Best way to get from Heathrow to London and then down to Southampton
 

Hello,
I'm traveling with my family of 4 from the U.S. to Heathrow and then onto London. We are expected to land at Heathrow around 11am. My daughter wants to visit the Victoria & Albert museum in London straight from the airport. After visiting the museum, we will drive down to Southampton to spend the night before boarding our cruise the next day. We would like to know the best (quick but also economical) way for the 4 of us to get to London and then onto Southampton. Thank you.

I trust you are not landing at LHR on an international flight. It is as dangerous to drive after crossing multiple time zones as it is to drive drunk.

With four of you it may be easiest to use a car service to get to London (try justairports). I always use the tube, it will take about 40 minutes to South Kensington.

I would suggest you then take a taxi to Waterloo station and the train to Southampton - see Your UK Train Journey Planner - National Rail Enquiries.

Yes don't drive for just London to Southampton - you planning to drive to V&A and then back out - paying congestion tax -looking for parking, etc, A private driver who will do Heathrow-V&A - wait there - and drive you and your bags to Waterloo Station for trains right to Southampton - take a cab from there to boat. Same as thursdaysd recommends. You may want to pay extra for 1st class as usually more empty seats and more room for baggage - yes use National Rail Enquiries - Official source for UK train times and timetables to book own train tickets - www.seat61.com has lots on booking your own tickets - at a discount if booking early enough.

Some London experts like janis will recommend some good car services.

>>After visiting the museum, we will drive down to Southampton to spend the night<<

Drive??? Why. There are direct trains from London to Southampton which are faster than any car.

>>best (quick but also economical)<<

We get this sort of question frequently . . . seldom is the quickest way the most economical and what do you mean by 'best'

Your biggest problem is the luggage. There is a cloak room at the V&A but they won't accept large luggage and especially not 'cruise-type luggage'.

>>A private driver who will do Heathrow-V&A - wait there - and drive you and your bags to Waterloo Station for trains right to Southampton<< . . . makes no sense. You'd have to pay a LOT for the driver to sit with the luggage while you visit the museum. Crazy expensive.

What you will need to do is contact someone like justairports.com (not on-line but by phone because you will have a very specific request.). Ask them to quote you LHR to Waterloo station where you will leave your bags, (much shorter) waiting time for the driver, then on to the V&A. If they can't/won't do that, just book them LHR to Waterloo. Drop the bags at Left Luggage and take a taxi to the V&A. Then cab back to Waterloo, collect the luggage and take the train to Southampton. Pre-book the train.

Meant to add-- Why not spend the night IN London instead? That would be much more sensible. Book a car service to Waterloo. Book a hotel right there. Take a cab to the V&A and spend the evening exploring London, riding the Eye, whatever. Take a morning train to Southampton.

Left-luggage wat Waterloo Station costs 5 pounds a bag so yes maybe just take Air Bus or taxi from Heathrow terminals to nearby Feltham station for cheap direct trains to Waterloo Station in 30 minutes - leave bags in storage and take tube to V&A and walk back to Waterloo if into walking a bit. Train strikes have popped up recently in UK and you risk being stuck in London if one hits - always be near your departure city for cruise or plane or whatever IMO.

Warning about more train strikes in 2019: https://inews.co.uk/inews-lifestyle/...va-rail-north/ (Southwestern trains go to Southampton)

>> maybe just take Air Bus or taxi from Heathrow terminals to nearby Feltham station for cheap direct trains to Waterloo Station in 30 minutes <<

Nope -- not if you are traveling with typical luggage that many people take on Cruises. That would be a big schelpp. Plus depending on which terminal the RailAirBus from LHR to Feltham station takes 30 minutes and a taxi would take 20-25 minutes for the same journey. Just take the car service I recommended in to central London. AND it would be cheaper for a party of four. . .

Also look at Southern Rail from London Victoria to Southampton.....That route travels through some beautiful West Sussex countryside, via Arundel [Castle on the right hand side], and Chichester.

The cheapest option are the National Express scheduled buses. Full size 50 seat coaches with washrooms that depart from outside the passenger terminals at Heathrow, though if you are using Terminals 2 or 3 you have to use the bus station situated between them. They do not go to the cruise terminals, you will need a taxi between Southampton Bus Station and one of Southampton's four cruise terminals.

Inevitably full of foreign students going to Southampton University......The washroom [note singular] might be clean at the start of the journey, but not for long.

>>If you stay in London for the night, you can drop the luggage at the hotel, even if you are too early to check-in. You could stay somewhere close to the V&A eg the Rembrandt. <<

I forgot abut the trains from Victoria so a hotel near the VA& or Victoria might be even better than around Waterloo. It is a given that you'd drop the bags at the hotel before heading to the museum.

Nope -- not if you are traveling with typical luggage that many people take on Cruises. That would be a big schelpp. Plus depending on which terminal the RailAirBus from LHR to Feltham station takes 30 minutes and a taxi would take 20-25 minutes for the same journey. Just take the car service I recommended in to central London. AND it would be cheaper for a party of four. . .>

Well actually Feltham Station is about 1/2 mile from Terminal 4 so you would take the free intra-terminal shuttle to Terminal 4 and then a very short taxi ride to Feltham - trains from there to Waterloo arrive at the main Waterloo Station -luggage trolleys right where train stops and wheel to left luggage. So easy and seems the cheapest possible way - the Air Bus may serve Terminal 4 and then go right to Feltham Station, meaning very little expense..

Otherwise car transfer would let you off outside Waterloo Station I would suspect and more of a Schlepp to baggage area.Train fare would be just a few pounds p.p. Cars can get bogged down by London's notorious traffic. What would a car service cost for 4 people?

Sounds like a good alternative that I would not dismiss out of hand.

This sounds very reasonable. Is a car service the same as a taxi? I should not have written "drive" down. Yes, we will be coming off of an International flight and very tired I'm sure. I'm just so used to driving everywhere in SoCal. I just need to get down to Southampton somehow. Thank you.

Sounds great, I will check into car services. Thanks.

This also sounds like a good plan. Thank you.

I've already booked a hotel in Southampton but this is a great idea. I can try to book London if they will let me cancel my hotel in Southampton. Thanks.