Does anyone know the time frame for getting to Hampton Court on bus v. train? We are staying right by Victoria Station and there are several busses that run to Hampton Court.

Are there really buses from Victoria to Hampton Court? I can't find any. Some commercial web sites claim there's a 718 coach, but this seems to run only during the flower show.

By ordinary public transport, using buses only will take you about 2-2.5 hours, if all run as scheduled (you need to change several times). By train, about 45-60 minutes.

For this, as almost all such questions, http://journeyplanner.tfl.gov.uk.

As to whether the 718 actually exists, right now, maybe someone else can help.

There is a direct train from London Waterloo, it takes about 35 minutes. Once at Hampton Court station it is a five minute walk to the palace.

Having lived a mile from Hampton Court until last October, I never saw a bus arrive from Victoria. the only buses i saw were organised 'coach trips.' I don't know about the 718..

I would take the underground to Waterloo or jump a cab.

The train is definately your best bet.

A travel card for £5.80 will cover the tube and train and is valid for travel anywhere in London for a day.

Are you over for the flower show, beginning of July?

Trains are by far the quickest and easiest way of getting to Hampton Court. The trains go from Waterloo via Vauxhall, Clapham Junction and Wimbledon. From Victoria, the easiest route is from Victoria main line station to Clapham Junction, but you can also get the Victoria Line tube to Vauxhall, or the District Line to Wimbledon; in each case, you have one change of train. Hampton Court is in zone 6, so a Travelcard for zones 1-6 will cover all possible journeys by any combination of train, tube or bus.

I find this to be a very interesting question. Just what is the "best" way to Hampton Court?? We decided to go against all conventiional wisdom on how to get there and take an alternative route.

We took the tube to the end of the end of the line at Wimbledon. And then we took a city bus that wandered through the suburbs.

As we rode, I had my map out and was scanning it to see where we were. People were giving us advice and commentary. All the way we had a running conversation with the locals. Seems like everybody on the bus wanted to make sure we got to where we were going. When they were not talking directly to us, they were talking to each other because people knew each other but the tone of the conversations were such that none of my family felt excluded. I must admit that had we not gone as the locals do, we would have been in a tourist mode all the way. As it was we were riding with the shoppers, the boys going fishing along the Thames, people going to work, going to the doctor, etc. We remember the bus trip about as well as we remember Hampton Court itself.

When we got to the bus stop for the palace, we had ample warning that we were approaching. And we also got the inside information on the best pub for lunch, which proved to be accurate.

So which way is best? It depends on what you want from your trip.

You could take a train to Kingston from London Waterloo and then take a boat or walk along the River Thames to Hampton Court.

If you're concerned about time I would definately take the train...there is so much to see at Hampton Court Palace that I really didn't want to "waste" the time on travelling there. On the other hand, if time is of no concern, then I would take a bus or, better yet, a boat down the Thames. It all depends on what is most important to you.

I guess time is the most critical factor. I read in an old (1999) Frommers guide that there were about 6 busses that run to Hampton Court Palace. That must have changed.

How long is the boat ride and how early do they leave and from where?