6 Hour Layover at London Heathrow
 

Two 30ish adults have a 6 hour layover in Heathrow on a return flight to USA. Spent several months in London but that was several years ago and I can't remember the geography around Heathrow and its proximity to the city. Do we have time do anything other than hang out in the terminal? Does anyone have any suggestions? Not so much trying to cram in some site seeing as trying to fight boredom and get some activity to combat jet lag. <BR>Thanks!

Assuming you need to check in 2 hours prior to flight time and assuming it will take you some time to get through immigration when exiting your first flight you really don't have a great deal of time. Too much time to sit around the a/p and not enough to go anyplace I'd say. I'm a worrier tho and would not leave the a/p because things can happen to cause you to miss the flight, i.e. train problems etc. going in and out of London. There is both the Underground and Paddington Express which you can take into London but really you would not have much time to do anything I'd say, and of course it depends on the time of the day as well. There are quite a few shops and places to eat at Heathrow, it's not an ideal situation but ... Also there is the Hoppa Bus which you can take to one of the close by a/p hotels where you could eat or something like that. Windsor is about 20 min. away but again, traffic can be horrible around Heathrow and if you missed your flight it would not be fun. <BR>I'm sure lots of people will tell you that you can do lots in 6 hours,but really you have about 4.

Six hours is a bit of a tough one - too long to hang around the airport, but a little too short to do anything substantial outside. I personally wouldn't risk going into central London. It's just too big and busy, by the time you've got your bearings, you'd need to head back. <BR> <BR>Instead, I'd recommend taking a taxi into the centre of Windsor - about 8 miles away - have a relaxing stroll from Eton College up to the castle, maybe a spot of tea and a look round the antique shops, and then get back to the airport. You'll need to be back 1.5 hours (minimum) before an international flight.

Hi, Jane, <BR>Assuming your bags are checked through and other airport yoga is handled, you might consider hiring a cab (or navigating underground/trains but that might be too time consuming) and taking off either to Kew Gardens, Windsor, or Hampton Court, any of which can provide a nice outing for a couple of hours. You should leave time to return for the preflight business, but a walk through the gardens or around W. Castle or Hampton Court, might provide some interesting exercise and fresh air before the hell of transatlantic steerage.

To the top for Kay

Jane: I'm frequently caught in same dilemma but as I once lived in London am not fazed by geography. I normally head out of airport as fast as I can and use train/tube (to make fastest connection possible) to Hyde Park (Heathrow) or St. James' Park (Gatwick). I have a walk, cup of coffee, ponder on life, watch swans and (reluctantly) hot foot it back to airport. I assume your bags will be checked right through, otherwise yes time could be a little tight. I find a wander if park really helps wind me down between flights.

Thanks for all of the suggestions! Which do you think is riskier - a tube ride to Hyde Park or a taxi to Windsor?

Tube is riskier, I think. Just this past Sunday we spent two hours on the 'el' train in Chicago on what should have been a 30-minute trip, due to "equipment problems" on the train ahead of us. Lots of people in our car were headed for O'Hare and ended up late for their flights. I remember getting stalled on the Tube a couple of times too, when we were in London, though not for two hours. Just something to think about. Stay close to the airport. The way air travel has been this summer, you'll probably get into Heathrow late and just make your connection (or not).

Express lunch at Cliveden?