How to best get from Heathrow to Kings Cross station
 

Our family will be flying in to Heathrow, arriving about 10 am, mid-July. What is the best way to get to the Kings Cross station? There are 6 of us age 13 to 72. We travel fairly light, a carry-on each and perhaps one extra bag. Piccadilly line looks good on paper. Our adult daughter was concerned about where or how to store baggage. Any advice would be appreciated. It has been nearly 20 years since we have been to London so I just don't remember what we did in the past, or how things may have changed.

Get the tube.

Simply put your bags where the sign says. Organising two cars will cost you more - and take longer anyway.

One doesn't 'store' baggage -- one carries it on and stands/sits near it -- hopefully without blocking the aisle.

The tube is a straight shot w/ no changes . . . BUT where are you headed after you get to Kings Cross?

If you have to get to a hotel or apartment from Kings Cross that will add to your journey. For 6 and w/ the age range you have -- I'd probably pre-book a car service like justairports.com from LHR to wherever. It will cost more than the tube but will be door-to-door w/ no schelpping at either end.

For 6 I'd guess approx £60.

Didn't see flanner's post. For justairports you wouldn't need to book two cars -- they have vehicles that fit six (and more) plus luggage.

janisj, we have reservations close by. It is supposed to be a 3 to 5 minute walk. We are all in decent shape and that part shouldn't be a problem. I have had no problem with placing my bags near-by, but our daughter was concerned. I am hoping that with leaving directly from Heathrow we should be able to get seats, especially me with my grey hair.

Where exactly (post code) because some owners 'fudge' on locations and that 5 min walk may be closer to 10 (or not). And in a pouring rain even a 5 min walk w/ luggage, w/ jetlag, and w/ one or more exhausted 'grumps' in the group isn't fun.

>> I am hoping that with leaving directly from Heathrow we should be able to get seats, especially me with my grey hair.<<

You'll have seats -- even if you colour your hair before the trip :) But the train will get VERY crowded by the time you near central London. So getting off w/ the bags can be a bit like swimming up stream.

Not saying the tube won't work -- I take it all the time. But sometimes spending a little extra makes for a nicer 'intro' to London.

agree with flanner - take the Tube - so easy if direct and since it starts at Heathrow the cars will be mainly empty when boarding - simply ensconce yourselves in seats convenient to getting out at Kings X and keep bags with you - unattended bags on the Tube is a red flag you hear announcements about alerting the police if you see them - save the extta 40 pounds or so a car would cost and probably take much longer, having to cross London.

The Tube if you need not change is so easy - can't see why anyone would pay all that money for a car transfer - plus taking public transportation like the Tube is fun as well as Green!

janisj, I will run your ideas past my daughter. She is doing most of the planning. I am just helping with the research. I forget about rain. BTW We have looked up the address on the maps and it really does look close.

<<Not saying the tube won't work -- I take it all the time. But sometimes spending a little extra makes for a nicer 'intro' to London.>>

Look: the whole London Underground is colloquially called the "Tube" but there are really seven lines that are true "tube" trains - they traverse central London deep underground in tunnels that look like a big worm carved them. This is in contrast to the "cut-and-cover" lines that roll through the city closer to the surface, none of which actually go THROUGH the most central parts of Central London (like Piccadilly Circus, Leicester Square, Oxford Circus, Green Park, etc). The Piccadilly line from Heathrow to Kings X is one of those true tube lines.

The tube trains are short (about 9.25 feet from the RAILS to the top of the train - which means the cabin is maybe 7.25 feet high at its apex (lower by the doors) because the cabin bottom does not extend to the rails [duh - would sort of impede the wheels' rotations]). And they're narrow - less than 8.5 feet wide (compared to the 10-foot width of NYC letter-route trains). With seats on both sides of the train, taking your bags onto the tube will clog the aisles to the point of impassibility or close to it.

So what janis is hinting at is that if your train is crowded, with SIX people jamming up the aisles, not only could your intro to London be a bit uncomfortable, but London's intro to you may be a bit less than delightful ("Bloody Yanks taking over the whole car" sort of commentary).

We took the Piccadilly line 3 days ago from Kings Cross to Heathrow. Six pounds per person, took about one hour.

Mark

Its about half that fare off peak if you have a contactless credit card