Hi,

Me & my wife are going to stay at Holborn during our London trip next month and am trying to decide which is the best mode to travel back to LHR T3.
We have our flight at 10pm so will be leaving between 6PM and 6:30PM on a Monday evening. I am exploring following three options and will appreciate your help to make up my mind:

1. Tube: As our hotel is close to Holborn underground station so my first instinct was to take tube to LHR T3. It would take about an hour but is both economic and location-wise convenient. However, I have read at a few places that it could be a rush hour peak time and we may not get seats or sufficient place for luggage.
2. HEX: Next option is to take HEX which would mean first taking a cab to Paddington Rail Station (£12/15mins) & then 2x HEX tickets (£22 after discount/20-25mins). This is relatively quicker but will obviously cost much more than tube
3. Taxi: I checked justairports.com and they have quoted £32 for transfer from my hotel to terminal 3 which is comparable to HEX option. But I noted from theaa.com that this journey will also take at least an hour which is similar to tube travel time.

So, now I am mighty confused. Tube seems to be economic but may not be a comfortable ride. HEX seems fast but is inconvenient due to cab+rail option and expensive as well. Taxi seems comfortable and convenient but it costs same as HEX but take comparatively longer and then travelling by road always have a degree of uncertainty regarding journey times.

Will really appreciate if you could share some thoughts on catching tube from Holborn at evening hour and pros-cons of HEX vs. hire cab etc.

Thanks in advance.

Just reading your title before even reading the full thing-- the HEX makes no sense. . . . Now I'll read the rest

"<i>Taxi seems comfortable and convenient but it costs same as HEX </i>"

Justairports is not a 'taxi' -- it is a pre-booked car service. Justairports will be cheaper than the HEX. Remember you will have to get to Paddington and that could easily add £20 to the total.

Yes the tube will be crowded -- but if you have a reasonable amount of luggage, it would be OK.

A car service would be BY FAR the easiest. It is door-to-door w/ no luggage schlepping at all.

Oh, and re the tube. people get on and off at every station so even IF it is standing room -you will eventually get a seat.

Car service is still easiest --but if that is too big a hit on the budget, the tube would be my choice.

Chances are the tube will be crowded but crowds thin out as you leave the central city; but indeed it is rush hour. I go with janisj in this case although believe it or not because it is rush hour on the roads too, the fastest way might be the tube but in central London, the tube can really get very very crowded, that's for sure.

xyz: "<i>although believe it or not because it is rush hour on the roads too, the fastest way might be the tube </i>?"

You notice I carefully omitted 'fastest' -- Is a car service easiest - yes. Fastest - probably not.

Thanks janisj & xyz123, only reason am considering HEX+cab option is because it gives me some amount of certainity of travel tiem otherwise I agree it makes little sense

Could I ask you at 6:30 in the evening on a Monday what should be my worst estimate for tarvelling thru car service.
Also, is it easy to board a tube from Holborn with luggage (both of us will have a check-in size trolley bag).

Since you will have already been in London and presumably using the Holborn tube station otherwise you can judge during your stay whether you want to manage the luggage or not on the tube. You can book www.justairports on line from London or phone them there. Usually just day before notice is enough.

At 6:30 rush hour will mostly be over on the tube - you may have to stand for a few stops, but you will almost definitely get a seat fairly quickly (you wont be standing for an hour!)

I would take the tube and spend the cash on drinks in a pub

Also meant to say - people who use the Piccadilly Line are used to travelers with luggage. Just be polite and head for the front or back of the train as there tends to be more space there and you shouldnt have a problem.

I've used the Tube and justairports. Both worked great. The best thing about justairports is the pickup at the door, so there's no messing about with luggage until you get to LHR. The best thing about the Tube is the savings. In either case I'd suggest leaving a little earlier to allow for a cushion of time; I'd rather wait a little longer in the relative comfort of LHR than fret about being late or actually missing a flight. You are leaving London at a busy hour, and will still be busy at LHR, so if I were you I'd hop an earlier Tube, when it might not be so crowded yet, or book at earlier car, like at 5ish when the traffic also might not be so bad. Just an idea. (Which to do? Depends if you want convenience or savings. Both of which are valuable)

<B>Thanks laurie</B>, as you suggested, during our course of stay we will pop-in to check how easy/difficult it is to travel from Holborn (though we would be there only on Saturday & Sunday so weekday rush may still be the surprise factor) and depending on that will decide on pre-booked car or tube. We are staying at Citadines Prestige Holborn which is just 300m from Holborn Underground. Guess at best 3-4 minutes so am sure we would be using the underground that weekend atleast once or twice.

<B>Thanks jamikins</B>. Won’t mind saving £30 or so if we can, just don’t want to go to great troubles to do that. But assuring to know that travelers are used to tourists with luggage, last thing I would want is to be stared at as an insensitive tourist trying to get in with luggage in a packed carriage.

<B>Thanks texasbookworm</B>. I just want to maximize our time in London so don’t wanna hurry out too early but I get the point that 5:30-6pm is more appropriate than 6:00-6:30pm. I would have checked-in online so hopefully will not be turned back at check-in. As I said, I want convenience at right price – not too expensive comfort nor too cheap hardship

A-guy - I used to work in Mid City Place which is just down Holborn from Citadines where you are staying and used to make the journey to HR 4 or 5 times a year. I have used cars (the probability of getting stuck in traffic at that time of day is high)- the Heathrow Express is fast in itself and much more comfortable than the Tube, but really does not save much time plus, the trip to Paddington is never a joy! The Piccadilly Line from Holborn is my preferred choice but I would urge caution travelling in the rush hour, unlike one of the previous poster I would disagree that commuters are tolerant of tourists with luggage. You will get a few stares and maybe comments. Personally it doesn't doesn't bother me but if such stares are a problem for you then travelling just a little earlier (say 4.45pm) will make a world of difference to the crowds in the carriages.

BTW - Citadines is in a great location often ignored, V close to Covent Garden/Soho and there are some great pubs and restaurants in Red Lion Street a couple of blocks away.

NO way justairports would take an hour. The modst time I've spent Lhr to south Kensington is about 20 minutes

"NO way justairports would take an hour. The modst time I've spent Lhr to south Kensington is about 20 minutes"

You are kidding. The MINIMUM I would expect is 40 minutes and that would mean getting straight out of the airport and into town in the middle of the night with the lights with you are every step.

Are you sure you didn't doze off on the ride, avalon )

I agree with Alan.

Getting to Heathrow by a specific hour is no time to discover an accident on Talgarth Road or a tailback on the Chiswick flyover. Tell JustAirports what time you need to be at Heathrow, and let them decide when you need to leave your hotel.

Your response to any and all comments about you being on a PUBLIC conveyance WITH luggage:

"Lose weight, Fatso"

OR

"Yeah, don't you wish YOU were going on a trip like I am?"

avalon-- sorry -- but I have to agree w/ the others. No way in 'Heck' one could get to LHR is 20 minutes -- even on a Sunday afternoon. From S. Kens count on 40 mins to an hour (It is <B>18 miles</B> afterall) and from Holborn an hour and up.

Now you did say FROM the airport to S Kens and the OP is asking about TO the airport from Holborn . . but in neither case is 20 mins anyway near realistic.

sorry for the typos

But you get the idea . . .