I like the airbus as well, although since they've cancelled the route that goes to South Kensington it's no longer useful to me.

Rachele, if you have much luggage then the Tube can be a nightmare, especially in the stations where there are no lifts. Trust me, I found that out the hard way just recently.

I would NOT recommend the tube if you're going to have 3-4 pieces of luggage. From a cost standpoint, I've never found the Heathrow Express to make much sense if you have more than one person.

I don't think there is an Airbus anymore - look at the routes NationalExpress.com offers. Flanneruk may know of other services.

I hear you. I just always travel with one rolling back and a day backpack that is very easy to carry. I do agree if you have a lot of luggage that it would be difficult, but 3 pieces for 2 people didn't sound too bad to me.

We just returned from 2 weeks in London and want to pass on a tip to those going to and from all 3 airports into the city.
If you purchase TimeOut Magazine you will find a 2for1 coupon for the Express Trains(Heathrow,Gatwick and Stanstead).
One restriction...you cannot buy your ticket on the train. You need to use the coupon @ the ticket window.
For the Gatwick Express we paid 12 pounds for 2 people.

Roomeic,
That is a great deal (2 for 1).
Q1 - Where do you get the TimeOutMagazie?
Q2 - At the airport, are there ticket booths for the Heathrom Express?

Hey! Get excited!! You're gonna have a great trip.

You can get TimeOut (it's published every Wed.) at any newsagent/newsstand. If you're arriving at Terminal 3, there's a WH Smith or somethingorother just past the 'meeting point' near the Metro cafe. Guaranteed, everywhere that sells newspapers will have TimeOut.

Then head back downstairs to Heathrow Express train station -- follow the signs.

Ooooooh you're gonna have a good trip!

WillTravel, if the Airbus service was canceeled it must have been very recent as it is still advertised today on the LHR website. I used the service in June. Where did you hear the service was cancelled ?

Someone may have said this but I have to log off in a minute. We took the Tube from Heathrow to Gloucester Tube station and walked up to Thistle Kensington Palace (next to your hotel). It was about a 15 minute walk and we had rolling carryons. You could simply take a taxi from the Gloucester Tube station.
((@))

curiousx, I should have been clearer. I'm not sure how the buses are labeled now at Heathrow, but if you go to www.airbus.co.uk, it redirects you to the NationalExpress.com site, and I think there was a buyout a year or so ago. You can check on that site to see what bus service there is from airports.

Yes, there was a buyout a couple of years ago. National Express already has some sort of route to Victoria, so that's no longer an Airbus route. As far as I know (as of summer 2003, when I last traveled to London), there is one Airbus route. It's the northern route that extends out to Euston and Russell Square.

which is the one that goes more or less past the door of truppi's hotel..
http://www.baa.co.uk/main/airports/h...rbus_page.html

We are a group of 15 - 4 moms, 11 16-17 yos. Just Airports gave us a price of $156GBP for transport from Heathrow to our hotel near King's Cross. We thought it would be the easiest option so we didn't have to navigate the tube w/ our luggage and jet lagged selves. Though we are only taking one suitcase and 1 backpack per person because of using Ryan Air later in our trip. That works out to $10.4GBP per person and that wasn't much more than the express train. What do you guys think? Good idea?

Getting to Kings Cross is pretty easy by tube from Heathrow - it's just a ride with no changes on the Piccadilly Line. You could get a TravelCard pass for use on both the ride to the hotel and later in the day, so the actual cost of the tube ride to the hotel would only be very slight. 10.4 pounds is not a bad price, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if the tube is a quicker option and it's easy. Still, with 15 people there is likely to be one who gets waylaid or lost, so maybe it's best to take the car service.

We are purchasing the central zone London transport card, but also the hop on/hop off bus tour. We figured it was cheaper to buy the central zone and then pay for Heathrow separate or use it toward a limo transport. I had heard that there were several stairs to navigate in the tube station. Is this not so? If anyone knows for sure how many stairs we have from Heathrow Picadilly line tube to King's Cross tube, then that would help us decide. Thanks!