Heathrow question - first time overseas traveler
 

Flying into Heathrow next week- first trip overseas. Want to fly out to Dublin same day. RynanAir flies out of 3 London area airports. Need suggestions on best and easiest to get to from Heathrow. Will be flying back into London after a couple of days. Suggestions on storing a larger bag for the two days would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for any help!!!

It would have been better to add the Dublin flight to your overseas flight as then the connection would have been protected in case your inbound flight was late. It might still be better to take a flight out of Heathrow even if it costs more to reduce the hassle factor and the time you need to allow to make the connection. You have left it very late to buy the tickets.

I would nominate Gatwick as the easiest airport to reach - direct National Express coach from Heathrow. Assuming you fly back into Gatwick, leave your heavy luggage there: http://www.gatwickairport.com/at-the...lost-property/

Be aware that you need to allow yourself a very significant window of time to get from LHR to LGW - and still be on time to check in/get through security for your ongoing flight. (I would assume at least 5 hours - but all depends on when you arrive, how many other flights are coming in and how bad the traffic is.)

Also be sure you understand the luggage rules (generally much more stringent) for discount flights.

I wouldn't do this on the same day. It's bad enough when the second flight on an independent itinerary is out of the same airport.

I wouldn't go to the trouble and expense of flying to Dublin for just two days (three nights?) either, but it's not my trip.

If you are flying into Heathrow, then the best option for Dublin is flying out from Heathrow - ie with Aer Lingus.

There are left luggage offices in every terminal so leave your luggage there.

But allow at least 5 hours between flights.

<<first trip overseas>>

Ok, that's obvious because you don't have a concept of Heathrow. Heathrow is effectively one enormous compilation of three smaller airports comprised of Terminal 1&3, Terminal 4 and Terminal 5. It is the busiest airport in Europe and third busiest in the world. And unlike Atlanta's Hartsfield International (a domestic terminal, an international terminal, easy connections via airport train), the only airport in the US with more traffic, Heathrow is not logically laid out in one basic area. Terminals 1&3, 4 and 5 are more than a mile from each other. To get from one of the three areas to another takes 20+ minutes, on a good day.

You really needed to think about this before scheduling your flight to London. London's total airport system is the world's busiest - it services 20% more passengers than any other city's airport system and Heathrow is just over 50% of that.

There is no London airport that is near Heathrow. The distances to just about all of them from Heathrow are farther than from Baltimore's BWI to Reagan National, which is a 50-minute trip.

Heathrow's own website lists how to get to Gatwick or Stansted by bus (75, 90 minutes, respectively) and doesn't even list Luton or London City because the ways to transfer are so daft unless you spend the equivalent of 1/2 your fare to Dublin just transiting from Heathrow to Luton or City.

Changing to Ryanair is unlikely to make any sense at all.

For all its reputation as an aggressive discounter, it's very rare for Ryanair to charge more than a pound or two less from Gatwick to Dublin than Aer Lingus or British Airways charge for flights from Heathrow to Dublin. It's not unheard of for Aer Lingus to charge less from Heathrow than Ryanair from Gatwick.

Don't even dream of changing airports to get to Dublin. If your plan is to fly back to London, then go into London and fly home a day or two later, it MIGHT make sense to use a different airline to another London airport (usually, Aer Lingus to Southend is cheapest: Cityjet or Flybe to London City gets you to the most convenient airport for many addresses).