Directions from Heathrow to Victoria Station
 

Am flying to Heathrow tomorrow and left directions at home....I have my mother and daughter traveling with me. We each have a small rolling suitcase with us. What is the easiest route from Heathrow to Victoria Station? Thanks!!!

'Easiest' but expensive - taxi.

Cheapest, not difficult - tube; there is a tube station in the airport.

More expensive than the tube, same number of changes (one) and about 30 minutes faster - Heathrow express (leaves from the station in the airport) to Paddington and tube from there to Victoria.

FYI:

For a cab, with the exchange rate and a tip, figure at least $70. This is what I paid last year.

National Express bus is also a possibility (but will be more expensive than the tube, and maybe not a savings over a prebooked car):

http://www.nationalexpress.com

I've never taken a cab from Heathrow to central London, but if it is only 70 dollars, that's not much more than Heathrow Express for three.

The tube is MUCH cheaper though.

Unless time is a huge issue, the best way is almost certainly the Tube, changing at Hammersmith to the District Line (just cross the platform) to Victoria. If you're travelling between about 8am and 9.30am, or 5pm to 7pm, you may well find the Tube fills up as you get near Victoria, and Victoria itself will be full of people hurrying between work and their train (or vice versa).

We did this last month and changed to the District Line at Hammersmith.

This would have been great had the Lift not been out of service. My small roll around suitcase got very heavy after about the 10th step up, then we had to carry them down to the platform. Once at Victoria, be aware that there is NO Lift from the tube platform to the street so you have to lug your suitcase up some more stairs.

I'm with Patrick on this one - go on the tube to Hammersmith and walk across platform (no steps) to pick up the District Line to Victoria. There are no steps at Hammersmith to negotiate. There are a few a Victoria but nothing you shouldn't be able to cope with with a small rolling suitcase.

If you are going to Victoria you won't get there a lot quicker going on the Heathrow Express via Paddington or taxi.

Aircars2000.com - if it's not too late to book them.

The tube will shock you - it will be noisey and crowded, not suitable for carrying luggage in. You're best off with Heathrow Express followed by a taxi to your hotel.

They will save at least 32 pounds by taking the tube instead of Aircars. A trivial sum to some, but a day's budget to others.

Aircars2000 will charge 40GBP cash - the tube costs more than just under three pounds a head.

Furthermore, I think that a 30GBP (approx.) premium is a small price to pay for comfort and a stress free transfer into London. The tube won't provide an easy introduction to the city.

Dave, you mean I carried all that luggage up and down steps for nothing! I guess that nice young man who pointed upward when I asked him how to get to the District Line was just pulling my leg. Seriously, I wish I'd seen a way to "walk across the platform" when we were there but I didn't.

At Hammersmith, Piccadilly and District Line trains run on parallel tracks and stop on opposite sides of the same platform. Coming from Heathrow, you alight at Hammersmith and walk about twenty feet to get the District Line train to Victoria. You can do the same at the next station, Barons Court, where the walk is even shorter because the platforms are narrower.