mjnx

Family of 3 with 3 large suitcases arrive 6am on a Sunday at Heathrow. How much time should we plan on to get out of airport--do we go thru customs upon arrival? And approx. how much time/$$ will it take in a cab to Mayfair area hotel? Is the "black cab" I hear of the thing to look for?
Thank you.

janisj

you will not want a cab unless money is no object. Hire a car service (such as justairports.com) for door to door service for £20-30 less than a taxi.

What you are concerned about is immigration - not customs. Customs is basically a non-issue. Immigration is where you have to stand in line to have your passports checked. How long it takes varies depending on a lot of things.

marthag

I second Janisj's recommendation for Just Airports. This is an excellent, reasonably priced transfer company. We used them last week for pickup at Gatwick and return to Heathrow. Both segments of their service took place smoothly.

mjnx

Thank you both for such a speedy response. I have email'd justairports.com already!

janisj

- w/ just airports you will get a better rate for cash. Even using a credit card it wil be cheaper than a taxi - but cash will make it a real bargain ......

Robespierre

Can you carry your own luggage? If so, the Tube would be an economical choice, because on a Sunday morning you'd have it virtually to yourself. If you acquire Oyster Cards with 2-zone Travelcards loaded on them, your supplemental Underground fare from Heathrow (Zone 6) to Zone 2 would be £1.

The Piccadilly Line from Heathrow stops at three places along the southern edge of Mayfair. A short cab ride from the nearest station will probably be £5 or so.

The Underground is not Chinese Algebra. Thousands of Brits get off overnight flights with children and take the Tube to town every day. So can you.

Dukey

Mjnx...what hotel are you staying in; some are further from the Tube stops than others.

obxgirl

>>I have email'd justairports.com already!<<

I hope you've heard from them but in my experience they're not quick to respond to emails. Call directly to get a booking. I've used then often and have never had a missed pick up when calling ahead.

By all means pay cash.

NotMe

We've successfully used just airports several times. As others have said, paying cash is cheaper. ATMs to get pounds are available to you as soon as you come out of immigration.

One other tip. When you first come out of immigration you will see a lot of drivers with peoples' names on cards. Your just airport driver will not be there. Just airport drivers always meet their passengers near the Hertz rental car counter.

W9London

When booking a car service, make sure you tell them # of suitcases. Many red-eye/long-haul flights tend to arrive at Heathrow early morning (many from developping countries) so the immigration queue may be a tad crowded. Overall, it may take up to 1hour to clear thru immigration and pick up luggage. (This is not counting the time from de-planing and walking to the arrival area). On Sunday morning, the ride to Mayfair shouldn't take much more than 30-45min.

IMO, tube may not be the best option if you're schlepping 3 large suitcases. Heathrow station has escalators, but there are stairs from ticket hall to the street level at Green Park station.

Carrybean

Obxgirl, I booked justairports a couple of weeks ago for both my own arrival & my niece's the next day & got a response within a couple of minutes so maybe their website problems are fixed now.