Best way from Heathrow to Thistle Charing Cross?
 

Not sure if the Heathrow Express and a cab is the best (fastest/not too expensive) way to get to the Thistle Charing Cross from Heathrow.

Also, any idea how long it will take? My flight arrives at 1230p (Aer Lingus)...is there any chance I can make it to a matinee show (230p)??

TIA!

A cab will cost £40 and take an hour. For more than two people, it's not a bad choice - but you might not make your show.

The Heathrow Express (£13 pp) and a cab (£5) will take a half-hour.

The Heathrow Express is expensive and will only get you to Paddington.

As you're not staying anywhere near Paddington and so will need to travel on from there by cab or tube, I would definitely look into pre-booking a car service from the airport to your hotel. Note this is not the same as getting a taxi on arrival which will be a lot more expensive.

If it were me, I'd get the tube all the way but I understand that a lot of people do not like the idea of that journey (with one change) with luggage. But the Heathrow Express is no easier.

If I were to do any type of car service - who would you recommend?

Thanks again!

All road transport and the Tube will take an hour or more. Only the Tube is less expensive than the Express.

Since the original criteria were fastest/not too expensive, I don't see any alternative to the train.

For <u>absolute</u> speed, I'd take the Tube (Bakerloo Line) from Paddington; The Thistle is right outside the Charing Cross station, as shown on this map:

<b>http://www.journeyplanner.org/Download/EnvMaps/tfl/TK_CharingCross.pdf</b>

Mishoe01 - I live in London and have never used a car service here so I can't recommend a company for you.

However, there are a few companies that are often recommended here by Fodorites that have used them in London. Two names off the top of my head are Justairports and Ray Skinner but I suggest you do a search here on those names and you'll get plenty of information. Alternatively, someone may step in with some information fo you.

Justairports will be the cheapest car service - IF you pay cash. If you use a credit card all the car services will be about the same. Cash/Justairports will be 25%-30% less than a taxi.

No matter which mode of transport - it is pretty unlikely you will make a 1430 curtain. 1230 is merely when your plane is scheduled to touchdown. When you add in time out on the tarmac, loooong walk to arrivals, luggage retrieval, immigration, etc it can easily eat up an hour or even more.

Going straight to the theatre really isn't an option - they do have cloak rooms but lugging bags to the theatre is a pain. (BTW - I also wouldn't book an evening performance the first night - jet lag after an overnight flight means you'll probably doze through the entire 2nd act)

I'd just take thge tube or a car service directly to the hotel and then wander around that area -- Trafalgar Square, the river, Somerset House, etc.

Ditto to justairports.com. I used their services (32&pound;)last May and found it to be the best price to get to the Thistle Charing Cross hotel. I got my hotel via priceline and it was great!

Monica

If you can get out of Heathrow by 13:30, you've got a fair shot at the matinee. Take the Express to Paddington, check your luggage there, then take a cab to the theater (Tube may be faster, depending on which theater; it gets to Victoria in 15 minutes).

After the show, go back and pick up your gear, and on to the hotel.

If the theater is close to Victoria, you might want to weigh the option of schlepping your luggage to there (time permitting) to minimize the amount of backtracking you have to do.

I have done the trip to Thistle Charring Cross from Heathrow by tube. It was only 2 pounds with an Oyster card. Fares have changed since then. Simply do a cross platform change from a Piccadilly train to a District train at Hammersmith and get off at Embankment. There are no lifts or escalators at Embankment but it there are only a few steps to climb. After exiting the station go up the hill abut 200 metres and your hotel is on the left. I think you would be a bit rushed to catch the show.

I would never book theater tickets 2 hours after arriving at Heathrow, there's always the possibility of a flight delay and it can take an hour just to get through Heathrow and collect your luggage. The last two times I've arrived there we circled the airport for a good 1/2 hour waiting for a landing slot (great views of Windsor and London as we were circling!) Add in an hour to get into London and check in your hotel and you've missed the curtain.

Gavin, I'm staying at the Thistle Charing Cross next week, I assume with luggage your route is preferable to staying on the Piccadilly line until Piccadilly Circus and then transferring to the Bakerloo line one stop to Charing Cross?

Are we still talking about getting mishow01 to the theater? If so,

1. Don't buy tickets for the 2:30 in advance. There are too many unknowns.

2. The Tube from the airport will not get you there in time.

3. You can, however, buy your Heathrow Express ticket on line at heathrowexpress.com so you have it when you land.

4. You can acquire a three- or seven-day Travelcard at <b>http://www.ticket-on-line.com</b> to get you from Paddington to the theater and hotel on the Tube or bus for basically nothing.

5. You don't have to check in to your hotel if you're pressed for time. Dump your gear at Paddington, Victoria, or (if you can get to the hotel by 2:00) the hotel luggage check room.

Thanks for all the replies - I really didn't think I could make a matinee show, but wasn't 100% sure. Now I know not to plan for it...after all this is a vacation. I don't have to worry about jet lag as I'll be coming in from almost 2 weeks in Ireland.

Now I'll just deal with the most convenient way to get to the hotel.

Again - I appreciate all the comments and suggestions.

mishoe01: I was just going to post that the suggestion about rushing to the theatre and then back to Paddington - by then in the height of rush hour - is not really a good idea, especially exhausted after your flight. But while I was composing what to say you beat me to it - good decision!

Kristi: It is best to transfer at Hammersmith no matter if one has luggage or not. The change at Hammersmith is one of the easiest on the whole system.

oops - forget about the &quot;exhausted&quot; bit. The flight from Ireland isn't exhausting :)

I don't get the &quot;rushing&quot; anywhere. I realize the following is all moot, since OP seems to have been talked out of the theater, but if you're out of Heathrow within an hour (which is by no means unusual), you're at Paddington well before 14:00, with time in hand to get to the theater (or to Victoria - see Plan B, above).

After the show, there is no requirement that you return for your luggage right away - and if it's at Victoria, you can walk there and have a nice dinner before making your way to the hotel.

<b>mishoe01</b>, what have you got to lose? The worst that can happen is that you don't get there. So why not try to make it?

Kristi: I have only done it the way that I described. Piccadilly Station has never struck me as being a good place to be with a lot of stuff because of all the people and the complexity of it. Do be aware that it is 200 metres uphill (not too steep) from Embankment.

Thanks Gavin and janisj, I probably wouldn't have thought to transfer that way but it makes a lot of sense! 200 metres with wheeled luggage shouldn't be too bad.

I think I'd ride the Piccadilly to Leicester Square, then the #176 bus to the front door of the hotel.

Schlepping luggage: 0 metres
Tube changes: 0

(You could also get on the Northern Line at Leicester Square and ride right to the hotel. But I wouldn't.)

And you actually are advising someone to navigate the station/stairs at Leicester Square -- w/ luggage???

There would be a heck of a lot of schlepping of luggage IN the station before they actually got to up to the road. And what if they come out of the wrong station entrance? Leicester Sq is really not the best introduction to the tube when one is toting luggage.

I suppose they could take the stairs - I'd probably opt for the escalators (of which there are six at L.S.).

When the alternative is trudging the length of two football fields uphill, I choose automation every time.

sheesh - I don't mean the stairs from the platform up to the station. Of course one would take the escalators.

I meant the stairs from the station to the street. If you take the Leicester Square exit you have to negotiate a nasty stairway that is very crowded at most times of the day. Sort of like salmon fighting up stream and w/ luggage no less.

Well, of course you should figure out which exit to use - no matter which station you choose. At Embankment, the wrong exit takes you out on the river side, in the opposite direction from where you're going. And since four lines converge at the station, a beginner has twice the confusion factor to deal with compared to Leicester Square's two.

I think many people must be seduced by the simplicity of the Hammersmith transfer without considering the rest of the equation.

Well, I think I'm going to try the Hammersmith/Embankment route next week and I'll let you know how it is mishoe01. Thanks for the discussion on the alternatives, you don't factor in things like stairs when you are simply looking at the tube map.

Thanks Kristi - I'd appreciate that.

Hope you have a great trip!

Embankment station is much less stress and complication than Leicester Square, not least because you have a aview of what's outside both exits the minute you pass the ticket barrier. If you find yourself facing the river, it's no great brainstrain to realise for yourself that you're not about to walk up Villiers St, and to turn around to the other exit. There's plenty of signposting and people to ask who aren't besieged by the passing throngs.

But if time is the issue, then it has to be Heathrow Express and either the Bakerloo Line or a taxi.

Just back and I wanted to thank Gavin for his tip on how to get to the hotel, much easier than what I had intended to do. I did the transfer from the Piccadilly at Hammersmith (can also do it at Baron's Court) and there was a district line train waiting, got off at Enbankment and walked up the slight incline to get to the hotel. You will want to look for the exit sign that says Villiers Street and Covent Garden, walk up the cobblestone street and when you get to the top go left and the hotel is right there above Charing Cross. There is a short stair way getting out of the tube (about 30 stairs) but the way out was not nearly as cumbersome as a lot of the stations (including Charing Cross).

One thing to note, be sure to check which train you are getting on when going back to Heathrow, I transferred at Baron's Court because there was a train waiting and it turned out to be going to Rayner's Lane, a different branch of the Piccadilly Line. Make sure you look at the overhead signs and see that it is going to Heathrow.

Kristi - thank you so much for your input. Hope you had a good time.

Thanks to everyone else too!