I'll be traveling with family to London in the spring - arriving Heathrow airport. I've heard that taxis are outrageously expensive. Would love to hear some opinions on the best and least expensive way to get into London when arriving. Thanks!

Depending how many of you there are the cheapest way is either the tube using an Oyster Card http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/14416.aspx Or a prebooked car service like www.justairports.com

How many of you will there be?

Will you have just carry-ons or substantial luggage?

Are you all comfortable hauling your own luggage around?

Where are you staying in London?

ditto all of the above

the 'best' way mainly depends on where you are staying, how many of you, time of arrival, and physical abilities.

So tell us and we can give you THE answer . . .

I'm curious as well. To answer the questions above, there are four of us (2 adults, 2 teens), staying in the Bloomsbury area arriving at Heathrow at 2pm on a Saturday. We will only have carry ons.

Thanks

Jinky: Russell Sq and Holborn stations are on the Piccadilly line directly in from LHR - so assuming you are staying w/i walking distance of one of those, would be easy w/ just carry-ons.

But a car service for 4 would cost about £10 pp (or less) so that is also a viable option.

Thanks everyone - there are 3 of us, myself, husband and 17 year old son. All quite fit and planning to have one carry-on bag each and maybe a backpack. Don't have a place to stay yet. Looking at rental apartments. Will be there March 31-April 5 so if anyone can make a recommendation for places to rent as well it would be appreciated!

My situation is somewhat similar to this. Family of 4 arriving in London in August 2013 at 11 pm. I was thinking of booking one night near the airport, something inexpensive since we are only going to be there to sleep, then go to London the next morning. I was thinking of Slough. We may be carrying some luggages besides the carry-ons. Is there any other place that anyone can recommend?

Take the Heathrow Express to Paddington Station. Taxi's are so expensive. You can also take the Airport bus to London. London is not cheap, but do get the Oyster Card for the Tube, buses etc.

As for cheaper places to stay. Look on Booking.com, edit for apartments and search. Stay in Paddington, sometimes Notting Hill, Bayswater area. Much cheaper and transport from those areas is great. Don't take a taxi anywhere! The kids will love the Tube and the buses are just great! Traffic is bad, so Tube is quick. I now use apartments when I travel and with kids the best way to go! The area around Paddington, Bayswater has lot's a good, cheaper ethnic restaurants. Lot's of Kebab stands up in Notting Hill, Indian in Bayswater, and some chain restaurants near Paddington.

"<u>Take the Heathrow Express to Paddington Station. Taxi's are so expensive. You can also take the Airport bus to London. London is not cheap, but do get the Oyster Card for the Tube, buses etc.</i>"

The Heathrow Express makes next to NO sense for the VAST majority of travelers . . . Only semi-sensible if one is staying right AT Paddington. And even then, there are cheaper trains that get you there. The HEX is insanely expensive and then you have to take either a cab or the tube from Paddington to wherever you are staying. (but reading the rest of your post - it seems that Bayswater/Paddington is where you stay)

The tube would be faster and cheaper than the limited coach options to most parts of London.

OOPS -sorry for the underline. This is better:

"<i>"Take the Heathrow Express to Paddington Station. Taxi's are so expensive. You can also take the Airport bus to London. London is not cheap, but do get the Oyster Card for the Tube, buses etc.</i>"

The Heathrow Express makes next to NO sense for the VAST majority of travelers . . . Only semi-sensible if one is staying right AT Paddington. And even then, there are cheaper trains that get you there. The HEX is insanely expensive and then you have to take either a cab or the tube from Paddington to wherever you are staying. (but reading the rest of your post - it seems that Bayswater/Paddington is where you stay)

The tube would be faster and cheaper than the limited coach options to most parts of London.

ramedor88: Your problem is your arrival time. The tube, local buses and Hotel Hoppa won't be running by the time you clear immigration and get out of Arrivals.

So your best options would be 1) an airport hotel which would be a short cab ride away. No need to go to Slough, there are many hotels just off the airport along the Bath Road.

2) bite the bullet and book a hotel in central London -and book a car service like justairports.com There may be a surcharge for the late arrival time but it would be a lot easier than checking in to one hotel and then checking out in a few hours and transferring to a different hotel the next day.

3) At which terminal are you arriving? There are hotels in two of the terminals -but they are quite pricey.

#2 would be my choice.

I have a very basic question. We are arriving on May 9, 11 AM and are interested in justairports for transport to and from Heathrow. I am sorry to say that I am unsure of the postal code. The address is The Chesterfield Hotel, 35 Charles Street, London GB W1J 5EB. I don't see any designation on the just airports site that match. What is the postal code I should use for getting an estimate?

Thank you in advance.
PS: There are two of us, each with one 21 inch suitcase and small backpack.

"The address is The Chesterfield Hotel, 35 Charles Street, London GB W1J 5EB. "

So the bit of the postcode they want is W1

Thank you, Flanneruk! We'll only be in London three nights, then on to Edinburgh, just trying to make the best use of time and money

We've taken the National Express bus (www.nationalexpress.com) from the Victoria Coach station to Heathrow...very cheap if you buy online in advance (I've seen it as low a 4 GBP). Never tried it the other direction.

As mentioned, though, it all depends on where you are staying. We've always stayed at a very inexpensive hotel, The Cherry Court, and (if you can tolerate teeny tiny rooms) recommend it. It's 2 blocks from the Victoria tube station and 2 blocks from the coach station.

[Note: We always fly USAir from Philadelphia. They used to go to Gatwick which is a short train ride from Victoria Station, but now they only fly to LHR...sigh!]

Admittedly, taking the bus TO the airport can cause "traffic-induced stress", but taking it FROM the airport should be pleasant.

SS

"<i>. . . but taking it FROM the airport should be pleasant.</i>"

Fine for getting to Victoria - but not for Bloomsbury or Charles St.

...sorry...I was responding to the OP, who did not have a place yet, not to Challiman (or did I miss something - - I don't always read or post as carefully as I should)

SS

Hard to keep track w/o a scorecard. Challiman and ramedor88 piggy backed on the OP w/ their own questions . . . it can get sooooo confusing

(Often its best to start a new thread and not hijack another topic)