I would like to know which is a better way to go, to purchase the express tickets and tube to the Holborn area or hire a transfer company? trying to be on a budget. one adult, two 17 years old and one 13 year old. First time in London and would love your help. already purchased the travelcards from the US, but it is good for 7 days.

You are better off hiring a driver transfer service. It's a flat fee (plus tip) and door to door. Witht he Heathrow Express you will still need a cab to your hotel and it will end up more in the long run. Contact the company we use www.london-transfers.com they are very very good and reliable. Tell them Lori recommended them if you use them. We always buy tube passes while in London, but each to their own.

Hi zee<BR>good advice above.<BR>I have a file on London which is helpful I think for first-time visitors; if you'd like to see it, email me

For four passengers, a driver will be cheaper - and you won't have to lug your bags on to, off of the train and through the tube (not fun after a very tiring flight)<BR><BR>BTW - for your next trip since it is too late for this one. There is no need to buy your tavel cards ahead of time. They are cheaper in London and you have more choices (zones covered, etc) so you can tailor them to what you will actually need.

Thank you for your quick answers, since I will be leaving in a few weeks. Lori the transfer company will cost 49 pounds what is the usual tip for them so I will be prepared thanks again

Zee,<BR>Depending on how you feel the service is 10-15% will work. If you use Ray Skinner's company that I recommended you should be pleased with the service. We've always been picked up with Toyota vans - very comfortable and roomy. Tell Ray Lori & John said Hi. Enjoy the trip, London is a really fun place to visit.

Your travelcards will work on the Tube, so unless you have loads of luggage and/or are likely to be too tired/apprehensive, take the Tube! The line from the airport goes straight to the Holborn station. You will almost certainly get a seat. Depending on what time you get on the road if you take a cab, a Tube journey could be just as quick.

Now I am confuse in what to do. We will each have one 22 inch suitcase and a backpack. 4 of us. Do I take the transfer or the tube. A friend said the tube is confusing if never been there at all. So I do want the most economical way, so help in deciding.

If you truly want to save money, take the tube (not the express). If you truly want convenience, take the transfer. London is the easiest underground to figure out but can be daunting on your first trip. Luckily most everyone speaks english and will help if you ask.

Zee, you’re young and healthy, you haven’t overpacked, you’re on a budget, you’ve already paid to use the tube and its dead easy to take the tube from Heathrow to Holborn. Now what should you do, pay &pound;40+ for a car service, or take the tube?

I'd never take the tube with luggage of any kind (my personal opinion) and I know the tube very well. You do not say where you are traveling from but jet lag can be a big factor upon arrival. I fly from the west coast and even knowing London very well would not want to deal with the tube upon exiting the plane carrying luggage.<BR> <BR>Sure the tube is the cheapest of all .. but convenience and comfort (at the end of a long flight) go a long way toward making a vacation a vacation and not some sort of ordeal to get through. Naturally the decision is yours, but even 22" suitcases and backpacks can be cumbersome on the Tube, it can be very crowded you know. If you are arriving at some real off hour perhaps it's OK, but if you are arriving anywhere near rush hour I'd stay off the tube completely with luggage. I'd scrimp on something else and not use the tube to get to the hotel. (There is tons of free stuff to do in London and plenty of places to eat inexpensive meals - save money there).

Zee, if you are going to Holborn then the journey on the tube from Heathrow will be easy, you won't even have to change lines. Make sure to study a tube map before you go. I did this with the Paris Metro years ago and felt much more confident using their system when I got there.<BR><BR>Tube map - http://www.thetube.com/content/tubem...s/tube_map.gif

In one of those wildly frugal minutes a couple of years ago, I decided we should take the tube to our flat, half way between Leicester Square and Covent Garden stations. Sounded easy. We pulled our luggage what seemed like a mile through Heathrow to get to the tube station there, and then got onto a jam packed car (our arrival was about 7:30 AM), the car got more and more jammed as we stood the entire way -- no seats available and we were standing up straddling our luggage. We encountered many dirty looks from the locals getting onto the train (it was pouring rain out, obviously as everyone was dripping all over us) for taking up room with our luggage. When we finally got to the Leicester Square station, the escalator was broken and we had to walk up the stairs with our luggage. <BR>That was the first and last time for that. We always use a car service. Incidentally the one we use is Swiss Cottage Cars which is still charging just 25 pounds from Heathrow to central London hotels with no parking or extra charges. They don't have a web site, however, so you have to call them. From the states that's 011-44-20-7431-2700.

Yes the Tube is direct to Holborn. But it would be a very foolish economy. The trip will take you almost an hour and it will be very crowded - especially if you land in the morning and have to share the tube with the thousands of Londoners heading to work.<BR><BR>The tube is easy and you will use it every day - but when you are EXHAUSTED after an overnight flight is not the best time to learn how to use it. Plus you will be underground and not see anything. In a car (or even the airbus) you are above ground and see lots of interesting things enroute. A long, tiring tube ride is not your best introduction to London. Hire a car and relax.

For Pete's sake! Anyone would think that Zee and his family were heavily asthmatic, panic-prone imbeciles and that the Underground route he should wisely avoid is a subterranean nightmare with perils galore to ensnare the foolish stranger. The Tube is NOT difficult to work out. Zee WILL be able to communicate effectively in his native tongue to others who speak the same language. He will have an incentive to PACK LIGHT. He and his family will feel a sense of ACHIEVEMENT and have more confidence when using the Tube in the future. Why clog up the roads? Why not use the Tube tickets you've already paid (over the odds) for? <BR>(Others have a point when they say Swiss Cottage cars are cheap and that escalators do break down and that landing in rush hour might be a pain, though.)

Thanks for all the info. I will be coming from being in Spain, so the flight is 2 1/2 hours only, and I will be arriving on a Sunday afternoon. So I hope traffic isn't so bad.<BR>

Just one other thought, if you're going to use the travelcard: does it cover zones 1 through 6 on the tube, or only zones 1 and 2? (A travelcard for zones 1 and 2 is the most common, since that's the center of the city.) If the latter, you will need to stop at the ticket window at the Heathrow tube station to buy an add-on ticket for the difference in fare for that one trip. Also, you might want to look at a map and see how long a walk it will be to your hotel from the Holborn tube station, if your luggage is heavy. Otherwise, the tube is a convenient option for getting to that part of town.

I'm with Ron and Nigel...take the tube!

Apropos this interesting debate, I have been looking at the report, Transport Statistics for London 2001. In 2000, 64 million passengers used Heathrow airport. 38% used cars as a means of transport to and from the airport. These would be tourists using rental cars, few of whom would be transferring to or from London itself, and local people, using personal vehicles. Taxi/minicab, at 26%, was the most popular public transport mode, followed by underground and bus/coach, each at 14%, and national rail, i.e. Heathrow Express, at 9%.<BR><BR>Interesting, to me at least, but is it of any use to Zee? I suppose if you decide to use a car service (a euphemism for minicab) as recommended by Lori and Patrick and Janis, you will be comforted to know that you are using the most popular mode. If you opt for the tube, you will be comforted to know that you will be among 25,000 other passengers that use that mode daily, which might allay concerns that this is a difficult, daunting or dangerous way to get into London.

zee: Sorry - I jumped to the conclusion that you wereflying across the Atlantic. Since youe intra-Europe flight is so short the tube is not such a bad choice.<BR><BR>The tube IS easy to use and economical - my point was that after a 6 to 12 hour overnight flight landing on a weekday morning it is not the best way to get into the city and will just make the jet lag worse. <BR><BR>Since you have a short flight and land on a weekend you won't face those problems. The tube will definitely be the cheapest option for you.