1-2 travelcards at Charing Cross.

I'd definitely go w/ the 1PM meet up. You have no control over immigration queues. If you are early you can eat/wait in Charing Cross station or the attached hotel.

If your flight is delayed - you'll need a way to contact the owner.

PalenQ

Or take the Heathrow Express or cheaper Heathrow Connect in a swoosh into Paddington Station - buy your paper travel card there. HEX routinely has two for one offers - you get two return tickets for a total of 50 quid or 12.50 pounds a ride on a train equipped for folks with luggage - the Tube can get really crowded and can be troublesome if you have to change.

janisj

>>Or take the Heathrow Express or cheaper Heathrow Connect in a swoosh into Paddington Station -<<

Makes no sense since the OP is headed to Craven Street/Charing Cross.

tedgale

Very helpful -- thanks.

There are only a couple of 2 for 1 offers that match our current plans: A special exhibition at the V&A and the general admission to Kensington Palace.

Most of the things I want to do are free (V&A, Sir John Soane museum, the Geffrye museum) or aren't on the list (the Sargent show at the Nat Portrait Gallery).

But there are some other sights on that list that we hadn't planned to visit and by which I'm now rather tempted:

The Foundling Museum (we will be near Coram Fields anyway); Inigo Jones's Banqueting Hall; and the Courtauld Gallery (which I haven't seen since it moved from Home House at the end of the '80s).

That's the challenge with London: choosing! Thanks again

29FEB

Tedgale, I'm glad you posted as I was unaware of the return administration fee. I see it's only if card is turned in within one month of purchase:

<i>(From 2015, TFL now charges a £3 admin fee if you return an Oyster within a month of purchase - the same as the admin fee on the Visitor Oyster Card).</i>

PalenQ

Makes no sense since the OP is headed to Craven Street/Charing Cross.>

Wel with lots of luggage perhaps it could make sense - grab a taxi that meets the trains at Paddington or take a direct bus I believe - I did it in reverse once Charing Cross to Paddington to the HEX. Man Tubes can get so so crowded in central London - with lots of bags - now maybe they're traveling light but if not...

tedgale

As I mentioned, we will have carry-on only. It's only a one week trip.

PalenQ

Well yeh take the Tube then and I believe it goes direct anyway or close enough. It's always an empty Tube train when leaving Heathrow or sparsely crowded until it gets into going underground in London itself and can get very mobbed - so if one had heavy luggage and had to change to another Tube they would be boarding maybe another such SRO Tube and that with luggage can de daunting - but you are a veteran traveler who knows the ropes.

scdreamer

We used the 2 for 1 last summer and it more than paid for itself. We were in London for 10 days, and once I looked at the list of attractions, it was a no-brainer.

Be sure to print out any offers you might be interested in ahead of time, unless you will have ready access to a printer. Also - you will need a passport sized head shot photo for the pass.

AnselmAdorne

"We are flying Business Class ..."

Hi Ted. If you're on AC, they give business class passengers a fast track pass for immigration. Last time I entered the UK using one of those (that would have been March 2012), clearing immigration was like a knife through butter.

Not sure what it's like today.

E

janisj

>>Wel with lots of luggage perhaps it could make sense - grab a taxi that meets the trains at Paddington or take a direct bus I believe <<

Nope - Still doesn't make sense. A taxi from Paddington will double the transport costs, and if one was going to schelpp to the buses they might as well have taken the tube in the first place.

PalenQ

Nope - Still doesn't make sense>

so you suggest that folks who have a tonof luggage are best taking the Tube? Well I disagree - been on too many tubes with too much luggage to and from Heathrow - I never take car services as I presume you do from your past posts - and time can be a factor - no freeways penetrate central London and the West Way way can be bumper to bumper - could take hours.

You really would take the Tube with a ton of luggage amnd advise it? Yes for someone with only carry-on it is a piece of cake and if there are no changes (like for tedgale) but for new travelers to London it could be a nightmare - especially if they have to change stations and go up and down lots of stairs at times.

cynthia_booker

I know you didn't ask, but since you are staying on Craven Street, if you find yourself with a spare hour or so, the Benjamin Franklin house is right there and is on the 2-4-1 list.

There is a good history of the street and development there on the Benjamin Franklin House webpage, click on "About the House".

janisj

>>so you suggest that folks who have a tonof luggage are best taking the Tube? <<

No I didn't . . . (I almost always recommend people w/ a lot of luggage use a car service.) I simply added that to respond to your suggestion to take the HEX plus a bus is an option.

Why do you always have to twist things and use straw arguments.

But in any case it doesn't relate to the OP since they won't have a ton of luggage.

So let's not send yet another thread off in a ditch.

janisj

Oh -- yes - you'll be staying practically next door to the Benjamin Franklin House (it is a short street so you can't be more than a block from the house)

tedgale

I had heard about the B Franklin house -- thanks.

Anselm: Good to hear from you.

No, we're not flying Air Canada, alas. As you ay recall, we spend the winter in Savannah nowadays, so we're flying United through Washington/ Dulles.

United would not have been my first choice, as online reviews of that airline are abysmal. But we're flying on Aeroplan points and United is all that's offered.

Not a planned trip -- my sister in law had a fatal accident in her London home and we're going for the memorial service.

Does anyone know whether United passengers in Business would get an accelerated entry or exit process at LHR?

tedgale

I just noticed on the Royal Palaces website that online tickets for Hampton Court and Kensington Palace are half-price until Friday, February 13.

That pretty much removes the rationale for getting a "2 for 1" seven-day paper card. There's very little else on my shortlist that is offered on the "2 for 1".