sanghk

Hey guys!
I have a 10 hour layover in London Heathrow Airport on April 2 (Sat), arrival date is 06:45am and the departure time is at 5:30pm. I was wondering what I could do in that long period of time. I love to do just about anything other than killing time at the airport. Suggestions on the cheapest and fastest ways around wherever would be very much appreciated!

jent103

It's easy to get to central London via the Tube - takes about an hour each way. I'm assuming you'll be going through immigration at Heathrow, so plan on leaving around 8am, in town by around 9 or a little later. You'll have to go through security again on the way back, so leave plenty of time to do that (check with your airline on how much, but probably 2-3 hours). So you'd have to leave central London again by 2 or 2:30.

So, if all goes well, you could have 5 hours or so to wander around. You can see a lot around the Westminster/Trafalgar area in that amount of time. Or do some research and figure out what else you would like to see.

lincasanova

or windsor next door by the convenient bus/taxi.

bettyk

Agree that the town of Windsor and Windsor Castle would be a great way to spend your time without getting too far away from the airport.

twiggers

We have the same thing and are planning on taking Heathrow Express into the city and doing a HOHO bus tour (I've been to London several times; DH just wants to relax and observe). Will likely stop for some food and maybe visit one site.

alanRow

"We have the same thing and are planning on taking Heathrow Express into the city "

No point in doing so - it's expensive and doesn't get you to the tourist areas significantly quicker than the Tube.

twiggers

My understanding is that the tube takes approx. one hour (my memory from doing it 2 years ago is that it is actually over an hour), and Heathrow Express is approx. 30 minutes to Paddington.

Given the extremely short time in the city...I'll pay extra to have an extra 1-1.5 hours in the city.

twiggers

Sorry....

16.50 each way for Heathrow Express for a 15 minute journey into London.

5.00 each way for the tube for a 60 minute journey.

I'm splurging for the extra 23.00 in order to enjoy an extra 90 minutes in the city. That is enough time for a nice meal, a visit to Westminster Abbey, etc.

If I was staying in London longer, I would take the tube and have done so in the past.

jent103

twiggers, that may be true on the train times, but Paddington isn't near anything I'd want to do. So I'd still have to take the Tube to wherever I actually wanted to go. The train may still end up being slightly shorter, but for me those few minutes aren't worth the extra cost.

twiggers

Ah, gotcha. For us, we're doing a HOHO bus tour and they have stops near Paddington

tenaya

IMHO to go into London would entail too much travelling for too little time to see anything: also quite stressful.
Thoroughly support the Windsor option which I've done several times. Easy and reasonably priced - coach or bus & train - be sure to ask for "cheap day return".
Such a relaxing and beautiful place to have a stopover --- and Eton just over the river/bridge, really a continuation of Windsor.

janisj

twiggers: The HoHo does have a stop near Paddington -- but I definitely wouldn't do that on a short pop into town. The Paddington stop is a long drive around to anywhere interesting and if the bus gets bogged down/stuck in traffic and doesn't return you to Paddington in time you not only have the pre-paid cost of the round trip HEX ticket and the expensive HoHo, you'll either have to take the tube to LHR or the tube or a REALLY expensive cab back to Paddington.

I'd just take the tube from LHR to someplace you want to see- be it the British Museum, or the Eye, or Covent Garden, or Trafalgar square, or the V&A, or wherever. The HEX/Paddington would be a non-starter for me.

sanghk

Hey guys. Thank you for all your replies. I've been thinking and decided to take the Tube from Heathrow and go to the Tower of London and just hang around the place until time. Anyone knows which tunnel of the Tube I need to take to get there because I'm currently in a country where I'm limited to using an internet. I would like to know the exact price of the Tube from Heathrow to the Tower of London and its return trip. Thanks guys

mamamia2

We've been going through long layovers in Heathrow several times in the past... Our main issue was being so tired.... I think the Windsor trip makes a lot more sense than London.

I'd also suggest you check if they still have those SHOWERS available there to use, I used those showers couple times in past years, which was making my layover there SO much easier....

twiggers

janis: Hmmmm, we really want the HOHO so that DH can just relax and see an overview of the city. We may or may not even get off the bus to see anything. I've seen London several times, and DH has never been. So this makes the most sense for us.

We have a 10.5 hour layover and are flying first class....so we get to fast track through immigration and security. I'm anticipating having a solid 6 hours in the city. Most of the tour routes are only 2-3 hours long.

My husband doesn't like castles, museums, or anything like that. So it doesn't make sense to stay at Windsor and he won't want to hang at a museum in London.

Thanks for the suggestions though If the bus does get bogged down we can always hop on the tube to get back over to Paddington quickly.