cost of tube from Heathrow
 

Hi trying to figure out how much cash we will need.
what is the cost of the tube to central london approx. can this be paid with a credit card or cash only? There are three of us.. Is this the best way.. How much time will it take? thank you!

It's not an easy answer...

In theory one cash fare costs £4 (assuming all are adults) and yes you can use a credit card in the booking office....

However, you probably don't want to simply buy a single fare from Heathrow to Central London...

Will you be in London for 5 days or more? Then you would want to buy a 7day travelcard for zones 1 & 2....this costs I believe £22.50 but the add on fare for the trip from Heathrow to the outskirts of zone 2 is £1.80 weekdays from 0700 to 1900, £1 otherwise.

Or are you in London for a day or two..you might want to buy an oyster card with prepaid time...the one fare from Heathrow to central London would be £3.50 but then if you use further public transportation that day, its 90p a pop for each bus ride and £1.50 for each tube ride in Central London till you reach a cap limit of £6.50; thereafter everything else is free for the remainder of the day.

Or if you don't want the oyster card, then you buy a paper zone 1-6 paper one day travelcard for £7...if you don't get this, should you use a bus the rest of the day, it would be another £2, another tube ride would be £4 so obviously if you make one more tube trip that day, the one day travelcard is the way to go.

Further complicating it would be if one or more of the others are children which will endlessly complicate the solution.

But the ismple answer is probably most likely you don't want to buy a single fare from London Heathrow to central London unless that is your last use of public transportation that day.

&quot;<i>Is this the best way.. How much time will it take? </i>&quot;

Despite all the useful info above - w/o knowing WHERE you want to go in London it is impossible to tell you if the tube is the best way.

So - where are you headed to specifically - London is a BIG place)? Also - are you able to handle your luggage for fairly long walks and up/down some stairs (in many tube stations)

The have ticket machines at Heathrow that are very easy to use and take credit and debit cards.

Hi thanks.. we are staying at the Royal Society, Carlton House Terrace..which says it is close to Charing Cross..yes we will have luggage..it doest look tooooo. bad of a walk...

We will arrive one afternoon.. stay the night.. leave for Oxford the next day.. There two days.. train back to London.. and then the Eurostar to paris..

Well - you will definitely get used to schlepping luggage on that itinerary.

Just curious - why are you going into London (and in St James's at that) only to immediately go up to Oxford the next day? You can take an express bus directly from LHR to Oxford w/o going into London at all.

Anyway - that will be quite a walk w/ luggage from Charing Cross -- across Trafalgar Sq and down the Mall or Cockspur St. and to Carlton House Terr. But Charing Cross station is not on the line that comes from LHR. So you'd have to change lines at Piccadilly Circus. The RS is actually closer to the Piccadilly Circus tube stop than it is to Charing Cross, and you wouldn't have to change lines. But it would also be a schlepp w/ luggage.

If it were me - I'd spring for a car service from LHR to the Royal Society. Or come up out of the tube station and then hail a taxi. But really - a car service is the way to go . . . . .

thank you so much. I can see that would have been a big error! We will look into the car service.. can you do that when you get there? or do the Pic line and taxi...

ps. sorry bringing our 20 yr who has never been to London so we will cram in two days on the front and back end of our trip..If it was just us.. yes that would have made better sense

I suggest that you either book a car service or get the tube to Green Park and then take a taxi.

Yikes. I suspect this is a budget traveller. Under no circumstances would I recommend to a budget traveller to take a taxi/arrange for car service in London. That cab would easily exceed $100 US. Take the underground. It won't be fun but it will save you $ and it will build character.

The car service, for three people, is not such a bad deal, based on the prices people have posted before here.

sorry, galbracj but you are wrong. BTW - the only taxi anyone mentioned was for a short ride from P. Circus or Green Park. A car service all the way in from LHR will not cost anywhere near $100. More like &pound;30 (a bit less than $60). justairports.com is one good car service and is even cheaper if one pays cash.

coxbox: You must book a car service in advance -- they are not allowed to cruise/pick up un-booked parties at the airport. Contact justairports and get quotes for cash and credit payments from LHR to the RS.

thanks all.. No were not budget travelers..just trying to figure this all out.. and not get too harried. Were doing oxford for business and then France.. and then back to London. I did try the Just Airports ..like many and couldnt get through.(couldnt book it.. it says site not there etc) Somewhere else someone mentioned they have another site..did find that(I think) and emailed..I dont know what the post code means? Is there another service if I cant figure that one out?

I did book our tickets today for Oxford and the Eurostar.. something was accomplished!

If for some reason we do do the tube ,although i doubt it at this point.. is Green Park a better stop for the cab.

This is the Royal Society's post code -- SW1Y 5AG

(sort of the equivalent of a US zip code)

Carlton House Terrace is a bit of a walk from any tube station that's easily accessed from Heathrow, but Green Park station would be a good place to pick up a taxi, since it's on Piccadilly. This particular tube/taxi option would be the cheapest, and probably quickest.

If you come out of the station on the north side of Piccadilly, taxis will be pointing in the direction of the shortest way round to Carlton House Terrace. If you come out on the south side, they might well go the longer way round via the Palace and Trafalgar Square. Mightn't make a great deal of difference in time or price.

IMO a car service (just airports) is a better choice. It's easier than managing luggage on the tube. In addition you'll need three travel cards for zone 1-6 + a taxi. The total cost will come close to that of a car service without the convenience.

ok looking into jutst Airorts again.. I couldnt get there last tine.. URL not found..will look for something else if I cant get it again.
a question though. curios.. On the Tube website when I input Heathrow to green Park and ask to show fares it just says 4 pounds.. not per zone etc. So of course my first searches I thought the car would be way more.. Are they just showing a fare for a zone?

Sorry! I get it now! I thought you meant each person needed three cards.. but you meant for all of us.. Ok Im think Im done now.. thank you all!

Coming to San Diego? let me know!

Just a quick note to avoid any possible confusion. Yes, each person will need a zone 1-6 travel card. Each off-peak travel card cost 7 pds not 4. So the cost will be 21+ the cost of a taxi. A car service will be about 25, if paid in cash.

It will take 30-40 minutes to get to Green Park from LHR. Taxi time ?? depends. A car service certainly won't take much longer.

No, you wouldn't need a travelcard for zones 1-6. As xyz123 said in the first reply you got:

If you get a single cash fare for the tube it will be &pound;4 per person.

If you are staying long enough to make it worthwhile to get a travelcard, you need only get it for zones 1-2, with the appropriate cash add-on for the one-off trip from Heathrow (&pound;1.80 or &pound;1 depending when it is).